Page 21 of Chosen By Swift

His handsome smile left her feeling excited and scared.Official.She belonged to this man. For better or for worse, he owned her for at least the next thirty days. Could she survive thirty days with this stranger? Would she want to stay? Build a life and family with him?

“Swift.” An older man in a similar uniform approached with a tense look on his face.

“Flint.” Swift dropped her hand and stiffened. He was suddenly all business, and she marveled at the quick way he morphed from playful and sweet to serious.

“Ma’am.” The older man nodded briefly in her direction before turning his attention to Swift. “I wondered if you would be willing to do us a favor? We have a ship that needs to be returned to theValiant.”

“Where’s its pilot?” Swift seemed confused.

Flint glanced at Alys. “He went AWOL.”

Swift narrowed his eyes, and she suspected he didn’t quite believe that. “AWOL?”

Flint nodded. “Noble suggested we ask you to fly it home.”

Swift glanced down at her. “I’ll need a co-pilot.”

“There are plenty of pilots here.” Flint gestured to the men who had run for brides.

“I need to see the ship’s maintenance logs.” Swift scanned the tent. “Tirade!” He called out. “Wanna fly with me?”

A tall blond with blue eyes strode toward them. He could have been Swift’s brother for all she knew. Her attention shifted to the auburn-haired young woman he brought with him. “Zadie!”

“Alys!” Zadie engulfed her in a tight hug. “I’m so glad to see you again.”

Alys laughed softly and rubbed the younger woman’s back. “It hasn’t even been an hour since I braided your hair and we ran.”

“I know.” Zadie held on for a few more seconds, and Alys was reminded of Bonnie’s fearful expression the night prior.

“You two know each other?” Swift asked, seemingly pleased.

“Zadie’s family owns the dairy farm down the road from my family,” she explained as they separated. “We grew up together.”

“Alys taught me how to read,” Zadie added. “My father would send me to her house for school in the afternoons after my chores.”

“Are you a teacher?” Tirade asked.

Alys shook her head. “I taught my younger siblings and a few others like Zadie. Only simple things like reading and some math.”

“And cooking and cleaning and sewing and knitting and gardening,” Zadie corrected. “I didn’t have any older sisters to teach me homemaking skills. If it wasn’t for Alys, my daddy and brothers would have been walking around with holes in their socks and empty bellies.”

“I only did what any older sister would do,” Alys demurred, her face hot from the unwanted attention.

Swift must have seen that she was uncomfortable, and he explained the situation with the ship to Tirade who agreed to fly as a copilot. Swift placed his hand on her back and led her away from the tents. They collected her small bag and Zadie’s from the searched baggage and made their way to the ship.

“You fly this?” she asked, staring up at Swift in awe.

“It’s not my usual aircraft,” he answered, “but I’m rated to fly every ship in the fleet.” Clearly disappointed, he said, “I wish it was a Bolt. We really could have had some fun on the way back.”

Tirade laughed. “I think a nice, easy ride on this transport ship is a better choice for their first trip to space.”

“Nice and boring,” Swift grumbled. “Come on, darling. Let’s get you and your friend situated.”

Alys marveled at the ship. Her family had plenty of farm equipment, some pieces rather large. This was something completely different. She couldn’t imagine how a ship as big as a barn could possibly lift off the ground and fly into the sky and then out into space.

There was an area called the cargo bay that was empty right now. A level up there were rows of seats. She counted space for one hundred people, fifty on each side. There were lavatories and even a small kitchen that was stocked with packages of food and drinks with the strangest labels she had ever seen.

“What is a nutritional bar?” Zadie asked, holding up one of the boxes.

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