Page 12 of Double Take (Cosmic Mates #5)

Faith had to hike halfway up the hill before she could get a weak signal on the tech-tab. Much as she preferred Terra Nova’s slower, relaxed, bucolic environment to Earth’s frenetic metropolis, she did miss the communication system.

After several tries, she got the tech-tab to connect to Terra Com and searched for a repair shop willing to retrieve the vehicle and pick them up and drop them off in Willow Wood. There were only three shops within striking distance. The first two only did repairs; they didn’t tow. She crossed her fingers as she contacted the third.

“Yeah, we can do that,” said the mechanic.

“Oh, thank goodness!”

“Provided you don’t need it right away.”

“When can you come?”

“Tomorrow sometime.”

“Tomorrow!”

“We’re swamped. Lotta folks had accidents due to the wet roads.”

“All right. Tomorrow will work.” What other option did they have? “Can you lock onto my device for the geo-location? I’m not in a village.”

“Got you right here.”

“Any idea when you’ll arrive tomorrow?”

“Some...be...sun…do…” The connection started to cut out. The Terra Nova Communication Network was often spotty.

“What was that?” She scooted higher up the hill, hoping to improve the connection.

“Sometime between sunup and sundown.”

They’d have to sit out by the wrecked vehicle all day. “All right. Thank you.” At least she’d gotten somebody. And they could spend another night in their love nest!

While she still had a decent connection, she pinged Amity at the shop to give her the news.

“How’s the craft fair?” Amity asked right away.

“That’s why I called. We never got there. A deer ran across the road, and I, um, crashed the vehicle.”

“Oh my gosh? Were you hurt? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. But I’m afraid the vehicle may be totaled. I’m sorry,” she said. Her friend had put up half the money. Now Amity didn’t have transportation either.

“Vehicles can be replaced. You can’t. I’m glad you’re all right. John is fine?”

“He’s fine.”

Faith heard a bell ring. Someone had entered the shop.

“Welcome to All Fired Up. Can I help you find something?” Amity beamed a bright smile at a customer Faith couldn’t see.

“Just browsing. Thought I’d pop in and take a look around,” a smooth baritone voice said.

“Let me know if you need help.” Amity smiled again, tucked her hair behind her ear, and then addressed Faith. “How are you two getting along? Is it weird?”

“Surprisingly…unweird.” Amazing. “I’ll fill you in when I get home. The earliest I could get a retrieval and a ride is tomorrow. I won’t get into Willow Wood until late.”

“The craft fair is a total no-go?”

“Yeah. No way to get there, and a lot of pottery got broken. Not sure how much yet.”

“Well, shit.”

The loss would cost them financially, but she wasn’t as upset about it as she might have been. We get to spend another night together. Just us. No interruptions.

“You’re smiling?” Amity frowned.

“I’m enjoying the time with John.” Verity glanced at the vehicle. “I need to go,” she said, “but tell me about your Cosmic Mates match. Did you meet him yet?”

Her friend looked like she’d tasted spoiled food.

“It didn’t go well?”

“He…a…ake.” Her words broke up as the screen filled with snow.

Stupid Terra Com! “What did you say?”

“He’s a snake!”

“He was a jerk? I’m sorry.”

“Not…his pers…lity…his sp…”

Dammit. “What was that?”

“He’s Nagarian.”

Faith’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I were.” Amity shuddered. “His torso and face looked humanoid—but his bottom half was scaly, slithery snake! He crawled into the café and hissed at me, and I honestly don’t remember what I said, but I think I knocked over a table when I ran out. I may have screamed.”

Amity was a kind, accepting, open-minded person with a major snake phobia. Even on vid, the reptiles freaked her out.

“I feel bad. He ventured all this way. I did say I was willing to meet an alien,” she said, her expression a mix of guilt and horror.

“It’s not your fault. That was a bad match. You and a snake-man are not compatible.” She frowned. “Hey, wait a minute—didn’t his profile say human ? Am I remembering it right?”

“Yes! And all his photos were from the waist up.”

“He lied,” Faith said.

“Probably he has a hard time meeting women because he is half snake and hoped when I met him, it wouldn’t matter.”

Her friend would give him the benefit of the doubt, but Faith wasn’t going to. “You can’t misrepresent yourself and pretend to be someone you’re not. It’s wrong, and Cosmic Mates can’t make compatible matches if clients aren’t truthful.”

John’s honesty had impressed her. After her painful past, she insisted on complete transparency.

“That makes…feel…little better. I hate…hurt…eelings.” The connection started breaking up again. Then: “Can I help you? Do you have a question?” Amity turned her head, addressing the customer in the shop.

“We’re breaking up, and you need to take care of business,” Faith said. “Don’t expect me in town before tomorrow night. I’ll try to contact you if there are further glitches.”

“Okay.” Amity grinned. “Don’t…anything…wouldn’t do.” Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do , was probably what she’d said.

She waved goodbye, disconnected, and tucked her tech-tab into her bag, doing a quick count of the snack bars. Ten. With peaches and potatoes, they would enjoy a fine feast. With a spring in her step, she returned to the vehicle.

* * * *

“How much is this vase?” The drop-dead gorgeous man held up a red-and-brown vessel.

“Five hundred cred ,” Amity said. “It’s a wine carafe, but it works as a vase, too.”

“Reasonably priced and dual purpose. I’ll take it.” His sexy grin went all the way up to his soulful brown eyes. He was tall, broad in shoulder and slim in hip, with a head of thick, near-black hair gone silver at the temples. So, forties, maybe?

“Excellent! Good choice,” she said. It was one of their most expensive pieces.

He gestured to the pottery wheel by the window. “Are you the pottery maker?”

“No, I’m the business manager. My friend Faith is the potter. She signs all her pieces—see?” She turned the carafe over to show him the signature.

He barely glanced at it. His attention focused on her. A warm glint in his eyes seemed to indicate he liked what he saw. Amity resisted the urge to pat her hair. She wished she’d worn a prettier outfit than her comfy, faded-black slacks with a long white tunic.

“I’ll…uh…wrap this up for you.” Conscious of his scrutiny, she seemed to be all thumbs as she packed the carafe in protective paper and bagged it.

“Here you go.” She passed him the sack, noting he had strong, masculine hands, long fingers. She was a sucker for manly hands. She also noted the absence of a wedding ring, but some men didn’t wear them. “You’re not from around here. Do you live in another village, or are you visiting Terra Nova for the first time?” The planet did have a small but growing tourist trade of rich elites who could afford to vacation on another planet. However, he didn’t have that snooty look about him.

“How did you know I’m not from around here?”

“Small town. I’ve only been on Terra Nova and in Willow Wood a few months, but I think I’ve met or seen everybody who lives in the village.”

“Good deduction! I am just visiting your planet. What brought you here?”

“I came with my friend. After her husband died, she needed to make a life change. I couldn’t let her move to another planet alone.” Neither of them had close family anymore, and she had no ties to Earth. She never imagined she’d still be single at forty-two.

“You two must be very close.”

“She’s my best friend, my sister from another mister.”

“Must be nice to have a friend that close.” The big, strong—she assumed he was strong; he certainly looked it—man sounded wistful, and the glimpse of vulnerability tugged at her heart.

“Everybody needs somebody in their corner.”

“How do you like it on Terra Nova? Must be different from Earth.”

She laughed. “Like night and day. It was a bit of a shocker at first.” She still missed the vibrancy, energy, and technology. Like the obsolete tech-tab that had kept cutting out. That wouldn’t have happened on Earth. However, she didn’t regret coming. Not most of the time, anyway. “I’m a city girl at heart. Here, the whole planet is rural—except for the villages. And they’re tiny. About the only similarity between Terra Nova and Earth is that the denizens are humans. I’ve only met a few aliens passing through Willow Wood.” She recalled the Nagarian.

“Like your date?” he asked with a sheepish expression. “I’m sorry—I overheard your half of the conversation.”

“Yes.” Encountering the snake-man had been like her worst nightmare.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a Nagarian,” he said.

“You’d know if you had,” she said.

He laughed. “I suppose so. And you met him through Cosmic Mates. Isn’t that the interplanetary matchmaking service?”

Was that a glint of interest in his eyes? Her heart raced. Wouldn’t it be ironic if, after joining Cosmic Mates, she then met the love of her life by happenstance? Don’t get carried away.

The odds of finding her Mr. Right and getting married dwindled with every passing day. Joining Cosmic Mates had seemed like an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone—find mates for herself and her best friend. Normally, she was not so impetuous, but passing forty still unmarried had upped the urgency. “I wasn’t meeting anybody here or on Earth. Nobody single, I mean.”

He smiled. “Well, now you have.”

Did that mean what it sounded like?

“Would you care to have dinner with me tonight?” he asked.

Her stomach fluttered with excitement, but she kept her voice calm and level. “I would like that.”

“You’ll have to suggest a restaurant. The only one I’ve seen is the café across the street.”

“There’s a nice little bistro with good food and live music. It’s walkable from here.” Everything in the tiny town was walkable.

“Pick you up here at 7 p.m.?”

“Sounds perfect.” After closing, she could run home, shower, put on some makeup, and try on a half dozen outfits before picking the first one.

“There’s one last thing I need to know,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“Your name.” He winked.

“Amity! Amity Landers.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Amity Landers. I’m Marshall Clark.”