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“Tell you what?” Andi demanded, angry and defiant because she hated looking weak in front of him. He had interrupted her in the middle of a good cry and she wanted to get rid of him so she could finish it.
But Thrax wasn’t going anywhere.
“Tell me why you’ve been crying, baby,” he murmured. Reaching out, he cupped her flushed cheek with one hand and swiped a tear away with his thumb.
“I…I’m not crying,” Andi protested, which was obviously a lie.
“Yeah, you are. And you’re going to tell me why. Because I’m not leaving until you do.”
“What? But you can’t just camp out on my couch like that without my permission!” Andi exclaimed.
Thrax gave her a level look.
“Watch me. Now are you going to talk to me or not?”
Then, before she could protest anymore, he had swept Andi into his arms and placed her firmly on his lap.
Andi struggled at first. Their size difference was so great that she felt like a child being held by an adult. But her partner wrapped his arms around her and held her gently but firmly, refusing to release her.
“Tell me,” he said again. And since it had become obvious that he wasn’t leaving until she talked, Andi finally did.
All her grief and guilt came out, along with a rush of tears. Thrax just held her and listened to it all without comment. Andi told her partner what her ex had said about her being a bad mother and how she felt guilty for leaving Lindsey, even though she knew her daughter was all right.
“So he’s trying to make you feel bad enough to come back to him and using your young one to do it,” Thrax had rumbled at last when she had gotten it all out.
Andi nodded and swiped at her eyes.
“Exactly.”
“Do his words have any merit? Lindsey seems fine to me,” he said, frowning.
“She is fine. She had one bad semester when we first split up but now she’s doing great in school. She has a lot of friends, too—that’s one reason I didn’t try to get full custody and bring her up to the Mother Ship full time,” Andi told him, sniffing. “I thought it was important for her to finish high school where she knows everyone instead of uprooting her.” She sighed. “Of course, she was unhappy when Brian and I first separated, but she seems adjusted to it now.”
Thrax gave her a mystified look.
“Then why are you letting that fucking idiot of an ex-mate make you cry? His accusations are groundless.”
“I know they are.” Andi sniffed again and shook her head. “It’s just…I never expected to end up like this—divorced, I mean. I thought my marriage was going to last. I wanted so much to make a stable home for my daughter.”
“And you do,” Thrax told her. “Lindsey is safe and she’s doing well in her studies. She has friends and she seems to enjoy coming up to the Mother Ship with you on the weekends.” His face had darkened. “I don’t think your ex-mate wants you to come back to him for your daughter’s sake at all—I think it’s much more fucking likely that he wants you back for his own gratification.”
“You’re right—he just wants someone to cook and clean and give him sex,” Andi agreed. Of course, this was exactly what she’d told her ex, but somehow talking about it to her partner made her feel better—stronger.
“A male like that doesn’t deserve you.” Thrax had cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. “You’re beautiful and smart and an excellent mother, Andi—don’t let him steal your joy.”
Andi’s heart had started pounding as they locked gazes and for a moment—just a moment—she’d almost thought that her partner was going to kiss her.
But of course, he didn’t. He just looked at her for a long moment and stroked her hair while he held her close. After a while, when he was sure she was feeling better, he had proposed a late night “snack run.”
The two of them had gone down to a little eatery in the parklands at the center of the ship and split an order of Brenzian cheese balls—which was a tangy, stringy cheese a little like mozzarella except it was bright blue and had tiny bits of hot and sweet peppers sprinkled throughout it.
Andi had felt immensely better afterwards, but when she had thanked Thrax for being there for her, he just shrugged his broad shoulders and gave her half a grin.
“Hey, that’s what partners are for, right?” he’d asked. “Gotta stick together or we’ll fucking fall apart.”
It was those words that stuck in Andi’s memory as she wondered what their new mission was going to be like. Maybe Kat would have some insights for them…
“Oh—here we are,” she said, looking down the hallway. “This is Kat’s place.”
