Part 20 (1/2)
”A pity she doesn't want you, then,” Far remarked coolly. ”Everyone knows dark twins are too miserable and angry to live with alone. Without a light twin-without me to lighten you up-it would be like Becca resigning herself to having bitter berries for first meal every day for the rest of her life.”
”I don't need you in my life-to lighten me up or do anything else,” Truth growled. ”Becca doesn't either. She-”
The door to the suite they were arguing in front of slid open with a soft whoosh.
”She's not going to choose either of you if you continue to stand here in front of my suite and argue at the top of your lungs,” Sylvan said, frowning at both twins. ”And speaking of twins, my own pair are napping right now. If you wake them you'll have me to answer to.”
”Apologies, Commander Sylvan,” Truth muttered. ”I only wanted to see if Becca was here visiting your spouse.”
”And I wanted to talk to you about something else,” Far put in. ”Something I think may affect the entire Mother s.h.i.+p.”
Sylvan sighed. ”I am sorry to disappoint you but Becca isn't available at the moment. And before you ask, Truth, no, I don't know when she will be. Far,” he said, turning to the light twin. ”I have to be to the Med Station in five minutes but if you care to walk and talk, I'll hear what you have to say.”
”That suits me.” Far turned to walk with Sylvan and Truth watched them leave with a scowl on his face. Finally, he left too, going in the opposite direction.
Inside the suite, a collective sigh of relief came from three separate girls.
”Oh my G.o.d!” a very pregnant Kat exclaimed, fanning herself. ”Seriously, Worst...Twin Kindred...Ever.”
”They are pretty bad,” Sophie admitted, coming back from checking her twins who had been born a month earlier. Kara and Kaleb were sleeping peacefully in the same crib as always. Though they were fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, they always cried if separated. She and Sylvan found it easiest just to let them stay together.
”It's not their fault.” Becca Malone, the girl Truth and Far had been arguing over sighed and put down the baby booties she was knitting. The booties were for Kat's still to be born twins-Becca herself was still untouched. Well, maybe untouched wasn't quite the right word-not after what had happened after she'd eaten a slice of Kat's bonding fruit wedding cake and found herself in dire s.e.xual need. But she still didn't have any worry that she might ”board the baby train” as Kat put it, for which she was profoundly glad.
”How is it not their fault?” Kat demanded. ”They're awful.”
”Not always.” Becca pushed a curly lock of reddish brown hair behind her ear. Her father had been pure blooded Irish and her mother was African American which gave her an exotic beauty. She had creamy light brown skin with freckles across the bridge of her nose and bewitching clear green eyes. With such unusual and lovely looks she might have been a model or an actress but she wasn't. To Becca what mattered was inner beauty, which was why she had been about to take her vows as a nun at the Order of the Pierced Hearts convent in Sarasota, Florida.
Before the incident with the bonding fruit cake and Truth and Far, that was.
Now she found herself in a kind of limbo. She didn't feel ready to take her vows-honestly, she didn't know if she would ever feel ready. But she still wasn't sure she could let go of everything she'd worked so hard for and dedicated her life to.
Only one thing was certain-she wasn't about to start living with two men at once. Becca didn't stand in condemnation of anyone else and she thought her new friend Kat's three-way marriage worked remarkably well. But she had been raised in a strict Catholic household and both her parents had been devastated when she announced that she was putting off taking her vows as a nun. Becca wasn't about to devastate them further by entering into a three-way union.
Not that her unwillingness to be with two men at once was a problem with Truth and Far. They were the only Twin Kindred Becca had ever heard of who had absolutely no interest in being together and sharing a woman. In fact, as far as she knew, the only time they had ever cooperated on anything was when the two of them had found her in the Sacred Grove, half out of her mind with bonding fruit l.u.s.t. They had worked together then in ways that made her blush to remember but it seemed to be a one time thing. As far as Becca could tell they hated each other and couldn't stand to be around each other. Which was a problem since both of them seemed to have fallen in love with her.
”They aren't bad when you talk to them separately,” she said thoughtfully, adding another little st.i.tch to the miniature sock. ”There isn't so much...tension then.”
”Oh?” Kat raised an eyebrow. ”I've never seen them except when they were together and arguing. What are they like one-on-one?”
Becca frowned, concentrating. ”Truth is very intense and very direct-he sees something he wants and he goes right for it. The way he looks at me...it's like he can see me without my clothes.”
”He wishes,” Sophia murmured with a little smile.
”Probably. He, uh...he told me almost immediately that he wanted to bone me.” Becca blushed, her creamy cheeks getting rosy. ”Um, wanted to bond with me, I mean.”
”No, no-” Kat was laughing. ”I think you got it right the first time, doll!”
”And what about Far?” Sophie asked. ”What's he like?”
A soft smile formed on Becca's mouth. ”He's cooler than Truth-a little more standoffish. But once you get to know him, he's got a lot to say. He's very insightful-and very gentle.”
”Sounds like together they would make the perfect man,” Sophie remarked.
”They would,” Kat said, frowning. ”They're supposed to-that's the whole point of Twin Kindred. But to meet a pair that want nothing to do with each other...” She shook her head. ”It's just wrong.”
”It's because they were separated at birth,” Becca said. ”They never met each other until that very day when they also, uh, met me.” She blushed again.
”Well that was my fault, hon and I'm really sorry,” Kat said. ”But you really don't need to blush like that. It sounds to me like you didn't do hardly anything worth blus.h.i.+ng over.”
”She was a nun-or almost a nun,” Sophie pointed out. ”They're not even supposed to think naughty thoughts, let alone...do anything else.”
”You're right, Sophie.” Becca laid down her needles. ”You know, my Mother Superior says everything happens for a reason. I'm still trying to see what the reason is here, though. At first I thought it might have to do with Far's visions. They seem to get clearer and more accurate when he's with me.”
”Like that vision he had of Maggie floating in the pool of blood,” Kat said somberly. ”I still can't believe she's gone.”
”Aren't they still looking for her, though?” Sophie asked anxiously. ”Poor Maggie-I was so worried something would happen to her and then it actually did.”
”The Kindred search team has looked everywhere but she just disappeared. The couple she was supposed to be with-Ferna and Ratner-said she called from a strange location-some spa on one of Yonnie Six's moons. They were supposed to come pick her up but when they got there she was gone. And now they can't find a trace of her anywhere,” Kat said.
”I have my sisters back on Earth praying she's found,” Becca said quietly. ”I think we just have to hold on and in the meantime, I keep hoping and praying Far will have another vision.”
”If these two little guys would ever come out we could do a Seek and Find for her.” Kat patted her rounded belly. ”Too bad Truth and Far aren't seeker finders like Deep and Lock.”
”They might have been-or something like it-if they'd formed a proper bond,” Becca said. ”They still have gifts though, even separately. Far has his visions-which aren't always clear but still...”
”And Truth?” Sophie asked.
”Just like his name says-he can instantly tell someone's true intentions just by touching them. That makes it hard to tell him to back off,” Becca confessed.
”Mmm-hmm, because part of you doesn't want him to. I hear you.” Kat nodded.
”Yes.” Becca was blus.h.i.+ng again. ”But I like Far too. He's easier to be around-at least when you get him talking. When he's around Truth he tends to just clam up.” She shook her head. ”I don't know what to do.”
”Well, don't give up,” Sophie said. ”I know you're confused, Becca, but if there's any chance that Far might have a vision that points us toward Maggie...”
”I know.” Becca nodded. ”I only met her for a minute when she came to apologize about the mixed up signs on the cakes but she seemed like a really sweet girl. She's the reason I'm still hanging around instead of trying to get on with my life down on Earth.”
”I'm sure she would appreciate it if she knew,” Kat said gently. ”It's good of you not to give up on her, Becca.”
Becca looked down at the half finished knitting in her lap. ”I have a lot of people who haven't given up on me. How can I do any less for Maggie?”
”I still believe they'll find her,” Sophie said, but her voice wobbled. ”She has to be somewhere-right?”
”Somewhere, sure,” Kat muttered. ”But I doubt it's anywhere any of us would want to be. I just hope someone will find her and bring her safely home.”
Chapter Twenty.