Page 45 of Smuggler's Beauty

Evelyn wokeup in her own bed. Her eyes opened, slim slits glaring at the sun-brightened room. She was about to ask L.I.N.D.A. why the lights were blaring before she remembered she wasn’t sleeping in the comfort of a guest cabin on theRising Dawn, but in her own bed in Nevada.

She’d bought the house before this planet had electronic household management tools. Clearly Corrie hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she’d left it as it was. Grumbling, Evelyn stretched and lurched towards the blinds, fumbling with the strings to make the slats flip up enough to block the sun from entering her room. Light streamed around the perimeter of the blinds, refusing to stop the assault of sunshine.

Admitting defeat, Evelyn trudged to her bathroom to attend to bodily needs. Brushing her teeth perked her up a little, but when she returned to the room, she couldn’t help the pang of loss she felt at not being greeted with a domed plate covered in sliced fruit.

That must be a record. Spoiled in what, four days?

Resigned to the reality that she must feed herself, Evelyn changed into a soft band tee and jeans with a surprising amountof spandex in the cotton blend. She shoved the communicator in her back pocket. Communication before caffeine was probably a bad idea.

The house was silent as she made her way to the kitchen. Evelyn didn’t know when she’d grown accustomed to the bustling nature of the crew on theRising Dawn, but their absence was another sharp stab in her chest.

There was no coffee in the cabinet.Missed one trick, Corrie.Instead, she chucked a third of the cherries into a colander, rinsed them, and methodically pitted the fruit into the trash can under the sink. The tool dripped with juice by the end, her hands sticky and dyed red. By the time she was done, a small bowl of cherries sat on the counter, lacking the charm Aidan would have given it, she was sure. She wondered how he would arrange such a round fruit.

Probably skewers?

She took the bowl to the sofa and plopped down into her favored seat. Evelyn demolished the small mountain of fruit as she tried to motivate herself for the day ahead. Her butt vibrated. She fished the communicator out of her back pocket, resigned to answering messages before she had coffee.

She had messages from Corrie and Aiden, but also from ID codes she quickly realized belonged to Nannette and Veronique. She wasn’t expecting those. She clicked through her inbox. Corrie’s message said that she would be arriving in about an hour. Evelyn checked the time it was sent. Great. Corrie would be arriving in about fifteen minutes. She absolutely couldn’t fit in any meaningful distraction in fifteen minutes. Crap.

She checked the messages from the others. Nannette wanted to know if she’d removed the key from the rock, as she considered it abysmal security practice.

But then how will you visit me?

she sent back. Veronique wanted to know if she’d had breakfast. Evelyn sent a picture of her nearly empty cherry bowl. Aiden’s message was more cryptic.

Hot or cold?

Evelyn was too scattered to figure that out.

I am currently in search of my cardigan.

There. That was an answer.

She shoved the last few cherries into her mouth and put the bowl in the sink next to the sticky pitter. Where did she leave her cardigan? She went back to her bedroom and found it draped over the chair tucked under her desk. Reveling in the soft wool, she pulled it on, then fished socks out of a drawer. Bare feet with a bunch of people in the house felt too intimate for the conversation they were about to have. She found the boots she’d worn yesterday and slipped those on after the socks, patting the knife in the sheath. Unnecessary for today, but it gave her a boost to know that she was ready and willing to defend herself.

Three firm knocks on the door announced the arrival of her company. Evelyn opened the door to find Corrie standing to one side of the threshold, two Bankers Boxes under her chin. A stack of additional boxes sat next to her on the ground. Aiden and the rest of the crew were trailing up from the drive.

“When it rains, it pours,” Evelyn said, standing to the side to let them in. “How did you even manage to knock?”

“I kicked the door,” Corrie said. She dropped her boxes on the coffee table before turning around to get the ones left outside.

“Very efficient.”

Nannette handed her the key from under the rock. “I will knock, like a fucking civilized person.”

“That’s very fair. And sensible. I concede.” Evelyn tucked the key into the pocket of her jeans.

Cairn darted around Elenor and Lillian to give Evelyn a crushing hug. “Of all the places on Earth to hide out and read books, you would pick Vegas,” he said, gesturing outside of the house.

“She’s a humble land,” Evelyn said. “You know I like the quiet life.”

The rest of the crew filed in, greeting her with hugs and pats and cheek kisses.

Veronique waved a bag of what smelled like breakfast sandwiches and headed for the kitchen for plates. “Your all fruit diet is absurd.”

“It’s not all fruit,” Evelyn said, resting a hand on her hip. “Caffeine is a major aspect of my nutritional plan.”

Aiden offered her a travel cup of coffee. “Hot. Hi.”