by Fiona Roarke
Valene nodded. “Right. Well, I’m not on duty, but I’ll do my best to help you, if I can.”
“Great. I’m looking for a special gift for my niece. She’s ten and she loves all things outer space. I thought she’d get a kick out of something here. I’m just not sure what a ten-year-old girl would like. Do you think you could help me out?”
“Sure.” Valene moved over to the rack of Maxwell the Martian doll merchandise and selected a medium-sized stuffed Maxwell, handing it to the man. “I was crazy for stuffed animals when I was ten. This one is the perfect size.”
He took the offered Maxwell, smiled and put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “Thank you very much for helping me.” His voice sounded oddly low and seductive. “Could I buy you a cup of cheap truck stop coffee to pay you back?” He grinned, showing off a row of straight white teeth any movie star would covet.
Valene considered his proposal to have coffee. It was really nice of him to offer when she hadn’t done much. Did she have time? She glanced around, trying to remember why she was up here in the truck stop in the first place.
Daphne Charlene loitered by the front cash register, throwing ice-cold water on her impromptu coffee date. Wyatt’s face came into her mind and she shook off any idea of having coffee with a handsome stranger. “Not necessary. But thank you for your kindness.”
The man took his hand from her shoulder, smiled shyly and nodded. “Well, thanks anyway.”
Valene mentally shook off whatever that was and made her way toward Daphne Charlene. Before she got halfway there, Diesel appeared out of nowhere. He strode up to Daphne Charlene and asked, “I understand you were looking for me?”
Daphne Charlene looked very perturbed. “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for almost twenty-five minutes.”
“Well, I’m a busy man. In fact, you only have two minutes to tell me whatever is on your mind, then I have other things to attend to.”
Valene moved closer, wondering how Diesel got to the truck stop so fast. Hadn’t he been thirty minutes away when she came upstairs? How long had she cried on Nova’s shoulder about Wyatt and Daphne Charlene’s intimate knowledge about his appendix scar?
“I have some information about Sheriff Wyatt Campbell.”
“Don’t believe anything she says, Diesel,” Valene said, joining their conversation.
Diesel frowned at Valene and looked over her shoulder at the charming man she’d helped, who was now purchasing the stuffed Maxwell the Martian she’d helped select for his ten-year-old niece.
The man waved at her and Valene grinned and waved back.
Daphne Charlene said casually, “I just thought you should know that Wyatt told me something very interesting about your little truck stop operation last night when we were together.”
Valene straightened like she’d been hit by a bolt of lightning. “You were not with him last night.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was.”
“You weren’t with him the whole night, were you?” Daphne Charlene looked smug.
“Yes. In fact, I was. He was right beside me in his king-sized bed. All night long.” Valene turned to Diesel and realized what she’d just admitted.
Diesel’s eyebrows lifted, but he remained silent.
Daphne Charlene smiled like a cat with canary feathers poking out of its mouth. “Well, I was with him in his kitchen for over thirty minutes very late last night. I didn’t see you there. Then again, we didn’t take the time to go all the way to the bedroom. Right after our intimacy, though, he told me the most interesting story about aliens living in plain sight at this very truck stop.” She grinned as if she’d won some sort of trophy for whatever intimacy they’d shared and ensuring Valene knew about it.
She started to make a vulgar remark, but then something unnerving from the night before materialized in her mind.
Valene froze in place as an elusive memory drifted up from her dreamy memories of the night spent with the man she loved beyond reason. She’d woken in Wyatt’s bed all alone. She reached an arm out to feel for him, but didn’t find him there and the space where he’d been was cold.
When she’d forced her lids open, she’d seen three twenty-three in red numbers on the digital bedside clock. She sat up and called out Wyatt’s name in the darkness. Twice. He’d strolled in a few moments later, climbed into bed and snuggled up to her, mumbling something about the barking dogs next door.
“You’re lying.” Valene gave the other woman her best death stare, but Daphne Charlene wasn’t cowed.
She turned to Diesel. “I have something to tell you. However, I don’t think your sister should listen in. Don’t want to hurt her delicate feelings.”
“Diesel, don’t listen to her. She’s a liar.”
Valene couldn’t read Diesel’s expression. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Let me handle this. Cam wants to talk to you in his office.”
“Cam? Why?”
“Don’t know. Why don’t you go see him and find out?” Diesel’s tone was the Fearless Leader one that brooked no nonsense.
Valene huffed. “You’re just trying to get rid of me.”
Diesel gave her a half smile and squeezed her shoulder. “Go on now.”
Daphne Charlene cast her a triumphant look, but Valene knew the lying woman was about to be coaxed through the Employees Only hallway, back to Diesel’s office and blasted with a Defender no matter what lies she told.
She gave Daphne Charlene a rather smug look in return and shuffled slowly toward the back. She looked over her shoulder twice to see Diesel watching until she was gone before engaging Daphne Charlene in conversation.
Once she made it downstairs, Valene headed for Cam’s office. She knocked and Wyatt answered. He was all alone in the room.
“Where’s Cam?”
“He left me alone so we could chat.” Valene’s spirits lifted at the idea of alone time with Wyatt. She moved closer for a hug until his expression stopped her dead in her tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
“A couple of things. First off, who was that blond guy you were laughing and carrying on with upstairs for so long?”
Valene shrugged. “I don’t know, some customer looking for a gift for his niece. Besides, I didn’t talk to him that long. I don’t remember carrying on with him.” Why was Wyatt acting jealous? She was the one who’d had to deal with Daphne Charlene.
“I guess it depends on your definition. Seemed like quite a bit of time to me.” Wyatt didn’t look very happy about her talking to anyone. “Plus, he had his hand on your shoulder. Kind of extra familiar, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask.” Valene didn’t mean to be so short with him, but another question floated to the surface. “How did you guys get here so fast?” She looked at the clock on Cam’s wall and saw it was half an hour later than she thought. “Is that the right time?”
Wyatt glanced at the clock and nodded.
Valene remembered what Nova had told her when she read Daphne Charlene’s thoughts. Not to mention her bombshell information regarding aliens hiding in plain sight at the truck shop.
“Were you with Daphne Charlene last night?”
He gave her a sharp look. “No. I was with you.”
“But in the middle of the night I woke up and you were gone.”
“I heard the dogs barking again so I went out back to take a look.” He shrugged.
“Your side of the bed was cold when I felt the sheets. You must have been taking a really long look.”
Wyatt looked skyward and sighed. “I might have been thinking about our future. I might have sat in the kitchen at my table and pondered living with you…elsewhere.”
“Daphne Charlene says she was with you in your kitchen late last night.”
He frowned. “And you believed her?”
Valene stared at him. “She also said you told her about space aliens living in plain sight at the Big Bang Truck Stop. How could she know that if
you didn’t tell her?”
Wyatt’s eyes widened, but he didn’t have time to say anything before the door opened and Cam stepped in, Defender in hand.
Before Valene could do anything, Cam shot Wyatt and he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
“Why did you do that?” Valene said, dropping down to see if Wyatt was okay.
“Because Daphne Charlene just ratted him out to Diesel. Said Wyatt told her about our big secret during pillow talk.”
“She’s lying, Wyatt would never divulge that secret, with or without a pillow.” Hadn’t she just accused Wyatt of that very thing? She was a hypocrite.
“All right then, tell me this—how else could she know?”
Valene opened her mouth to defend Wyatt, but nothing came out. The memories from the night before raced in to fill her head with a variety of what-if scenarios and none of them cleared Wyatt.
Who else had recently been told about aliens living in plain sight at the truck stop?
No one that Valene could name. Why would Wyatt tell Daphne Charlene anything about that unless they were together? Valene couldn’t think of a single situation to make that deplorable information work.
Chapter Ten
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Wyatt woke up in Gage’s lab again, only this time he was strapped down and couldn’t move. His last memory was trying to convince Valene that Daphne Charlene was not a viable candidate for his affections even if his memory was erased. And seeing the surveillance tape Gage watched of Valene with some customer in the convenience store.
Nova also watched the tape, her awe-filled expression and subsequent blush when Wyatt walked in on the tape made him wonder how long Valene had been chatting, or rather flirting, with the blond guy before they arrived back with the hairy, un-skunk-scented alien.
Cam directed Wyatt to his office and told him he’d send Valene in so they could have a chat. When Valene finally arrived, they’d only spoken for a few moments. He hadn’t yet convinced her that Daphne Charlene was lying about meeting with him in the middle of the night. Then he blacked out and woke up here.
“Hello. Hey!” he called out, hoping he wasn’t alone. Scenes from every alien horror movie he’d ever seen slid uneasily into his mind before Gage stepped into view.
“Hey, Wyatt. How do you feel?”
“Trapped.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry for the straps. Cam made me do it for security.” Gage seemed genuinely uncomfortable, but he also didn’t attempt to remove the bands tying Wyatt down.
“Why? What is going on here?”
“It’s because of what Daphne Charlene said you told her. You know, about us being aliens and all. That’s pretty much rule number one around here. Don’t tell any humans where we’re from.”
Wyatt paused. “I swear that I didn’t tell her anything. I don’t like her. I would never tell her.”
Gage nodded. He seemed to believe Wyatt, but before he could comment, Cam strolled in.
“Wyatt,” he said.
“You shot me with a Defender.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Daphne Charlene says you two have an intimate relationship and that during pillow talk you mentioned space aliens living in plain sight at the Big Bang Truck Stop. We can’t have that information spreading around town. You understand.”
Wyatt felt his own eyes widen. “I swear to you on all I hold dear that I never told her anything. Trust me, there was never any pillow talk between us.”
“Right. That’s because last night you were with Valene instead.”
Relieved, Wyatt quickly said, “Yes. Yes, I was.”
“All night?”
“Yes!” he said emphatically, until Wyatt realized what he’d just revealed to one of Valene’s six older brothers. So dumb. “Well…yes. We were together,” he admitted. After a long, uncomfortable staring contest, he added, “The thing is, I love Valene. I want to marry her. I have for quite a while now.”
“That’s all fine and good, but the problem is, how can Daphne Charlene Dumont know about our big secret unless it came from you?”
“I don’t know. But I swear to you I didn’t tell her anything.”
Cam loosened the straps until he was free. “I want to believe you.”
Wyatt sat up and got off the table. “But you don’t.”
“Is it possible that you were drugged or somehow induced to tell her against your will?”
“All I can say is that’s what it would take to get that specific information out of me. I wouldn’t willingly tell anyone and especially not Daphne Charlene. Besides, as loath as I am to admit this to you, Valene and I were together at my house all night long. Ask her.”
“I have. Given what I know, it’s possible you just bought yourself a one-way ticket to a new rest-of-your-life on Alpha-Prime.”
Wyatt shrugged. “I’m okay with that.”
“Are you? What if Valene doesn’t go with you?”
“What? Why wouldn’t she?”
“Daphne Charlene has made a compelling case for pillow talk with you. Valene’s feelings were hurt in the process. I will delay discussion of the ‘night’ you spent together until after this current catastrophe is resolved.”
“Where is she?”
“Daphne Charlene?”
“No! Valene.”
“Diesel sent her home. A rare alien council meeting is about to take place to talk about Daphne Charlene being a possible tattletale along with the dispiriting news about Indigo Smith likely hiding in another country after being gone for over a day longer than we suspected.
“I’m afraid that there are only two scenarios in your case. Either you will be shackled and sent to Alpha-Prime or, more likely, your memory will be erased.”
Wyatt thought about it for a few moments. “My memory will be erased to before you told me about the Big Bang Truck Stop?”
Cam didn’t answer right away. “That’s one scenario. But I’m afraid the more popular plan is to take your memories all the way back to before you and Valene became a secret couple.”
“How will that work? There are other humans that know we’re together. Hunter Valero, to just name one. And, of course, my family.”
Cam shrugged. “The process looks into the mind and identifies any possible points of contact and an analysis will suggest possible action for each one. They’ll be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. This is not our first rodeo.”
Wyatt nodded, but his mind was zipping here and there at a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out how Daphne Charlene could have found out anything. Nothing came to mind. How in the world could he convince anyone he didn’t tattle? Again, nothing came to mind.
“I can see into your mind, Wyatt,” Cam said all of a sudden. He seemed less hostile, if that were possible.
“What do you see?”
“You believe you didn’t tell anyone about us. Therefore, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, which I probably would have anyway.”
Wyatt took small comfort that at least Cam believed him, to a degree. Would Valene? What would he say to her if he was granted the opportunity before his memories were blasted away? He was very worried about Valene being hurt by what Daphne Charlene said. He wouldn’t feel better until he could look her in the eyes, hold her hand and tell her in person that he wasn’t responsible.
Wyatt nodded. “Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Is there any way I could talk to Valene before any drastic measures are taken with me regarding my pending memory loss?”
“I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.”
Perhaps his best bet was convincing Valene to move to Alpha-Prime with him. Would she consider that or believe that he’d spent intimate time with Daphne Charlene?
And if he couldn’t convince Valene he’d been true, maybe it would be best if a year’s worth of memories were deleted. It was the only way he could think of not to be miserable for the rest of his natural life.
<^> <^> <^>
Valene had been summarily dismissed. She wanted to attend the special council meeting. Diesel decided differently and sent her home. She didn’t want to go home to pace and brood. She wanted to talk to Wyatt and discover the truth, but likely Diesel or one of her annoying brothers would keep her from that until they determined if he’d outed them. Deep down, Valene believed he couldn’t possibly have done it, but she wouldn’t know for certain until she looked him in the eyes, held his hand and asked.
Instead, she went to drown her sorrows at the Cosmos Café using giant Mason jar glasses full of sweet tea. She slurped the last bit of her second glass through a straw and signaled for another.
Aunt Dixie put the third large glass on the table and said, “After this, I’m cutting you off.”
“Why? It’s sweet tea not whiskey.”
“For your own good. You don’t want to spend the rest of the night in the bathroom peeing, do you?”
“Whatever.”
Her aunt crossed her arms and let out a distasteful harrumph. “Is this a pity party for one or may I join you?”
“It’s just for one.” She didn’t want company or any advice.
“Too bad.” Aunt Dixie seated herself across the booth and put a hand on Valene’s. “Tell me what happened.”
Valene resisted for about two seconds, but knew her aunt was like a bulldog on a discovery mission and would not stop hounding her until she gave in and spilled all. Valene gave her the quick version in whispers so none of the few other patrons would hear how she’d spent the night with Wyatt, and about Daphne Charlene’s catastrophic gossip that she supposedly learned from Wyatt during intimate pillow talk in the kitchen last night.
She finished with Nova’s mind reading vision of Wyatt in his pajamas showing his appendix scar, giving some credibility to Daphne Charlene’s version of events.
“Daphne Charlene is a big, fat liar.” Aunt Dixie was not one to sugarcoat things.
“Maybe so, but how does she know our big secret and where did she see Wyatt in his pajama pants?”