Haven and the Alien Mechanic

by Jessica Coulter Smith

  Haven and the Alien Mechanic (Intergalactic Brides 13)

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright ©2017 Jessica Coulter Smith

  BIN: 08166-02636

  Formats Available:

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  HTML, Mobi, PRC

  Publisher:

  Changeling Press LLC

  315 N. Centre St.

  Martinsburg, WV 25404

  www.ChangelingPress.com

  Editor: Crystal Esau

  Cover Artist: Karen Fox

  Adult Sexual Content

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  Table of Contents

  Haven and the Alien Mechanic (Intergalactic Brides 13)

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  Haven and the Alien Mechanic (Intergalactic Brides 13)

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  When the IRS claimed her parents’ home and all of their possessions, Haven lost everything. She was plunged into an unforgiving world she’d never been prepared for. Pregnant and alone, she’s not sure how much more she can handle, when her car breaks down in a parking lot. Good thing for her it’s a auto repair shop.

  Dryden has always wanted one thing. A mate. When the brides being sent to his world barely spared him a glance, he moved to Earth to see if he could find a mate on his own. Little did he realize the perfect woman would fall into his lap. Her rotten luck was the best thing that ever happened to him.

  When the true facts about the baby Haven is carrying come to light, her world is turned upside down once more. But with Dryden by her side, she knows that anything is possible… even true love and a happily-ever-after.

  Chapter One

  Haven bashed her hands on the steering wheel as her car coasted to a stop just inside the nearest parking lot. While she was definitely having some rotten luck lately, it seemed angels were watching out for her tonight. Her car might have broken down on a busy street, but the parking lot she’d pulled into belonged to a car repair place. Dryden’s. She’d never heard of it, but it wasn’t like they could break the damn thing since it was already broken.

  She pulled herself out of her car, shivering a bit when the winter air hit her. Not that her car was toasty, since the heat was broken, but at least the chilly breeze hadn’t been cutting right through her. She left the keys in the ignition as she headed toward the shop to see what, if anything, could be done for her poor car. Truthfully, she just needed a new one, but she couldn’t afford it. Once upon a time, she’d had everything. A nice house. A fancy car. She could have shopped until she dropped every day of her life. Then the IRS came along and said her parents hadn’t paid taxes in ten years. They’d taken nearly everything.

  Pulling open the glass door, she stepped inside the empty reception area. There was a beat-up couch, a scarred counter, and three doors. One was clearly marked as a restroom. The large glass window next to the second door showed it went to the shop area. And the third she was guessing was an office. There wasn’t a bell on the counter and there hadn’t been one over the door.

  Haven walked over to the large window and banged on the glass. A gasp slipped past her lips when a tall, hunky Terran slid out from under a car, shirtless with smears of grease here and there. And damn, but wasn’t he sexy? She’d seen several Terrans around town before, but this one had shoulder-length hair, shorter than what seemed to be the norm for his race. And was that an earring in his left ear? Her stomach fluttered, and she wasn’t sure if it was attraction or the little being she’d found out about a few months ago. If nothing else, her predicament served as an icy cold shower, reminding her where wayward hormones would get her.

  On the other hand, it wasn’t like she could get knocked up again.

  The door opened and Mr. Sexy stepped inside, an easy grin on his face.

  “May I help you?” he asked, his gaze skimming over her.

  “My car broke down in your parking lot. I wondered if you could take a look at it?”

  He nodded. “Just let me grab a shirt.”

  Pity.

  He stepped through the third door and returned a moment later, wearing a long-sleeved tee. Haven went outside to her poor car and waited for the alien to follow her. When he came outside, she’d have sworn the temperature rose a few degrees. Or maybe it was her overactive sex drive making her warmer than usual.

  “It was driving fine and then just started shimmying and shaking. Right when I neared your shop, it sputtered and died. I managed to coast to this spot.”

  “It’s hard for me to say what’s wrong with it just off a description. Mind if I push it inside and take a better look?” he asked.

  “No, I don’t mind. How much does it cost to diagnose the car?” she asked, thinking of her dwindling bank account.

  His gaze skimmed over her again, a half-smile on his face. “Why don’t I take you to dinner and we call it even? I was close to finishing up for the night.”

  Her cheeks warmed. It had been a while since someone had asked her out. Haven hadn’t exactly been popular at college, and then she’d dropped out and her social circle had shrunk even more. Especially since she hadn’t told her friends why she was leaving. She’d been too embarrassed. And then everyone else had abandoned her when the money went away.

  “You really want to go to dinner with me?”

  His smile grew a little. “You seem surprised. If you tell me you’ve never been asked out before, I won’t believe you.”

  “I’ve been on dates before,” she said. “Just not in a while.”

  “So, you’re not seeing anyone?”

  “No. And I’d love to have dinner with you.”

  “Why don’t you go back inside where it’s warm? I’ll push your car into the nearest bay and take a look at it.”

  Haven followed his instructions and went back into the shop. She sank onto the beat-up leather couch. She shivered a little, still cold from being outside. Her coat wasn’t that warm, but she hadn’t been allowed to keep the expensive one her parents had bought her. All of their designer clothes, jewelry, shoes… all of it was gone. Everything had been auctioned or sold. There were times she missed it, but mostly she missed the comfort of having a roof over her head, knowing where her next meal would come from, and not having to worry about t
hings like money.

  She’d been allowed to keep her iPhone, but now she had to pay the monthly fees herself. Pulling it out of her pocket, she played a game and checked her social media accounts while she waited on the hunky mechanic to finish looking at her car. She hoped it wasn’t anything serious, or she wouldn’t be able to get it fixed right now, and if she didn’t have a car, she couldn’t look for work. Not that anyone seemed to want to hire a spoiled ex-socialite.

  The minutes ticked by on her phone and finally the mechanic appeared again, shirtless once more to her delight. But the grim set of his mouth told her it wasn’t good news. He wiped his hands on a rag and tossed it onto the counter before crossing his arms over his chest.

  “How much do you love that car?” he asked.

  “Is it bad?”

  “You’d be better off buying a new one. It’s probably going to cost about four thousand to fix everything wrong with it. When’s the last time maintenance was done on it?” He held up a hand. “Let me rephrase. Has maintenance ever been done on it?”

  “I bought it used, so I don’t know.”

  “I think you were sold a lemon. Any chance the dealership would take it back and refund your money?” he asked.

  “I bought it from an individual off Craigslist.”

  He winced.

  “I needed something cheap,” she said. “He assured me the car was in great running condition.”

  “You were lied to. Your engine needs to be rebuilt. Your transmission is leaking. The fuel pump looks like it’s about to go. And your fan is cracked. There’s more, but those are the big things.”

  “All of that only costs four thousand?” she asked skeptically.

  “I may have discounted the price a bit.”

  Haven sighed. “I appreciate you taking a look at the car, but I can’t afford to have all that taken care of right now. I’ll just have to figure something out.”

  He moved closer and sank onto the couch next to her. “I’m going to get cleaned up and take you to dinner, then you’re going to tell me exactly how much trouble you’re in. I can’t promise to have a solution, but I’d like to help, if you’ll let me.”

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked. No one ever did anything out of the kindness of their heart, not anymore. The alien had to want something from her, but she couldn’t figure out what.

  “Maybe I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.”

  Well, that was certainly her at the moment. She watched as he disappeared into the office and shut the door. It sounded like water was running and fifteen minutes later, he reappeared in clean clothes with his wet hair brushed back. He had a shower and spare clothes in his office? How often did he go on dates with customers?

  “I don’t believe I introduced myself earlier. I’m Dryden,” he said, holding out his hand.

  “Haven.”

  He smiled. “Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

  She wondered if he said that to every woman who walked through the shop door. The humor and kindness in his eyes made her trust him at least a little. But she didn’t know anything about him. For all she knew, he was a player and had a different woman on his arm every night.

  Dryden escorted her outside, stopping long enough to lock up his shop and set the alarm. Then he motioned toward a large, black truck across the parking lot. It figured he would drive something big. He easily stood over six feet tall and he was rather broad through the shoulders. Her five-foot-three felt rather dainty next to him.

  Dryden opened the passenger door and helped her up onto the seat. While she buckled, he walked around the front of the truck and climbed behind the steering wheel on the driver’s side. In the confined space, she could smell the spicy scent of his soap or cologne. She tried not to lean closer as she breathed him in. The way men smelled had always been her weakness.

  Dryden pulled into a steak place not far from his work. The Lone Steer. Haven hadn’t heard of it before, but the parking lot was fairly packed. It seemed to be well-liked by the community so she was more than willing to give it a try. Besides, it had been a while since she’d had a juicy steak, and her baby hadn’t had a good meal in a while.

  Inside, everyone was talking and laughing and throwing peanut shells on the floor. She crunched her way to the hostess stand, passing a massive barrel full of the nuts. The kitchen had a long window almost the length of the wall, where everyone could see their food being prepared. The hostess smiled at them, giving Dryden an appreciative look.

  “How many?” the woman asked.

  “Two,” Dryden said.

  Her gaze flicked to Haven and her look clearly said she didn’t understand why they were together. Haven smoothed her hair back behind her ear, feeling self-conscious. It had been a long time since anyone had made her feel out of place. Her sweater hugged her curves under her poorly put together coat, and her jeans might have been secondhand but they were name brand and fit her well. She’d thought she looked nice.

  The woman showed them to a table and left menus with them. Before she walked off, she gave Dryden a flirty smile. Haven tried to shrug it off. It wasn’t like she had a claim on the alien. He’d asked her to dinner, but one dinner didn’t mean they were dating. If he wanted to flirt back with the hostess, she’d just get up and leave. It wasn’t too far to her motel.

  “Sorry about that,” Dryden said. “We either get that kind of reaction from humans, or they can’t stand us.”

  She blinked and looked from the hostess’ retreating back to him again. “People flirt with you everywhere you go?”

  “And not just women.”

  She smiled a little, trying to picture the hunky alien getting hit on by men. The way he’d handled the hostess, she’d imagine that he was nice about it. Maybe she’d misjudged him. Just because the college guys she’d been dating were jerks, didn’t mean all men were. And she’d never been on a date with Terran before. Maybe they followed a different set of principles than human men.

  “If you want her number, it won’t hurt my feelings,” Haven said.

  “No. I’m right where I want to be.” He smiled. “Order anything you want, and then we’ll talk.”

  A waiter came by and took their drink orders while they decided what to eat. When he returned, they placed the order for their meals and then they were left in peace. Except Haven didn’t know how much she should tell Dryden. It wasn’t like they were best friends. She didn’t normally open up to strangers, but she was short on friends these days. When she lost her money, she lost her friends. It seemed they only liked her when she could go do things with them, or buy them things.

  “Why don’t you start by telling me why you had to buy a cheap car off someone you don’t know?” Dryden said.

  “Do you know the name Henry Fordham?” Haven asked.

  “The CEO of Fordham Enterprises who was recently incarcerated for tax evasion?” he asked. “It was all over the news and papers the last few months. That happened like three months ago, right?”

  She nodded. “Henry Fordham is my father.”

  “And when his possessions were taken by the IRS, whatever car you had was taken too,” he said.

  “Yes. I lost everything, even though I wasn’t to blame. Just because my dad had his name on everything.”

  “Didn’t I hear your mom checked herself into rehab to avoid jail time?” he asked.

  “Yes. She’s had a drinking problem for a while, and the D.A. offered her the chance to get clean. Mom’s lawyer argued that if she hadn’t been under the influence, she might have questioned whether or not her husband was paying taxes. Dad shared the business with Mom, so her name is all over everything too.”

  “So, you’re all alone now?”

  “Yes. I had some money in my savings account the IRS couldn’t touch because it came from my grandparents, but it wasn’t enough to sustain me indefinitely. I bought a cheap car, picked up some clothes at the secondhand store, and I’ve been staying at the Lazy Daze Motel.”


  “And you don’t have enough left to repair your car?” he asked.

  “I do, but it won’t leave me much for living expenses. I’ve tried finding work, but no one wants to hire me. I don’t have any job experience and I dropped out of college. And thanks to Dad, none of the bigger companies around town will hire me. My name is tainted.”

  Dryden studied her a moment. “What about your friends? And why did you have to leave college? Tuition too expensive?”

  “My friends vanished when the money did. And I stopped going to school right before the scandal hit. I went to a party and got too drunk about four months ago. I only remember bits and pieces of the night, but I found out a month later I was pregnant, and I hadn’t been seeing anyone. So, I know it had to have happened that night.”

  Dryden sat back. “What about the baby’s father?”

  “I have no idea who it is. I know that sounds horrible, but it’s the truth. I’m not a big drinker. I’d just aced a test and my friend talked me into celebrating. I guess I celebrated a little too well.”

  “So, you’re pregnant, running out of money, and don’t have a home or a car. What exactly do you plan to do?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. If the car was still running, I could keep searching for jobs. I’ve already checked all the places within walking distance of the motel. No one would hire me. Not even the diner.”

  “Did you think about signing up for the Terran bride program?” Dryden asked. “You’d have to move to my world, most likely, but they would pay you to consider a mate there.”

  Her cheeks flushed. “I looked it up online at the library. It says they aren’t currently accepting pregnant females or single moms. I guess they must have had a lot of them apply.”

  “So, you’re willing to mate with someone like me?” he asked. “You’d consider living on another planet?”

  “There’s nothing for me here,” she said. “But I can understand why your people don’t want an influx of human children on your world. If they wanted to marry someone already carrying a baby, they could just move here and live among humans, right?”