Chapter Three

"Gleezer the Geezer? Are you kidding me?" Prudence clapped a hand over her mouth and snorted through her fingers. "Sorry. It's not funny. It's unbelievable. I mean, ew!" She reached out and squeezed Hope's hand. "Of course, you can stay with us. Our sofa is your sofa."

"Thank you. You're the best friend in the whole world. I don't know what I'd do without you," Hope said. "Are you sure it won't be an imposition? You're busy with the wedding and all." They'd been schoolmates and had remained friends even after Rose had forced Hope to drop out. Hope had gotten Prudence a job at the Flour Power Bakery after her graduation.

Taking advantage of a lull in business, they huddled at a corner table. Mornings were crazy busy as people rushed in for sweet rolls, scones, and coffee cakes, but then they got a break before the lunch crowd came in for the meat and vegetable hand pies .

"Don't be silly! The wedding is more than a year away. You being at the cottage won't affect the wedding planning at all. And after I get married and move out, you can have my room, or you can come live with William and me if you still need a place to stay," Prudence said.

"It's wonderful of you to offer, but I would never impose that long. You newlyweds need the place to yourself, and your parents don't need a long-term squatter. A few months ought to be enough time for me to save up for a place of my own."

The eviction turned out to be a blessing in disguise. With her friend's help, she could finally break free of her stepmother and live her life the way she wished.

"Maybe I can find a furnished place, and, if not, I don't care. I'll sleep on the floor. To be free for the first time in my life will be like sleeping on a cloud," she mused.

Prudence's mouth twisted wryly. "Not if you're lying on a cold, hard flagstone floor."

Hope laughed. "Okay, maybe not, but getting away from Rose will be worth it. I still can't believe she tried to pimp me out to Gleezer! "

"You have another option," Prudence said. "Besides moving out, I mean."

"Like what?"

"You could try Cosmic Mates."

"What's that?"

"Didn't you see the flash mail?"

"I guess not."

"Let me grab my tech-tab. I've been doing a lot of wedding planning stuff, but I still have some time left this month." Her friend got up and went behind the counter where she'd stowed her multipurpose device.

Government controlled technology usage, distributing tech-tabs and limiting the time spent on the devices. Each individual was allotted a certain number of hours per month. Once the limit was reached, the device shut down until the next period.

Prudence came back to the table.

"Don't use your tech time on me," Hope said. "You need it for the wedding. I'll check my device for the flash mail after work." She rarely brought her tech-tab to Flour Power because she was too busy to use it. When not serving customers, she was in the kitchen baking .

"Don't worry about it. As soon as William and I got engaged, I started saving time. Besides, the new month is about to start, and I'll get a new allotment."

"All right. If you run out, you can borrow my tech-tab and use my minutes."

"Fair enough!" Prudence grinned, opened up the flash mail, and handed her device to Hope.

She scanned a few pages, getting the gist of it. "They're seeking human females of childbearing age to become the wives of men on…Caradonia? I've never heard of that planet. Why do they want humans?"

"Maybe because we're the most genetically and/or biologically compatible with them. Scroll down. There are some photos."

"But, why us? What's wrong with their own women?" She scrolled down to look at the photos.

"I don't know." Her friend shrugged.

"They're blue!" She gasped.

"But handsome, right? They don't look that different from us."

"Well, yeah, but…" She studied the photos. There were three alien men. Grinning cheekily, two posed bare-chested, flexing impressive biceps.

However, the other one drew her eye. Arms crossed over his massive chest, he was clothed in a high-necked tailored tunic so crisp it could probably stand on its own. More starched than his clothing was his stern, forbidding expression. He did not seem happy to be featured.

I'm with you, buddy. I know how you feel.

She peered closer. "Is that glitter? Do you think it's natural or cosmetic?" Along the stern man's hairline was a row of sequin-like silver scales. She scrutinized the other two, noticing that one had a sparkling swath across his chest and the other down his arm.

Prudence glanced at the tech-tab and shrugged. "You got me. They're aliens. It's kind of festive, though, don't you think?"

"I think this is not for me. Marrying an alien won't solve my problem." This was not something she would ever be interested in doing. I'm not that desperate.

"It would get you off Terra Nova. You wouldn't have to worry about Gleezer the Geezer anymore. Or your wicked stepmother." Her gaze settled on Hope's bruised cheek.

"I'd still be locked into an unwanted marriage. I could be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire."

"No, you wouldn't. There's an escape clause. The first year is provisional; you get to know each other. After that, you have the option of going your separate ways or making the marriage binding."

"Everything okay with you and William?" she asked.

Prudence blinked. "Everything is great. Why do you ask?"

"You obviously read through the entire advertisement. Why would you care?"

She shrugged. "Curiosity. And then I realized it might be perfect for you even before I heard about the situation with the mayor."

Even my best friend thinks nobody will want me. Prudence was too kind to say so, but Hope would never catch anyone's eye or turn any heads. Plain, mousy, quiet, she couldn't even claim to have a scintillating personality. It wasn't that men disliked her—they never noticed her. Except for the mayor. Ugh.

"No. A marriage of convenience isn't for me." She handed Prudence the tech-tab. The odds might be against it, but she intended to hold out for love. "I'd rather be alone than marry just anybody."

"I understand." Prudence gave her a hug. "You'll stay with me. It will work out. You'll see. "

They looked up as a grim-faced Clifford emerged from the kitchen.

"What's up with him?" Prudence murmured.

"He doesn't look happy," she agreed.

Their boss motioned. "Hope, can I speak to you, privately?"

She glanced at her friend, shrugged, and then followed him into the kitchen. "What's going on?"

Clifford's gaze fell short of her eyes and lingered on her bruised cheek. "I'm so sorry, Hope. This is killing me."

"What is? What's wrong?"

"I have to let you go," he said.

"Let me go? What are you saying?"

"I have to fire you."

His words hit her harder than her stepmother's slap, and she staggered a little. "I'm fired? Why? I've worked here for ten years. You don't think I'm doing a good job?" I need this position! What will I do for money? How will I move out?

"You're a great worker." His throat moved as he swallowed. His gaze finally met hers. "If I don't fire you, he'll shut me down."

"The mayor."

Clifford nodded. "He called me. "

She didn't doubt Gleezer would follow through on the threat. He wouldn't hesitate to trample anyone who got in his way. Clifford had a wife and three kids to support. He couldn't lose his business. This was Gleezer's way of pressuring her to marry him. Would he come after Prudence's family when he learned she would be staying with them?

He would. She felt sick. Gleezer was viler than she'd thought.

"I'll try to slip you some extra money besides the wages you're entitled to."

"Thank you," she said. The extra would cost him personally. Like most Bloomhaven businesses, the bakery operated on a slim profit margin. Clifford wasn't rich; he barely got by. Exorbitant taxes left no capital for expansion, which could have generated a higher profit and resulted in better wages for everyone.

For Clifford's sake, she should turn down the handout, but she couldn't afford to. She had a hunch no one else in the village would dare to hire her. And if she slipped away to another hamlet, Gleezer would track her down. There was no telling how far his tendrils of power and influence extended. I'll never be free. No matter where I go, Gleezer and his hounds will follow me .

"I am so sorry," he said.

"It's all right. I'll manage." She hugged him, trying to comfort him, although she felt like she'd been kicked in the chest. She untied her apron and hung it on the hook. Some of the happiest days of her life had been spent in the bakery kitchen with its big ovens and marble slab tables. She enjoyed baking and loved designing special-order cakes. Clifford had been a friend, not just a boss.

She exited the kitchen, and Prudence jumped up. "What happened? You look shell-shocked."

"Let me see the Cosmic Mates application."