by Karen Kelley
He suddenly turned, and she had to skid to a halt to keep from plowing into him.
“Ria, if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve known your mom and dad for at least twenty years, I’d run your butt in for making a false report,” he said with more than a touch of exasperation.
“But he was there.”
“Think about what you’re saying, girl.” His eyes suddenly filled with pity. “A hawk lands in front of you, fog rolls in when the sun is out. Then, apparently, the bird turns into a naked man who tells you he’s an alien and wants to take you back to his planet.”
Okay, it did sound crazy. “But it happened.”
“Do you want me to call your mother for you?”
She shoved her hands down deep inside her pockets. “No, I don’t want you to call Mom. I’m not having a spell or anything.”
“They have doctors in Dallas who might be able to help you, you know.”
“I’m not crazy!” She turned on her heel and stomped back toward the house.
Of course you’re not crazy.
“Shut up!”
“I was only trying to help,” Heath said.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
Silence.
Great. Dig the hole a little deeper.
She strode up the steps and into the house. Then it hit her. Everyone in Miller Bend had a police scanner. She supposed it would be all over town by this afternoon that she was seeing aliens—and talking to the voice in her head…again.
Another mark against her. At least it would give the townspeople something to talk about at the July Fourth festivities this weekend. Unless something out of the ordinary happened that would give everyone something better to talk about.
Yeah, right. What could top her seeing a hawk, then a thick fog, then a naked man who claimed to be an alien and wanted to whisk her off to his planet?
Nope, they’d definitely be talking about her.
Chapter 2
“Hey, Ria, seen any aliens lately?”
Ria froze in the process of unfolding her camp chair. She recognized the voice—Ben Dansworth. He was a real dweeb, and had been since third grade.
“Don’t pay any attention to him,” Ria’s mother said as she settled into her chair. “He’s an ass. Let’s enjoy the parade. After all, it’s the Fourth of July. We’ve been blessed with nice weather, and how often do we get to watch a good parade?”
In Miller Bend? Nearly every holiday was all. New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year…name it, and they had a parade. And then there were the celebrations that went along with the parades. They even had an Old Settlers reunion celebration—and parade. And it was the same floats, with only minor changes to denote why they were celebrating.
But a flood of warmth settled around Ria as she watched her mother make herself comfortable, smiling as she looked around at the people she’d known since the day she was brought into this world.
Living forever in their small town suited Ria’s mom. Maggie Lancaster was a slice of hot apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a warm summer day. She was crocheted sweaters and homemade quilts.
And she’d gotten stuck with a defective kid.
Ria only wished she didn’t have to screw up all the time. Or hear the voice inside her head.
I beg your pardon. I’m not just a voice inside your head. I happen to be part of you. If you would pay a little more attention, I could explain everything.
“Shut up.”
“What, dear?” Her mother glanced Ria’s way, the lines around her mouth and eyes deepening.
Great. Ria had told her mother she no longer heard the voice. It was just a small white lie so her mom wouldn’t worry.
Ria smiled. “You know, shut up. Not shut up when you tell a person to shut up. I meant shut up, as in, look at the Women’s League float. Pretty snazzy, huh? That kind of shut up. We-worked-pretty-hard-for-this-parade-and-it-shows kind of shut up.” Great, now she sounded like an imbecile.
Maggie smiled. “It is quite nice, isn’t it? I told you all those hours you helped would pay off, and I was right.” She sat taller in her chair. “Look, there’s your father. Doesn’t he look handsome?”
Ria breathed a sigh of relief, glad she’d averted a possible disaster. Her mom had questioned Ria about what she’d seen in the woods, then asked if Ria was feeling okay. She could just imagine what people had been saying, and what her mother was thinking.
She drew in a deep breath. It was all behind them now. Well, almost. There were still people like Ben Dansworth, who liked nothing more than to make a big deal out of anything that happened to her. May he rot in hell.
No, Ria would make sure her mother didn’t have any more worries. At least, not where her daughter was concerned. An army of naked men could run through town, and Ria wouldn’t say a word.
If I see any sexy naked men running through town you can bet I won’t stay quiet.
And Ria would ignore the voice.
Snort. You haven’t been able to ignore me before. Why do you think you can now?
Nope, she wasn’t going to even think about Shintara. Instead, she’d concentrate on the parade.
Her father was driving the fire truck, since he was the chief. He beamed, waving at the crowd. Pride threaded its way through her. She had the best-ever parents.
She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. If she’d had a bullhorn, she couldn’t have gotten his attention any better. She had a great whistle. Her father spotted them and waved. It wasn’t very ladylike to whistle that loud, but she didn’t care. He’d taught her to whistle like a guy, and she was quite proud she could.
Her gaze moved farther down the truck, past the firemen squeezed on top and all of them waving at the crowd. Sometimes she wondered if men ever grew up.
Her eyes grew round and she almost swallowed her tongue. Not that anyone really could, but it certainly felt like it as she began to cough and sputter.
“Are you okay?” Her mother patted her on the back.
She couldn’t look away. It was him—the naked guy who’d stepped in front of her on the trail. He sat at the very back of the fire truck, on top, arms crossed in front of him, as if he owned the damned thing or something. At least he had on clothes today.
“That man…”
Her mother’s gaze followed where Ria pointed. She smiled as she relaxed in her chair again. “You must mean Kristor Valkyir. We call him Kris. Isn’t he handsome? He’s from another country.”
“You know him?” Her mother knew the serial killer?
“Yes, dear. He’s very nice. We rented him your old room.”
“You rented him my…” she stumbled over the words. It took a moment for her brain to connect the dots, but when she did, she thought her head would explode. “You rented him my room!”
Her mother’s expression quickly changed to concern. Several people turned and stared. Ria lowered her voice. “You rented him my room?” Maybe she’d misunderstood.
“We really didn’t think you’d mind. He’s agreed to pay us five hundred dollars a week. That’s a fortune! Of course, we told him it was too much, but he wouldn’t hear of paying less. Your father and I are not getting any younger and, what with the economy, we just thought…” She shook her head, then patted Ria’s hand. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll tell him he has to leave at the end of the week. We just didn’t think it would upset you so much.”
“But he’s the alien,” she blurted.
Her mother looked around, as if someone might rescue her daughter from her delusions. “Ria, I promise you that Kris is not an alien.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know he’s not an alien.”
Her mother breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m so glad that’s settled.”
“Nothing is settled. I know he’s not an alien, but that’s what he told me. This is the guy who stepped out in front of me the day I went running. He said he was from another planet.”
“Oh, you must have been mis
taken.” She laughed lightly. “I’m sure he only meant he was from another country.”
Could things get any more frustrating? She inhaled a slow deep breath, then exhaled. “Okay, I can buy that he might have meant he was from another country, but where were his clothes?”
“Well, you know how they are in some countries. Nudity means nothing to them. At least, not what it does to us, and I have to say that he hasn’t walked around the house without clothes since he’s been staying with us.”
Oh, yeah, that made things a lot better. Not!
“He’s a little rough around the edges,” her mother continued. “But he only needs a bit of polishing. I think he’s spent far too much time around other men. I believe he told us he was in the military.” She eyed Ria with more than a trace of speculation. “He’s quite handsome, don’t you think?”
What? Did her mother want them to hook up or something? Ria bit back a laugh. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. Maybe it was all a bad dream.
“Don’t worry so, dear. They say it causes wrinkles, and the good face cream costs a fortune.”
“But, Mom—”
“Why, just yesterday,” her mother interrupted, “Alesha Campbell said Kris got her white kitten down from a tree. She said Kris was very gentle, and little Fluffy fell in love with him.” She patted Ria’s hand. “Everything will be fine, and once you get to know Kris, I’m sure you’ll love him as much as we do.”
Love him? How could they love him? They’d just freakin’ met him!
But he is hot, Shintara broke into Ria’s thoughts. I certainly wouldn’t mind getting a piece of that action.
Cry. That’s what she wanted to do. Go home, curl up on her bed, and let the tears flow. She sucked it up though. No way was she going to let the crazy serial killer murder her parents while they slept.
“Anyway, you’ll get a chance to meet and talk to him tonight.”
Her ears perked up. “What do you mean? What’s happening tonight?”
“We’re having a small get-together at the house. Your father wants to thank some of the volunteers who helped put together the Fourth of July activities. He is the president of the revitalization committee, after all.”
And why they had a gazillion parades every year, but she kept her lips clamped together.
“Now that we have the money Kris is paying us to rent your room, well, it was fate. It’s only right that your father thank everyone properly. I’ve been meaning to ask you to join us but kept forgetting. You will come, won’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” She knew what she’d seen, and what she’d heard. Her eyes narrowed as the fire truck slowly passed. Her gaze suddenly locked with Kristor’s. Something fluttered to awareness inside her as her gaze drifted over his broad shoulders, solid chest, massive arms.
And we already know what he looks like naked.
“Shut up.”
He mother glanced her way.
Ria pointed toward the high school band that sounded like a rusty train going down even rustier tracks. “Shut up, they’re really improving.”
Her mother’s forehead creased. “You really think so?”
Ria nodded. “Oh, yeah, much better than the last parade.”
While her mother’s attention was on the band, Ria glanced once more at Kristor. So maybe he was downright sexy. The only thing she cared about was her parents’ safety. By tomorrow, Kristor would be locked away in jail. She’d make sure of it.
Kristor suddenly looked her way, capturing her gaze. Her mouth went dry and it was hard to breathe. Very slowly, he let his gaze travel over her. Heat flashed through her body, making her itch in places that hadn’t itched in a while. Not that he would ever get the chance to scratch them. She raised her chin and pursed her lips, but he only smiled.
He taunted her! Well, they would just see who smiled last!
The fire truck passed, then turned the corner, but she could still feel the tingles that one look from him had left behind. Much to her chagrin, they stayed with her until the parade was almost over.
Ria wished she could drag Carly with her tonight, but her best friend had caught a summer cold and decided to forgo the activities. Not that Carly joined in that much. She was more content to stay in her own little world, away from the crowds. The girl really needed a dose of confidence.
“Oh, there’s Vicky Jo.” Maggie waved at her friend.
“Go ahead and join her,” Ria said. “The parade is almost over.”
Maggie nibbled her bottom lip.
“I’ll put the chairs in the back of my car, and then probably wander around a bit. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll see you tonight.” Her mother hurried to catch up with her friend as Ria stood, folded the camp chairs, and looped them over her arm. Maybe she would grab a funnel cake and take it by Carly’s. Carly had a strange passion for them. Besides, she needed to talk to her about Kristor, and plan her next action against him.
When she got to her car, she juggled the chairs while reaching in her pocket for her keys, but lost her balance. The only thing that kept her from falling on her butt was a hard chest and strong arms.
“Thanks.” She laughed as she untangled from the chairs, but her laughter quickly died when she turned and saw the man who’d helped save her from an embarassing moment. “You!”
“Now are you ready to leave?” Kristor asked.
She automatically reached for her can of mace, before realizing she hadn’t brought it. She’d only been going to a parade, not jogging through the woods.
“Who are you?” Her eyes narrowed. He had his nerve standing there as if he owned the world looking all…all…
Sexy? Manly? Delicious? Shintara’s sultry laughter rippled.
Like a dictator, Ria finished her own thought. She returned her attention back to the crazy guy.
“Why did you tell me you were from another planet? And why are you renting my old room? I want you out of my parents’ house. And I refuse to go anywhere with you.” She looked around for a cop but, of course, there wasn’t one.
“Your adopted parents are very nice. It was good when they took you into their home and raised you.” His gaze raked over her. “Although, you don’t have the same personality. They’re very friendly.”
Goose bumps popped up on her arms. “What do you know about me?” Someone had told him she was adopted. They had to. It wasn’t like it was a big secret, but her parents rarely mentioned it.
“I know of your family, and where you come from.”
Why was she listening to this garbage? No way could he know about her biological family. He couldn’t. Could he? She needed to think. He was confusing her.
She pushed the button on her keychain and popped the trunk of her car, but when she started to lift the chairs and put them inside, he brushed her out of the way and did it for her.
She watched him, wondering if he was telling the truth. She had searched for information—what adopted child wouldn’t?—and had come up empty-handed. The woman at the adoption agency told her it wasn’t unusual to have a baby placed on the doorstep of the orphanage. Unfortunately, the child would never be able to find out anything about her family. So, how did this stranger know about her parents?
She closed the lid of her trunk. “Why should I believe you? Everyone knows I was adopted. It’s not a big secret. You could be making all this up.”
He clamped his lips together, his face taking on a reddish hue. Ria wondered if he was about to blow a gasket, but just as suddenly, he calmed.
“I have no reason to lie,” he said in a stilted voice.
You could at least listen to what he has to say, Shintara said.
Yeah, like I listened to you about the whoopee cushion? I don’t think so.
Are you ever going to forget about that? Give me a break! At least hear the guy out.
Nope, Ria had learned her lesson with that one. Her high school teacher? During assembly? Sheesh! What had she been thinking to go along with Shintar
a? Although, Ria might have gotten away with it if Donald Evans hadn’t told on her.
But what if he did know something? “First, tell me why you were running around in the woods naked.” Let him answer that one.
“It is our custom.”
Just as her mother had said. So maybe she might have misunderstood when he’d said he was from another planet. Maybe he had meant country. It was possible.
She wavered. As much as she loved her parents, there was a hole inside her that only knowing about her biological parents could fill. Ron and Maggie Lancaster would always be her parents, no matter what she discovered.
“Okay, I’ll listen, but not anywhere too private. I still don’t trust you.”
He planted his fists on his hips, feet apart, as if he was about to argue. He reminded her of a Viking warrior, except dark rather than blond. One who was apparently put out at the moment because she didn’t just take off and go wherever he wanted. And that was so not going to happen.
“Where then?” He finally gave in.
“The park,” she said. They would have booths and picnic tables, and there’d be a crowd. Plus, it was within walking distance.
She pocketed her keys and headed in that direction, not looking to see if he followed, but she was pretty sure he did. She could feel his gaze on her. Was he on the level about knowing where she came from? She’d wondered for so long. Why had her parents left her in the care of strangers? What had they been like? Had they loved her?
Panic set in and, for a moment, she considered telling him to forget the whole thing. What if her parents were serial killers locked away in prison?
Maybe that’s why she didn’t stop walking. Good or bad, she needed to know.
Kristor stayed a step behind Rianna. Stubborn, obstinate female. Women usually did whatever he asked. Why should this one be any different? His frown deepened. Maybe because she was only part Symtarian. That had to be it.
Rianna tensed when she was around him, showing her uneasiness, but she also wanted knowledge about her past. He admired her for facing her fear. But would she believe him when he told her that her ancestors were from another planet? Probably not. He had to admit, he hadn’t made a good first impression.
