Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“It’s weird to imagine, isn’t it?” Ruthie says, hunching her shoulders and giving us a bashful smile. “I’ve lived day to day for so long that I have a hard time imagining what the future looks like. But with Kazex, it’s a lot easier to see.”
“Babies?” Ruth asks, nudging her.
Ruthie puts her hands up. “God, no. You can have enough for both of us. I was thinking more along the lines of a cozy little house and a bed big enough to stretch out on. Maybe a garden.”
“A garden?” I echo. “Who are you, and what have you done with Ruthie?”
She glances over at pregnant Ruth, then back to me. “I don’t know. I’m just thinking aloud. Flowers might be pretty, that’s all I’m saying.” She turns back to Ruth. “What about you?”
“Babies, obviously.” She gestures at her protruding belly. “Maybe more than one. But because of Straik’s situation with his mom and his family’s legal situation, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what comes next. We’re going to keep the ship as our home for a while, but not necessarily here the entire time. Which brings me to something else we need to talk about—Zebah contacted Straik.”
I groan. Ruthie does too.
“She’s trouble,” Ruthie says, dubious. “Like, worse than Bethiah. And I didn’t think that was possible.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I scowl at Ruthie. “Zebah rescued me, remember? Don’t talk shit about her.”
“Is it shit if it’s the truth?”
“Okay, okay,” Ruth says, putting her hands up to form a barrier between us. “Go to your corners, ladies.” She looks over at me. “She is a bit of a loose cannon, but she’s also got a good heart.”
Ruthie makes a sound in her throat.
“Anyhow, there’s a lead on Michaela’s sister Rafaela, and Zebah wants some quiet backup. Aithar is insisting we go, and Straik doesn’t want to send him off without a solid crew around him.”
My fear spikes—not for myself, but for Ruth. “Is this a good idea? Straik’s supposed to be keeping his nose clean.”
“We’re just transport, or so Zebah says—”
Ruthie makes another throat noise.
Ruth puts a hand over Ruthie’s mouth and continues on. “She has Rafaela’s location, but she needs a ship because she lost hers.”
“How do you lose an entire ship?” Ruthie mumbles from under Ruth’s hand.
“Something about how it wasn’t even hers in the first place? I didn’t ask questions. The bottom line is that Aithar needs us, and so we’re going with him.” Ruth lowers her hand from Ruthie’s mouth. “But we’re only going to be a ride. You know Straik won’t put me in danger.”
“Is that wise?” Ruthie asks, changing tactics. “Given that you’re a billion years pregnant?”
“Fourteen or fifteen months.” Ruth grimaces over at me. “But it feels like a billion years to my lower back.”
I don’t like this, but I have to trust that the situation is as it’s described. Lord Straik would not put Ruth in danger for anything, so this has to be safe. And poor Aithar and Michaela have been looking for her missing sister Rafaela for a while now. “Who all’s going?”
“Not many,” Ruth says. “Aithar, obviously. Dopekh is going to help Michaela with the butter business while Aithar is gone. Salvotor is still farm-sitting for Maeve, so he’s out.”
I can feel my frown growing, because Dopekh and Salvotor are the muscle of the team. Kazex is, too, but he and Ruthie are committed to the cantina. “Zaemen? Erzah? Jerzec?”
“Erzah yes, Jerzec yes. Zaemen is staying.” Ruth’s mouth tightens into a half-smile half-grimace. “And of course we’ve got Sakkar.”
“Woo.” Ruthie could not sound less enthused.
“What about you?” Ruth asks me. “No pressure either way, but we could always use another pair of hands for the bridge comms.”
I consider it. For a very brief second. “I don’t want to leave Simone behind.”
Ruthie arches her pierced brow. “But you won’t tell her what you really are.”
I swallow hard. “I just…I don’t want to drag her into trouble. All she wants is peace and quiet.” Both of my sisters give me looks—one sympathetic, one judging. “I know. I know. I’m going to say something. Don’t leave without me. If she takes it badly, I’ll just leave the planet and flee with you guys.”
The universe is surely big enough to hide a crushed heart, after all.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
RUTH-ANN
The cantina is always crowded. It makes any hope of leaving early to talk to Simone impossible. In a way I’m glad, because I can sink into work without having to worry about anything other than getting the next order up. Zaemen enjoys working in the kitchen and laughs and chats the entire time. His banter with servers Jerzec and Erzah is fun to be around, and even if I’m not contributing to the conversation, I feel welcome and part of the team. By the time we’ve cleaned up and put away the food, it’s extra late.