Page 18 of Jace

He looked down at the whelp who was snuggled into his chest, his little fist half-shoved into his mouth. Yes, Jace felt a deep sense of satisfaction at the sight.

“And he loves you, too,” Susannah repeated. “He feels happy and safe in your arms. These things make you his father, whether you crave the title or not.”

“Susannah,” he said, but couldn’t think how to finish.

“Twenty standard years is a long time,” she said, gazing at Zeke as if he were already her whole world. “Let us at least start with honesty.”

“Bah,” Zeke said suddenly, whipping his hand out of his mouth.

“You agree,” Susannah said happily to the baby. “Do you want your daddy to finish feeding you, or do you want me to try again?”

She held out the milk cell and Zeke pounded on Jace’s forearm.

Smiling in relief, he took it from her and offered it to the boy.

Zeke grasped it in his tiny fists, so that they were holding it together, and relaxed into his favorite eating position in the crook of Jace’s elbow.

As always, the whelp fixed his dark eyes directly on Jace’s as he ate.

Son, Jace tried out, in his mind.

It felt right.

And though it might not have been the proper way of things as written in his marching orders, the stars remained in the sky and the fire kept crackling, and the tiny one kept swallowing his dinner, his eyes focused on his father.

7

Susannah

Susannah watched the big man cradle the tiny baby in his arms.

Though the warrior had been serious enough to seem almost unfriendly at first, he wore a tender expression now. His handsome face reflected love and wonder, whether he would label his emotions that way himself or not.

Is this my life now? Twenty standard years of watching these two figure it out?

The thought made warmth spread in her chest.

Susannah’s own family had never been what she could call warm or tender. Life for them was a game meant to be won, no matter the cost. There was no time for reflection.

But out here on a frontier moon, there would be little to do besides enjoy each other’s company.

She snuck another look at Jace as he lifted Zeke to his shoulder for one last burp.

To her surprise, the little one already seemed heavy with sleepiness again.

“I think I’ll try to get him to sleep,” Jace said. “If you want.”

“Yes, that would be great,” Susannah said. “Should I come with you?”

“I’ve got him,” he said, waving her away. “You probably want to rest your feet.”

He wasn’t wrong.

As he crawled into the tent with the baby, she removed the silly little shoes she had been walking in all day.

Relief and pain blossomed in her feet in equal measure.

“Susannah Beck, what have you done to yourself?” she murmured, shaking her head.

---