Let's Make a Deal (Bob and Nikki Book 11), стр. 41
“He’s getting in trouble?”
“I just sent him to shovel outhouses for a month, what do you think?”
“That you probably would rather have sent him out for a walk, but you need his brain too much.”
“You’re not so shabby, yourself.”
“You’re not the first Boss he’s given homicidal ideas to.”
“So, would you be willing to come out, and give us a hand?”
“Gail will be upset, but we have enough staff now that she’ll be able to handle it, especially if it’s for the company.”
“Get with her, and Max, and see when you can head this way. I’d like to have you aboard before your Dad finishes his month of shoveling.”
“I’ll see what I can do, Bob. Thanks for your patience with Dad.”
“He’s worth it, even if that’s hard to remember, sometimes.”
“Thanks, that’s good to hear. See you soon.”
“Bye.” Stella came out with our meal. Once she left, I asked, “How did he take it?”
“Better than I expected. He’s excited to get to know her.”
“Good deal. Your Dad is too.”
“You talked to Dad?”
“I didn’t have Wilma’s number.”
“Frank’s daughter?”
“Yep. She’s coming out to see if she can get him back on the straight and narrow.”
“Are you going to leave anybody to work at Shady?”
“At Shady, she’s a nurse. A good nurse, I have no doubt, but still, a nurse. Out here, she’s a Frank Wrangler, the only one we know of with the skills to get the job done.”
“You’re saying that she can be replaced at Shady, but out here, she’s one of a kind?”
“I am. I know we aren’t paying as much attention to Shady as we did when we were back home, and I’m hoping we don’t live to regret that.”
“Gail will take good care of the place, Bob. No need to worry.”
“I just want to get the situation with the Squirrels steadied out, so that we can go home for a while, and take a break before the kids get here.”
“That sounds good, but I don’t think I want to risk much gold on it happening.”
“Tell me about it. That all-nighter has my clock all messed up. What time is it?”
“Not quite supper time.”
“Wow, this feels like lunch.” Janet came off the transit, accompanied by Milly and Rhonda. Alice and Snitz followed them out, and laid down outside the galley. They came and sat with us. I asked, “Did you get your stuff moved?”
Janet said, “We did. Rhonda decided to move in with Milly, since I won’t be there any more.”
“Did Jeeves get you set up?”
“He did. I have a door to your room, and a door to the hall, if I need to come and go without bothering you.”
Nikki said, “That sounds good.”
“He even made sure the wall between our rooms is soundproofed, so I won’t bother you if I play the music Rhonda copied for me.” I looked at Nikki and smiled. She managed to hold it together, but it was a near thing. Milly caught us. She said, “I think they believe the soundproofing is supposed to go the other way, Janet.”
“What?… Oh!” She turned red.
I said, “Well, we managed to embarrass her, that’s a good start.”
Nikki replied, “That is one of our duties as parents of a teenager, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Rhonda said, “You don’t have to enjoy it quite so much.”
I looked at Nikki. “You better not upset Rhonda, Space Cadet. Your Dad was cooking supper when I called, he said her Mom was coming out, and he didn’t want to mess it up.”
Rhonda looked at me. “That’s too cheesy even for a straight-to-cable movie. ‘My Stepsister is an Alien’. You’ve got to be kidding.”
Nikki sounded more robotic than Topper when she said, “Take me to your leader.”
Milly and Janet must have been hitting the culture pack, because they were laughing as hard as the rest of us.
Janet said, “That would make you my Aunt.”
Rhonda looked like she had bit a persimmon that wasn’t ready, but she said, “If he makes her happy, that’s okay. She needs some happiness in her life.”
I said, “Who are you, and what did you do with Rhonda?”
She replied, “Really. She deserves a break. Dad died, and then I got sick. She hasn’t had an easy day in a long time. It’s about time she had some fun.”
I said, “I didn’t know about your Dad. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. It used to be something we thought about a lot, but then I got sick, and we had other things to worry about.” Stella brought the girls’ food out, and they got quiet as they dug in. My comm rang. “Commodore Wilson.”
“Bob, it’s Natti. I think we’ve got the fleet back under control. Would you like to start negotiations again?”
“Like to? Nope. Do I think we need to? Yes, indeed. I’ll be there shortly.” I hung up, and said, “Duty calls. See all of you later.”
Nikki asked, “Do you mind if I tag along?”
“No, Ma’am. I can use all the help I can get.”
We headed for the ready room. Natti and Snappi were waiting for us. I asked, “What happened? Some of the fellows you thought were loyal were just in it for the career advancement?”
Snappi looked crestfallen. He said, “Yes. Some of my good friends, or so I thought.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. I hope you have better luck, from here.”
“Thanks, Commodore. I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble.”
“Nobody’s perfect, Snappi. All we can do is try to do better in the future.”
“At least I have Captain Mason’s training now. I won’t be as easy to fool.”
I replied, “It’s a good tool, but it isn’t foolproof. I