“I made a promise to Shane last night, and I needed to see it through. We’re just waiting on the diner to finish boxing our breakfast and then we’ll come home. I also picked up a booster seat for him this morning, so he’ll be safe when we drive around town. He seemed excited about it. Did you want to talk to him?”
“Yes, please.”
She heard him hand the phone over.
“Hi, Mama,” Shane said. “We went shopping this morning. Raylic bought a camera and got me a booster seat. And then we took the camera to the Terran Station so his friend could take it back to his planet. They’re going to take pictures of all the animals up there for me.”
Heidi smiled. “That sounds like a lot of fun, Shane. You be sure to thank Raylic for going to so much trouble.”
“Yes, Mama. Our food is ready. Love you.”
“I love y --”
Shane hung up.
Heidi shook her head, a smile on her face, as she set the phone down. While she waited for them to come home, she explored a little. The tour Raylic had given them last night had been quick, and she hadn’t had the opportunity to study each room. His furniture had to be expensive, but it wasn’t ostentatious. If anything, his home looked comfortable and lived-in, not like those museum quality homes she’d seen on television.
She eased down onto the sofa and studied the remotes. There were three of them. It took some trial and error, but she figured out how to turn on the TV and cable. She flipped through the stations until she found something interesting to watch. The movie wasn’t on long before she heard voices in the kitchen. How had they come home without her hearing anything? Heidi stood and went in search of Raylic and her son, finding them in the kitchen.
“Mama, we got eggs, and bacon, and pancakes, and…” Shane’s face scrunched. “What’s that other stuff?”
“Grits,” Raylic said. “I’ve heard it’s a southern breakfast tradition, and I’ve become quite fond of them myself.”
Heidi smiled and helped set the table. “It sounds great.”
They sat down to eat, and Heidi watched as Shane cleaned his plate and finished both a glass of milk and glass of juice. And it wasn’t the cheap stuff she’d always had to buy. She’d never known something as simple as orange juice could taste so good. Her breakfast was excellent, and she made sure to eat all of it. She’d been starving herself long enough. Shane had always come first, and if Brent hadn’t gotten his fill, there had been hell to pay, which had always left Heidi with the leftovers. It wasn’t uncommon for her to have just a spoonful of something to keep the hunger pangs away. She’d learned early on to purchase a cheap box of granola bars and hide them. Sometimes that was all she’d managed to eat during the day, and a box would last for six meals.
“Do you need to do anything before we leave?” Raylic asked.
“Just put on my shoes,” Heidi said. “I’ll be quick. I know we need to go to the station so I can give them my statement.”
Shane frowned. “Are we going to see Daddy?”
Heidi paused. “Do you want to?”
His little jaw set. “I never want to see him again.”
“Then you don’t have to,” Raylic said. “He’s in the jail area, and we’re just going to the office part of the department. You’ll meet an officer, and your mama and you can tell the nice man or lady what happened.”
Shane’s eyes went wide. “There are girl officers?”
“Of course.” Raylic smiled. “Some of the best officers we have are females. They can be quite fierce when it comes to protecting someone.”
Shane nodded thoughtfully. “My mama is like that too.”
Raylic’s gaze turned her way. “Yes. Yes, she is. Your mama is the fiercest of them all.”
Heidi felt her cheeks warm and hurried away before she did something silly, like kissing him again. Not that she was sorry she’d kissed him last night, but it was better not to do that in front Shane, or he might get the wrong idea. It wouldn’t take much for her little boy to decide he wanted to keep this life, and she couldn’t blame him. Heidi wanted to keep it too, but would it really be fair to Raylic to accept his proposal? Once he got to know her better, he might decide she wasn’t the right woman for him. And while she didn’t know a lot about the aliens who had moved to her world, she had heard that they mated for life. It didn’t stop her from wanting him though.
She quickly put on her tennis shoes, grabbed her purse, and went back downstairs. Raylic and Shane were leaning against the wall, waiting for her in the front entry, both with their ankles crossed and their hands in their pockets. She smiled at the picture they made, and something inside of her broke a little as she realized that her little boy had never known a good man before. Was it any wonder he wanted to mimic Raylic? The sexy alien was all things good, while her ex was all things rotten.
“I hope I didn’t take too long,” she said as she stepped off the last stair.
“You didn’t have to rush,” Raylic said. “But if everyone is ready, we’ll get the visit to the station out of the way and then we can move on to some fun stuff.”
“Like what?” Shane asked.
“Well, your mama and you didn’t bring a lot of things from your old home. I thought we could pick up a few things you might need.” He hunkered down to get on Shane’s level. “And I thought we might go to the toy store.”
Shane looked so excited Heidi worried he might burst. The little boy reached for the door, but Raylic steered him back through the kitchen, with Heidi following. They went out through a side door and stepped into the three-car garage. The only vehicle inside was Raylic’s SUV, which was already running in front of an open garage door, and they all got inside and buckled.
“I wanted to make sure it was warm enough for you,” he said. “Today is warmer than most for this time of year, but I noticed the coats you two are wearing are on the thin side. Didn’t want you to catch a chill and get sick.”
Heidi was torn between being embarrassed over their poor coats or being happy that someone had thought of their comfort and well-being. Brent would never have started the car early. Of course, their car didn’t have heat or air so it wouldn’t have mattered.
When they got to the police department, her stomach knotted, and she felt nauseated. They followed Raylic inside, and he inquired about the officer in charge of the case. Once he had a name, he led them back to a room full of desks. They stopped beside a blonde officer, who looked more like Barbie than G.I. Jane. Heidi felt a little frumpy standing next to her.
“Officer Little, this is Heidi. Her boyfriend, Brent, was arrested last night and she’s come to fill out a report.”
“Raylic.” She smiled. “I heard you were taking some time off.”
“Yes.”
“It was nice of you to bring them in.” The officer moved a little closer to him and placed her hand on his arm. “You know, since you won’t be getting called in at night, we could go out for drinks.”
Heidi took a step back, but what she really wanted to do was rip the woman’s hand off Raylic’s arm. Just because they’d shared a kiss last night didn’t mean she had any right to feel proprietary over him. The alien looked down at the hand on his arm, gently removed it, and stepped back by Heidi’s side.
“I’m sorry, Officer Little, but I’m not available for drinks.”
Her gaze went from him to Heidi and back again. “I see.”
Heidi chewed her lower lip and waited to see what would happen. Was she still filing a report or did they need to leave? She didn’t want to cause trouble for him in his place of work. But she really didn’t like the gorgeous officer who was undressing him with her eyes either.
“Officer Little, you either take her statement, or I will,” Raylic said.
The officer sighed and motioned for Heidi to take a seat. The process didn’t take too long, and when they were finished, Raylic took them shopping as promised. She balked at going to the mall because she knew it would cost too much, and instead, asked
to go to one of the retail strips in the heart of town.
“We don’t have to go to an actual toy store,” she said. “The big box stores sell toys.”
“I promised Shane a trip to the toy store, so we’re going,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.
When they reached the store, Raylic insisted on buying her clothes first. He wouldn’t settle for her buying less than five outfits, which she thought was too much, and he insisted on a pair of warm boots. He left her in the intimates department to purchase anything else she might need while he took Shane to the kid’s clothes. She caught back up with them before too long, but apparently, not soon enough. The shopping cart was overflowing with clothes and shoes.
“Raylic, that’s too much!”
He looked at the cart and shook his head. “Looks about right to me. Besides, some of that is your stuff.”
She argued all the way to the checkout and finally relented as the cashier began ringing up the items. The toy store was part of the same retail strip but they loaded their packages into the car before walking a few doors down to it. Shane’s eyes lit up as they stepped inside and he flitted from one place to another.
When her son saw the trains, he stared at them in awe. There was a table set up in a demo area with tracks and a small train the kids could play with. Shane pushed it around the wooden tracks for nearly a half hour before she was able to pry him away. It didn’t escape her notice that Raylic picked up one of the smaller train sets and stuck it into the shopping cart. If he’d picked the big one, she’d have put her foot down, but she didn’t see the harm in her son having something he really wanted, as long as it was within reason.
Raylic tried to buy him a bike, but Heidi insisted it was too much and steered them toward the other end of the store. By the time they’d checked out, they had the train set, some Legos, a few puzzles, and a dinosaur playset. It was still too much in her opinion, but Shane seemed so excited that she couldn’t really say no. He’d never had so many toys before, especially not nice ones. Most of his old things had come from the dollar store.
Raylic loaded the SUV and drove them back to the house, where he helped Shane set up the train tracks in the playroom. She hadn’t even realized there was a playroom until Raylic had carted all of the toys into the closed room at the end of the hall. While the alien and her son set up his toys, she wondered what they were doing for lunch. Her stomach was starting to rumble, and she knew Shane’s had to be too.
Raylic looked up from what he was doing and motioned for her to step into the hall. “I know you just had Italian last night, but why don’t you order a few pizzas for us? They have pasta dishes too, if you’d prefer that. The menu is in the drawer next to the refrigerator. Tell them I’ll pay cash when it gets here. We’ll have something healthier for dinner.”
She nodded and went downstairs to place the order, glad to have something to do. While she normally helped Shane open his toys, she knew that he needed this time with Raylic. He’d never had one-on-one time with Brent before, and she didn’t know when another man might come along who would be nice to her son. Having seen how much food the alien could put away, she ordered a pan of pasta, a large pizza, and two orders of breadsticks. Then she sat on the sofa and flipped through the cable channels while she waited for the food to arrive.
Raylic joined her just before the doorbell rang, looking content and happier than she’d seen him so far. It seemed that playing with her son had been good not only for her boy, but for the sexy alien too. While he paid for their food, she went upstairs to retrieve Shane. She leaned against the playroom doorway for a moment, watching him push the train around the track, making choo choo noises. He seemed to be thriving just in the short time that Brent had been out of their lives. How had she stayed so long with such a monster and not seen what it was doing to her child?
Heidi felt like the worst parent, but the important thing was that they were finally safe. Brent wouldn’t bother them again, and Shane had a good example to follow, at least for the time being. Heidi didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, or the day after, but for now, she was going to enjoy having a caring, attractive man to look at, a roof over their heads, and food in their bellies. Just thinking of Raylic made butterflies flap around her stomach. She’d tried to convince herself her infatuation with the alien was only because he’d saved them, but she wondered if might be something more.
He was her fairy tale prince, the one she’d dreamt of so often over the years. The white knight who would swoop in and rescue her, and they would live happily-ever-after. She’d agreed to consider being his bride, his mate, but she felt selfish for even thinking about it. He deserved someone so much better than her. Someone educated and refined. Someone he could be proud to call his.
Heidi didn’t think she met that criteria, but for some reason, he seemed to want her. And he was spoiling her son rotten. Christmas was still nearly a week away, and already Shane had received so much more than he’d ever had. She didn’t think she could top it, especially with no money in her wallet. While she’d worried about her son’s Christmas for the past few weeks, something told her Raylic wouldn’t let the day pass without something special for Shane. She’d seen the look in his eyes when he’d realized that Santa had never visited her son.
“Shane, it’s time to eat.”
“Do I have to stop playing?” he asked.
“Just for a little while. I’m sure Raylic won’t mind if you come back up here after you’ve finished your lunch. But you need to clean your plate.”
He nodded and set the train aside as he stood and walked over to her, hand outstretched. She wrapped her fingers around his and led him downstairs to the kitchen, where Raylic was already setting everything up on the counter. Shane’s eyes went wide when he saw the pasta and pizza.
“We get to have pizza two days in a row?” he asked in awe.
Heidi laughed. “Yes, Shane. You can have pizza two days in a row. Or you can try the pasta. It looks good too.”
“Can I have both?” he asked, then looked upset for asking.
Raylic knelt at his feet. “You can have as much as you want of both, and there are breadsticks too.”
Shane sat at the table and waited to be served. Heidi gave him a slice of pizza and a scoop of pasta. As an afterthought, she stuck a breadstick on his plate. She didn’t know that he would eat everything, but maybe he’d at least try. She’d tried to feed him as best she could over the years, but she knew he was still on the light side and could stand to gain a little weight. Something told her if they stayed with Raylic much longer, it would happen.
“We bought stuff to occupy Shane,” Raylic said, “but you didn’t ask for anything for yourself.”
“I don’t need anything,” she assured him. “I can clean, do laundry…”
He shook his head. “I have a maid for that, and I don’t want to tell her she’s out of work because you’re bored. What other things do you like?”
“She likes to read,” Shane said. “And she used to paint.”
“Paint?” Raylic asked. “What do you paint?”
Her cheeks warmed. “It’s nothing. I used to get these little ceramic Christmas ornaments from the store for a dollar, and I’d paint them to put on the tree.”
“Before our tree had to be thrown away,” Shane said. “We didn’t have one this year.”
Raylic looked thoughtful. “Since I’ve been alone all these years, I never thought to put up a tree, but would you like to? I could get one at the store later. I’ve seen the ones that come with lights already on them.”
Shane’s eyes went wide. “Really? Ours was just a plain tree with one strand of lights, but the ones in the store have tons of lights. Could we really have one?”
Raylic smiled. “Of course. I’ll get one today, along with anything else we might need.”
Shane yawned before he took another bite of his lunch.
“But I’m thinking your mother and you should stay here for a nap,” Rayl
ic said. “It’s been a busy day for you both.”
Shane looked disappointed but nodded. “Will you get Mama some books too? She likes the ones with kissing on the covers.”
Raylic chuckled. “I’ll be happy to get her some kissing books.”
Heidi’s cheeks flamed a brighter red as the alien winked at her, probably remembering their kiss last night. She stared at her plate intently and felt a nudge under the table. She looked up to find Raylic watching her with humor dancing in his eyes.
“Kissing books?”
If she blushed any harder, her entire body would be red. “I like romances. I grew up reading fairy tales, and they’re just the grown-up version. There’s nothing wrong with reading a romance.”
“I was just teasing you, Heidi,” he said softly. “I’ll buy you whatever kind of books you want.”
Heidi smiled a little as she finished her lunch, then she helped Shane clear the table, and she put him to bed for a nap. Raylic let her know when he was heading out and she settled on the sofa to watch TV. As she flipped through the channels, she realized she couldn’t remember a time she’d ever been happier. And it wasn’t because of all the things Raylic had bought for them. It was the fact he wanted them to be happy, and he cared that they were taken care of. That was worth more than all the money in the world.
Chapter Four
Raylic stared at the large selection of romance books in Main Street Books. He’d never realized there were so many different kinds, and he hadn’t thought to ask Heidi if she had a preference. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed a variety. Werewolves. Aliens. Cowboys. Lords. He’d like to think she had a preference for aliens, if for no other reason than maybe he had a decent shot at claiming her for his mate.
After he had checked out, he went to the big box store and studied the different Christmas trees. He had a feeling that anything he picked would be well-received, but he wanted the perfect tree. Christmas was important for little boys, from what he’d gathered, and he wanted this to be Shane’s best Christmas ever. He selected a seven-foot spruce that was pre-lit with multi-colored lights. When it came to ornaments, he didn’t know what they would prefer, so he got a little bit of everything.
Heidi and the Alien Cop Page 4
