Chapter One
Jericho watched Charleigh Donner step out onto the dance floor with yet another man. He clenched his jaw and remained in the straight-backed, wood chair with effort. If he got up, he’d do more than talk with that man. He’d been waiting to hold his woman again almost since the moment he’d left the planet years ago. He wasn’t losing her again to anyone.
That was no local swinging her around the polished wood floor. A local might try that to prod them into resolving their problems. Jericho wouldn’t worry about them, but this was a damn space pilot. Those roaming jockeys didn’t care if the woman was single, engaged or even married, because they seldom stuck around to face the consequences.
The bar recalled a time soon after colonization, when people had to combine natural resources with the technology they’d brought with them. Even the lighting had been designed to be dimmer than normal to simulate a lower power level. The wooden bar and tables belied the modern era. The only modern amenities were hidden behind the bar and in the bathrooms. It was all very much at odds with the air skimmers on the landing lot at the back.
This wasn’t how he’d envisioned his return to the colony planet while he’d been off planet establishing his trade business. The first day he returned, he realized that Charleigh wasn’t going to forgive him easily. She’d curtly rebuffed him and walked away before he could begin to tell her anything.
After a couple weeks, he now understood that his woman could hold a grudge. She hadn’t said more than a couple of sentences to him since his arrival. Trying to explain why he’d left was impossible when she wouldn’t listen to him.
A local man tapped the pilot on the shoulder and cut in on the dancers. The pilot reluctantly returned to the bar. Jericho sighed and relaxed a little. He caught her eye and she scowled at him. From that look, she thought he’d sent the man to stop her from dancing with the pilot. Not a bad idea and he wished he’d thought of it.
Once she heard his reasons, she’d understand. He hoped. Was it so bad that he’d wanted to make a future for them? To find a way that they could be where she’d be happiest? Regardless of her reaction, he wasn’t backing away from her.
She still loved him. It was there in her eyes. His feelings for her had never changed. He’d loved the stubborn woman even then, but had to leave the colony to make contacts and establish his business.
The colony of Darmain wasn’t young and isolated any longer, as it had been even in their grandparents’ time. Darmain was growing and his home city Cassid with it. Although in ways, Cassid and a few other places on the planet still had the frontier-town values. Locals looked out for each other. The man who’d cut in on the pilot was an example of that.
With more people arriving and even the exploratory ships that merely laid over for replenishment of supplies before returning to search for more planets to colonize, there were opportunities. It was what brought the new colonists and what drove Jericho. The main space port Urion now boasted a good-sized city around it, and smaller cities dotted the coasts of two of the continents, but it was a slow growth.
Darmain would never become like the overcrowded, dead planets their ancestors had fled. Laws concerning that had been put into place by the first generation of settlers. When the population hit a specific number, based on available resources and land mass, colonists would leave to establish a home on another world.
Jericho needed to be able to provide for Charleigh. Her brother had focused his attention on that fact one night years ago. For the first time, he’d thought about more than the immediate future and how much he enjoyed being with Charleigh. He’d thought about what he wanted for the future and how to get it. Being from one of the families who’d helped found Darmain had advantages, but he couldn’t see
Jericho watched Charleigh Donner step out onto the dance floor with yet another man. He clenched his jaw and remained in the straight-backed, wood chair with effort. If he got up, he’d do more than talk with that man. He’d been waiting to hold his woman again almost since the moment he’d left the planet years ago. He wasn’t losing her again to anyone.
That was no local swinging her around the polished wood floor. A local might try that to prod them into resolving their problems. Jericho wouldn’t worry about them, but this was a damn space pilot. Those roaming jockeys didn’t care if the woman was single, engaged or even married, because they seldom stuck around to face the consequences.
The bar recalled a time soon after colonization, when people had to combine natural resources with the technology they’d brought with them. Even the lighting had been designed to be dimmer than normal to simulate a lower power level. The wooden bar and tables belied the modern era. The only modern amenities were hidden behind the bar and in the bathrooms. It was all very much at odds with the air skimmers on the landing lot at the back.
This wasn’t how he’d envisioned his return to the colony planet while he’d been off planet establishing his trade business. The first day he returned, he realized that Charleigh wasn’t going to forgive him easily. She’d curtly rebuffed him and walked away before he could begin to tell her anything.
After a couple weeks, he now understood that his woman could hold a grudge. She hadn’t said more than a couple of sentences to him since his arrival. Trying to explain why he’d left was impossible when she wouldn’t listen to him.
A local man tapped the pilot on the shoulder and cut in on the dancers. The pilot reluctantly returned to the bar. Jericho sighed and relaxed a little. He caught her eye and she scowled at him. From that look, she thought he’d sent the man to stop her from dancing with the pilot. Not a bad idea and he wished he’d thought of it.
Once she heard his reasons, she’d understand. He hoped. Was it so bad that he’d wanted to make a future for them? To find a way that they could be where she’d be happiest? Regardless of her reaction, he wasn’t backing away from her.
She still loved him. It was there in her eyes. His feelings for her had never changed. He’d loved the stubborn woman even then, but had to leave the colony to make contacts and establish his business.
The colony of Darmain wasn’t young and isolated any longer, as it had been even in their grandparents’ time. Darmain was growing and his home city Cassid with it. Although in ways, Cassid and a few other places on the planet still had the frontier-town values. Locals looked out for each other. The man who’d cut in on the pilot was an example of that.
With more people arriving and even the exploratory ships that merely laid over for replenishment of supplies before returning to search for more planets to colonize, there were opportunities. It was what brought the new colonists and what drove Jericho. The main space port Urion now boasted a good-sized city around it, and smaller cities dotted the coasts of two of the continents, but it was a slow growth.
Darmain would never become like the overcrowded, dead planets their ancestors had fled. Laws concerning that had been put into place by the first generation of settlers. When the population hit a specific number, based on available resources and land mass, colonists would leave to establish a home on another world.
Jericho needed to be able to provide for Charleigh. Her brother had focused his attention on that fact one night years ago. For the first time, he’d thought about more than the immediate future and how much he enjoyed being with Charleigh. He’d thought about what he wanted for the future and how to get it. Being from one of the families who’d helped found Darmain had advantages, but he couldn’t see
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