Free Desire Disguised by Lynn Rae Page B

reassigned to a very prestigious project a few weeks after arriving. She probably had her vacation planned to the nanosecond with at least four contingency plans every step of the way.
    “Everything is going very well here. Clare is babbling and rolling. You have to see her, she’s so fat!” Lia laughed and called over her shoulder to her partner Colan to bring the baby. Ben hadn’t been surprised to learn Lia was pregnant soon after arriving on Weave to oversee the Herald project. She’d started a torrid affair with a local almost as soon as she’d arrived on Gamaliel, and the man had followed her to Weave when she had to leave. Colan appeared in the frame carrying a plump baby with a white cap on her head. She gurgled and kicked her legs when she saw her mother, and Lia scooped her up with extravagant kisses. Colan leaned down and gave the vid lens a wave.
    “Hey, Zash. Take care of Lia while she’s there.” The other man sauntered away after handing over a cloth to Lia. Colan was a man of few words but steady in a crisis.
    “Here she is, the best baby on Weave. Say hello to Bendix Zashi, Clare.” Lia took one tiny chubby hand and waved it at him, and Ben found himself waving back. Lia looked happy; family life agreed with her. Several times over the course of their friendship, he’d been asked why he hadn’t partnered up with her, and his response was always the same. Lia would have micromanaged him to distraction. The baby gave a squeal and tried to fall headfirst into the table in front of her. Lia caught her automatically, and Colan’s arms reached in and snatched her away. He heard some indistinct soothing words, and Lia again focused on the screen.
    “So, I’ll be there on flight two ninety-one. I’ve arranged guest quarters but was hoping you could free up some time to play baccio with me. Maybe we can pull an all-nighter like we used to. I’ve gotten used to going on less sleep because of Clare and Colan.” She smiled widely. “It’s going to be good seeing how the settlement has progressed since I’ve been gone. And Colan doesn’t want me to make jumps when I get pregnant again, so this will be it for at least another year.”
    Ben sat back at that bit of news. Another baby? It seemed as if Clare had just been born. Family life really was agreeing with them.
    “See you soon, Zash. We can talk about your prospects for babies when I get there. Flight two ninety-one.” With that last little reminder, Lia powered off the vid and disappeared. The next message in the queue flashed up, and he left it unopened as he ate another bite of sandwich. It wasn’t very good; just some bland hummus on stale bread. Babies indeed. As if he had time for one of those or to initiate a relationship with a woman in order to progress to such a thing. At least the beer tasted good. It helped wash down the last of the sandwich.
    He decided to view his messages from his mother and brother another time. They’d both be filled with the same gossip, and he was uninterested in paying enough attention to craft an appropriate response to either of them. He leaned his head back against the sofa and wondered if he was relaxed enough to fall asleep.
    His door pinged, and he sat up. A quick glance at his datpad showed there were no new messages about anything urgent, so no one was here to collect him for duty. Sighing, he put down his beer and stood up with a careful stretch of his shoulders. He’d gotten roughed up in the altercation on the street earlier and old injuries were stiffening. A hot shower would do wonders to loosen him up and make him sleepy.
    He checked the door display and was surprised to see the Belascos waiting there. Cara faced her brother and listened intently to whatever he was saying. He opened the door, and she turned to face him, the tender smile she’d given her brother flickering away to something much more tentative when she saw him. They were both carrying covered containers and were in