“I wasn’t trying to find the worst guy to go out with, it just happened. Mom’s going to move us to live with my grandparents on New Earth after this,” she grumbled.
“Good. Maybe your grandfather can keep you in line,” Vic growled out. Then he softened his tone. “I know you’re a good kid. You deserve better than the creeps that you have been hanging around. I think a new place and a fresh start would be good for you. Go to school, go out with good kids your own age that your grandfather approves of, go to college, and get a good legal job. One day you’ll find a good male to mate with and start a family.”
She rolled her eyes at the storybook life he was drawing out for her. Real life wasn’t a fairy tale. “I have a long record, Vic. All minor stuff really, but who would hire me?”
Vic shook his head. “You’re a minor and New Earth has a juvenile protection law. As long as you don’t commit any crimes after you turn seventeen, your juvenile record will remain closed. If not, I’ll hire you myself once Jagger and I open our own bail bonds business.”
She perked up at that. “Really?”
Vic said “yes” at the same time that Jagger said “no.”
Vic growled at his cousin until Jagger changed his answer to a yes.
What would it be like to work alongside Vic? Jinx wondered. She had harbored a crush from the first moment the big horned man entered her life. She knew he was too old for her, but the thought that she could repay him and Jagger for all the times they were kind to her really appealed to her. For the first time in her young life, she felt like she had a purpose. She was determined to make it happen, one way or another.
“What types of things do I need to train for to be a bail bondsman?”
Jagger groaned and ran his hand through his hair, but Vic started telling her about the classes she could take. She memorized everything he said. Jinx thought he left out some of the physical self-defense classes on purpose, but she knew she would have to know how to handle herself and how to handle weapons.
She couldn’t wait to get started.
10 years later
Jinx smiled looking out the window of the space shuttle as it lifted off from New Earth to transport her to Fin Diesku, the party planet of the galaxy. Shefinallyhad an opportunity to work with the cousins. She was nervous about seeing Vic and Jagger again. It had been ten years since she saw them last. She and her mother, Jana Alexander, had moved off planet and went to live with her grandparents on New Earth.
New Earth wasn’t nearly as exciting as some of the other places that she and her mother had lived. The planet itself had one sun and the surface was similar to old Earth with mountains and oceans and deserts.
Her father, a nameless jackass, had ran off when Jinx was just a little girl and her mother had to go where ever she could find work, which was hard for someone with a child and didn’t have a degree from a university. She got to live on several different planets and meet all kinds of different alien species. Some aliens had multiple arms and others with no eyes. Her favorite planet was Decaros because that’s where Vic was from.
Moving back to live with her grandparents on New Earth allowed her mother to work part time while taking night classes. Eventually her mother finally got her dream job of working as a nurse. That had come in handy when her grandparents became sick.
She spent her summers volunteering at shelters and raising money for food banks for the poor. It kept her out of trouble, for the most part. Still, her dream had formed in her mind despite her mother and grandparents disapproval. She wanted to be a bounty hunter. Nothing else would do. It had everything a girl could want. It called for her to use her mind to hunt perps down, it offered excitement and gave her the opportunity to help someone like her find a new life. Jinx was ready to get started. She also couldn’t wait to see Vic again.
Of course, she knew that Vic was mated to someone else. She had heard about it from him and Jagger. They had kept in touch with her over the years. She was still excited to get to see him again. All those years ago, he really left an impression on her. What he and Jagger said made her think about her life, made her straighten up and to be more careful with who she was around. She wanted to do the same, save someone else from the lifestyle that almost ruined her.
“Would you like something to drink?” The shuttle stewardess asked.
She looked up at the woman and shook her head. “No thanks. How long until we reach Fin-Dieskau?”
“Another four hours.”
“I think I’ll take a nap.”
“Let me get you a pillow and blanket,” The stewardess offered, reaching up.
“Thank you, but I can get it.” Jinx stood up to open the storage bin above the seats at the same time that the stewardess did. The latch was stuck. She jerked at the handle just as the shuttle shimmied a little. The thing sprung open unexpectedly. Her suitcase inside fell out, hitting the stewardess on the head. The woman swayed; Jinx had to rush to grab her before she hit the ground.
“Oh my goodness. Are you okay?” Jinx bit her lip, frustrated. She had almost made it the whole flight without an accident happening.
“F...fine.” The other stewardesses came to help their coworker and to put the luggage back up in the storage area.
The pillow and blanket had fallen out too, but luckily landed in her seat. She sat down and leaned her chair back making sure no one was behind her first. Even that embarrassing moment couldn’t keep the happiness from her. Jinx smiled, breathing out. She snuggled up under the blanket and let her thoughts of her future life as a bounty hunter consumed her as she fell into a deep sleep.
