Page 11 of I Dated a Holiday Hero (Blind Date Corporation #19)

K eera woke in Worro’s arms, where they were sleeping on the couch, and she jolted as the knock on the door repeated.

Worro unwrapped himself from her and walked to the door, scowling. “What?”

“Oh, good. You are together. This will be easier, then.” The woman, made of silvery shadows, walked in and took a seat at the kitchen table.

Keera felt so much familiarity with the woman. “Do I know you?”

“I am four years younger than you and have been trying to push you into places you need to be since we were little, Keeks.” The shadows flared and flickered. “I was the second important person to leave your life. Our mother left first when I arrived.”

“Cloud?”

“Yes, dearling. Now, Zera called me to help you two. Mistakes were made all the way along this disaster, but if you and Worro would like, I can smooth the edges of the hurt. Basically, it will share your emotions on either side, and you will each see through the other’s eyes.”

Worro blinked. “Keera? I will if you will.”

Keera rubbed her face. “What? Sure.”

“Great, this is best done with a sleeping mind and an empty stomach. Sit down.” Cloud turned her smoky tendrils around and said, “Yeah. Either side of me, hold hands. I don’t need you to touch me. I do all the work.”

Keera asked, “Why are you doing this?”

“Because Zera called me and paid me a shit ton of money. And there is no better minder than me.” Cloud chuckled. “I am very good at what I do. I am very angry that they didn’t call me when you were attacked, but that was then, and this is now.”

The tendrils turned from Keera to Worro. “Are you both sure that you want the other, but only the circumstances are in the way?”

Keera looked to Worro, and he reached his hands to her. “Yeah, we are.”

“Cool. Invite me to the wedding. I like cake.” Cloud chuckled and then sobered.

“I am going to walk you through the situation and the treatment. This is not what I would normally engage in, but it is what it is. We are going to go through your lives, and at any and every stress point, you are allowed to comfort and support each other. Every. Stress point.”

Keera blinked. “Oh.” She watched as Cloud’s tendrils rose in the air, shifting and moving, pointing at them in a deadly display.

Worro nodded. “I want to be there, even if I couldn’t be.”

Keera looked at him and nodded. “Me, too.”

“Well, then, let’s get you two under before my ex shows up.” Cloud chuckled. The tendrils became mist.

Keera felt wrapped in supportive warmth, and Worro’s gaze was on hers. They were wrapped in mist, and then they were falling. She held Worro’s hands as they fell into the past. He was with her this time, and they started at the beginning.

* * * *

C loud got up and made herself some coffee. They were going all the way back to the underwater cavern where Keera had been born and her mother had been contained.

They went through all of it, including the Hyreno male who fathered Cloud, coming in one day and never again.

Cloud still had to beat the hell out of him.

He was on her list, but first, Keera had to get stable.

She was dangerous now, and Worro was depressed.

Zera was right to have called her in, but she still owed Cloud one in addition to the half a million that she was charging the head of Z-Corp.

Cloud remained with them for the hours that it took for them to work through their traumas together. They had been there for every stressful moment in their partner’s life, knowing they couldn’t fix it, but they could be there.

She had a fresh pot of coffee, water, lemonade, and some hot chocolate for them. They were going to need fluids, and she wanted to be ready.

Keera slowly sat up and blinked, tears flowed, and Worro did the same. They walked around the table and came together.

Cloud smiled and kept her mist around her. “Right. You need to hydrate.”

Worro nodded and kept rubbing Keera’s back. “We will. In a minute.”

Keera chuckled and held on.

Cloud knew what Worro had done. Instead of railing or shouting when the attack came, he knelt next to her, counting the minutes until he would be at her side. He saw his actions through her eyes and understood that in that moment, she needed him, not his rage.

Cloud nodded. They were good together. Keera now understood that Worro had been going through rut, and since she wasn’t there to help him, he had been forced to seek partners for a single encounter. One per year.

The fact that he identified those moments as points of stress indicated that they were not completely voluntary.

He was a good match for Keera, but they had been complicated by circumstance.

Now they were both on the same page and super supportive of each other.

It was sweet. The little tidbit that he had had a vasectomy after his breakdown had helped.

“I am not leaving your side again.”

“Dude, I pee alone. Respect the privacy.” She mumbled it against his chest.

He chuckled and leaned back to have a chance to kiss her. She smiled, and their lips met.

Cloud remained with her coffee and slowly pulled the dreaming away from them. It was easy. They found reality far more enticing than memory. It was nice to see.

Cloud said softly, “You can make out all you like when I am gone. It is still Sunday, and you have the whole day to play with each other. Wait. That sounded wrong.”

They chucked and smiled at her, in perfect sync for that moment.

Keera said softly, “Are you going to disappear again?”

“Not for a while. I just have to dodge my ex, and all is going to be well.”

Keera stared at her. “You have an ex?”

“Yeah. I am twenty-six, Keeks. I am capable of making my own bad decisions.” She kept her concealing mist around her.

Keera smiled and said, “What is with the beverage buffet?”

“I have to make sure that I didn’t knock out your swallowing reflex.

Both of you. Pick something and drink.” She waited, and they obediently grabbed a beverage and drank.

When they had swallowed and looked at each other in relief, Cloud cackled.

“You guys were in there for four hours. You were dehydrated. Yeesh. You are gullible. Have a good day.”

Cloud turned toward the door and was surprised by Keera’s hug. Keera was surprised as well. She let go like Cloud was on fire.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, well, he’s an ex for a reason. I have unblocked my name from your com. Call when you like.” Cloud patted Keera’s cheek but kept her shadows around her.

She sighed happily and left, knowing all was right for that moment. She got onto her own cycle and revved the engine, put on her helmet, and kept her cloud around her body as she drove back to the city.

* * * *

K eera blinked at what she had felt. Cloud was hiding it, so she didn’t want to tell Worro what she had hugged.

“Are you all right?”

Keera smiled and walked back into his arms. “I am fine. She... I haven’t seen her since after the accident. She was on one of my therapy teams. I hadn’t seen her for twelve years before that.”

“She’s powerful.”

“Yes. Our mother was powerful as well, but she died alone with a baby in her arms and four-year old me at her side.”

“What did you do?”

“I turned into a mermaid from one of my mom’s books, and I swam to a nearby island and got formula and bottles. Mom had told me what was needed, and I took care of her.”

He blinked. “Right. I saw that. You helped her walk, swim, and she’s full Hyreno?”

“Yes. Well, she looks like our mother.”

“Who do you look like?”

“Our father. Yes, same guy twice.”

“Damn. Hyreno?”

“Yes. His body was purple with blue striping.”

“And your mother tried to get away from him.”

She shivered. “Yes. She ordered me to hide.”

“Cloud knows who he is?”

“Yes, she and Mom had a mind link. Everything Mom knew, Cloud knew.”

“A heavy weight for a child.”

“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “So, do you want to grab something to drink and go sit on the swing?”

Worro nodded. “That sounds like just the thing. How wide is the swing again?”

“I am not ready for much more, Worro.”

“I know, but feeling you sleeping next to me was enough to satisfy my need for contact. So, can I entice you to come live at my place? You can sit on a workbench and analyze the cost expenditures for my materials.”

She smiled. “You shape things with your fingers.”

“Yes, I do. I also remember where the important things are.”

Keera laughed. “I am sure my family will be delighted to hear it.”

“I will have to make your brother something special for the holiday. How old is he now?”

“Ten and a bit.”

“Fun age.”

“Hever’s going to make him a voice-activated robot.”

He laughed. “So, the bar is pretty high.”

“You could help sculpt it into something more aesthetic.”

“So can Krix.”

“Good point. We will have to brainstorm some ideas.”

She smiled. “I am good for that.”

“Maybe dinner, tomorrow after work?”

“Yup, but for now, a nap with hot cocoa as we watch the waves.”

He nodded. “You bring the hot cocoa; I am going to make some alterations out there.”

She chuckled and followed him, watching as he took the chairs, changed their shape, and created a low mattress out of the cushions. He pulled one edge up so they could sit on the couch and see the ocean.

He smiled. “Good enough?”

“It’s lovely.”

He took the cocoa, lifted her, and set her down so he had enough room to curl around her.

She laughed as one of his dark-red locks slid over her shoulder, but their heartbeats synced again.

It felt so right that she sniffled a little, and he grabbed the hot cocoa, finding the one with the most marshmallows and giving it to her.

She grinned. “You remembered.”

“You like things sweet enough to hurt my teeth.”

She sipped at the sweet sludge at the top of the drink before she put it down and turned in his arms. “So, do you think this hurts your teeth?”