Maxar (The Mating Games Book 4) by Catty Diva Page B

they sat down and she read to her or the other way around. Shandra had a book that taught her the numbers and she loved to read it.
    After that, supper was usually ready. Ernie would pull it out of the oven gathering whatever else was needed to finish the meal. Sitting down with her little one, they would eat together talking or sometimes in silence. After supper, it was bath time which could get quite messy. Once that was done and the mess cleaned up, it was time to put Shandra down for the night. Weekends were different with a trip or something fun planned.
    This was just the start of the week so it was business as usual. Shandra and Ernie were clean, the mess was cleaned up, and they were in their matching PJs. “I love my jammies, Mama.” Shandra said sleepily.
    Her days were always tackled with endless energy, but once in a while she ran out and needed to recharge. If Ernie was lucky, that happened at bedtime. Tonight it seemed she was lucky because her girl could hardly hold her head up. Putting her to bed with a kiss and a hug, she left the bedroom door open so she could listen for any sounds of fear or need from the living room. Now was adult time with a good book and a glass of wine.
     

Chapter 2
     
    Sabotage
     
    “What do you think the cause is?” Razar asked his younger brother.
    “I wish I knew. Not all the mechanics are the best but none should be that bad. Besides, it came in that way.” Maxar said. “What does Glendar say?”
    “The same thing that you do. It was some bad replacement parts and that happens. But three times in a row? Any problems in the factory?”
    “Honestly? Some of the equipment seems to be wearing out too quickly. Maybe it’s coming in faulty too. It’s good enough to pass inspection but it just seems faulty. I would say it was poor quality if I didn’t know where we bought it and what we paid.”
    “We’ll keep a closer eye on all incoming items and people for now. The problems just started and there is no one new so we will assume it’s an attack from off the planet.”
    “Okay. There was something I wanted to discuss with you. In the past, males could mate with any willing unmated female. That hasn’t changed has it?”
    “Is there someone who interests you?”
    “Yes, Ernie.”
    “Are you involved?”
    “No, I would never use her like that.”
    “Good, good. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. If females find out about that they may be reluctant to come here fearing they will be mated. They may not believe she was agreeable. Is she?”
    “What?”
    “Is she agreeable?”
    “I don’t know. We haven’t got that far.”
    “Wait and I will discuss it with our dad and the advisors. It’s a big decision to make because it may affect all of us.”
    “How would it do that?”
    “It could give workers thinking of coming here the wrong impression. Most of them are females. Another problem might be our males might think the female workers fair game.”
    “I never thought of that, but I really feel drawn to her.”
    “I promise I will bring it up at the next meeting I have with Dad.”
    “Thank you.” It would have to be good enough because that was all he seemed willing to give. In all fairness Razar seemed distracted with all the trouble they were having with the farm equipment. Whenever something broke down Ernie always sent someone to fix it or if it was a difficult job, she often did it herself but they always lost time. No one, it seemed, wanted overtime among the farm workers. He had few that were interested in it either.
    Now Maxar was stuck unable to pursue any relationship with Ernie until Razar managed to get him permission, if he managed that at all. It was time to go home. Razar’s visit was the only reason he’d even stayed behind at work while everyone else had left quickly so as not to be asked to stay. They need not have feared since there was nothing left here to do. Only that odd guy Jerry had lingered for a short while. Maxar assumed