Free The Dark Places by D. Martin Page A

panicked
inquiries when he experienced bad spells, except to turn his head away. I
wanted to wrap him in my arms, but remembered in time that he disliked me
fussing over him whenever his unknown malady overcame him.
    I lifted his tight-knotted fist
from the armrest near me on the right. The second chair was on his other side,
leaving the deck unoccupied where I stood. I settled on the carpet, leaning
against his knee while cradling his cold hand between my warm ones.
    I avoided mentioning
Dearleth and how I’d left without my parents’ good wishes or permission after
one too many loud, ugly arguments with them and our large extended family after
they tried pressuring me into an arranged marriage. In truth, I’d decided it
was time to leave after dodging a big hot bowl of curried dal— followed by naan bread—all flung by my mother during one heated row. Their prospective choice
had wanted to buy a bride, and my family had their sights set on the bride price
he’d offered. And besides, he’d staked out a claim that seemed promising for
turning up some rare mineral deposits. My family calculated they’d also have claims
on the proceeds—through me.
    Letting my memory cast back eight
months ago, I talked instead about the early days of my arrival on Harnaru,
with my few worldly possessions stuffed inside two flight cases and big dreams
in my foolish heart.
    Then I told him how I’d lost hope
in Marnu and had gone searching for work. There hadn’t been any until I’d
shuffled past a bar called the Lilith and seen the hiring sign. I’d never
bartended before, and big, blustery Harry gave me doubts. But he’d taken a
chance and hired me on for the late-afternoon and evening shifts.
    I fell silent when his hand at last
grew warm and relaxed in my hold. I glanced up to find his stare intent upon
me.
    “You didn’t tell me why you left
Dearleth, Kailiri,” he reminded me as he drew me up to settle on his lap. The
strength in his arms belied the weakness he’d fought minutes before.
    Evasion
tactics time again . Instead of my usual hostility about that subject, I
gave him a cheeky grin. “You wish for me to talk of a past I have no desire to
speak of either, Matt Lorins, but I’ll tell you: I left Dearleth because no one
cared if I stayed or went. They wanted me out.”
    That part rankled the most. My parents’ other motive
behind bargaining me off to that isolated miner was fueled by a plan to oust me
from our underground city’s residence unit. They’d wanted an elderly aunt to
take over my tiny bedroom. Occupancy space had been restricted and closely
allotted in the mining colony’s environment-controlled communities, and old
Aunt Agnes had a much bigger pension than my part-time librarian job paid.
    “My family wasn’t close-knit. No
cozy, warm fuzzies there for one another. We despised one another in point.
There was nothing on Dearleth except ice, frigid winds, dead hopes, and
ice-hearted people. I’m not certain if it’s the ice of Dearleth that gets into
people’s veins there, or if coldhearted people were naturally drawn to the
planet. And everyone there is deadlocked into the cultural traditions that they
brought with them from Old Terran….” I puffed out a sigh. “I had to leave
before the same thing happened to me that was changing everyone around me. I
wanted to keep my heart and hopes alive and warm for someone special.”
    My face heated as I realized what
I’d just said. Although I’d fallen over love’s precipice with Matt fourteen
days ago, he’d never revealed his true feelings regarding me, beyond that
imprinting matter and our physical attraction. Hoping he hadn’t noticed, I
covered over my embarrassment with bitter laughter. “ Dearleth! The name’s all wrong.
It should be Heartless ,” I added in
derision.
    My rueful laughter stopped when
Matt’s arms tensed about me. I hoped he didn’t think I was unhinged, but I
hadn’t realized so much bitterness lay bottled up in me