by L. L. Muir
She ought to just call Liam and flat out ask how long he was staying. And did he like bacon. Then she could get her head on straight and let go of her growing fixation with him. Her father had given him a phone the night before, but she didn’t have the number, did she?
No way was she calling her father.
She pushed her car down another aisle and, with a sigh, realized she was still looking for things Liam might like to eat. A few minutes later she rounded another corner and ran into Mrs Huddlestone, another resident of the trailer park. She was glad to see her. She wanted her mind off of Liam.
“Hello, Mrs. Huddleston.”
The older, gray-haired lady stopped her cart and a smile lit her sweet face. “Amber. How are you doing today?”
“I’m good. How about yourself?”
“I’m fine, dear.” She seemed to hesitate. “I really don’t want to be known as the nosy old lady in the neighborhood, but I couldn’t help but notice you had a visitor last night? And I saw him again this morning ”
A whimper sounded from Mrs. Huddlestone’s purse and the older lady reached down to pet the little dog she always kept there. “Is the man Scottish?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“From the way he dressed. Does he work on The Strip or something?”
“I’m not sure. I met him there last night, so maybe.”
Mrs. Huddlestone stared at her. “You just met him last night? Amber, I know I’m not your mother, in fact I’m old enough to be your grandmother, but you need to be careful about who you invite into your home. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about Liam. He’s harmless.”
“He doesn’t look harmless. In fact, he wore a knife this morning.”
“It’s probably a fake.”
“Well, I’m sure you know what you’re doing. I just want you to be careful.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”
As soon as the older woman moved on, Amber fished her phone out of her pocket. She dialed Roger’s number, and he picked up right away.
“Aliens R Us. State your business.”
“Roger? It’s Amber.”
“Hey, Amber. How goes it?”
“I’m good. Is Liam still with you?”
“No, he just left to go over to your place. He took my four-wheeler. You don’t think he’s planning on keeping it do you?”
“I’m sure he’s not.”
She heard a commotion in the background, Roger speaking with someone, and then Liam was on the phone.
“Amber? ’Tis you?”
“Yes?”
“Are ye all right, lass?”
“I’m fine.
Liam released a heavy breath. “Amber, ye cannae be taking off like that. I didnae know where ye were or how to find ye.”
Surprise kept her silent.
“Lass? Tell me where ye are and I’ll come and get ye.”
“I’m at the corner market.”
“Good girl. Ye’re to stay there until I come for ye.”
She pulled the phone away and looked at it. She shook her head and placed it next to her ear again. “You do know I’m twenty-five years old, and used to looking after myself, right?”
But Liam wasn’t listening anymore. She could hear him asking Roger for directions. She hung up the phone.
It certainly sounded like he was staying for a while. Re-energized, she headed back for the bacon. She added pancake mix, bread, lunch meat, peanut butter, and milk. She set out for the meat counter, then to the produce section for fruits and vegetables.
By the time the cashier told her the cost, Liam was there, pulling money out to pay for everything. “Lass. You’re not to run off like that again, d’ye ken?”
She shrugged. “You were gone and I needed some groceries. Anyway, you walked over here unaccompanied, too.”
“I’m a trained warrior. Surely you see the difference? Anyway, I’ll not be leaving ye alone again.” He picked up both grocery bags and ushered her out the door. “I’m to be yer bodyguard? Did ye forget?”
A warrior? As in military? His protectiveness was totally unnecessary, but he made her feel safe, secure. She liked it, which embarrassed her. What was she, some sort of damsel in distress? “You left first.”
Heat rose in his face. “I’m new to this. I swear to do better.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m glad you were having fun.”
He shook his head. “I should not have left ye.”
She decided to give the guy a break. “Look, it’s all good. I really don’t need a keeper, regardless of what my father says.”
“Ye won’t go alone again, do ye ken?” His voice was low, dangerous.
She shivered, realizing once more she loved how he made her feel. Feminine, helpless, valuable. She really was an idiot. She needed to nip this possessiveness in the bud. Mostly because she liked it, which in turn made her feel ridiculous. She was a strong woman, always had been. “Are you kidding me? I’ll do what I want, when I want, and you won’t have any say in it.”
“I will have a say in it, as ye won’t be leavin’ my side.”
“I could throw you out of my house.”
“’Tis not a house, and I’d like to see ye try.”
They glared at each other for a moment until she finally sighed. Why was she fighting this? She wanted him there, didn’t she? Wanted to get to know him better? Hadn’t she been sad at the thought of him leaving?
“Fine.”
“Ye’ll give in then? Ye’ll accept me in yer life?”
Those words caused another shiver. She nodded.
“I wish to hear the words, Amber.”
“Fine. You can stay in my life.” Saying the words out loud made her acceptance to his presence so much more real. Like she’d just committed to something and wasn’t sure what.
He relaxed. “Aye, then. That’s fine.”
Somehow, it felt like he’d won. Maybe it was the self-satisfied way he smiled as he glanced around, once again looking for danger. But whatever the reason, she didn’t react.
She was glad he was staying, so didn’t that mean she won too?
CHAPTER SEVEN
When they reached home with out incident or anyone following, Liam did a quick search of the place while Amber stored the food away.
He would not be derelict in his duties again.
All was well and he returned to Amber and tried to help, but could tell he was just getting in the way. He didn’t want to get underfoot and irritate her, so it was almost a relief when there was a knock on the door, giving him a task to complete.
He pulled back the curtain, looked out to see Roger and Velma, and opened the door. “Hello, then.”
“I took my four-wheeler back,”
Liam grinned. “I noticed.”
“Yeah? Well, you seemed to like it a little too much. I thought I better grab it while I could still wrest it away from you.”
Liam chuckled. “My apologies. I had not meant to keep it.”
“That’s okay. I would have called you but I didn’t have your number.”
“I am number 42.”
“You’re phone number isn’t 42, I can promise you that.”
“I dinnae know my phone number.”
“Roger, Velma, come on in,” Amber called out.
Liam stepped aside so they could enter.
“Give me your phone.”
Liam handed it to Roger and he pushed some buttons and then pulled out his own. “Okay,” he said as he tapped his phone, them Liam’s. “I put in all our phone numbers, and I have yours. “I’ll call and everyone will have yours too, okay?”
Liam nodded.
Roger finished and handed the phone back. “You sure don’t know many people. You only had one phone number. Did you go to school?”
“Roger!” Amber spoke sharply.
“What? It’s a legitimate question.”
“The priest was charged with
our schooling.” Liam re-pocketed the phone as Roger and Velma sank onto the sofa and clasped hands. Velma placed her head on Roger’s shoulder and Liam felt a surge of envy and glanced at Amber. Would that she felt as comfortable in his presence.
“Would you two like some pancakes? I’m just about to make some.”
“We just ate, but thanks anyway,” Velma said.
“What are you doing tonight?” Roger asked. “Are you working, Amber?”
“I should, but we’ll see.”
Roger’s face brightened. “So what you’re saying is that you don’t really have plans for later?”
Amber’s gaze turned suspicious. “I’m sure we’ll make some. And you’re right. I do need to get started on a new article.”
“But you could do that today, right? Leaving tonight free?”
Liam glanced between her and her friend, aware something was up, but not sure whether to intervene.
Roger grinned. “Here’s the thing. I got a report from my buddy today and—”
“Would this be Jensen, the computer genius?”
“Amber!” Roger shot her a look of annoyance. “You said you’d forget his name.”
“Sorry. Would your friend be what’s-his-name, the computer genius.”
“Right. Anyway, there’s this really crazy stuff going down out by Area 51 and—”
Amber groaned, and Liam glanced between the two of them.
Roger stood, visibly vibrating with excitement. “Hear me out! There have been sightings! I say the four of us go out there and—”
“And take a tour?”
Roger sighed in exasperation. “You now those tours are bogus. I say we go there at sundown and just see what’s up.”
“What will we see?” Liam asked.
“Dude, my sources indicate there’s activity of some sort going on out there lately. Of course, The Government is once again denying everything, but that’s exactly what you’d expect, isn’t it? I’ll take my camera, and we’ll just find out for ourselves, won’t we?”
Liam looked at Amber. “Find what? What would we be looking for?”
“Aliens.” Amber and Velma said at the same time.
“Proof!” Roger exclaimed.
“Aliens? I’ve been meanin’ to ask. “What are those, exactly?”
Rogers mouth fell open, and he gaped at Liam for a moment.
Liam sat forward. “What is it?”
“Dude, have you been brainwashed, or what? Let me see your arm.”
Liam held out his right arm and Roger looked at him with suspicion. “I need to see your left arm.”
Liam lifted his other arm.
Roger’s sudden tension was unmistakable. “Pull back your sleeve.”
Liam pulled the material as high as it would go and Roger ran fingers over the back of his arm. After a moment he lifted his phone and turned a light on the area. “Huh. There’s nothing here. For a moment there I thought…well, never mind. It’s just that you did show up out of nowhere, and you look like you’re on steroids or something. Anyway, it appears you’re unaffected.”
Liam tried to see the back of his arm. “Unaffected? What are ye looking for?”
“A small disc under the skin showing where they implanted.”
Liam was horrified. “Implanted what?”
“A tracking device so they’d know where you are at all times, hear your thoughts, and release drugs.”
Liam stopped breathing.
“Roger,” Amber was shaking her head again. “Knock it off.”
But Liam wasn’t ready to let the subject drop. “Tell me of these aliens. Could they be a threat to Amber?”
Roger looked serious. “Dude, they’re a threat to all of us. They come from another planet, deep in outer space. They’ve been harvesting us for years. Haven’t you ever had a friend or loved one disappear, never to be seen again?”
Liam had, in fact. Several times. He remembered when Donald Balfour went missing after the battle at Prestonpans. His body had been searched for by his kin, but never recovered. Speculation as to his whereabouts had led to talk of desertion, but what if aliens had captured him instead? And what of Alexander Ogilvy and young McBain? Everyone assumed they’d been captured by the Government army. But what if they hadn’t?
“Don’t you want to see them first hand? Know thy enemy and all that.” Roger was nodding again, and Liam figured if there was another threat to Amber, it was his responsibility to know about it so he could better protect her. “Will they see us coming? I can’t leave Amber and if I take her, I don’t want to put her in the path of danger.”
Roger nodded. “I get you. I feel the same about Velma. But don’t worry, I gifted both girls with necklaces that have tracking devices inside, just in case. And I’ll have protection so they won’t be able to touch us.”
“I got mine right here!”
He glanced at Amber and she lifted a gold, oval shaped pendant and winked at him.
“Will we take prisoners?”
Amber snorted.
“With the girls along this is purely a scouting exercise. We’re after pictures only.”
Liam looked over at Amber. “Will ye go?”
“Been there, done that. There is no such thing as aliens.”
“Amber is a skeptic. Velma, help me out here.”
Velma shrugged. “I’m up for it.”
They all looked in Amber’s direction again. “Please, lass. This sounds important.”
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m in. But when the lot of you are disappointed, don’t come crying to me.”
Liam relaxed slightly. Perhaps Amber had the right of it, and Roger was a hysteric. But he’d like to see for himself and make his own determination.
He appreciated that Amber was agreeable even though she obviously didn’t care for the activity. “Ye can choose the next time ye want a diversion.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
“I should just mention one thing.” Roger sounded uncomfortable. “I fixed my car again, but it’s out of gas, and I don’t have any money to put more in the tank. If we make sandwiches will you guys pitch in for gas?”
“I have the funds,” Liam offered. Roger had explained the importance of the substance earlier.
“Dude, awesome, you’re my new best friend. Amber get your work done and maybe you two should take a nap later. Be ready at eight o’clock tonight.”
“All right.”
“Aye, we shall be ready.”
They left, and Liam turned to Amber and grinned. “Ye’re sure ye’re all right with this?”
“It’s fine. But prepare yourself for disappointment and a sore neck from looking up at the stars. It is fun to go out into the desert, but we could just as easily stay home to do that.”
He wouldn’t be disappointed even if they didn’t capture this unknown enemy. Another day in Amber’s company was fine by him.
~~~
Amber followed behind Roger and Velma and Liam brought up the rear as they rounded a sand dune and stepped around sparse vegetation and rocks. When the path widened, Roger took Velma’s hand and Liam reached out for hers. A thrill of excitement raced through Amber, both at his touch, and at the covert way they trekked across the desert floor.
The dry night breeze cooled the longer they hiked through it, and the smells of earth and sage perfumed the air. Crickets and other insects sounded as the vastness of the stars and land surrounded them.
“You need to understand,” Roger said. “The other Area 51, the supposedly real one, that’s the one the tourists drive out and visit. And for what? To drive along the Extraterrestrial Highway and across a long dirt road to get a look at a bunch of Do Not Enter signs? I mean seriously underwhelming, right? How are people satisfied with tours and alien masks and cheesy restaurants when we have eyewitness testimony from pioneers like Bob Lazar and Bruce Burgess? It’s just ludicrous. I think…”
As Roger continued, Liam squeezed her hand and Amber turn
ed her head to look at him. His eyes gleamed in the darkness. He gripped a flashlight in his other hand and his excitement fed her own.
She admitted it. This was fun. Being with Liam in the dark was her idea of a good time.
They walked past huge boulder formations in the darkness. They rounded cacti, both big and small. Occasionally they turned on flashlights and stepped across ruts and gullies. They climbed down a path to a dry riverbed, feeling safe from detection as they walked along, hidden from view. For the most part the rising moon and stars were their only light.
Intermittently Roger consulted the compass on his cell phone. He seemed to know where he was going, but Amber didn’t expect to find any little green men. The fun was in the journey and in the company.
“What will we do if we find these aliens?” Liam whispered in a low tone. “Restrain them? Take captives?”
“We can try.” Roger took the question seriously.
Amber stifled a giggle. Of course he took it seriously, this was Roger.
“It’s possible they could be an advanced species wanting to exchange information, but doubtful. It’s more likely they’re hostiles with advanced weaponry and they want our planet for themselves.”
“Ye said ye have protection against them?”
Roger twisted his arm and held up the huge squirt gun strapped to his back. “This is a special formula I’ve put together. It’ll burn their skin and get the job done.”
“Don’t worry,” Amber whispered to Liam. “I won’t let them probe you.”
“Probe me?” He said it loud enough the couple in front of them overheard.
“Don’t listen to her,” Roger said as he led the way. “She has establishment mentality and gets all her information from movies and TV.”
Amber stifled more laughter. “Where else would I get it?”
“The Internet, of course.” Roger’s voice radiated scorn.
She put her hand to her mouth to try and control more giggles that wanted to spill out.
“We would never have befriended Amber, of course, but she hid her skepticism until it was too late and we already liked her. Besides she makes the best spaghetti ever, so it’s a trade off.”
“She does.” Velma added.
Amber wiped her eyes. “It’s true. I do. My roommate at college was Italian.”
