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Jerra sighed. “Fine. I’ll give you a trial period. Two weeks. If you work out, we’ll talk about something more permanent.”

“Acceptable.”

“Pay’s standard rate for skilled mechanics. Hours can be long when we’ve got a rush job.”

“Understood.”

She pushed a data pad across the desk. “Fill this out. You can start tomorrow.”

As he entered his information, Jerra watched him with undisguised curiosity.

“Never thought I’d see the day,” she muttered. “The great solitary warrior, settling down.”

He ignored her, focusing on the form.

“She must be something special, this female of yours.”

His hand paused over the pad. “She is.”

“And there are children?”

He looked up sharply. “How did you?—”

“This is a small port. Word gets around.” Jerra’s expression softened slightly. “Kids need stability.”

“Yes,” he agreed quietly. “They do.”

When he finished the form and slid it back across the desk, Jerra picked it up and glanced over it.

“Looks in order.” She stood and extended her hand. “Welcome aboard, Thraxar.”

He clasped her hand briefly. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she warned, but there was a hint of humor in her voice. “You might hate it here.”

As Thraxar left the shipyard, he considered her words. Hate it here? With Kara and the children? The thought seemed absurd.

For the first time in years, he was moving towards something instead of away from it. The sensation was both terrifying and exhilarating.

He stopped by the settlement’s housing office before returning to his ship. The options were limited but adequate—a small dwelling on the outskirts of town with a modest garden plot. Available immediately.

He put down a deposit without hesitation.

As he walked back to his ship, he found himself noticing details he’d overlooked before. The quality of the light on this world. The temperate climate. The safety of a settled planet with regular Patrol presence.

A good place for children to grow.

A good place to build a life.

The thought should have terrified him. Instead, it filled him with a quiet determination.

He’d failed his family once before. He wouldn’t fail this one.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Kara folded the last of Rory’s shirts and placed it in the small storage compartment. The children were napping in the crew cabin—Talia curled protectively around Rory, their breathing synchronized in sleep. The sight had made her throat tighten with emotion.

She closed the compartment door and sighed. Thraxar had been gone for hours. When he’d left that morning, he’d been vague about his plans, mentioning only that he needed to “take care of some things.” His tail had twitched in that particular way she’d come to recognize as nervousness, though he’d tried to hide it.