Page 20 of Mate for the Space Cowboy

“Women are much safer here than on Earth,” I hurry to explain. “Jane wasn’t harmed, but the spies that are part of the security for the royal family and the government are monitoring thesituation in that town. There are new security protocols in place for all of us.”

“The men who spy are some of the most trusted bodyguards in the royal security. Since Thorne is one of them, that’s a good sign,” Nadine adds. “We’ll get the details on him. I know Melody will help me find out everything we need to know.”

Romi looks between us, vulnerability and uncertainty flickering in her eyes. I smile over at her. “I want you to experience the infinity pulse, although I totally understand your perspective. I felt the same way. I thought if I could just get married and not have to worry about being beaten, that would be enough. I still believe that, but I hope for more for you too.”

Romi startles me by leaning over and giving me a quick side hug. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about something else,” she announces a moment later.

Nadine is excited about her support group and launches into an introduction of why she wanted to start this. She even brings out a whiteboard, eliciting a chuckle from Romi.

Nadine grins over at her. “Hey, this will help us too. There’s so much to learn.” She glances among us. “So many different aliens travel to this planet because it’s an intergalactic hub. This planet is respected by many others and provides support all over the galaxy. Until I arrived, I didn’t know they’d provided food and other supplies to Earth for decades.”

“I’m wondering about Earth finally traveling here,” I chime in. “It’s not like they don’t travel at all, but they have shitty spaceships. Only the wealthiest of the wealthy can afford to travel. They certainly haven’t sent a governmental emissary group anywhere recently.”

“We don’t freaking know how much people from Earth have traveled,” Romi says bluntly. “I mean, sure, we know they haven’t come here, but who would tell us back there? Here, there’s news, and we have access to information. The only thingwe had on Earth was GalaxyCosmo. I’ve learned more about Earth’s history here than I did living on Earth. My mom was a teacher for a while, and my grandmother was too, so we had some old history books hidden, but there were missing pages.” Romi shakes her head. She turns her focus to the new women in the group. “No matter what, life here will be better for you. Even though I worry, Jane promises us that you're safe here, even if you don’t find a mate. I believe her.”

“I do too. Also, if you decide you want to have kids but don’t find a mate, they have a whole program for that. Trudy, an orc who lives here, and her wife plan to have a baby. Trudy is so excited,” Nadine explains.

“What about jobs? We want to work,” Risa says.

Nadine gets rolling with that question, happily using her whiteboard to list their options.

Chapter Fifteen

MELODY

When I return home that night, Hunter has prepared a feast for me. I’ve discovered he loves to cook. I look around at the amount of food on the table, and my heart feels like it will burst out of my chest with joy.

“This is a lot of food,” I point out. “There’s no way I can eat all this tonight.”

“You’re pregnant,” he says, as if that explains everything.

“Um, yes, but only so much food will fit inside me.”

Hunter’s eyes dip from me down to the table and back again before a sheepish smile curls his lips.

I stop beside him and lean up to press a kiss on his cheek. “I love you for wanting to overfeed me,” I tease.

I’m savoring this time with Hunter because he has to leave again. This time, he assures me it will only be a few days. Asher and Jane are traveling to another town on the planet, and the security detail is going with them. This is the town where the group of emissaries from Earth have traveled. I admit to being very curious about this group. I knew from growing up on Earth that even though it’s been at least a century since Earth reigned supreme in the galaxy, there are still those there who believe Earth to be superior. Now that I’m here, I recognizehow ridiculous that is. Of course, Earth did offer much to the galaxy once upon a time, but other planets also have many contributions.

Earth’s history teaches the rest of the galaxy what it means to destroy your own environment. Jane has assured us she’ll report back so we can hear all the gossip about the Earth group.

The morning before Hunter leaves, he studies me with worry flickering in his eyes. “Promise me you will contact the medical team if anything comes up,” he says.

“Hunter, I’ve already promised you that. The doctor assures me I’m healthy and my pregnancy is going well.” I lean up to give him a lingering kiss. “You need not worry.”

I’m supposed to learn to ride the horses soon, but Hunter’s asked me to wait until after I have the baby. I think that’s a little ridiculous, but I’m willing to humor him. In the meantime, we have a chienne, this planet’s version of a dog. She is sweet and loving with luxurious silver fur. Hunter wants me to have company when he’s gone. I’m relieved she’s here because the house feels so empty when he’s not here. Back on Earth, all I wanted was to be alone.

“Promise me you’ll be safe,” I say as I hold his hands beside the mount he will ride to travel with the prince and others.

“Always,” he says.

I watch as he mounts before taking to the air. When I’m home that night, I miss him.

Two days pass, and all is quiet. But that night, I feel the burning tug on what I think of as the cord that connects Hunter and me—our infinity pulse. I tell myself it just means they’re traveling home because they’re due home tomorrow.

Yet I feel a sense of uneasiness, and I’m grateful for our dog’s comforting presence.

Chapter Sixteen

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