“And I cannot change that. The only thing I can do is prove to you what you mean to me. Prove that I will never do those horrible things, but I won’t even be able to try if you can’t see it in your heart to give me the chance to do so.”
He waited a few moments, hoping she would relent, dreading that she would not.
“Can I...” She cleared her throat. “Can I think about it?”
It wasn’t the answer he’d hoped for, but he’d take it. She hadn’t said no. It was probably the best he could hope for at the moment.
“Of course, you can think about it.” At first, Geno tried not to let his disappointment show, then thought better of it. Perhaps she needed to see just how sincere he’d been.
“I should probably get to the bridge and help with the pre-flight checklist.” He smiled sadly, sighed, and slowly released her hand. “This isn’t one of your buses to break down mid-flight.”
Geno’s first thought had been to bow slightly to show his respect, but when he bent, he couldn’t resist pressing a gentle kiss to the center of her forehead before he straightened and headed for the door.
“Will you come back later?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I think it would be good for the boys. They like you and are constantly asking me about you. Maybe it would be better if you were here to answer their questions. At least until supper time.”
“As you wish.” Geno bowed again. With a smile and his heart just a little bit lighter, he headed for the bridge.
“How long do you think it will take to get there?”
“Well, if we go up and over to avoid most of the human’s air traffic, most likely about eight hours. It’s still faster than driving it. Besides, none of you have designed a cloaking device for your cars, so we can’t hide them if the need should arise.”
“We’ve done a lot in the last five years. Don’t start in on us, old man.” Reno scowled at him as he vacated the captain’s chair. “We aren’t the ones who took nearly half a frigging decade to find our lost sons.”
“And I’m not the idiot who flew your ship so off course that it took me nearly a half a decade to find your distress call.” Geno snorted and plopped into the empty chair. “Let me know when we’re ready to go.”
“Uh, oh.” Ronin said from the communications console. “He’s in a bad mood. She must have given him the boot.”
“She has done no such thing,” Geno practically barked. “Now, mind your business before I swat you out of that chair.”
It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d given his sons a good swat. He’d never abused them, but children needed to learn there can be painful consequences for their actions. Otherwise, they grew up into self-entitled assholes. He’d seen that first hand. He’d wager that Wynter’s dead husband hadn’t been on the receiving end of enough swats, and that was most likely why he mistreated women and ultimately ended up dying as a result of his excesses.
But then again, he’d seen many males brought up with spankings end up just as bad. Maybe it wasn’t the form of punishment but the type of adult role models that made the difference. Whatever the case, his sons hadn’t seemed to turn out poorly. He would be forever thankful for that.
“We love you, too, Papan.” Rowen turned and smiled at him.
“At least you know I only do what I think is good for you.”
“We’ve always known that.” Ceno grinned when Noah and Nicky crawled into Geno’s lap.
“Hey, where did you two come from?” He smiled at the boys and helped them each settle on a leg. His chest ached a bit at the memory of all his sons sitting with him, whether it was for stories or lessons when they were young enough to do so. “Does Wynter know you’re here with me?”
They both nodded, their blond curls bouncing.
“Yup.” The answer came in unison.
“We called down to the suite and told her they were up here with us because they wanted to watch our takeoff. She said it was okay,” Ceno added while he stared at the screen in front of him.
“At least you asked. That’s good.”
Geno shifted the boys away from his crotch. Ceno had injured him once a long time ago, and he wasn’t in a hurry to have his balls crushed by a small booted foot again.
“Is everyone ready?” Geno waited for his sons’ assent before sliding a finger up the acceleration beam on the console to his left.
The hum of the engines grew deeper. The inertial dampeners kicked on, and the ship shot straight up into the air.
It only took about three minutes to rise out of the Earth’s atmosphere and find their destination. What would take most of their time would be reentering the atmosphere and flying toward the mountain in North Carolina. The planet’s rotation was opposite to the direction they needed to go. Their window for reentry was fast approaching, and passing through the planet’s layer of UV protection would be a difficult thing to keep a secret. It was the only time their cloak didn’t hide them one-hundred percent.
Passing through the layers of atmosphere always caused friction, and those on the ground scrutinized the ensuing trail of flames.
Spinning the controls, he aimed the ship for the nearest window of coordinates and proceeded to point the craft toward the ground.
Even with his anti-gravity technology, the friction caused by reentry engulfed the ship in flames. Passing through the multiple layers of gases was no easy thing. The ship rumbled and groaned, and flames covered the front of the ship. The bridge screen made it easy to see the resulting chemical reaction between the friction-heated hull of the ship and each layer of gas as they made their way through the Earth's protective layers.
“That’s so cool!” Nicky and Noah exclaimed as they pointed at the flames brushing past the video unit encased in the clear transiom hull below them.
They bounced in his lap, and Geno did his best not to smile at their reaction to their first space flight, short as it might have been.
“Look at that. We’ve managed to come out somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. I think that group of Islands might be Hawaii.”
“If it is, you know more about geography than I do, and I was born here,” Wynter’s voice came from behind him. “What are you two doing?” She stopped beside his chair and glared down at the boys, her hands on her hips. “Didn’t I tell you that you could stay and watch as long as you didn’t get in the way?”
“Yes, ma’am.” They nodded, giving Wynter identical contrite expressions.
“But we didn’t have seats. We were supposed to sit down, weren’t we, Papa?” Nicky blinked up at him, his expression pleading for leniency.
“They’re fine right where they are. It wasn’t the first time I’ve had a pair of boys in my lap during a flight, and I daresay it won’t be my last.”
“Well,” pausing Wynter met his gaze and bit her lip. “As long as you’re sure they aren’t a bother.”
“They are not.” He patted them on their heads with a smile. “Now that we are headed back toward the mainland of your country, perhaps we could all have a little lunch while we plan the next part of our journey.”
Setting the boys on the floor, Geno motioned for Ronin to take his place at the controls and stood. “We’re going to have lunch, and since you and your twin have been stuffing your mouths all morning, you two can stay here while the rest of us eat.”
“We’re still growing boys, what do you expect?” Rowen scowled as he reclaimed his seat. “Can’t Ronin and I eat in shifts?”
“No. I want at least two people on the bridge while we’re in the air. There’s no telling what type of technology the humans have. They could be watching us right now, and we would have no idea.”
“All right.” Rowen settled in his seat with a scowl. “But don’t take too long. We’re starving already.”
“You’re always starving. You’re nearly an adult, try to control those urges, huh?” Reno ruffled his hair on the way to the door.
“Hey! If I
’m old enough to control my urges, I’m too old to have you messing up my hair like a child.”
“That just means they love you,” Noah piped up. “My daddy used to do that all the time.” He turned to Geno, his eyes wide. “We wouldn’t care if you messed up our hair, would we, Nicky?”
“Nope.” Nicky’s eyes glossed over with unshed tears, and his bottom lip trembled. “I miss when daddy used to do it.”
“Then, I shall try to remember to muss your hair at least once per day.” Geno reached out with both hands and ruffled their hair. “How’s that?”
“It’s not the same, but we’ll get used to it.” Nicky gave him a wobbly smile.
Wynter smiled and mouthed, thank you.
Geno’s chest tightened, he would do almost anything to see her smile at him again.
“The galley is this way.” Geno took the two boys by the hands and led them off the bridge.
“I’m hungry.” Nicky skipped along beside him.
Noah tugged on his hand. “Sela’s grandpa said we should call him gramps.” Nicky wrinkled his nose. “But I dunno. He doesn’t look old enough to be anyone’s grandpa.”
“What an astute observation for someone so young.”
“We didn’t obverbate it.” Noah pointed at Wynter. “Auntie Wynter said that.”
“I thought you were going to start calling her Mama.”
“Oh, yeah, right.” They said in unison. Speaking at the same time was a twin trait he’d gotten used to with his sons as they grew up.
“I meant Mama said that.”
“Well, he was Sela’s grandfather before he was a shifter. He aged in reverse as your mama did. Have you noticed how beautiful she is?”
“Auntie Wyn—Mama was always pretty. She’s just a little prettier now.” Nicky said as he reached out and took her hand.
“That’s not fair! You get to hold Mama and Papa’s hand. I only get to hold Papa’s hand.” Noah’s bottom lip stuck out.
“You can be in the middle on the way back to the bridge.” Geno glanced down at Noah. “However, you must realize that things will not always be fair. Life isn’t fair. It is just life,” he said as they walked into the dining area.
“Why?” Again, their question came in stereo.
“Life is what you make of it.” Sela smiled at them. “You decide how people make you feel. You can allow someone to make you happy, sad, or angry, but only you can decide that. I have almost always tried not to let others dictate how I feel. I choose to be happy. Therefore, I am happy most of the time.”
“Isn’t that the Law of Attraction?” Wynter’s brow furrowed. “I seem to remember reading something about that.”
“It might be.” Sela shrugged. “My mother used to tell me that. I listened, for the most part. Even still, there are a few people out there who still manage to get on my last nerve.” She winked at the boys. “I’m not talking about anyone on the ship, though.”
Chapter Nineteen
WYNTER STARED AT THE large, printed photo of what appeared to be a defunct amusement park on the top of a mountain. The print showed many levels, complete with train tracks and what seemed to be a ghost town.
The table they sat around was barely big enough to hold the huge photos one of Geno’s younger sons had printed. Their empty plates surrounded the printouts along the edges.
“I think I remember going there when I was younger.” Birgit frowned down at the top of the mountain. A roller coaster rose out of the tree line like a huge yellow snake curling down the hillside. “They used to have gunfights there every hour or so.” Her cheeks reddened. “I even still have one of the rubber bullets they used.”
“That sounds amazing. It’s too bad it’s been allowed to fall into such disrepair.” Ceno leaned over, trying to get a better look.
“It is. I had hoped to take my kids there one day,” Birgit said with a sigh.
“Is that a parking lot?” Reno pointed to a large dark area, effectively changing the subject.
“I think so.” Ceno grabbed a magnifying glass and peered at the printout. “I’m pretty sure, though I can’t see any lines through the clumps of grass and the occasional tree that’s trying to take it over.” He leaned closer. “It appears to be on a level lower than where Harvey parked his car.”
“We could land there. The clearing is big enough. If we stay cloaked, no one would even know we’re there.” Reno tapped the spot.
“We’ll have to wait until dusk, then move in. It looks as though there are guards here and here.” Xeno pointed to another printout. “I just got this one off the printer. Perhaps someone is repairing the place.” He pointed to a trailer filled with building supplies. “Could those lunatics still be hiding there while others are fixing it up? It supposedly has new owners.”
“I’m not sure. Perhaps we should scope it out first.” Ceno frowned at the new photo. “Maybe one of us should hike in before dusk and try to make contact with the contractors.”
“Are you kidding? Just because there’s a trailer load of two-by-fours next to a building, it doesn’t mean it’s not those crazy scientists,” Wynter interrupted.
“No one says it isn’t,” Geno said as he lightly rubbed Wynter’s back. “But if you look at this new photo, Harvey’s car is no longer there. Perhaps they thought it would be a good place to hide until the construction crew arrived.”
Wynter didn’t know what to think about that. None of his children seemed to mind that he gave her so much attention. Maybe they didn’t care that their father was attempting to date her. Their mother had died a long time ago. Still, receiving so much of Geno’s attention in front of his sons made her self-conscious.
“I’ll hike in and try to make contact.” Deno stood and took his plate to the replicator, set it behind the glass door, and pushed a button. After two or three seconds, the dish disappeared.
Wynter wanted one of those. She hated doing dishes. She loved to cook, but the clean-up was always a drag.
“No. You’re a carbon copy of Xeno. If it is them, they might recognize you.”
“Wouldn’t that be to our advantage? If they capture me, I could tell you where they are through our mental link.”
“Mental link?” Wynter shifted her gaze between them. “What mental link?”
“When an adult Zolon male finds his mate, they have a bond so strong it creates a mental link between them. They, in turn, pass that link on to any offspring they might have.”
“That might not have been a bad idea for Mother Nature to have given that to humans.”
“Humans have it. They choose to ignore it.” The computer’s voice interjected. “You and the young ones also have such a link. It was a part of the Zolon DNA that I used to stabilize your systems when you were here last.”
“Really?”
You’re half-wolf shapeshifter now, Wynter. It’s time you started embracing the weird instead of continually being surprised by it.
“Yes. There were some things I couldn’t repair without the missing genetic codes. The Zolonian transposons seemed best.”
“That isn’t important now. You can explore that with the boys later. What’s important is that we find out where the others are.” Reno glanced at his younger brother. “You stay here. I’ll hike in and see if I can talk to someone at the site.”
“That’s not the best idea, but it’s the only workable one we have.” Geno frowned down at the photo.
“Perhaps Birgit and I can head into town and see if we can find the courthouse,” Sela said as she stared at the photos. “We might be able to get a look at the blueprints or plans for the place. There might be a few outbuildings hidden in the woods away from the construction.” She picked up her mug, sat back, and took a sip of her coffee.
“Good idea.” Geno still didn’t stop staring at the photo. “I have a feeling they are still there, but hidden from those doing the repairs. Perhaps they haven’t found a new site and are forced to stay there until they can find another place. Whatever the c
ase. I can’t shake the suspicion that someone is on the property who doesn’t belong there.”
He glanced at Wynter. “Do you have any thoughts?”
“Me?” Wynter met his gaze, her eyes wide. Ben had never asked her opinion on anything after she’d sold her shares in the business and became a stay-at-home wife. Once she quit her job, she’d become his cook, waitress, and maid, all wrapped up in one.
“Yes, you. What does your intuition tell you?”
Wynter stared at him for a moment. Maybe he was different. Most men didn’t believe in intuition.
“I’m not sure.” She stared at the photo for a few moments. When her gaze kept returning to a spot, she pointed. “I can’t seem to stop looking at this area here.”
“Sela, what do you think?” Ceno wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed the top of her head.
“My daughter-in-law uses her intuition quite well,” Geno said as they all looked to Ceno’s mate.
“I’m not sure. Let me think.” Sela closed her eyes. “I see sparks on the property, but I’m not sure if I’m seeing people or mineral deposits.” She shook her head. “I’d hate to tell you they’re there and waste your time. Those held captive might not have a lot of it left.”
“Try one more time,” said a strange voice from the door.
Sela glanced toward the entrance to the room. “What are you doing here, Gramps?”
Wynter turned to look at the man everyone claimed was Sela’s grandfather. It never failed to amaze her that the man didn’t look a day over thirty-five with his dark hair and sapphire-blue eyes. But if Geno really was over one-hundred, she supposed it was possible.
Wynter had seen a few photos of an older man they’d claimed was Clyde before Geno gave him Zolonian DNA. He’d looked like any other man who had lived eighty-plus years.
“I came just in case you guys needed an extra set of hands.” Clyde rubbed his hands together, his blue eyes resting on the replicator. “Just in time for lunch.”
“You’ve already had lunch.” Sela frowned at him. “I swear you eat like a horse every time we get on board this ship.”
Wooing Wynter Page 13
