Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

F lying on her magical reindeer boyfriend was not comfortable. And from the way Dash shifted beneath her, she didn’t think he was enjoying it too much either. Wind whipped by, but for some reason she wasn’t cold. And she couldn’t track the ground beneath them, as if they were moving faster than should have been possible. Because, clearly, a man who could shift into a reindeer had to obey the laws of physics. Or not. The stars streaked by overhead as if they were running in the opposite direction, and Ro wished she knew where they were. And she wished she could talk to Dash. But all she could do was keep her hands buried in his fur, her legs clenched tight, and hope she didn’t fall.

She was sure he wouldn’t let that happen.

She wore the pack he’d carried to their take off destination and it was surprisingly light, as if he didn’t think they’d need to camp for the night. Was it really possible that they’d make it to May’s before morning?

Dash’s glowing antlers said that anything was possible.

Hours into their flight her hands hurt and her legs burned, and she knew Dash had to be feeling it too, though she wasn’t sure what was making him soar. It wasn’t like he had wings. Maybe there was no pain for him at all. The wind rustled in her hair as they took a dive downward, and before Ro knew it, they were on the ground. And suddenly she was freezing. There must have been some sort of magic keeping her warm when she was on top of Dash, but now the cold northern air bit at her and made her shiver.

The air shimmered around reindeer Dash, and after a moment the human version stood in front of her, naked and cold. She shoved the bag towards him and he ripped at it, throwing on his clothes as quickly as possible. He fell back as he pulled on his boots and cursed. Ro would have helped if there was anything she could do, but Dash seemed to have a system for getting his clothing on as quickly as possible and she was concerned she’d just slow him down. Instead, she reached for the pack, since Dash had cast it aside, and said a silent thanks when she found a jacket. The material was almost thin enough to see through, but it somehow warmed her up and she wasn’t about to complain. Winter in Minnesota was cold.

“Okay, when I offered, I didn’t realize just how far it was.” Dash was clothed and he closed the distance between them, pulling Ro close. “Are you warm enough? Sore? Need a rest?”

She was cold, tired, and achy, but they had to be close. “We’re almost there. Right? Please say we’re almost there.”

Dash kissed her, and for a second all her bodily complaints quieted. If she could bottle him up she’d make millions. But she wanted him just for herself. “We’re almost there,” he said when he pulled away. “It’s about two kilometers down the road, but I didn’t want your sister to spot us. We can walk it, or I can call a taxi and have it drop us off.”

Two kilometers. Ro could walk that in her sleep, but then she realized what it would look like. Arriving on foot at dawn? With a strange man? And only a single backpack between them? Yeah, that would cause more questions. “Taxi,” Ro said.

They made for the road and huddled next to each other, cuddling up close, for the ten minutes it took for the taxi to arrive. And the car was delightfully warm when they piled in. Ro was never leaving. “This is my home now,” she informed Dash. “And you can’t make me get out.”

He just smiled at her and laced their slowly warming fingers together.

Less than five minutes later, they pulled up in front of a house that was over two hundred years old. It had been in Ro’s family since before humans had managed space flight, and May had been keeping the place in great shape. No one was around so early in the morning, but a robot zipped up and down the driveway, clearing the snow from the asphalt. A light was on in a second story window, but Ro couldn’t see anyone moving around.

She was suddenly nervous. She’d been so focused on getting home that she didn’t quite know what she was supposed to do now that she was there. Would May really let her stay for the holiday? Would Lee remember her? Was this all bound to be a failure?

Maybe she should stay in the taxi forever.

The light outside the front door turned on and the door opened before Ro could tell the taxi to pull away. And there in the doorway stood her sister, wearing pajamas and a fluffy robe, looking out at them with a hand held up to her forehead.

Now or never.

Ro got out of the taxi and Dash followed. The walked up the path to the front door where her sister waited for them, a look of shock naked on her face. “You’re here.”

Ro nodded. “I’m here.”

“You actually made it.” May’s cheeks were getting pinker by the minute and she had to be freezing.

“I actually made it,” she confirmed. “Can we come in?”

For the first time her sister seemed to notice Ro wasn’t alone. “Who’s this?”

“Dash. He’s my…” Calling him her transportation was too simple. And did two nights together make him her boyfriend? “He’s with me,” she settled on after too long a pause.

May seemed too cold to care. She took a step back and waved them inside. “Where are your things? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming today? You said you wouldn’t be here until Friday.”

Ro wasn’t even sure what day it was. “There were complications. Plans changed. And our bags are being shipped.”

“They should arrive tomorrow,” Dash added.

“From Mars? ”

“Florida,” he corrected. “We took a circuitous route.”

And for some reason that set Ro off and laughter burst out of her. It echoed around the room and she was sure to wake someone up, but she couldn’t hold it back. They actually made it to May’s in time! Her sister had let her in the damn house. The relief was so freeing that Ro felt like she could fly.

Wait, no, that was Dash who actually could fly… and shapeshift.

Oh no, if she didn’t stop laughing she was going to pass out.

Dash put a hand on her back and rubbed, grounding her in the moment. It surely wasn’t lost on May, but Ro couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Aunt Ro?” A child’s voice broke through her hysteria and Ro looked up, wiping her eyes. A young boy, though older than she remembered, stood by the stairs, one hand hooked on the banister. He had floppy blond hair and would come up to her shoulder if they were standing beside one another, but he was too skinny, as if he’d just hit a growth spurt and hadn’t had time to fill out yet. Still a little boy, but growing so fast.

“Hey, Lee.” She smiled and wanted to blame her watery eyes on the laughter even as emotion assaulted her. “Come here.” She opened her arms wide.

The boy darted across the room and she held him tight. “I knew you’d come this year,” he told her, his voice a little too loud in her ear, but she didn’t care. “Mom didn’t believe me, but you said in your letter that you’d come.”

She had. Months ago, in Lee’s birthday card, she’d promised to make it before the end of the year. And at least he hadn’t give up hope. “I’m here, buddy. Had to see you before you get taller than me.”

He wiggled out of her embrace and looked over at Dash. “Is that your boyfriend?”

“Lee, you need to get ready. Have you taken a shower?” May saved Ro from answering.

The boy jumped in place. “You can come with!” His eyes widened and he nodded. “Can they, Mom? Please?”

“Ro and Dash are tired, Lee. They need to sleep. I’m sure they’ll have time to hang out later.” Ro had no idea what Lee wanted them to do, but the fact that May was declining for them made her want to volunteer, despite the fact she was dead on her feet and Dash had to be just as tired, if not more.

“It’s the fair’s last day. Please, Mom. Uncle Richard doesn’t like the rides, and I haven’t seen Aunt Ro in forever! Please?” He said it with the kind of desperation that only a child could manage. “And we’re not leaving until noon, anyway.”

“We can take him,” Ro offered. “I haven’t been to a winter fair in forever.” And she’d been miserable the last time, but it would be worth it just to hang out with her nephew.

Lee jumped up and down in excitement as May relented. “Fine. But you have to tell your Uncle Richard.”

If she was a slightly better person, Ro would have offered, but she and Rich had never gotten along and now wasn’t the time to try and mend fences.

Lee took off running back upstairs to inform his uncle.

“Do you have a room for me?” Ro asked. “For us?”

“So it is an us?” May confirmed.

Ro shrugged. Sleep was starting to nip at her heels, and maybe she could manage an hour or two before it was time to leave with Lee.

“Yeah,” May said. “Your old room. Try not to wake the house with sex noises.”

“Ah, it’s good to be home.” Ro tugged at Dash’s arm. “Come on, let’s get some sleep before we go have fun.”

Dash nodded his head toward her sister. “Nice to meet you!” But Ro was already tugging him away and May was heading for the kitchen. A happy family reunion.

It was… good … to be home.

Dash couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on Earth for an extended length of time, and he didn’t think he’d ever been to a winter carnival. The winter sun hung fat in the sky, illuminating the frozen ground beneath their feet and sparkling as lazy snowflakes dropped from the sky. Vendors sold cocoa and hot cider along with more adult appropriate beverages and enough fried food to feed a circus troupe. He was pretty sure he’d won Lee’s loyalty for life when he bought him a fried snowflake shaped sweet and then won him a stuffed animal in a game.

Ro kept smiling, and good cheer swirled all around them. Holiday cheer and vacation fun were in the air, a heady mix that could get him drunk if he didn’t stay on his toes, but being beside his mate kept him grounded, funneling the good cheer in and giving him energy without making him bounce off the walls.

Families gathered all around them, different configurations of people all out enjoying the winter day. Even the carnival employees seemed to be in a good mood from the genuine smiles they were giving out, though that could have come from the fact that they were about to pack up and leave.

With the child darting between them, Dash could almost make believe that this was his life with Ro. Him, his mate, and a little one to keep entertained. What more could he want? Even that seemed too much to hope for, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d never imagined having his own family, for some reason, and now that he was so close to grasping it, he was afraid that holding on too tight would make it slip through his fingers.

Instead, Ro laced their hands together and leaned against him. “If you need to go back and sleep, I can handle the kiddo. You have to be tired after last night.”

He was. Bone deep exhausted in a way that the good cheer around them was only beginning to touch. But he’d deal. He didn’t want to leave. He’d never flown that far or long before, and certainly not with a passenger, but it was worth it just to see Ro here now.

Lee was watching a juggler a few meters away from them. He seemed to like ranging out, but knew never to leave their sight. After a few minutes he came back and wrapped an arm around Ro’s waist. “I’m so glad you came, Aunt Ro. I wish you could be here every year.”

A pang of sadness stabbed at Dash, his mate’s distress, but nothing showed on her face. “I’m going to try and be here more often,” she said. “But it’s hard to get back from Mars. And I’m definitely going to call more. Maybe we can’t hang out in person, but that doesn’t mean we have to be strangers.”

“I get it,” he said in a tone older than his years. “Your work is important. Just like Grandpa’s was. It’s why I never got to meet him.”

That only intensified the sadness coming off of Ro. “How about you go try that game over there.” Dash pointed to where a bunch of people were lined up in front of a tossing game.

“Cool!” Lee went off running.

“It was bad enough when May said it,” said Ro once Lee was too far away to hear. “But to hear it from that kid?” She shook her head. “It would be easier if he just stabbed me.”

“I may not know the whole story, but it sounds like your dad wasn’t always there?” Dash waited for confirmation before continuing. “It’s not the same situation. He’s your nephew, not your child. And you’ve been in communication, even if you can’t get back every year. You haven’t abandoned them.”

“Mom said he died.” Ro was almost too quiet to hear over the sounds of the carnival around them. Dash leaned in closer, knowing she wouldn’t want to speak up. “When I was eighteen she said after he left that he died and that’s why he stopped sending messages and birthday presents. I had no reason not to believe her. She was my mom, right? But when I moved to Mars, guess who I ran into? Dad, new wife, three kids, all happy together, and they had no idea who I was. I actually talked to Dad and he said it would be better if I wasn’t introduced. Didn’t want to confuse anyone.”

Dash wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Ro didn’t cry, but her breaths shuddered as she struggled to get them under control. “And your sister doesn’t know?” he asked.

Ro shook her head. “What good would it do? I wish I still thought he was dead. At least then I’d think he still loved us.”

This time she cried and Dash held her, all while keeping an eye on Lee, who was getting closer to the front of the game line. “Do you think she might appreciate knowing the truth? Even if it just means that she understands you better?”

Ro pulled back and wiped at her eyes. “Why burden her with it?”

“Because sometimes shared burdens make easier work.” He held up their interlaced hands as if that was proof of something.

“Keep saying things like that and I might want to keep you.” There was the hint of a smile on her face.

“You have me for as long as you want me.” Forever, if you want .

“You might be signing up for more than you can handle,” she said, but her fingers tightened around his. “What if I don’t let go?”

“I’m not hearing a problem.”

A boy’s whoop of joy broke through, and Dash and Ro looked over to see Lee with a stuffed animal almost as big as him. He dragged it on the ground towards them, his face lit with joy. “Look what I won! Did you see?”

Neither of them had, but this was one of the times where telling the truth wouldn’t help anyone. “Awesome job,” said Ro. “How are you even lifting that thing?”

“I’m really strong,” Lee insisted. “But I’ll let you know if I need help.”

“You’re really smart too,” she said. And she and Dash walked hand in hand with Lee leading the way. A perfect moment.