Milo’s eyes widened further. “What?! Shift? Into other forms? What are you talking about?” He sounded sincere, but Max’s wariness increased. He didn’t know this man.
Ruby crossed her arms and faced Milo as if preparing to interrogate him. “The person we are seeking has red hair. I have a theory that when he shifts into someone else’s form, he isn’t able to change his hair color for some reason, so he has to hide it or wear a wig. Do you have any wigs? Did you sneak into the Black and Orange Ball?”
Milo took a step backward. “What’s a Black and Orange Ball?” He suddenly brightened. “Oh, wait. Is it a basketball? I watched a basketball game in Alienn, Arkansas. Very fast paced. Very entertaining.” His attention span had all the focus of a little kid’s. Max wasn’t sure he believed his “uncle” Milo’s wide-eyed,aw shucksroutine.
“No. Not even close.” Max moved into the room away from the doorway to the hall.
The smile shaping Milo’s mouth fell away. “I’m not your enemy, Max.”
“How did you know I changed my name?”
“I found out in Alienn right before I hired Ruby.” He nodded to Ruby.
“Why did you hire her if you were just going to come here anyway?”
Milo shrugged. “I wanted to speed things along so that once I got here, I’d maybe have a head start.”
Max shrugged. “Okay. She found me. We sent a message this morning.”
His uncle nodded. “Yes. Well, I haven’t received that yet. I have some other news, Max.”
“What news?”
“About your father.”
“What about him?”
A solemn expression crossed Milo’s mobile face. “There was an accident on Alpha-Prime shortly before I left to come here. He was hurt very badly.”
A pang of regret crossed Max’s heart. He and his father hadn’t been on the best of terms right before he’d come to Earth, but the man was his sire. “Will he live?”
Milo nodded. “Yes. He asked for you.”
“How do you know?”
“I got to Alpha-Prime a few days after you came to the Earth colony. But I didn’t know where you’d gone. I have a, well, I guess you’d call him an old friend, working in my brother’s household. When my brother found out through my contact that I was on Alpha-Prime, he invited me over and we talked about a number of things, including what had happened to you. He has regrets.”
“Does he? Well, that’s going around.”
“I guess I was hoping that I’d be able to bring you back home for a family reunion and possibly you two could mend the rift between you.”
Ruby’s cheeks went pale. “Oh, sorry. Max can’t leave Earth.”
“Why not?” Milo’s eyebrows scrunched in puzzlement.
“I vouched for him to get him out of jail earlier tonight. He promised me he wouldn’t leave until we figured out who is trying to frame him.” Ruby leaned back, seating herself on the edge of the reception desk. Her arms were still crossed. She looked like a fierce warrior. Max was in love with her, with or without a spell, he was certain. Surely removing the spell wouldn’t take away his feelings.
“But Max, if something happens to your father, you’re next in line to inherit—”
“Stop right there. I don’t care about any of that and I don’t want any money. Not yours and certainly not his. And I truly don’t have any desire to go back and run a company I was summarily thrown out of even after being proven innocent.”
“But you should at the very least go and make peace with him. Believe me, I’m sorry I never made the effort to do that with my parents before they were gone. I hope you’ll at least think about it. Your father isn’t the only one with regrets, but mine can’t be relieved. Yours can.”
“If I go back,” Max stated.
“Well, yes. And given what happened to your father, sooner would be better than later.”
“I’ll think about it. No promises.”
