"Jody Lynn Nye - Medecine Show" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nye Jody Lynn)

that she was on time. Thinking of their swiftly sinking bank balance made her heart follow suit. The refit
had been very, very expensive, eating up all of the bonus given to her by Manfred Mitchell of the GLC,
plus what she'd earned in her missions before and after Verdadero's crime came to light. They needed to
find a way to raise capital, or there was a real danger the bank would end up owning a newly, beautifully
refitted trader scout-ship.
"That cuts us very close to our panic balance," Shona said. "Next to nothing at all."
"I will give you some money," Lani said at once. "Pay off the ship."
Shona hugged her distractedly.
"No. That wouldn't be right. Thank you, honey, but we'll make it."
The girl looked bewildered. "Why can't 1 give money to you? Why won't you accept? I saw the bank


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 Jody Lynn Nye - Medicine Show


balance."
"We're not hiding it. But your money's yours, not ours, sweetie. You'll want it when you grow up."
"Not all of it," Lani protested. "There's so much. I couldn't spend it all in my life."
"We won't take anything from you, and that's the end," Gershom said, perhaps a little more sharply than
he intended. Shona, her nerves taut from the almost-fatal encounter with the killer scout, and then this
financial onslaught which threatened them almost more than physical peril, jumped to her feet.
"Just a moment," she said. "There's no need to snap at Lani! I know how much you value our
independence. That means we have to find a means of earning our way out of debt. It's that simple."
"Oh, it's simple, is it?" Gershom demanded. "Suppose you tell me—"
"Just a moment," Shona said again. She turned to Lani, who was pale with fear. "Honey, will you excuse
us?" The girl fled to the laboratory, taking Alex and Chirwl with her. The animals, sensing tension,
vacated the room at once. Shona closed the door, then returned to her perch on the edge of the bed.
Gershom leaned over her and repeated his last question in a taut, furious voice, pitched so it wasn't
audible in the lab.
"Suppose you tell me how I can keep in touch with suppliers when the GBI keeps changing my
communication code? If they can't find me, they'll use another carrier. They don't care about our
problems. They only care if their goods get out intact and on time. And as for buyers, there's a thousand
ships just like ours in the spaceways. Most of them don't have families to support."
Shona felt the blood leave her cheeks. That was an unex-pectedly low blow. Gershom realized it as soon
as the words were out of his mouth. She'd lost her first baby under tragic circumstances, and he hadn't
been able to be with her at the time to help her through it. They'd been hoping to raise a larger family
with some measure of security while they were both young enough to have the energy to do so.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, sitting down beside her and putting an arm over her shoulders. She
didn't feel much like being touched, but she let him lean against her. A moment later, she'd regained her
equilibrium and hugged his ribs hard. He relaxed with a sigh, and moved his hand up to cup her cheek in
his hand. Shona, her fingers in a tense knot, managed a tiny, hopeful smile.
"Maybe it's just too soon to think about another baby," she said, with difficulty, picking her words with
care. She'd started this discussion when she should have known he was vulner-able. She had wanted to
share her frustrations and tensions, and by the Blue Star, she'd succeeded. "Too impractical to start
another. Alex is just toddling. It would be difficult for me to handle two in diapers at once as well as a
career and managing our finances."


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