Total pages in book: 9
Estimated words: 7952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 40(@200wpm)___ 32(@250wpm)___ 27(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 7952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 40(@200wpm)___ 32(@250wpm)___ 27(@300wpm)
A pan clatters in the kitchens up ahead.
My steps slow. An intruder? I free the arm-length shock-stick in my belt, activating it. As one of Lord va'Rin's many security guards, it's my duty to keep him and his family safe...as well as the humans that work for them. I creep up on the kitchen doors, weapon at the ready, and peer inside.
A familiar figure bustles past, cussing as she does so. I recognize the plump bounce of Pamela's appealing backside as she moves, and deactivate my shock-stick. Stepping inside, I scowl at her. "Woman, I almost used my weapon on you."
She blinks up at me through heavy glasses. "Don't threaten me with a good time. And good morning, Toghar."
My face prickles with heat.
CHAPTER
TWO
PAMELA
That adorably delectable alien man is standing in the middle of my kitchen, blushing and fondling his stick-weapon. Normally I'd tease the hell out of him for it, but today I don't have time. There's far too much to be done.
"Good morning to you, too," I say pertly, and then bustle past him in search of a deep pan. When he steps to the side, I have to nudge him out of the way again a moment later. "Either help me find a pan or get out of the kitchen. I love talking to you, don't get me wrong, but I've got too much to do today and not enough time to do it."
"What's today?" Toghar asks, moving to the doorway of the kitchen and standing there instead.
"I've decided it's Thanksgiving."
"I am unfamiliar with this term. Is it different than a regular giving of thanks?"
I bite back a laugh, because the aliens, as nice as they are, have a poor grasp of human idioms. He doesn't realize how goofy he sounds. It's adorable. "It's a human holiday. Well, an American one. Basically, the entire family gets together and has a big dinner and—"
Toghar opens his mouth.
"—and I know what you're thinking. That everyone eats dinner every day. But Thanksgiving is different. It's a special meal where everyone eats as much as they want because calories don't count. The family all sits together and shares what they're thankful for, and there's stuffing and sweet potato pie and, well, it makes everyone just a little bit happier. It's been a long time since we had a nice juicy holiday, and I miss them." I find the pan I've been searching for and pull it out of the stack with satisfaction. "Lady va'Rin loves this idea."
"A gratitude meal does not sound like a bad thing," Toghar ventures. "I think it is kind of you to consider Lady va'Rin and her children. But did they not have the gifting holiday with the old red male recently?"
"That was Christmas, and the old red male was Santa Claus...or it was supposed to be." It ended up being a very disgruntled splice by the name of Victor. He wasn't thrilled about having to wear a costume, but he was great with Lady va'Rin's children and let all of them pet his “beard.” Which was his face. I think. It's hard to tell with some of these aliens, and I mean that in the kindest way. "And that's an entirely different holiday. And it's been months."
"Are holidays more frequent where you are from?" Toghar asks, watching as I move across the kitchen to find yet another pan.
"Sometimes it feels like there's one every month. I kind of miss the celebrations. I know Lady va'Rin and Lord va'Rin travel and go to a lot of parties, so maybe this one's for me more than for them."
"So, your solution is to cook a massive meal for others and overwork yourself?"
"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds foolish, doesn't it?" I chuckle to myself, deciding to butter the pan at hand before hunting for others, or else I'm going to forget entirely. "I guess it's my way of showing them how grateful I am to be here. That they let me take care of them in exchange for my safety. And I just love to take care of people. I'm going to make enough for the men, too."
"To show them that you care for them?" He stiffens and it seems he doesn't like this idea, which strikes me as weird.
"Why wouldn't I? You don't think they'd enjoy a nice meal?"
His mouth is tight as he stares at me. "I...suppose."
What in the world has crawled up his butt?
"So you care for all the soldiers...equally?"
"Not equally, but it seems rude to feed the others less because I like you more."
He blushes again. It's adorable and makes my heart flip-flop. Like all mesakkah, he's blue-skinned, almost seven feet tall, with a long, lion-like tail and a pair of ram-like horns arching from his brow. He's heavily muscled thanks to his job and has enormous hands. His appearance could be terrifying. But Toghar's hands are kind, and his eyes are full of warmth. I like his laughter, and the funny way his mouth purses when he's trying to decipher a particularly weird human colloquialism.