She doubted it, but it was possible.
Because, in general, the worst case scenario was only the worst until it was put in the shade by the next worst.
As it stood, Connor’s display completely overshadowed the barbarian’s kiss. People hardly even talked about that over her head and behind her back and in front of her face … except when they ran out of material discussing Connor’s behavior.
Or when he looked at them with narrowed eyed threat of mayhem.
He was scary. No doubt about it!
She just wasn’t certain which of the two--males--was scarier.
In their own, completely different ways, she decided, it was actually pretty even.
Thankfully, Ryne and Torr returned with Roque and Terran and their woman, Noely, almost a week later--just about the time the gossip was running out of steam--that time driving a wagon sort of thing being pulled by the ugliest monster any of them had ever seen. It was so alarming, in point of fact, that nobody even noticed the food piled on the wagon just at first.
Because they were focused on the monster and the dozen warriors that dropped out of the sky when the cart stopped at the gates.
Thankfully, apparently, they had been informed that nobody was allowed inside the gates with weapons. They didn’t posture threateningly or bellow. They handed their weapons over very docilely and looked around the colony with interest while they waited for the beast to pull the cart inside.
Connor and his men immediately approached the cart and looked everything over carefully--to be sure it wasn’t a Trojan horse carrying hidden warriors and/or weapons.
They relaxed when they saw that it was just produce--alien and completely unrecognizable--but food. Fresh from the garden.
“We brought food as a gift we hope will promote friendship,” Noely announced to Connor in a voice just loud enough to be heard by people standing close by--not as if she was actually announcing it for everyone’s benefit.
Belle was willing to give her the benefit of doubt.
She might have been a party of one and nobody cared, but she liked what she’d seen and heard from Noely.
Sheseemedsweet.
It was a pretty grand gesture. She was thrilled and she had no clue of what any of it was or would taste like--beyond fresh grown. She got the sense that everyone was pretty happily impressed--a little guarded, but with less tension.
Connor ushered them toward the commissary as he had before--since theystilldidn’t actually have a building of any kind large enough to accommodate a large group other than the food tent.
Belle started looking for Ryne as soon as the alien group began to file inside.
She thought he might have been looking for her, too.
He looked straight at her, at any rate, and the hard look in his expression seemed to soften. It wasn’t really a smile … but it seemed an acknowledgement.
And then Connor stepped between them.
It actually took her a couple of moments to register that someone was blocking her view.
Then Connor’s face came into focus.
She gaped at him for a moment and then took off in a blind panic.
It took her a little bit to find something to do to ‘look busy’--because she couldn’t gather her wits. Fortunately, she found something to occupy herself with until the group disappeared into the commissary.
Then she hit adrenaline drain and felt really weak and faint in the absence.
She didn’t think she’d missed her quarters on the ship quite as much before.
Not that she hadn’t suffered over the lack of any-damned-where for solitude, but that was mostly because she was used to being alone and it was peaceful and the noise around her cut up her peace, made it nearly impossible to focus inwardly.
And, actually, that was the main reason she missed her hab--because she had a really hard time sorting her thoughts and creating order when there was too much external activity and sounds interfering with her focus and also because she absolutely hated being watched, constantly monitored, and having people speculating about what she was thinking. Or what the emotions were that she gave away.
