Mama and the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien #1) - Honey Phillips Page 0,42

one, then hugged it close as she started to cry.

Abby went to her and put her arms around the girl. For a moment she stiffened, then she gave in and sobbed against Abby’s shoulder.

“He thinks I’m too young,” she said finally. Her look was worse this time, filled with betrayal rather than anger.

“You are young, Molly,” Abby said gently.

“But I’m not a child.” Her hand went to her stomach as she snorted a bitter laugh. “Doesn’t this prove that?”

“You don’t have to be grown up to get pregnant, honey,” Elaina said.

“But I’ve never felt like this before!” Molly wiped her eyes and sat up. Abby wished she had a dollar for every girl that had said the same thing, but there was an earnestness to Molly’s speech that she couldn’t ignore. “Before, with Bill, I always felt small and helpless, and he made me feel safe. But with Ribel—he still makes me feel safe, but I also feel stronger. Like I’m better when he’s around.”

“Ain’t you forgetting he’s an alien?” TeShawna broke in. “Doesn’t matter how he makes you feel. We’re going back to Earth, and he can’t come.”

The blunt words cast a pall over the rest of the morning. Abby was conscious of the same feeling of depression, no matter how ridiculous she told herself she was being. TeShawna was perfectly correct. The Cires were aliens and they were humans. There’s no future here, she told herself.

Her words rang hollow, especially when lunch rolled around and once again, she helped Hrebec feed Tiana. Despite their differences, they felt like a family—a feeling that was only reinforced when he took Lucie for the afternoon, swinging her up on his shoulder for her “big girl” ride. She squealed with delight and clutched his head.

“Bring her back to our—your cabin in a few hours. I want to talk to you.”

He nodded gravely, then shrugged his shoulder to bounce Lucie and making her squeal again. As they turned to walk away, Abby saw that his tail and his hand were holding her daughter firmly in place. A warm glow filled her. Hrebec would never let her fall.

“Where do you want to go, Princess Lucie?” Hrebec asked as they left the dining hall.

“Where does you drive the ship?”

“It’s called the bridge. I’ll take you there.”

When he walked on to the expansive bridge, there was a startled silence for the second time that day. His men had been more than a little surprised when he’d appeared with Tiana earlier, although that hadn’t stopped them from gathering around to admire her. The infant looked at them with her wide-eyed gaze. She didn’t seem afraid, but her tiny fist remained clenched in his shirt and her tail wrapped around him every time he adjusted her position.

“A Cire female,” Maraq breathed. “I never thought to see one.”

Hrebec remembered that Maraq had been on duty the previous day and had missed the joint meals, but he found himself surprisingly annoyed. “She is my daughter. She is not an object of curiosity.”

“Yes, Captain. I didn’t mean it that way.” Maraq hesitated, then said cautiously, “Your daughter?”

“Unless we find that she has living family on Trevelor.” Even the thought made his chest ache. He couldn’t bear to lose not only Abigail and Lucie but Tiana as well. Pushing the unwelcome possibility aside, he frowned at his men. “Don’t you have work to do?”

The morning had proceeded as normal after that. Despite more than a few glances in her direction, Tiana had been so quiet that it had been easy for his men to maintain their routine.

He suspected Lucie would be another matter—a suspicion that was confirmed as soon as they walked on to the bridge.

“Hi!” she called cheerfully, and loudly. “I’m Princess Lucie, and Leonardo is my horsie!”

Inzen came up and bowed to her. He was the chief engineer, and another senior member of the crew. “How do you do, Princess Lucie?”

She beamed at him and waved an imperious little hand. “I’m just fine, thanks.” Her attention was drawn to the huge screens that lined the front of the bridge. “What’s those? Are they TVs?”

“They are screens that let us see where we are,” Inzen said. “I think I know something you would like to see.” He went to his desk and worked at his controls for a few seconds before the screens lit up, showing an array of planets with a brilliant pink nebula shining beyond them.

“It’s so pretty,” Lucie gasped, then relapsed into silence, her arm clutching his head