Torri smiled as she remembered Nana’s words and served Vic a plate heaped with fluffy pancakes covered in cinnamon apples with crispy bacon on the side.
He took a bite of bacon and closed his eyes in delight.
“Torri, this is delicious!” he murmured, when he finished chewing.
“Thank you. Try the pancakes,” she suggested.
Vic tried a bite of the cinnamon apple pancakes and moaned happily.
“So good! And so different from the food they served us in St. Elizabeth’s,” he remarked.
“The stuff they served there was barely food,” Torri agreed.
“It wasn’t very good,” Vic admitted. “I thought all Earth food was like that.”
“Well, now you know differently.” She grinned. “Dig in—we have a big day.”
Vic nodded and ate eagerly, having seconds of everything, which did Torri’s heart good, especially when he asked for more of Nana’s cinnamon apples.
“You say your grandmother made these herself?” he asked, taking another bite of the apples to savor them.
Torri nodded.
“She always picked and canned all her own fruit and vegetables. She…she already had cancer when she made these,” she added, swiping away a tear. “She knew she would never get to eat them, but she told me to think of her whenever I tasted them.”
“Then they are doubly special,” Vic said solemnly. “Torri, part of my function as a scout is to bring back samples of a new planet’s culture and food. Do you think we could bring some of your grandmother’s cinnamon apples for the Kindred High Council to try?”
Torri laughed through her tears.
“I’m sure Nana would have been honored to have her preserves be part of a first contact with an alien race. She loved science fiction, you know? Star Trek was her favorite—she had such a crush on Captain Kirk.”
“I think I know the Earth vid you are talking about,” Vic remarked. “Most of the Kindred were hoping to meet humans that had a temperament more like Mr. Spock.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble,” Torri said dryly as she got up to clear the table. “But I’m afraid humans aren’t exactly the most logical creatures.”
“No, but they are intriguing.” Vic got up as well. Torri was standing at the sink and he put his arms around her from behind, giving her a warm hug.
“Intriguing, huh?” Torri turned her head and smiled up at him, loving the way she felt so protected and surrounded with his big, hard body so close to hers.
“Mmm-hmm,” Vic murmured. “As well as beautiful, intelligent, caring, and completely irresistible.” Leaning down, he brushed her hair aside and kissed her neck gently.
Torri moaned softly. Her neck had always been an erogenous zone for her and the big Kindred’s hot mouth on her skin sent sparks of pleasure through her whole body.
“If you start that we’ll never get out of here,” she told him breathlessly.
“I know—I’m sorry.” Vic drew back and she saw that his brow was furrowed and his deep blue eyes were filled with sadness. “I just wanted to touch you again—to hold you.”
“Oh, Vic…” Torri put down the dishes and put her arms around his waist. He was so big it was a little like hugging a mountain of muscle but actually, she really liked their size difference—it made her feel small and protected.
How had she become so attached to him so quickly, she wondered? They had really only known each other a week. How was it that he felt like a missing piece of her heart?
“I’m going to miss you so much,” she murmured, cuddling close to him and breathing in his warm scent. “I hate the idea of losing you.”
“I hate it too,” Vic murmured, stroking her hair. “For the first time I find myself reluctant to complete my mission and go back into stasis.”
Torri sighed.
“If it wasn’t for the fact that the Scourge are on the way, I’d ask you to forget your mission and just stay with me. But I guess that would be pretty selfish, wouldn’t it?”
“The fate of your planet hangs in the balance,” Vic agreed seriously. “The Scourge are a predatory species. If we don’t bring the Mother Ship before they get here, they will strip your planet of resources and kill or enslave all the inhabitants.”
“Ugh!” Torri shivered. “I guess we’d better get going then.” She sighed again. “Let me just finish the dishes—Nana would skin me alive if I left her kitchen dirty.” She smiled sadly. “And then I’ll pack a few jars of her cinnamon apples as a peace offering for the Kindred. Let’s hope your High Council likes them as much as you do.”
“I think the other Kindred are going to like Earth and the many things it has to offer very much,” Vic murmured, stroking her cheek gently. Leaning down, he gave her a brief, sweet kiss. “Come on—I’ll help you clean up and then we have to leave.”
Thirty-Six
The trip from Nana’s cabin to where Vic had left his ship should only take an hour, according to him. Torri sighed as they rode through the brilliant Autumn sunshine. It was the height of leaf season now and the high mountain passes were a riot of colors—gold and crimson and vermillion leaves covering everything.
They were alone for most of the trip, only passing a few cars headed in the opposite direction as they climbed higher and higher into the Blue Ridge. Then, just as Torri was beginning to think that they would make a clean get-away, a police car came zooming up behind them.
“Uh-oh…” Torri cast a glance over her shoulder. They were still in O’Toole’s truck—if his body had been discovered, which it probably had by now—the police would be looking for his vehicle.
“Is there a problem?” Vic asked. He glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. “It looks like the human authorities have found us.”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Torri said hopefully. “Maybe he just happened to come up behind us and he’ll leave us alone.”
But a moment later, the police cruiser’s lights flipped on and its siren began to wail.
“I don’t think they’re going to leave us alone,” Vic said grimly.
“What are we going to do?” Torri felt sick. “We can’t let them stop us! You said yourself if the Scourge arrive before we can get your people to come help, the Earth is toast!”
“I don’t suppose the authorities would listen if we tried to explain?” Vic asked.
Torri snorted.
“That would be a big, fat ‘No.’ Why do you think I got committed to St. Elizabeth’s in the first place? Because I told Chuck that I was having dreams about aliens coming to conquer the Earth. People on Earth might like science fiction but there’s a heavy emphasis on the fiction part. Nobody is going to believe us if we tell them we have to leave Earth to go get the good aliens to fight the bad ones who are coming to invade.”
“Then we will have to evade them,” Vic said grimly.
“But how?” Torri asked. “Can you camouflage us both so the truck looks empty?” she asked hopefully.
He shook his head. “I wish I could, but I can only change my own appearance. The spot where my ship is parked is just up ahead. I will pull this vehicle in right beside it and distract them. You must do your best to exit this vehicle and enter the ship.”