Monroe, Marla - The Ranchers Take a Wife [Men of Space Station One #1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF Page A

got her. Don’t go putting roadblocks up where there aren’t any.”
    “I know you’re right. I guess I’ll feel better once she’s actually here with us. How long do you think it will be before we can bring her home?”
    “Supposed to be able to have it the next day, so theoretically, we should be able to bring her home in three days.” Cam pushed back from the railing. “I’m going on to bed now. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    Phillip watched his friend walk back inside. He settled down in a rocking chair and looked out over the sky. It looked so different from Earth’s sky. Then there were the three moons. They reflected so much light that if there weren’t any clouds, you could almost work at night, and they had in the past.
    He wanted to walk her around their land and introduce her to all the beauty the land held before she learned about the harshness there as well. He knew she would go through a period of homesickness, but hopefully, it wouldn’t last long. Even he and Cam had a bout of it when they’d first gotten there and saw the amount of work ahead of them.
    Now, everything was set up and ready to turn into a community. They had the solar energy for electricity and running water. There was an abundance of clean water all around the planet and enough land for people to spread out once families began to grow. He hoped that their women would be able to have children. The animals had managed just fine. Still, humans were a little different, and though they had tested negative for the disease, they could still be barren.
    Would it matter if she were? It would hurt, but they would make the best of it. They would make sure she was happy and know they still cared for her despite not being able to have children.
    The thought of love kept nagging at him. What if they never fell in love with each other? Or worse, what if they fell in love with her and she didn’t fall in love with them? Could he stand it? As long as she cared for them and stayed with them, they would be fine. Not every marriage ended in love. Sometimes it was all about companionship. Still, he longed for love, had wanted someone to love for years. He wasn’t sure how Cam felt about it. His friend was closemouthed about emotions. Phillip hoped it wouldn’t prove to be a problem with their new wife.

    * * * *

    Lacy finished packing all her things except for the dress she planned to wear for the ceremony. She also left out her bathroom kit. She’d checked and double-checked the closets and drawers to be sure she wasn’t leaving anything. Between the nervous energy and the frogs jumping around inside her tummy, she wasn’t sure she would be able to remember her vows.
    She’d been given a little booklet explaining the ceremony and what her part was in it. She had read it so many times it was already worn and frayed at the edges.
    The men promised to care for her and see to her every need. She promised to take care of them and provide for their home. They as a family promised to attempt to add to the population by conceiving a child as soon as possible. As far as marriage ceremonies went, it didn’t get even close. Still, for the reasons they were there, it covered the bases.
    The entire reason for the space station on Alpha was to see if humans could prosper and breed in the planet’s strange atmosphere. So far the animals were doing fine. If they proved to be able to have healthy children, they would begin colonizing other areas of the planet with more space stations.
    They had two other planets they were doing the same thing on, Delta and Omega. She’d signed up for Alpha on a whim. Life on Earth was difficult. All young women who hadn’t been positive for the disease had been confined in the underground bunkers to keep them safe. Never seeing the sunlight or the moon and stars again had been a pretty pathetic way to live as far as she was concerned. So she took the chance and signed up.
    Did she regret her decision? No. Was she