Page 53 of Legacy for the Alien Warrior

“They do.” Elrin’s voice held a gentle wisdom. “When was the last time you allowed yourself that simple pleasure?”

The question struck deeper than Elrin could know. Happiness had been a distant memory for so long. Something he had convinced himself he didn’t deserve.

“I was happy once,” he admitted. “On my father’s ship, but I wanted more—it was why we returned to Ciresia.”

The admission hung between them. He had never spoken of his reasons for returning home before the plague struck.

“And now?” Elrin asked softly.

His gaze remained fixed on the tableau outside. “I do not know what I want anymore.”

But that wasn’t entirely true. Looking at Kara and the children, he knew exactly what he wanted. He just didn’t know if he deserved it—or if they would choose to stay with him once they had other options.

“Don’t wait too long to decide,” Elrin advised. “Some opportunities come only once in a lifetime.”

He nodded, then quickly changed the subject, asking about the local economy, the availability of housing, the job market for someone with his skills. Practical questions that probably revealed more than he intended.

Elrin answered each query patiently, his eyes knowing.

When they finally joined Kara and the children in the garden, he felt a strange lightness. Possibilities he hadn’t considered before now seemed within reach.

Rory immediately came to him, taking his hand and leading him to see the creation he and Talia had made. A spiral of stones with flowers placed in precise intervals. The pattern reminded him of the navigation charts he’d studied as a young male.

“It’s very good,” he told the boy, and was rewarded with a beaming smile.

Talia hung back, watching him with her large dark eyes. When he extended his hand to her, she approached cautiously.

“Did you help make this?” he asked her.

She nodded, ears shifting to a pleased lavender. “I added the flowers.”

“They are perfect,” he told her, and meant it.

Kara came to stand beside him, close enough that her arm brushed against his. His tail automatically curled around her waist.

“What did you and Elrin discuss?” she asked quietly.

“Many things.” He kept his voice equally low. “He thinks he knows where Talia is from, but he needs time to research.”

Her expression grew concerned. “Will we need to give her up?”

The “we” in her question warmed something deep inside him. “I do not know. But we will not make any decisions without considering what is best for her.”

She nodded, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “And what do we do while he researches?”

He looked around the peaceful garden, at the children playing together, at the woman beside him. An idea took shape.

“I thought perhaps we might stay planetside for a while,” he said carefully. “I could find work as a mechanic. There’s a shipyard in the main settlement.”

“And living arrangements?”

“I could inquire about housing. Something with a garden, perhaps.”

The hope that bloomed in her eyes made his chest ache. “You’d do that? For us?”

“For all of us,” he corrected gently. “If that’s what you want.”

Her hand found his, their fingers intertwining. “It is.”

---