“But there are benefits. Like lap snuggles.” She wriggled playfully and then kissed him. “And other things.”
“I am a big fan ofallthose things.”
She kissed him again, and his mind calmed. “I love you, Xay. That isn’t going to change if my dads don’t like you or Mace. You two were my decision. If they don’t like it, that’s on them. It won’t be the first time they’ve been pissed off about my choices. That’s part of being a family. Itismessy, but for me, it’s worth it.” She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m more concerned about what happens after I see my dads again.”
“Don’t be. Hamish has no idea how much shit he’s in, and by the time he understands, it will be too late.”
“And I will be there to see his face when his life crashes and craters.” She smacked a fist into her open hand.
“You will, but from a safe distance, please. If he so much as looks at you the wrong way, Mace or I will kill him.”
“You say the sweetest things.”
“Only to you.”
They snuggled together in comfortable silence until Mace joined them. “Don’t you have a call to make?” he asked.
“Right. It’s about that time.” He tapped Tish on the shoulder. “You need to get out of sight or you’ll spoil the big surprise.”
“I’m going. I’m going. Do you remember what to say to them?”
“I have perfect recall. Of course I remember.” Tish had provided a detailed description of the imaginary problem supposedly affecting the ship’s jump drive. It had to be complicated enough that both of her parents would come to take a look but not so serious they turned down the job because it would take parts or equipment they didn’t have.
She slid off his lap, planted a quick kiss on his cheek, and left with Mace.
Xaber took a moment to straighten his shirt and smooth back his hair before he told Livy to initiate contact with J&E’s Repair Shop.
He expected to have to leave his contact information and request a call back. Instead, an older male with salt-and-pepper hair appeared on the monitor.
“Javid here. What’s busted?”
“My jump drive,” he answered and then went through the script Tish had written.
Javid nodded and pursed his lips in thought, an expression Xaber recognized. Tish did the same thing.
“Name. Yours first. Then the name of the ship.”
“Xaber. The ship is theLive True. She’s a Falcon-E model from Gyrex Shipping.”
“Good ship,” the man muttered. “How long you staying on the station?”
“As long as it takes to get the engines sorted. I’m not heading back into the void until I am sure I’ll arrive at my next stop.”
“Sensible man.” Javid’s expression softened a little. “We can put her right in a day or so. How far out are you?”
“Ninety minutes or so.”
“That works.” His gaze moved left as he checked something on another screen. “I’ll make arrangements for a berth near the shop. I can fit you in about three hours from now. Might take you that long to get docked. We don’t have decent traffic control, just an automated system with delusions of adequacy. Do yourself a favor and double-check everything it says. You’ll save yourself a headache and probably the need for a paint job.”
Xaber grinned. “Noted. And thanks for fitting me in so fast. I’ll see you soon.”
He closed the channel and spun the chair around. “You heard that?”
Tish popped into view. “I did. I’m going to have a word with him about his customer service. That was a terrible way to answer.” She rolled her eyes. “This is what happens when I leave them unsupervised.”
Then she lowered her voice. “Did he look okay?”
“He looked fine to me. You’ll get to see for yourself soon enough.” He stood up and stretched.
