Free Storm of Arranon Fire and Ice by Robynn Sheahan Page B

something to
help you sleep.”
    Erynn jerked her attention to Nev who had
slid onto the seat next to her. She ran her fingers up and down the
bottle, wiping at the drops of condensation and melting ice
crystals. “I’m not trying to sleep.” She stared at the water
trailing into her palm.
    “What are you trying to do?” His voice
invited her to talk and share her pain with him.
    She didn’t. She sighed and signaled to the
bartender.
    “Is it the dreams?” Nev watched her face.
    Erynn glared at him. “What do you know about
my dreams?”
    “I’m the senior medical officer here. It’s my
job to know what may affect a pilot’s, or any other personnel’s,
abilities. Cale told me about your visions, your dreams. Like he
told me of his. He trusts me. I wish you would.”
    “It’s not that easy for me.”
    Nev turned away. “I understand.”
    The bartender set two bottles on the
counter.
    Erynn glanced at him and smiled.
“Thanks.”
    “It must have been hard for you growing up,
never able to talk to anyone about—things.”
    “I had my dad,” she snapped.
    But not any more .
    She gritted her teeth against the grief and
stared at the dark wooden counter.
    Nev took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I don’t know how to help you, Erynn. And I want to.”
    “I’m fine,” she said through clenched
jaws.
    “You keep saying that, and yet here you sit,
getting drunk.”
    She spun in her chair and glared at him. “I
am not.” Only her head kept spinning, going round and round. She
reached to the edge of the counter, missed, and slid forward.
    Nev reached, putting his hand out to catch
her. “Sure, you’re fine.”
    She pushed away. “I am…” She never finished.
The tears choked out her voice.
    He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her
into him, and steadied her. “Let it out, Erynn. It’s okay. It’s
okay.” He held her for a while, letting her get the tears out of
her system.
    Erynn pulled away, squeezing back her sorrow,
her eyes dry. “Sorry. I should get back to my quarters.”
    “I’ll walk you,” Nev said, standing. “And you
have nothing to be sorry about.”

Chapter 8
     
     
    ERYNN MADE HER WAY TO the Medical Unit the
next morning. The man behind the desk gestured her in without
question, opening the doors behind him. People dressed in pale blue
jumpsuits walked with purpose across the clean white space. Some
carried trays of food, the bright overhead lights glinting off
shining forks and spoons. Others, smiles on their faces as they
entered cubicles and greeted patients, held medical instruments or
small computers.
    She edged around the open door to Nev’s
office and stood leaning against the frame, watching him. He
studied the screen before him on his desk with intense
concentration, eyes narrowed, mouth turned down. The fingers of his
right hand lay calmly on the one clear spot of the cluttered
surface.
    Nev was all light and open sky, so different
from Jaer’s dark lines and quiet power. Jaer wore his emotions on
his face and expressed them through his body language, rarely
speaking his sentiments aloud. Nev voiced his thoughts and
feelings. She always knew what was on Nev’s mind. There was no
mystery about him.
    Erynn frowned.
    Have I ever sensed Nev’s emotions ?
    She opened the tunnel of light, fixed the
beam outward, and…
    Nothing .
    Zander’s words came back to her.
“ Sometimes nothing is all there is. Sometimes, nothing is a good
thing .”
    She turned her face to the open hall. A
slight woman with long golden-brown hair in a snug fitting pale
blue jumpsuit walked toward her. Happiness flowed from the woman,
showering Erynn like warm, gentle rain. The woman continued to the
other end of the corridor, humming. Erynn dropped her gaze and
grinned, glancing back to Nev.
    He watched her. That crooked smile lit up his
blue eyes and spread across his features.
    She didn’t need to read his emotions to know
what he felt. He was glad to see her.
    Erynn straightened.