“Why?” he asked, worried something had gone wrong.
“Your wife has a very nasty urinary tract infection, which has spread to her bladder and kidneys. We’ve given her antibiotics for this. But she isn’t pregnant. She is on the verge of her menstrual cycle, which may be what the device detected.”
“What? But it said the fetus was healthy. How can it determine that if there is no fetus?”
“We believe it picked up on her hormones and read them wrong. Since it detected nothing bad, it said the fetus was healthy.” He folded his hands in front of him. “We tested for pregnancy twice and did several scans. She is not pregnant. Are you trying for a child? The frequent intercourse may be the cause of her UTI. You should curtail your activities until she’s better.”
Caen stared at the surface of the desk for a long time.
“Are you all right? I know Arorians love children. With your human wife you’ll have far more chances of conception. So don’t be too disappointed.”
He raised his head. “May I see her?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes. Follow me.”
They went down two long hallways, and the doctor left him at a closed door. He knocked and heard her soft reply. He pushed the door open and entered before she could object, closing the door immediately. Her lower lip trembled as she looked at him, and he rushed to her side.
He sat on the bed and took her hand. “How do you feel?”
“Like an idiot.”
He waved the comment away. “Your fever, the infection, how do you feel?”
“That’s what you want to talk about?”
He squeezed her hand. “Yes.”
“I feel better now.”
“Good. We need to focus on getting you well, so let’s just forget everything else. It was a false alarm.”
She stared at him, looking incredulous. “I don’t understand you at all sometimes. You don’t want to talk about me calling you a liar?”
“Do you want to talk about me calling you one?”
“You had good reason to. You knew you couldn’t get me pregnant.”
“You had good reason as well. You knew you hadn’t slept with another man. Let’s forget it.” He massaged her fingers, willing her to let it go.
“No, Caen, things aren’t that simple.”
He released her hand. “That’s your problem. You believe everything is so complicated.” He couldn’t hold it in any longer. “You have to overanalyze everything. You find it impossible to just enjoy simple pleasures and cherish them for what they are. I am in love with you and want you to stay with me. Tell me yes or no. Don’t tell me we need to think about it or talk it over.”
“But we do. It’s a big decision.”
“Do you love me?”
“Yes, but—”
“I don’t want to hear what you’re about to say. The ‘yes’ is all that matters.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
He stood up and moved to the door. “Then you are a liar. You don’t love me. You enjoyed my attention while you had it, but you were furious when you thought something was going to force you to stay with me.” He turned back to her. “I’m glad this happened. I don’t want to spend my life loving someone who will never love me back.”
“Caen, stop this.”
“I’ll arrange for your passage home. I won’t bother you again.” He exited quickly, ignoring her calls. He paused in the hall, wondering if she would come after him. A minute later, a nurse went into her room. He heard her tell the nurse she felt better in a very calm voice, which helped get him moving. He had arrangements to make. He would do this one last thing to ensure her safe return to where she belonged, even if she didn’t want anything from him anymore.
Chapter Five
Rebecca spent three days in the med center. Caen had arranged everything, even her journey home. She smiled at the sweet, elderly couple that came to check her out when the doctors released her. She knew she’d made the right decision, but she felt bad for hurting him. And she missed him. He’d filled her every thought since storming from her room. Maybe she did overthink things, but he was too reckless. They wouldn’t have been a good match. Her head told her that ten times a day.
But it didn’t drown out the sounds of her heart breaking. She’d never find another man like him, and she knew it. She’d been relieved to find out she was not pregnant, but she worried this would only make Caen more self-conscious of his inability to have children. But what could she do now? He was gone.
She settled into her seat as the woman, Mrs. White, joined her. “And where do you come from, my dear?”
“Georgia, just outside of Atlanta.”
“How nice. We’re from Maine, but my husband was born in New Jersey.” She laughed. “We were so different, but you know, sometimes that’s best. Keeps life interesting.”
She tried to keep a smile on her face. “Yes, I bet it does.” She had enjoyed arguing with Caen, a few times at least, when it hadn’t been about their relationship. He enjoyed flustering her and making her blush. Their tiffs always ended with her cradled in his arms, even if they didn’t have sex. She began to feel queasy, but she told herself it was just the ship taking off.
But they weren’t taking off. She heard Mr. White talking with someone down the hallway near the cockpit.
“How long have you been married?” Mrs. White asked.
“What?”
She pointed to the armband. “You’re married to an Arorian, aren’t you?”
She gasped as she realized she still wore Caen’s armband. She tugged on it, even though she knew only his touch could remove it. Then she looked up, realizing Mrs. White wouldn’t understand what she was doing, and she did not want to have to explain how she’d spent the past month to the older woman.
“Yes. We haven’t been married long. Just a few months.”
Mrs. White cast her gaze toward the door for a moment. “That’s wonderful!”
Rebecca had no idea how to respond to that.
Mrs. White turned back to her. “It’s so nice when you just know, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Her fingers strayed to the armband again. “It can be frightening though, just trusting in a feeling.”
The other woman smiled. “It can. It certainly can. My parents were loaded, and my mother especially had me convinced I’d be miserable if I didn’t marry a rich man. And not just a rich one, one who had grown up in a rich family. She said I’d never adjust to a simpler lifestyle and end up divorced.”
“It sounds logical.” Rebecca paused. “But it sounds rather cold as well.”
Mrs. White nodded. “Got engaged to a handsome man. Very sweet. Not pretentious or snobby at all. He wasn’t the one though.”
“How did you decide that?”
“I spent my engagement party back in the kitchen talking to that goofy-looking fellow who’s going to be flying this tin can.”
“So you knew right away? The night you met?”
“I did. Now, mind you, I didn’t admit it. I stayed engaged and smoothed things over with my fiancé, but after two months I was going nuts. I called the caterers and found him.”
“And you got married?”
“Well, I still had to work up my courage with my family. I said no a few times, but I soon realized he wouldn’t stop asking. I thought about how I’d feel if he dropped the subject, and that had me saying yes before he finished the question that night.”
Rebecca laughed and smiled. “That’s a sweet story. Thank you for sharing it.”
Mrs. White squeezed her hand, glancing at the door again. “I thought you might need a distraction. You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
Rebecca did have a lot on her mind. Her heart belonged to Caen, but she’d let him slip away. Even if she tried, would she be able to find Caen? Would he want her? She did love him, but she’d thrown his love back in his face because it wasn’t “logical.” While she might not deserve another chance, she wanted one. But what should she
do? She turned to Mrs. White, who was still looking at the door.
Rebecca glanced to the door herself, her heart suddenly filling with hope. If she asked, would they delay their departure and help her find Caen? Surely they would, after that story she’d just been told. “Mrs. White?”
“Yes?”
“Are we taking off soon?” She didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but panic set in as she thought about them leaving.
“We are.” She rose. “Excuse me for a moment.”
Rebecca watched her go, a protest on her lips, but then she heard a whispered conversation. Silence followed, and then she heard footsteps coming down the hall. They sounded too heavy and moved too fast to be Mr. or Mrs. White. She stared down at the floor until the footsteps stopped at the door, her heart pounding as it never had before.
“Rebecca, you can spend the rest of your life calling me a liar, because I’m going to keep bothering you until you agree to truly become my wife.”
She jumped up and ran into his arms, almost knocking him back against the wall. “I’m happy you didn’t really leave me. My heart’s been telling my head how stupid it is.”
“And?”
“And what?”
He chuckled. His finger traced the stones on her armband. “Will you be my wife?”
She stared into his eyes, and then she ran her hands over his face.
He smiled at her caress. “Yes or no. I’m taking you with me anyway. If you say no, I’ll just ask you again tomorrow.”
She laughed, despite the tears pooling in her eyes. “Yes. No buts this time.”
“Good.” He kissed her sweetly. “I hope you didn’t mind this little deception. I wasn’t about to give up on you. The Whites thought it was very romantic. Apparently, he had to ask more than once, too.”
“Did he?” She already knew the story, but she wanted to hear what he’d say.
“Oh yes. That’s what he said when he found me staring off into space three nights ago. Said he knew that look.”
“Well, let’s go thank them and get back to your ship.”
“And where are we heading?”
“Well, as keen as I am on following my heart, we are going to use our heads for another day or two. We need to report what happened to me, and I want my stuff.”
“I’ll buy you new stuff.”
“I want my stuff.” She gave him a teasing smile. “Don’t you want to see where I’m from? Come on. I want to show you off!”
He grinned down at her. “Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?”
“I love you, Caen.” She tapped him on the end of his nose. “And I forbid you to refuse me. Ever.”
“Very well, but I love you, too, you know, and I have a command.”
“Yes?”
“Follow your heart. Always.”
She put her arms around his neck. “It brought me home. I’ll always trust it from now on.” She brought their lips together, and the joy in her heart confirmed that she truly had come home.
The End
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Other Books by Marie Medina:
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