Free When Sparks Fly by Autumn Dawn

he?”
    “He’s too old for you,” Brandy said.
    “I meant for you. And old? Looked to me like
he was still in pretty good shape. Besides, he put up with your
mouth without losing his temper. Maybe that’s just the kind of guy
you need.”
    Jaq guffawed. Their transport was pulling
back up, and he moved to open the door.
    “I’m trying to protect you and no one is
taking me seriously,” Brandy complained as she slid in.
    “I’m here, aren’t I?” Jaq responded, closing
the door. He gave her a dark look. “Blue tried to be here, too, but
you wouldn’t have him.”
    “I don’t trust him,” she muttered.
    Jaq looked at Gem. “He’s gone out of his way
to help, even though you refuse to pay him.”
    Her eyes widened on learning that the old
man was privy to so much information. She flushed. “I was being
bulldozed, Jaq! I barely know him, and he asked for a fortune. What
was I supposed to do? For that matter, he told me he
was no longer on my payroll.”
    “Man’s got to eat,” Jaq said, settling back
in his seat.
    “He eats,” Brandy remarked. “Jamir is about
to quit over how much he eats. Apparently he’s also got a free room
now, too; conveniently near Gem’s.” She gave Gem a black glare.
    Fed up, Gem glared back. She was tired of
her sister’s recent attitude. “What are you so afraid of? That I
might get a man while you keep chasing them off? Get a life, girl!
I’m not Dad, and I don’t plan to drop dead on you. Even if I were
Dad, you can’t protect me all the time.”
    Brandy crossed her arms and looked out the
window.
    Gem grimaced, regretting her harsh words.
She needed Brandy to back off; she couldn’t deal with the hysterics
right now; but she didn’t want to hurt her sister. She searched for
a peace offering. “Look, we can give him one of the guest rooms to
use as soon as someone clears out. That will get him out of our
suite.”
    “You won’t get him out,” Brandy predicted
grimly. “You weren’t going to let him be your bodyguard, either.
You’ve got putty for a spine where he’s concerned.”
    “I don’t!”
    “Yeah? I’ve seen the way you look at him.
All he has to do is smile and you blush like a teenager. You want him near you.”
    A betraying heat crawled up Gem’s neck.
“That’s not true.”
    But was it?
     
    Determined to prove Brandy wrong, Gem
planned to confront Blue as soon as they got back. They sprinted
into The Spark, coached by Jaq, who swore they ran like a couple of
girls. Disgusted, he turned them over to a tense Blue and resumed
control of his bar.
    “Congratulations,” Blue said coolly, his
expression as hard as quartz. “You’re alive.”
    Brandy glowered at him and took off, likely
headed for the bowels of the inn, to bang around something
fragile.
    “That girl needs to get laid,” Zsak said,
passing by. He was wearing a tool belt and a perturbed
expression.
    “Excuse me?” Gem demanded.
    Zsak held up his hands and kept going,
though he spun and walked backward, dodging tables. “Hey, not by
me. I’m not suffering from cold sheets.” He turned around and
strode off. Gem barely caught his muttered, “Besides, she’d freeze
it off.”
    Gem opened her mouth, but Zsak was already
gone. Frustrated, she turned her attention to Blue. “We need to
talk,” she said.
    She walked toward her office, but halted
when she realized he wasn’t keeping pace. A glance showed he was
following, walking with the same control he seemed to be exerting
over his expression.
    Straightening her spine, Gem entered her
office and motioned for him to close the door. She glanced at the
log of visitors. “We’ve got a guest moving out this afternoon. You
can move your equipment to that room.”
    “Why?” he asked. His stern face and bright
eyes were making her nervous.
    “We need our privacy. Besides, Brandy and I
have reputations to maintain. We don’t bring men to our rooms, and
they don’t stay overnight. You can’t be seen coming and going