Space opera and second chance romance with a grieving hero and space pirates.
After the death of her
ailing father, Jocelyn Navarre Yazzie is free to roam the galaxy in the Star
Condor, the spacecraft she inherited from her deceased husband. She embarks on
a trip to deliver her father’s bequest to her aunt on a rural planet outside the
civilized sectors. A chance encounter with the crippled Leonardo Horlis changes
her future. Leo Horlis suffers from a debilitating malady and expects to live
for less than a year. Josie is strongly attracted to him, yet she cannot hope
to compete with his beautiful dead wife, whose portrait dominates his house and
his memories. Sympathizing with his grief and illness, Josie offers to
transport him in Star Condor to the top medical center of the ultracivilized
inner planets. Their attraction intensifies in the cramped quarters of her
ship. But, Leo has a dangerous secret that threatens to terminate their voyage
and their lives. Can Josie and Leo escape the perils and vanquish the ghosts of
their past to find happiness together?
Book 2, Second Chances in Space
The stories in this series can be read in any order.
Lured by the Lion is available at Aurora's Store
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Excerpt from Chapter One
Jocelyn Navarre Yazzie
gazed with pride at the sleek spacecraft parked outside the maintenance hangar
on the spaceport of Eagles Landing. She had inherited Star Condor from her
husband, Jim. The ship held many memories, happy and bitter memories of her
married life. They had flown between the stars as interplanetary couriers,
delivering valuable packages and sometimes people. The Condor had been their
home in the years before Jim had died. Her grief had faded during the
subsequent period, three years and seven months in galactic standard time. She
had ceased to count the days, although nightmares still troubled her sleep.
Tears blurred her visions as she recalled the horror of his death in that
dreadful accident.
Shaking off the surge
of emotions, she blinked away the tears and looked around. A crane lifted a
crate out of a spacetug, while another tug roared skyward, presumably to meet a
freighter in geostationary orbit above the city. Beyond the airfield, heat
shimmered over the orange sands of the desert. In the opposite direction, a
line of passengers hurried onto a shuttle headed for an outbound space cruiser.
Behind the shuttle, the red adobe houses of the city of Eagles Landing rose in
tiers against a backdrop of wooded hills.
A hot breeze whipped
past, sending whirls of sand skittering across the concrete. Fanning her face
to cool her cheeks, Josie hoped her next destination would have a cooler
climate. She had spent one and a half years on the planet of Saffeen, while she
tended to her father during his final illness.
A door clanged shut as
Butch Sullivan stepped out of the workshop of the hangar. He walked across to
stand beside her.
Looking at the Star
Condor, he said, “She looks good.” A typical understatement from the gruff old
man who loved the ship. Butch served as engineer and odd-jobs man on the
Condor’s small crew. His broken nose and scarred temple attested to a long and
varied career. He had remained with her after Jim’s death. His dark hair was
now grizzled and he had developed a slight paunch, yet she could still rely on
his muscular strength and sensible advice.
“Yep.” Her mild reply
covered her distracted thoughts. She teetered at a crossroads in her life,
recovering from yet another family death and a long debate over what to do or
where to go next. Her responsibilities for her father’s estate were almost at
an end. She could remain on her home world with its many civilized comforts or
she could resume her ventures in space. The sight of her ship, Star Condor,
spurred a burning desire to abandon the planet for the freedom of plying the
star routes.
The roar of a
spacecraft descending onto the adjacent field penetrated her reverie. The
once-bustling spaceport at Eagles Landing had grown quieter after the local
economy had gone into a nosedive. The emperor’s space fleet had blocked the
major hyperspace routes to the inner systems and throttled trade for
independent planets like Saffeen. Jim had not lived long enough to experience
the slowdown. Nor had her father.
After Jim’s death, she
had worked the star lanes for a couple of years until she learned of her
father’s illness. She felt obliged to return to the family home. Lucius Navarre
was not the easiest man to live with, however, she was the only relative with
the freedom to manage his medical needs and run the household during his final
months. His death had come as a relief after the agonizing decline in his
mental and physical health.
Her sister, Annabelle,
had come to the funeral with her husband, Doctor Fengal Sharma, and their
six-month-old son, Lucian. As the sole surviving children, Josie and Annabelle,
inherited the major part of their father’s estate. Josie had splurged a large
portion of her credits on Star Condor. She had upgraded the ship’s drive and
renovated the life support and com systems. Reliable sources of power, oxygen
and water were essential for interstellar space travel. Despite the quandary
about her future, she had refurbished the cabins and galley. Even if she
decided to forgo the star lanes and settle in her father’s mansion, the
upgrades would bring a better price for the ship.
“Will we be making a
long voyage, Captain Josie?” Butch asked.
His polite reference to
her status made her smile. “We’ll fly to the planet of Wick’s Paradise. I
promised to deliver an old vase to Aunt Gabrielle. It’s one of my dad’s weird
bequests. And, my aunt’s invited me to stay for a week or two.” She shrugged.
“After that, I’m not sure. Maybe Hokkaido. My sister’s always begging me to
visit her.”
“Don’t matter where we
go. Just want to order sufficient provisions for the trip.”
She nodded. “Why don’t
you estimate supplies for three or four months. That’ll cover a stay on Wick’s
Paradise and we can travel to another couple of planets.”
“Will do.” He waved a
hand at the ship. “She’ll be a pleasure to run with the new systems. But, we’ll
need another hand.”
The Star Condor, a
small craft with simple controls, could be run by a single person in a pinch.
Only one such emergency had occurred during Josie’s time on the ship. A single
person could manage for a short trip, but three people working shifts allowed
everyone enough time for sleep. Operating with alert crew on the bridge was
critical for safety on a long voyage.
“No problem,” she said.
“We can hire a second man. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Matter of fact, I do
know of a prospect.” He cocked his head. “Remember Drin? Drin Nega. Guy worked
on the Condor for a couple of seasons when Jim was alive.”
“Yep. Drin was good
with coms and navigation.” She wrinkled her forehead. “Does he need a new job?”
“He’s looking for one.
Had a bad stint on a cargo ship, disliked the captain. Guy’s not bad. Just
happy to horsewhip sense into his crew, if you know what I mean.”
“I sure do. Jim hated
those punch-happy bosses.” She frowned at the memory. “See if Drin is willing
to join us.”
“Will do.” He glanced
across the tarmac at the cargo shuttle. “When do you want to liftoff?”
“No reason to hang
around.” She jerked her chin in the direction of the city. “It won’t take long
to make my goodbyes. I’ll leave an agent in charge in charge of Dad’s property.
And, I can throw my travel gear together in a jiffy. Let’s say seven days.”
“Okay, Captain Josie.
I’ll jump to it.” Butch grinned and swung his hand to his ear in a mock salute.
Josie chuckled at his
eager expression. “I’ll call Spaceport Traffic Control and schedule a slot for
our departure. See you later.”
They separated on their
different errands.
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