Page 30 of Kranow (Brides of the Mylos #4)

Kranow watched his bride as she laughed with her friends, frolicking in the gentle surf that teased at their feet.

The Commander stood next him, a faint smile playing about hips lips. That smile was replaced by a frown as he received a message on his kunnarskyn. Reading it, Gundar clapped a hand to Kranow ’ s shoulder and said, “ We need to speak. ” Kranow wasn ’ t surprised to note that Sachuu stood watching them and appeared to be waiting, having obviously received the same message as the commander.

Sachuu met them halfway as they crossed the sand towards him. “ Come, let us walk. It will look less disruptive, ” he said, passing them each a can of soda. The three males opened their cans and took sips, taking care to relax their shoulders. They began meandering along the edge of the dunes. To anyone watching, they appeared to be exploring the beach and chatting.

“ I presume you received the results, ” Sachuu asked Gundar. Kranow did not need to ask what was being testing.

“ Indeed. The question before us remains why, however. ” Gundar leveled a look at Kranow. “ Results of the blast indicate that the device was set by Jackie O ’ Hannigan ’ s personal assistant. ”

“ The talk show host ’ s personal assistant? ” Kranow ’ s brow furrowed. “ I don ’ t understand. ”

“ Neither do we, as yet. But we will, ” Sachuu said grimly. “ Say nothing for now. They are in critical condition, so we are unable to question them. But we can observe O ’ Hannigan herself. If the assistant did this on her orders, we ’ ll find out soon enough. ”

“ In the meantime, act as if nothing has been revealed. In fact, I want it put out that the DNA results were unclear, but that it was discernible that the perpetrator was male. That should clear your bride from any further unwarranted accusations. The security detail will continue though as it ’ s part of the agreement we made with the human authorities. Enjoy your honeymoon. ”

Kranow nodded. He knew that the cover story would be enough to lift most of the cloud from his bride ’ s shoulders. The rest would come in short order. Now was the time for celebration. He turned and watched the evening sun play upon her face and hair. He smiled as she held one of Melissa ’ s twin son ’ s hands, Jack he thought it was, while Melissa held the other. The child shrieked with laughter as they swung him in and out of the surf. Darla sat upon the sand, helping Maisie build a sandcastle while Lapresh napped in a shaded baby seat. One day, we shall play with our own young like that.

Kranow took another sip of his beverage, only now fully tasting it. He glanced at the can. Dr. Pepper. Was this a medicinal drink? He did not know, but knew that if it was in the cooler, then it had been thoroughly approved as safe for both humans and Mylos. He took another sip. “ Do we have this available onboard? ” he asked, indicating the beverage.

“ We do, though you have to synthesize it. The AI has the formula stored in the patterns index as we ’ ve licensed it. Darla had me arrange to license yet another variety of cola as well, along with something called a Moon Pie. She claimed it was ‘ practically illegal ’ to eat a Moon Pie without drinking RC Cola with it. ”

“ Moon Pie? ” asked Sachuu.

“ A type of giant cookie covered in chocolate or that yellow tropical fruit, ah, nanana or some such thing, with marshmallow in the middle. ”

“ Ah, yes, the brides seem most enamored with the marshmallow things, I believe, ” Sachuu nodded.

“ I must admit, they are nice in the heated chocolate beverage, especially with the whipped fatty milk component added as part of the dressing, ” Gundar said.

Kranow nodded. “ That is indeed most pleasant. My mate has prepared it for us before. ”

Sachuu nodded. “ I will take note of this, should I ever be matched with a human bride, I can please her with this as an offering. ”

“ They also love to receive cut flowers, ” Gundar supplied.

“ And foot and back rubs, ” Kranow added. Sachuu duly noted these down in his kunnarskyn.

“ Hey, you guys want to help me start packing up? Since my other half is on duty helping with critical repairs and all, it ’ s just me and the girls, and they are on kid duty right now, ” Steven called out, approaching the three males.

“ Certainly, ” Sachuu said and his two companions muttered in agreement.

“ It is a pity he was needed for such a reason, ” Gundar commented as he emptied the now cold ashes from the barbecue into a trash can.

“ It is, but once the repairs are done, he ’ s getting a week off. We ’ re planning on another little family vacay to Disneyland Paris. Three days doing Disney and another two or three visiting museums and sightseeing, plus one just chilling at the resort, enjoying the pool. ”

“ That sounds nice, ” Darla said, placing Lapresh ’ s seat on a nearby picnic table. The infant watched the cleaning activities wide-eyed. “ Maisie, honey, can you pick up the paper plates and napkins and things and put them in the trash? ”

“ Yes! I can be a big help! ” the child chirped and scampered off excitedly to begin.

Darla reached for a plastic bag and began crushing empty drink cans and placing them inside. “ Melissa said there was a recycling drop off point not far from here. We can take these there when we leave. ”

“ That is a sound plan. I am surprised they do not have separate facilities here at the beach for persons to leave reclaimable waste. Surely the canned and bottled beverages are usual picnic items? I was under that impression. ”

“ You ’ re not mistaken, ” Darla grinned. “ It ’ s a local thing, where you have to have people from the city, and county an all that all decide to do it and then how they wanna go about it. Ends up a bit higgledy piggledy. ”

The three males blinked at her, taking the time to parse what she ’ d said and deduce the meaning. Steven snorted in amusement, watching them. Soon, everything was cleared up, sand had been rinsed from skin and beach toys, and tired but happy children were strapped into the cars that were to ferry them back to the shuttle point.

Darla, Melissa, and Steven took turns giving Marley a hug. “ Have a great time! See you soon! ” Darla said.

“ Make sure to take pictures and send them! The island in Scotland sounds fantastic! ” Melissa gushed.

“ Don ’ t do anything I wouldn ’ t do, ” Steven said, waggling his eyebrows.

Marley laughed at their antics. “ See you all soon, ” she said, and got into the back of the SUV with Kranow, ready to go to their B and B with their security escort. “ Home, James! ” she called out gaily as she fastened her seatbelt. The security officer acting as their driver met her gaze through the rearview mirror.

“ Surely you wish to go to your honeymoon lodgings, and not to the ship? ” he asked in surprise.

“ Uh, yeah, that ’ s what I meant, ” she said, giggling at his consternation. “ That was an expression, kind of a joke. ”

“ Oh, ” the male replied. “ Well, my name is Yartle, not James. Thank you for inviting us to your barbecue. The food was excellent. ”

“ It ’ s nice to meet you, Yartle, ” she answered, lips twitching as she tried to contain her laughter. Kranow glanced at her knowingly.

“ We are pleased to have been able to share our celebration with you and to make your acquaintance, ” he supplied.

With that, Marley was lost to her laughter. Looking at each other perplexed, the two security officers in the front shrugged at each other before Yartle started the car and drove off.