if the rest of your story was true. No one rings a cell phone from outer space. It takes special equipment. I don’t understand.”
“May I,” Jaron asked his voice barely above a whisper.
She’d planned on introducing him tonight anyway. “Absolutely.”
He scooted closer to her and smiled at her parents. “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Harmon. My name is Jaron Tyge and my people can do all sorts of things humans find hard to believe.”
Janice stared back at him, eyes wide, expression blank. Charles’ expression was much harder to read, but he definitely seemed less shocked than Janice.
“Are you... He looks like an elf,” her mother whispered as if Jaron couldn’t hear her.
Nikki laughed. “They prefer Sarronti to elf, but he’s basically an elf.”
“Then this is magic?” her mother asked disbelievingly.
“Magic is simply technology you don’t understand yet. Didn’t a human say something like that?” he challenged.
Nikki knew damn well that wasn’t true, but interdimensional communication wasn’t the reason she’d called. “How he did this isn’t important, but Jaron is why I called. We are a couple, and our relationship is getting serious. Is that a problem for either of you?”
“You’re going to marry an elf?”
Her mother still sounded confused, but her father looked guilty as hell. He knew. She hadn’t been sure until now, but he definitely knew. “This isn’t the first time someone in our family has fallen in love with an elf. Is it, Dad?”
Janice looked at her husband. “What’s she talking about?”
Charles heaved a sigh, his gaze darting about the room. “I didn’t know how to tell you, and it never became an issue with you so I just—”
“It wasn’t an issue with me? Do Robby and Paul know?”
“Know what?” Janice snapped. “What are you guys talking about?”
“My mother was Sarronti,” Charles admitted with obvious regret. “She didn’t die, like I told everyone. Dad treated her like he treated his other two wives, so she went back to Sarronti Prime.”
Nikki gasped. “She’s here? My grandmother lives on this planet?”
“She died six years ago,” Charles told her. “She contacted me regularly to find out all about you and your brothers. If my father hadn’t treated her like shit, she would have been a wonderful grandmother.”
“What was her name, sir?” Jaron asked. “I’d like to find out if she had children once she returned. Nikki could have relatives here as well.”
“Her name was Soria Farr.”
“Soria? You told me your mother’s name was Sophia,” Janice said.
“Soria was her real name. She went by Sophia on Earth.”
“This is unbelievable,” Janice did not sound pleased by the development. “You lied to me. You lied to all of us.”
“Would you have believed me if I told you?” he objected. “There was only one way to prove what I was saying and the one and only time I trusted a doctor it just about cost me everything.”
“What happened?” Nikki prompted, glad that they’d returned to her unanswered question. “Did it involve Robby or Paul?”
“Paul,” Charles admitted. “The ER doctor thought Paul looked anemic so he drew blood without my permission. I told him that it was against our religion but the bastard did it while I was in the bathroom. I’ve never been so angry in my life.”
“This was when Paul broke his arm?” Janice asked.
Charles nodded. “My reaction made him even more suspicious, so he ordered a bunch of tests not just an iron level. Needless to say, the doctor was confused by the anomalies they found in Paul’s blood and insisted we do more tests. I told him if he didn’t set Paul’s arm and discharge him that I would be contacting a lawyer. He called the hospital administrator, but thankfully she sided with me. The doctor had no choice but to back off, but he had a gleam in his eyes as we left. I knew damn well he wasn’t going to let it go.”
Janice was glaring by the time his story concluded. “I know nothing about this either, so what did you do?”
“I contacted Soria, asked for the Sarronti’s help. They sent someone to erase the incident from his memory so the fool would leave us alone. They also gave me Dr. Rozmere’s name. She has many patients with Sarronti blood. She’s been our family doctor ever since.”
“Which is why it never happened again,” Janice realized. “I can’t believe you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”
“He’s right, mom. Without proof, we wouldn’t have believed him.”
“It wasn’t a matter of trust, love,” Charles insisted. “I was protecting my family. Secrets