“Just saying.”
She blinked a few times. “Now that you know that your people might be around, are you gonna go look for them? Your people? Your family?”
“Why the fuck would I bother?” James patted his chest. “Whispy Doom is useful, but he’s kind of a bloodthirsty asshole. I don’t know if my people are the kind of folks I even want to know. And as for family, some aliens I’ve never met aren’t my family. Fuck that. It’s people like you, Alison, Father McCartney, Trey, and Mack.” He shook his head. “I don’t give a shit about the past anymore. I only care about the future.”
Shay smiled warmly. “Lately I keep thinking back to when I saved Peyton. You know why I did it?”
James shrugged. “Because you needed help?”
“Yeah, basically. That was it. He was nothing to me, just a tool that I threatened into working for me. When I met you, I was impressed by your skills, but I didn’t want to go on jobs with you. I didn’t want to have to rely on anyone I couldn’t control, and if there’s one thing it’s a bad idea to do, it’s controlling James Brownstone.” Shay sighed. “But things changed. I started giving a shit about Peyton, and not just as a risk to me. I started wanting to spend more time with you. I felt bad for Alison and wanted her to have a better future.”
James listened, a smile playing on his lips.
Shay stood and started pacing. “The UCLA thing was just supposed to be a cover—an excuse—but I liked it. Started caring there, too. When I gave my first lecture, it felt almost as good as when I had a solid kill. I realized there was something there, a way to have satisfaction with life that didn’t just involve me proving I’m the toughest bitch on the planet.” She pointed to the sky. “It’s beautiful, even washed-out as it is because of the light pollution in Los Angeles. That’s what I forgot. How to live or see any beauty in life.”
She continued staring into the sky for a moment, taking it all in. All those years, all those lives, both saved and killed. All of it had woven together in a tight tapestry to form the woman called Shay Carson who now lived in Los Angeles, and that woman finally could imagine what it would be like to grow old with someone she loved.
Is this what life is? Planning for the future, not just making plans to survive? I thought I had a life plan before, but what I really had was a survival plan.
“You’re young,” James rumbled. “You turned your life around. No big deal.”
She stopped pacing and laughed down at James. “That’s just it. I never planned to. I never wanted to turn my life around. Now I find myself wondering what my friends are up to, what the next parkour course I’m gonna run with Free-to-Move is. What the hell happened? I used to be alone, and I liked it that way.”
James shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
“Huh? I’m pretty sure—”
He quieted her with a raised hand. “You thought you liked it that way, just like I thought I liked being alone. Nothing but the job, barbeque, and Leeroy. Alison showed me there was more to life, and then you showed me even more. I’d been locked in a closet my entire life, but I’d convinced myself it was a mansion I chose to live in. You did the same thing.”
Shay blinked and again knelt beside James. “You say something smart every now and again.”
James grunted. “I try.”
She offered him a soft smile. "You really know how to get to a girl."
“Well, one girl. If you dump me, I think I’m giving up on understanding women.”
“Where do we go from here?”
James shrugged. “I’m James Brownstone, Scourge of Harriken. You’re Shay Carson, tomb raider. We do whatever the hell we want, and we go anywhere we want. I just want to do it together.”
Shay filled both the glasses with champagne and handed him a glass.
She raised her glass. “It’s not a bad life.”
James raised his. “Nope. Not a bad life at all.”
“I love you, you know.”
“Good, I love you, too. Does that mean you’ll stop calling me dumbass if I do something you don’t like?”
Shay grinned. “A girl’s got to have a little fun.”
The End
Want more of Shay and Brownstone?
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Author Notes - Martha Carr
Written September 6, 2018
With this story, Shay Carson wraps up her own series but will be around kicking ass with Brownstone somewhere in the Oriceran sphere. She’s a fun character because she’s equal parts dangerous and protective of those she loves – and that circle has continuously expanded, much to her surprise. New series are starting up – we don’t rest here for very long. Five minutes here, a minute or two there. The Daniel Codex will be coming your way soon (remember him?)
Meanwhile, I’ve moved into the big new dream house and in the past week it’s been a steady stream of tradesmen coming in to repair something. Yesterday my old laptop that has served me valiantly joined in and started to let me know it was going any minute. I took the hint and went out to Best Buy. I asked the young millennial what computer he would get, and he said, “I build my own.” That aside, he also gave good advice.
Today, the hose behind the washing machine sprung a leak and flooded the laundry room. The movers who put the hole there came running and helped clean it up and the builder came running to help diagnose the problem. I found out I can still move with lightning speed and finally unpacked all the towels. It was a good reminder that things may
