14. Ozadus

Restlessly, I tap my foot as I wait for the transport to touch down planetside. For what feels like the one thousandth time, I wonder if I should be here at all.

Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve given up, has been for this moment. After working tirelessly to earn a legitimate living, I decided it was time to try and reunite with Lisa and prove that I am a worthy mate.

There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought of her. The moment I realized she had left me. How maybe if I had said something different or acted better, she would have stayed.

But that’s not the way it happened. And now I’m going to fix all that.

I feel the transport jolt a little as it lands in one of the docking bays. Swinging my bag that holds my meager belongings over my shoulder, I make my way off the transport.

“Thanks for the lift,” I call out to the pilot as I walk off the ramp.

I take a second to marvel at the fact that we’ve landed not too far out from where I stole the Emery. From the place where I first met my fated mate. And then promptly proceeded to kidnap her. Which hadn’t been on purpose, but most definitely soured my chances with her at the time.

This time, though, things are going to be different.

It’s late afternoon approaching evening and the streets are bustling with people trying to get home.

I glance at the display again with readouts of the information I gathered on Lisa. Ever since I decided to try and find her and prove myself to her, I had to make a game plan on how I was going to find her.

From what I was able to gather, she still works as a highly respected mechanic. And it appears she has a small space she works out of.

I decide to start there. Showing up at her place of work would be a lot more preferable than just showing up at her house unannounced. But if it comes down to that, it’s what I’ll do. One way or another, I have to see her.

Her mechanic’s shop is crammed between a few other rundown shops on a side street. Unlike her neighbors, though, it appears Lisa has at least made an attempt to keep the place looking nice.

I open the door and a little bell rings as I enter.

“I’ll be with you in one second,” a voice calls from the backroom. Not Lisa’s voice I quickly realize.

A human woman with dark curly hair tied up in a messy bun comes out. “So, what can I do for you?”

“Is Lisa here by any chance?” I ask.

The woman shakes her head. “No, sorry, she’s out for the day. I can take an order for you though, and she’ll be back in the morning to process it.”

“I’m not here about a repair,” I say, wondering just how much I should tell this woman. “It’s… personal.”

The woman’s eyes narrow, and she gives me a dubious once over. “Who did you say you were again?”

I grimace. If this woman is a friend of Lisa’s, it would stand to reason that she might have told her about me.

“Just someone looking to make amends,” I tell her honestly.

She sniffs. “Like I said, she’s not here.”

I nod. “I understand. Thank you anyway.”

Before she can say anything else, I make my way out. It seems like I’m going to have to go to her house after all. I found her address earlier just in case. Hopefully she won’t see me arriving at her front door as too much of an intrusion.

Lisa’s house is only a few blocks away from her shop. From the outside, it looks small but cozy. I see little touches of her in the brightly colored shutters and the hover parts strewn in the yard.

This is it. I’m here.

Steeling myself, I walk up to her door and knock. Someone calls out something that sounds like, “Just a minute.” And even though the voice is muffled, I know it’s hers.

The door opens and suddenly Lisa is there in front of me. All those nights of dreaming about her. All those times I’ve thought about her in my mind and now she’s real and here in front of me now.

Lisa does a double take and then her mouth drops open slightly.

I smile at her. “Lisa.”

She seems to shake herself out of her shocked state. “Ozadus. How – what are you doing here?”

I’ve thought about this exact scenario a thousand times in a thousand different ways. I’ve practiced how I would answer. But now it all seems overblown and dramatic. So I decide to answer truthfully.

“I came here to find you and to make up for what happened on the Emery.”

Her mouth falls open a little more. Taking that as encouragement, I continue. “I want to be able to show you that I’m more than what I was back then.”

She sputters for a moment before recomposing herself. “You are? I mean, you’re not here because you’re angry with me?”

My brow furrows. “Angry with you?”

Lisa ducks her head. “For running off. For leaving without so much as a goodbye,” she mutters.

A bit of the sting at the memory of her departure comes back to me, but I push it away. “I was angry at first. Angry, and I’ll admit, even a bit hurt. But I also understand why you did what you did. If I were in your situation, I can’t say I would have acted any differently.”

She stares into my face wide eyed for a moment before shaking her head. “Do you want to come inside?”

My body relaxes a bit. “That would be great.”

The inside of her home is much like the outside, small but cozy and clearly well loved. Lisa shifts awkwardly on her feet and plays with her hands. “Do you want something to drink or something to eat? I don’t exactly have a king’s spread, but I’m sure I have some –”

I cut her off before she begins rambling. “I’m fine, thank you.”

She gives a nervous little chuckle. “Sorry. It’s just that I never expected to see you again. Let alone here.”

“To be fair, I did try and go to your place of work first,” I admit.

Lisa furrows her brow and then pulls out her comm pad. She looks through it for a moment before laughing. “Ah, so that’s why Beth was messaging me like crazy.”

I chuckle. “She didn’t seem too pleased to see me once she knew I was looking for you.”

Lisa’s cheeks heat. “I may have mentioned you a few times. And possibly described you in detail several times. I’m sure Beth didn’t mean any harm. Er, well, not a lot of harm.”

“You have a good friend,” I assure her. “Anyone who is willing to stand up for you is worthy in my book.”

She relaxes a little. “Yeah, Beth is a good friend.”

We stand there in silence for a moment, just studying the other. I open my mouth to break the silence, to say something that might show her how serious I am this time. But a small cry halts any words I might have had.

It’s a baby’s cry.

Lisa tenses and gives me a sheepish look. “I didn’t think she’d wake up so soon. One second.”

She quickly hurries off in the direction of the cry, leaving me there in stunned silence. A baby? Her baby?

Almost unconsciously, I follow behind her as if in a dream. I stand just outside the door as I watch Lisa lift a small, wriggling figure out of a crib and hold her close to her chest. She murmurs soothing words to the baby as she lightly bounces her.

I stare on in wonder and with a little regret. The baby is obviously hers. Hers and more than likely someone else’s. Which means I’m once again intruding on her life.

As much as it would pain me to leave my fated mate behind once again, I won’t upheave the life she made for herself. If she’s happy, I can live with that at least.

Once the baby in her arms has quieted, Lisa turns to me. “Ozadus…”

Her mouth opens and closes as it’s clear she’s searching for words. I hold up a hand. “You don’t need to explain. I won’t bother you or your family any longer. I simply want you to be well and happy.”

I turn to leave, my whole body feeling like it’s been turned to lead.

“It’s your family, too. She’s yours.”

I freeze mid-step. She’s mine? The baby is mine?

Slowly, I turn back to her. Lisa is biting her lip anxiously as she walks forward and shifts the baby, my baby, in her arms so I can see her face. “Her name is Zhara,” she murmurs.

I mouth the name as I stare down at my daughter. Now that I can see her face clearly, the baby’s Kaleidian heritage is obvious now.

“I didn’t know how you’d react,” Lisa says quickly. “After I left you so abruptly, I didn’t know how you’d feel about our child. That’s why I didn’t try and contact you about her.”

There’s a deep ache in my chest as I realize I might never have known about my child if I didn’t come looking for Lisa. For a moment, I want to be angry with her for keeping my daughter from me. But then Zhara opens her little eyes and stares right at me.

She’s so small and innocent and right then and there, I know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect this child.

And that I more than know precisely what Lisa was thinking when she decided to keep her from me. Even if she’s too kind to come right out and say it.

Now more than ever I realize that I need to prove to Lisa that I’m a better man than the one she first met. Both for her and our daughter.