Read Online Dalton, Tymber - Bightmares [Deep Space Mission Corps 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Tymber Dalton - Free Book Online Page B

Emi glanced around at the small but tidy and warmly decorated space. Earth tones for sure, autumn colors of orange, gold, and red interspersed with bright greens and light blues reminiscent of spring and early summer days. Over the main vid screen in their living room, a large picture hung on the wall. It was the same picture Ford had shown her the afternoon in the sim when he told her their “crew story,” Kels in the front, the three men standing behind her, taken in happier days.
    There were other pictures of their daughter with any combination of the men and alone in her childhood.
    Their only child.
    Markkus stood as tall and beefy as his wife was short and willowy. Black hair liberally sprinkled with grey, wrinkles creased the corners of his grey eyes.
    Whatever he had cooking smelled fantastic.
    “Ribs,” Delaney offered, noticing Emi’s reaction.
    Caph broke into a wide, beaming grin. “Damn, Mom! You remembered!”
    “Gotta feed our big guy right,” Markkus teased.
    Emi found it easy to call the couple Mom and Dad. The conversation flowed, catching up at first, current events on both sides, the couple getting to know Emi, and everyone relaxing. As dinner progressed at a leisurely pace, they started talking about Kels in better days, happy memories that had the men laughing, her parents smiling, and Emi feeling like part of the family, being brought into the fold as they shared those things.
    The men offered to help Markkus clean up the kitchen. “I don’t do dishes,” Delaney teased. “I hate cooking, always did. Hate cleaning up even more. I do all the other stuff he hates to do. I think it’s a fair trade,” she said with a laugh.
    When the women sat alone in the living room, Delaney leaned over and patted Emi on the knee. “You’re good for them. They haven’t been this happy in…” Her face clouded. “A long time. Since then.”
    Then Emi realized something she’d missed earlier. “You’re an empath, too, aren’t you?”
    Delaney smiled. “Yep. A trained class one. I worried about those boys. Especially Aaron there at the start. We almost lost him.” She sat back and picked at her fingernails. “I worried about Caph, that if they lost Aaron, Ford would have to have him medicated and put in restraints. I don’t know how Ford didn’t lose his mind. Bless his heart, his plate was full. I always worried if he had time to grieve properly because he was so busy with the others.”
    Emi glanced into the kitchen. The men laughed, smiled, and joked with Markkus. “He’s a lot stronger than he looks. They all are.”
    “Last time we saw them was when they picked up the Tamora Bight .” She looked sad and shook her head. “Poor Aaron. No matter how much we all tried to reassure him, he couldn’t forgive himself for losing Kels, even that many years later.” She took a deep breath, then smiled. “I can’t tell you how glad I am they met you. In many ways, the old Aaron is back. I can sense it. And he’s really, truly happy again, in a way the twins couldn’t heal him.”
    Emi looked into the kitchen again when she heard Aaron’s deep, rumbling laugh.
    “That’s a good sound,” Delaney said. “I wondered if we’d ever hear it again. For the longest time, I never thought we would.”
    “It’s a very good sound,” Emi agreed.

Chapter Six

    Emi eagerly sat in front of the bridge view ports and watched as the Braynow Gaston slowly rolled into the hangar bay on top of several large hover lifts. Once the Braynow Gaston had been positioned and secured, Emi raced out of their ship and down the gangway to wait at the airlock while the docking crew completed the connections.
    As soon as the all clear tone sounded, the dockside gangway doors opened. A moment later, the ship’s hatch opened. Donna raced down the gangway and slammed into Emi with an excited squeal.
    As the women hugged, Emi was aware of the Kendall Kant’s crew joining them outside the gangway. After Donna stepped away