Page 71 of Moon Tamed

My mouth dropped open. “Seriously? That’s it? You don’t care what the report says as long as he has healthier working hours?”

“What were you thinking?”

“That you would hate me if I couldn’t find anything that might change his position.”

Calden frowned, but he spent some time thinking about it. “All right. I understand how you got that impression. No, that’s not the case at all. I would like my father to have fewer responsibilities and more time outside of work, but I understand he does something very important for Moonriver. I don’t think anyone else could have done what he did for Earth. Too many want power. My father has the power. He’s not shy about using it, but he uses it for the benefit of as many as possible. Every life he saved from Earth, he did so using that power. He may have even abused that power somewhat to make it happen. I don’t know. I wasn’t part of the negotiations. But because of him, thousands are still alive.”

“People and animals alike,” I mumbled.

“And when you count the other planets that followed in his footsteps? Hundreds of thousands still live because of his actions. I love my father and want him to have an easier time, but I cannot refute that truth. I won’t belittle his efforts. Because of where he is and what he did, so many are still alive. I can’t, in good conscience, take that away from everyone.”

I could only assume he had changed his stance due to Earth’s demise.

The way I viewed the world had swiftly tilted as a result of the disaster. I expected to struggle with my changed perspective for a while, too.

“I worried for nothing, didn’t I?”

“Not really. Before what happened to Earth? You were right. I would not have been happy. But Earth changed everything. I’ll still not be happy, but I’ll be unhappy in a different way. I want my father to retire, find a woman he loves, and do whatever it is older men do when they’re not working.”

“Doting on his child comes to mind.”

Calden’s eyes widened. “That had not occurred to me.”

“You would be signing up for a lot of attention if he retires from ruling Moonriver.”

His eyes widened further. “Please, no. I receive sufficient attention as it is. I receive too much attention at times. Take today. I would have much rather just gotten up, called my boss, claimed I was ill, and gone back to bed. But because my father is my father, he showed up. He’ll show up more often if he has time, won’t he?”

I smiled at the alarm in his tone. “That’s a distinct possibility.”

“You’re enjoying my misfortune!”

My smile widened, despite my efforts to contain my amusement. “Maybe a little. It’s hard having a loving parent. Now, just imagine if your father meets a great woman while dating. Then you’ll have two loving parents, determined to make certain you know you’re loved.”

“It’s too late to cancel these dates, isn’t it?”

I dissolved into helpless laughter. By the time Calden’s father came calling, I’d slumped over my new desk, tears streamed down my face, and I verged on oozing to the floor.

“It’s not that funny,” Calden complained.

“Should I be concerned?” Mr. Stephans inquired with curiosity in his tone.

“Don’t worry about it, Dad. It’s fine. She told a joke that cracked her up. At my expense. I’ll probably recover. No, I am not repeating the joke, and I will hope she won’t. Not that she’s in any state to talk right now.”

The disgust in his tone set me off even more, and I gave up all pretenses of maturity, completed my ooze to the floor, and kept on laughing.

“Well, she’s having a great time, so I guess that’s fine. I’ll just leave this stack of papers for her to go over. Lunch will be here in twenty minutes. I recommend you two eat in here, otherwise Sarai will mob you both. She wants more hugs, as her bunnies were just that cute this morning.”

“Please tell her I’m glad she likes her bunnies. You may as well set her up with breeding the Earth bunnies. That will give her something to do that she’ll excel at. Are you putting a committee together to handle conservation of the Earth breeds?”

“I am. I need to figure out who to delegate that to, but for right now, I’m handling it. I’m just making sure we don’t breed unintentionally and create health problems for the babies. The vets are overseeing that portion, I’m just hovering.”

“Ask Sarai. She has a good feel for the animals and those best suited to handle them,” Calden suggested. “She might not be great with people, but with animals? You can’t go wrong with her.”

“I’ll tell her you said that, and I won’t leave the part out about being bad with people.”

Calden sighed. “Must you?”

“I must. It is my sacred duty as a father to challenge my son and provide him with positive attention from other humans. I assure you it is a platonic affection in Sarai’s case. She is grateful you took the time to do something for her.”

---