Page 100 of Alien Haven

“Nice place,” Charity said, no trace of sarcasm to be found as she stood next to the shuttle and looked at her surroundings.

The white house was lovely and so Earther, she was surprised the Kalquorian part of the clan lived in it. It had a cute porch swing and rocking chairs. The adjacent red barn was a familiar sight, thanks to scenic photographs and the picture books she’d read as a kid.

Charity hadn’t been at any actual farms when she’d lived on Earth. Nonetheless, she’d have sworn she’d been transported ten years in the past and stood on her home planet. Darn if she didn’t hear chickens clucking nearby.

Groteg and Utber brought out her travel bins from the shuttle. “Sorry to dump you and run, but we have to return to work for a few hours,” the Imdiko explained as he hurried past to the house.

“Don’t worry. You have me…oh, and here come the kids,” Sara said as a long shuttle zoomed toward the farm. It settled on the dirt lane before the large front yard in front of the home.

Charity watched as the shuttle’s hatch opened and a dark-haired boy of around eight or nine years of age fairly leapt out of its environs. Clan in shorts and a shirt bearing evidence of a recent eating mishap, his sturdy legs pumped as he raced acrossthe lawn. His face beamed in the age-old exuberance of a child released from the tedium of a school day.

Following at a much more sedate pace came a lovely adolescent girl, enviable golden curls of hair cascading to the waistband of her slouchy trousers. Her gaze was curious, neither friendly nor adversarial as she eyed Charity’s presence. She simply seemed to be cataloguing the new arrival.

Finally was another blonde, a teenage boy who was a male version of Sara. He blinked at Charity. A friendly grin spread across his handsome features. His walk took on a strut. Sara, standing next to Charity, snorted.

“Go easy on the oldest, okay? It took him a whole week to get over his last crush.”

Charity covered her mouth to smother a laugh. “I’ll convince him I’m an elderly woman, too uncool to be bothered by. How old is he?”

“Fifteen.” Sara sighed, then her youngest was on her, hugging her. “Hey, sweetie. How was school?”

“I got a hundred percent on my math test! Hi, who are you?” Wide brown eyes gazed at Charity.

“Hold on for your brother and sister, and I’ll introduce you all at once. Come on, guys, you have chores and I’m running behind on my own stuff.” As the siblings lined up in front of Charity and Sara, their mother rattled off names. “Adam’s my oldest. James is our math whiz, and Tori’s twelve going on twenty-one. This is Jennifer, everyone. She’ll be staying for a while.”

“A human girl instead of a Nobek? That’s new. What are you in for?” Tori wore a half-smirk.

“It doesn't matter. Treat her as you would your brothers…no, treat her respectfully,” Sara hurriedly amended.

Charity had her story ready, however. Having been a pre-teen not so long ago herself, she grinned at Tori. “I might havehad a bad habit of pulling pranks on those who lacked senses of humor.”

“You got sent to Haven for pranking somebody?”

“The last stunt went kind of wrong. No permanent injuries, but…” Charity shrugged, as if to saywhat can you do?Then she assumed a penitent expression. “I didn’t mean to hurt my chemistry professor. It was only supposed to be alittleblast.”

Sara fell into her role. “The trouble when it comes to these situations is we rarely want to cause harm, but it happens quite easily. I’ve been informed you were warned this exile would happen if you kept up your practical jokes.”

Charity hung her head. She peeked through still-unfamiliar honey-blond strands to see what reaction their performance had won.

Adam gazed at her as if impressed, his blue eyes bright. Charity might have told him she’d scaled the galaxy’s tallest mountain in high heels and won less admiration.

Tori’s attention was pointed at her mother, showing a sort of world-weariness reserved for those of a certain age who couldn’t believe how lame their parents were. Her tone was all sympathy when she said, “Accidents happen. Sounds to me like someone had it out for you, Jennifer.” Having dispensed her opinion, she headed to the house. “Lovely to meet you. Pop by my room to chat after dinner, if you want. Later, all. Stuff to do.”

“Stuffhad better include weeding the herb garden,” Sara called after her.

Meanwhile, James had discovered a large red bug trundling over the grass. He was busy setting sticks, leaves, and other debris in its way. If he’d taken any notice of Charity’s supposed sins, he’d forgotten them already.

Sara shooed the boys off to do their chores and start on their homework. “Dinner table at six. With hands washed, James.”She grinned at Charity as soon as they were out of earshot. “Pretty good cover story.”

“I wish I could take credit, but the Kalquorian powers-that-be concocted it.” Charity gazed at the front door, through which the children had disappeared.

All three were fully human, no doubt from an earlier relationship Sara had been in. Sometimes the hybrid offspring of Kalquorians and Earthers appeared to be solely of Kalquorian heritage, but even those possessing strong human traits had some hint of the other species in their appearances. She wondered why Clan Amgar had no hybrid children, but it wasn’t a polite question to ask. Especially not of a woman she’d met less than an hour ago.

“Let’s go to the kitchen,” Sara suggested. “A cup of coffee or tea?”

“Coffee would be amazing,” Charity said gratefully. “But if you have work, I don’t want to hold you up—”

“Nothing too pressing. Claiming I’m behind on my work is what I automatically say to the kids because it’s usually true.” Sara laughed. “They gave us a decent heads-up you were coming. I set aside time to get you settled.”

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