Read Halcyon Nights (Star Sojourner Book 2) for Free Online

interested.”
    “You managed to walk away from five lost years as a hero. The savior of the Terran race. I find that fairly remarkable.”
    “Yeah.” I shrugged. “I was lucky.”
    He squinted up through smoke. “So is my daughter. She finally divorced you and found a man who knows the meaning of responsibility.”
    I bit my lower lip. “I just want to see Lisa. That's all.”
    He gazed at the sky and frowned, looking inward, I think. “I spent the better part of my life on missions offworld.”
    “I know.”
    “Some of them took years to wrap up.”
    I nodded.
    He met my eyes. “I never left my family behind. They always came with me.”
    I sat down. “I wanted Al and Lisa to come to Syl' Tyrria. I begged her. She said she was sick of that life.” I lowered my eyes and struggled with a twist of guilt. “I could've done research on Earth, but it wouldn't have been in my field, astrobiology.”
    “What're your plans for the future?” he asked gruffly and drew in smoke.
    “My job with the lab is still secure.”
    “So you'll continue your work offworld?”
    “That's usually where astrobiology is done.”
    He smiled for the first time. He wanted me out of Al and Lisa's lives once and for all. I felt a sting of anger. He wanted me out of my daughter's life for good!
    Abby stood silhouetted behind the living room curtains, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She turned and walked toward the kitchen. I thought of the silver being, of his proposed rendezvous for reasons only he knew. I scooped up the presents. “I'm going in to see my daughter.” I went to the door.
    “What's your problem this time, Jules? I can see that you've got one.” His voice came quietly through the darkness. He exhaled smoke. “I've still got connections.” Joe had always been an astute student of human nature, with a specialty in nuances. It was probably a prerequisite for his job. He was reading me like an open book. I kept my hand on the doorknob and felt my throat tighten. It was easier when he was angry. “You can't help me, Joe. Not unless you can rout out an alien who hooks your mind and reels you in as easily as a fish.”
    Light glinted off his glasses as he turned to look at me. “One of Sye Kor's relatives?”
    “No. But I seem to have an attraction for alien tels with mega problems.” I met Joe's gaze. “I don't know when I'll get to see Lisa again. Maybe…
    “I cleared my throat and shrugged.
Maybe never!
I thought.
    “You have five minutes to sit down and talk?” he asked.
    I hesitated.
    “Before you see Lisa.”
    I sat down, fumbled presents and dropped one. I picked it up and absently rubbed a thumb across shiny blue paper.
    Joe tapped his pipe on an ashtray. “It's illegal to enter a person's mind without his permission, you know. We put that one on the books a long time ago. So who's this crote who's been probing you?”
    “I don't think this alien's read the book.”
    ”We could throw it at him.”
    “We'd have to locate him first. He wants me to come to planet Halcyon.”
    “Then he's a pretty damn strong telepath to have reached you here!”
    “Oh yeah.” I stared at the presents and wondered if the IQ machinery, with its crystals, had anything to do with the silver being's ability to reach me telepathically. Would be nice if he were helpless to contact me without it. It seemed strange to talk of alien threats here on Joe's front porch, overlooking the pure blaze of Denver's lights. Lights that hid the squalor of the crumbling city. But then, most Earth cities were crumbling.
    “But he's not stronger than the Worlds Court,” Joe said.
    “If the Worlds Court can locate him. He'll know they're coming before the ship makes the jump. Now do you mind if I go in and see Lisa?”
    “I read about your press conference.” He removed the pipe. “I agree with you on one point. NASA should be more cautious with its colonization program. There are dangers out there we never anticipated, and we should've.”