Page 30 of Doran

She pulled out a small red appliance and set it on the counter before plugging it into the human power source type outlet.

“Grammie sent this along too. She used to make me and my cousins Snoopy waffles when we spent the night at her house. Good times.” She smiled at the memory and turned her attention back to the bowl, taking three eggs from the egg basket and cracking them into the bowl.

“Sarah?” Bob’s voice rang out suddenly. “You have a comm you need to take.”

She blanched. “Is something wrong?”

“Xero and I believe so, but your daughter won’t tell us anything other than she needs to talk to you.”

“Patch her through here.”

“Mama?” The word came out as a strangled sob.

“Baby? What’s wrong?”

“Grandma and Grandpa got into a big fight, and she left with Caleb and Lucy. She said she wasn’t letting her family fall apart, and no one is taking her babies to no alien planet. Grandpa’s gone to look for her.”

Sarah clutched the whisk she’d picked up tightly. I could see white around her grip, and she began to breathe heavily.

“Emma, this is Doran, your mother’s mate.”

“I know who you are,” Emma sniffled. “You’re my new dad. Lucy called you that, and that’s what set Grandma off. That, and she got a call just before from one of Grammie’s neighbors talking about a U-Haul truck outside her apartment taking stuff. She called Grammie, who told her she was moving to Florida and hoped to be there before she found out.”

“I knew she was moving. She’s moving in with two of her friends,” Sarah said. “It’s a retirement community where she can enjoy herself.”

“Emma, are you safe?”

“Ye-es, but Daddy, can you please come get me? I want to go home to you and Mama and have Caleb and Lucy back.”

Daddy. That was like Pata, a sweet note of endearment for a male parent. My hearts swelled, knowing this sweet young girl had just used it on me, despite not having met me.

“Xero has dispatched a Mylos security officer from the local center to her location,” Bob interjected. “Emma, when he gets there, please go with him.”

“O…okay. What about Caleb and Lucy?”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” my Sarah reassured her daughter. “Grandpa will bring them back.”

“Pinging their phones now and triangulating their locations,” Xero interrupted. “Your mother is sitting in the parking lot of a convenience store. I’m sending more officers there from the center.”

Emma began to cry anew. “Are they gonna arr-arrest Grandma? Please do-don’t!”

“Just bring me my kids, but don’t arrest my mother if you can help it,” Sarah agreed.

“Request forwarded.”

“I’m sorry this happened on your trip to Disneyland, baby,” Sarah soothed.

“It’s okay. We… we were going to go somewhere else today. Universal Studios. But I don’t care. She’s been weird ever since you left. I just want to be with you.”

“Commander Gundar wishes to extend the offer of using one of the Mylos long range shuttles to fly the children here directly. They can be here within two days,” Xero announced.

Sarah nodded frantically.

“Yes, thank you. Once you have Caleb and Lucy.”

“The ship will be prepped and readied. If they wish to go, do you still want your parents to come along?”

My first instinct was to say no, but Sarah looked at me with pleading eyes. I glanced over at Darren, who held his hands up in mock surrender.