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    Dark Stars
    Dark Stars
    Dark Stars
    Ebook154 pages2 hours

    Dark Stars

    By Stephanie Bedwell-Grime

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A Trio of Futuristic Tales...

    Changeling:

    Jasie’s husband Michael returns from a business trip a changed man. She’s convinced he’s having a mid-life crisis or an affair. But what has happened to him is totally out of this world.

    StarrStruck:

    After being left at the altar, Adriana begins seeing visions of her fiancé all over the space station. Will she risk her heart trying to solve the mystery of his disappearance?

    Time Slide:

    In her job as a bodyguard to a handsome space pirate, Moraina Keller thinks she’s seen it all. Until they stumble upon a device that has the power to destroy the universe itself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStephanie Bedwell-Grime
    Release dateJan 19, 2014
    ISBN9780991759071
    Dark Stars
    Author

    Stephanie Bedwell-Grime

    Stephanie Bedwell-Grime is the author of more than twenty novels and novellas and over fifty short stories. She has been nominated for the Aurora Award five times and has also been an EPIC eBook Award finalist.

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      Book preview

      Dark Stars - Stephanie Bedwell-Grime

      Dark Stars

      Copyright 2014 by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime

      Cover Art by Derek Grime

      Published by Feral Martian Publishing at Smashwords

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

      DEDICATION

      For Mom

      .

      CONTENTS

      Changeling

      StarrStruck

      Time Slide

      previous publications

      Changeling © 2009 by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, originally published by Sapphire Blue Publishing.

      StarrStruck © 1996 by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, original short story published in Romantic Hearts, August 1996 issue.

      Time Slide © 1999 by Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, original short story published in Dark Matter , Halloween 1999 issue.

      Changeling

      I miss you.

      Jasie smiled. Her husband’s voice warmed her through the phone line, wrapping her in his love. She looked forward to his traditional evening call while he was away on business. As a successful freelance writer, her days were hectic. But at night, she missed Michael. The house seemed hollow and empty without him. I miss you, too.

      I’ll be home in a couple of days. He sounded as wistful as she did.

      She toyed with her coffee cup, moving it around on the table while she talked. I know. It just seems like a long time.

      I’ll be back before you know it. By the rich timbre of his voice, she could tell he was smiling.

      Call me tomorrow?

      That made him laugh. He always called. Still, she always asked. Another tradition between them. You got it.

      I love you. No matter how many miles stretched between them, she wanted to send a little of her love with him. It seemed to shrink the distance separating them.

      Love you more, he replied, his habitual sign-off.

      A couple of days. Mike was right. It would go by quickly. She had a busy day tomorrow, she mused as she got ready for bed. That would make the time race by.

      * * *

      The sound of the ringing phone jarred Jasie from a deep sleep. She jerked awake. Her heart pounded in apprehension. Only emergency calls came in the middle of the night. She squinted at the clock as she groped for the handset on the bedside table. Three a.m.

      Hello? Her voice sounded hollow in the quiet bedroom.

      Jasie?

      She sat up, the blankets falling to her waist. Michael? Is something wrong?

      For a moment, there was silence on the other end of the line. Her breathing quickened to match her heartbeat as a dozen worries crowded into her mind. Had something happened? Michael?

      No, nothing’s wrong. Michael sounded okay, except for the flat, emotionless tone of his voice.

      Jasie placed a hand against her chest, willing her heartbeat to slow down. Then why are you calling me at three in the morning?

      Another silence, as if he was considering her question. I wondered if there was any broccoli in the fridge.

      Broccoli? You hate broccoli. Michael was a proud carnivore. The odd quality of his voice combined with the strange topic of conversation made her heart pound again. He’d said everything was okay, but it sure didn’t sound like it. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?

      No, nothing’s wrong. I’ll be home in a couple of days. See you then.

      He hung up.

      Jasie stared at the phone in her hand, confused. Michael had never called her in the middle of the night to inquire about vegetables before. It just seemed wrong. Still, he’d insisted things were fine. She tried to come up with a reason for his odd call. Maybe he’d been dreaming. He was prone to sleepwalking when he was stressed. Had he been sleep dialing? What other explanation could there be? He didn’t sound upset, just a little, well…strange.

      She shoved the phone back on the charger and stared at the handset for a moment, debating whether to call him back. If he had been sleep dialing, she didn’t want to wake him up. She settled back against the pillows and tried to relax. Willing her eyelids shut, she tried to go back to sleep.

      Tossing and turning didn’t bring sleep any closer. She stared up at the ceiling. She’d call Michael in the morning. They’d laugh about his strange phone call. He’d be home the day after tomorrow, and they’d chuckle some more about it while he told her all about his business trip.

      Morning dawned gray and overcast. Jasie tried Michael again, but he didn’t answer his phone. She called him repeatedly during the day and spent another restless night, worrying about what might have happened to him. The feeling of wrongness increased with each hour that passed. When he didn’t answer his cell the next day, either, the sense of dread grew inside her

      * * *

      Jasie watched nervously as Michael’s cab pulled up to the curb. She tried to quell the queasiness in her stomach that had been building for two days. It wasn’t like Mike not to call her. He always answered his cell phone when he saw her number on his call display. Even when he was in a meeting.

      Mike paid the cab driver and shouldered his garment bag. She opened the door as he strode up the walkway, but he didn’t so much as glance at her.

      A wave of hurt washed over her. Hadn’t he missed her? His unexpected dismissal made tears well up in her eyes. Though they’d been married for years, she’d missed him terribly while he was away. She longed to have his arms around her again, to sleep curled up in their large bed and to have early morning sex before work.

      Michael reached the doorway. He looked up, as if seeing her for the first time. Usually he broke into a broad smile, dropped his bags and enfolded her in a bear hug. She loved the way his strong arms made her feel protected. Instead, he merely nodded. Jasie.

      Dumbfounded, she stepped out of his way to let him into the house. She turned her head to follow his progress as he put down his bag and glanced around the entrance like he hadn’t seen it before. Honey?

      His gaze swept past her into the kitchen where the meal she’d prepared already lay on the table. Hope surged within her. Though it was a cliché, she knew from past experience that the way to Mike’s heart truly was through his stomach.

      He adored it when she cooked for him. He’d said many times how much he appreciated her taking the time to pamper him. But this time, he walked stiffly into the kitchen and looked in disdain at the steak and potatoes on his plate. Disappointment sunk like a lead weight in her stomach. I bought broccoli. She cringed at the hopeful tone of her voice.

      Michael pulled out a chair and sat. He stared at the food on his plate. Jasie slumped into the seat across from him. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She willed herself not to cry. Whatever had created the distance between Mike and her during his business trip had followed him home.

      Did something happen while you were away?

      His head jerked up at the sound of her voice. No. Everything’s fine. Spoken in a monotone, he barely sounded like himself. He dug into the broccoli, eating it all in several mouthfuls without touching the meat or potatoes.

      Jasie cut into her steak, but she found it hard to swallow past the lump in her throat. Her thoughts fractured, rushing off in all directions. If it wasn’t a catastrophe at work, then what was it? Could it be another woman? Had her always-faithful husband had an affair?

      She was still wondering about that when Michael pushed back his chair and stood up.

      Jasie cleared her throat. Sweetie, where are you going?

      I require rest. Without another word, he turned toward the stairs. Just like that, she was dismissed. Rejection twisted inside her. A meal of steak and potatoes had never failed to woo Mike. He didn’t even seem to have missed her at all. The tears she’d been trying to contain finally slid down her cheeks.

      Through the rippling wall of her tears, she stared at his unfinished dinner. Well, unfinished didn’t quite describe it. He’d eaten every scrap of the broccoli. Jasie wiped away her tears. She picked up both plates and dumped what was left of both their dinners into the trash. Normally, Michael would help her clean up, no matter how tired he was. Instead, she tidied the kitchen by herself.

      He’s just tired. The thought raised her spirits slightly. A good night’s sleep would make all the difference. Tomorrow morning, Mike would be his usual cheery self again.

      With that thought in mind, she headed up the stairs to see if her husband was still awake.

      Silence greeted her as she pushed the bedroom door open. Mike lay on his back, arms stiffly at his sides. His eyes were closed, his breathing even. Uneasiness made her stomach tighten. The little bit of steak she’d eaten lay heavily in her belly. Everything about Michael’s posture looked wrong. Usually, he slept on his stomach, taking up as much of the bed as she’d allow him. He snored. But not tonight. He slept like he didn’t want to take up any more space than necessary. As if he didn’t want so much as brush up against her. Even his quietness was unusual.

      Still, she didn’t want to wake him. Let him sleep, she reasoned. Maybe things would be different in the morning.

      Jasie got ready for bed quietly and slid in beside him. For a long time she stared at the ceiling, wondering what could have possibly happened to Michael on his trip until sleep finally claimed her.

      * * *

      Jasie blinked the alarm clock’s red numerals into focus as Michael climbed out of bed. Five a.m. Over the past few days, he’d risen before dawn and spent hours on his computer before leaving for work without kissing her goodbye.

      She slept fitfully for a couple hours until she heard the door click shut downstairs as Mike left for work. She sprang out of bed and pulled back the curtain to watch him leave. An ache radiated from beneath her breastbone. The longing for his warm arms around her was painful to bear. Work piled up on her own desk, but she couldn’t concentrate. What could have happened to Michael while he was away to cause such a drastic change? He didn’t even look back as he climbed into the car. She watched as he hesitated a moment, and for a second, hope soared. He’d realize he’d been distant and come back in to make it up to her. Instead, after staring at the dashboard for a minute, he started the motor and drove off. Her heart sank.

      Her best friend Kristin had endured years of her husband’s cheating. She’d loaned Kristin a shoulder to cry on many times. But Jasie’d never suspected Mike of being unfaithful. He’d never given a reason for her to think that until now. A warning that had been nagging the back of her mind since Michael’s bizarre phone call ramped up to a full-fledged screech. Had Mike been unfaithful during his trip? Had he found someone else?

      Jasie glanced at the hallway that led to her office. Guilt and indecision warred inside her. She really should get up and get to her own work, but she couldn’t bring herself to tackle her to-do list until she’d discovered what was bothering Michael.

      In a daze, she dressed in what was nearest at hand before rushing down the stairs toward the basement. She

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