a close watch on her. She might be struggling with her mental stability. I would never hire pirates to steal your parents. It did get me thinking, though.” He smiled, and it lit up his face.
She smiled back, unable to help it. “What is it?”
“I love you, Hailey. You’re worth taking risks for, and I would do anything for you. There’s something you need to hear. You’re so amazing…and I had faith that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.”
He reached into his pants pocket and withdrew a small recorder. He tapped it on.
“I don’t have a lot of time because transmissions can be traced, but I need to speak to you. It’s about Hailey.”
It was Blade’s voice. She gripped his shirt tighter.
“Is she alright?”
Shock jolted through her. That was her dad speaking.
“Yes, sir. Physically, she’s perfect. I am in love with your daughter, and she’s in love with me. I work in a remote location, the caretaker for a classified site. I would like to marry Hailey. Last night, I held her while she cried herself to sleep because her heart is split between us. I’m a contracted employee who’s locked into this job for at least thirty years. I can’t change that, or I would. That’s why I’m contacting you.”
She heard him take a deep, audible breath before he continued. “Hailey said you’ve always wanted to take a trip. I don’t know how you feel about leaving Prospect to move somewhere else…but there’s plenty of room here. You can retire from the mines, and your wife from teaching. I’ll take care of you both. You won’t want for food or nice living conditions. There’s only a handful of people living here, but the most important one will be your daughter. Will you consider it?”
“What’s your name?” That was Hailey’s mom.
“That’s classified, but your daughter told me all about Stone Stern, and she says I’m like him. I found Hailey in a bad situation and brought her home with me, where I knew she’d be safe. Please let me be her hero once more. Agree to move here, so we can keep her heart in one piece by bringing our family together. I have funds available to send to you. It’ll be more than enough for you to pack your belongings and take a transport to Kellerton Station. Nice accommodations will be reserved for you in your name, along with a large storage locker for your things, until one of my coworkers can pick you up and bring you to Hailey.
“Please consider it. I never want to see her cry again like she did last night, and if she leaves me to be with you, you’ll be the ones holding her at night, listening to her sobs. Please.”
Silence followed.
Hailey felt tears slipping down her face. “Oh, Blade…” She buried her face in his chest. “Thank you for trying.” She sniffed. “They have friends there, and it’s all they’ve ever known. Dad talks about going into space but he just wanted to take a vacation.”
“I had to reach out to them and try. I sent Rod a coded message, asking him if Kellerton Station was a place he could get in and out of to pick up two people, if they said yes. He said he could. They have no port authorities. Pirates go there often. He also said he could easily transfer funds to your parents, and he has more than enough to pay for their traveling expenses.”
“That was so nice of him.”
“I told him how much you mean to me. He demanded answers after I asked him to transport two humans to our home. He even demanded to speak to Big first, to make sure I’d cleared it with him.”
“Big agreed to let my parents come here? He’s so protective of Gemma.”
“She was there when I asked. He might want to shield her, but she doesn’t seem to need it. When he pointed out that humans could be cruel to clones, she laughed and told him her old job had her handling hundreds of nasty-mouthed humans every day.”
“I still don’t want to go home right now.” She tugged on his shirt. “My parents can wait a few weeks. We deserve that time together. Right? This is our vacation.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “Oh, we deserve a lot more than that.”
“I can’t stay months. That would just make it harder.” She teared up again. “It’s going to be tough to say goodbye, no matter what.”