But I could not offer her anything as remarkable as this. My ranch was not a ship. And I was not her fate. Jaya twisted to look at me again, and she was smiling so beautifully. Above that smile, her eyes searched mine expectantly. She wanted to see my reaction to the flight. She wanted me to enjoy this. So I punched down the pain and I smiled right back. I managed to croak a single word. “Magnificent.” Because she was.
