Page 17 of Keeping Penny

“I’m gonna savor this after lunch, Bowie-Bear,” he told her, sounding sincere.

“Because you need to eat stuff that’s good for you before you have candy that will rot you from the inside out,” Bowie said, reciting something Penny had told her plenty of times in the past.

Pyro laughed. “Exactly. I have it on good authority that they’re having chicken fingers and French fries at lunch today. That sound okay to you?”

“I love chicken fingers!” Bowie exclaimed excitedly.

“Inside voice, Bowie,” Penny reminded her.

“Sorry,” she said in a softer tone. “I love chicken fingers!”

“Me too,” Pyro said with a smile. He looked at Penny as he stood. “Can I carry that for you?” he asked, nodding at the duffel bag in her hand.

She was going to refuse, then thought twice about it. The bag was a little heavy, and it would be nice not to have to carry it for a while. “Thanks,” she told him, handing it over.

He hefted it over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing and said, “Wanna hold my hand, Bowie-Bear, so I don’t get lost on the way there?”

She giggled and held out her hand.

Pyro took it and looked at Penny. “You want to lead the way? You know where the mess hall is?”

She nodded. She liked that Pyro was being so nice to Bowie, but she worried that her daughter might get too attached. As soon as they got to wherever it was they were going, he’d leave and probably never think about them again. She didn’t want that heartache for Bowie.

As she walked toward the chow hall, she heard Bowie and Pyro having a conversation about all the different sounds on a ship this size. Penny was constantly amazed at the things Bowie heard that she, herself, didn’t even notice.

She looked back once, expecting to see Pyro looking down at her daughter…but instead his gaze seemed to be glued to her ass.

She whipped her head back around and felt her cheeks grow warm. But she couldn’t help the pleased feeling that swam in her veins. She’d never thought of herself as anything all that special. She was too busy raising Bowie and surviving to feel very sexual. Being around Pyro seemed to bring back the feelings she’d had very early in her marriage, when John wasn’t such an asshole, roaring to the surface once more.

She wasn’t sure what to do with those feelings.

She didn’t want to be a one-night stand. Even for someone as sexy as Kylo Mullins.

When they arrived at the mess hall, Penny’s cheeks still felt hot, but she did her best to ignore that as she opened the door.

“If it’s okay, let me put your bag down at our table, then we can go through the line. My friends are over there to the right.”

Looking where Pyro indicated with his head, Penny saw five men sitting around a circular table. She suddenly felt shy, and like an outsider. As if everyone was talking about her, only to abruptly stop when she walked into the room.

But she was being ridiculous.

Taking a deep breath, Penny headed in the direction of the table he’d pointed out.

When they arrived, Pyro put her bag down next to an empty seat and introduced his friends.

“Bowie, Penny, you’ve met Chaos and Edge, but this is Obi-Wan, Buck, and Casper.”

Penny nodded at each of the men, then couldn’t help but grin as Bowie ran one hand along the chairs as she made her way around to each of them, enthusiastically shaking their hands.

“I’m Bowie Burns. It’s nice to meet you,” she said each time, repeating the words Penny had taught her to say when she met new people.

“Oh my God, she’s adorable,” Casper muttered under his breath.

And if she heard it, Bowie definitely did, as her hearing was way better.

“Thanks, I am adorable,” she said with a cheeky grin. “Or so my mom tells me.”

“And not conceited at all,” Penny added drolly.