“Honestly, Ally, I know he’s feeling a lot more for you again. I heard him in his sleep last night. He said, ‘Say my name, Ally,’ then a little later he said, ‘Who do you belong to, Ally.’ This was accompanied by a few groans,” she says as she rolls her eyes.
Good Lord! At least she’s not aware of what we’ve got going on. She’d have a shit fit, and leave. I’d never blame her either.
“Did he say anything to you once he woke up?” I ask.
“No, and I couldn’t bring myself to ask him about it. I guess I don’t really want to know.”
“Yeah,” I say. “He probably doesn’t even remember the dumb dream. I wouldn’t bring it up to him. That’d just be a really dumb argument, you know?”
She nods. The guys come back out of the woods with more wood for the fire, stopping our conversation. “We can talk more about this later, Laura.”
“This dude has eagle eyes,” Kyle says as he motions towards Eden. “It’s so dark out there and he just kept finding one piece of wood after another. I couldn’t see a thing.”
I look at Eden. “The bird thing?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t think so. I’ve always been able to see well in the dark.”
The sound of several hound dogs barking gets closer. “Did you see those dogs when you were out there?” Laura asks them.
“No, they seem to be getting closer,” Eden says. “I’m sure someone’s hunting raccoons or something like that. They use dogs for that type of hunting.”
The sound of one of the hounds baying comes from the tree line. Then the dog appears in the pasture, followed by more dogs and more barks.
“Um, guys, is that how they normally hunt, by coming up to people?” I ask.
Eden and Kyle turn to see the pack of around twelve dogs coming towards us from across the pasture. “Maybe we should go back inside,” I say.
The dogs start running as fast as they can towards us. I move farther back into the bed of the truck, as does Laura. The dogs are not slowing down and they begin to bark differently, like they’ve caught something.
“Eden, get in the truck,” Kyle tells him.
Eden looks at him for a second, but then does what Kyle said to. He sits on the tailgate, but has to move back quickly as one of the dogs jumps at him. Suddenly all the dogs have surrounded the truck and are barking like crazy. Kyle stands where he’s been standing all along. They don’t seem to even notice him.
“It’s the dogs from last night,” Eden tells me. “They know it’s us, Alyssa.”
A shot rings out from the edge of the pasture as several men come out of the woods. They begin to come toward us. “Laura, please climb through the back window of the truck. There’s a handgun underneath the driver’s seat. Stay in the back seat and use it if you have to,” Kyle tells her as quietly as he can over the noise of the barking dogs.
She moves quickly through the open back window, making it into the truck before the men get up to us. “I found it, Kyle,” she says.
“These your dogs?” Kyle asks the men as they approach us.
“Yep,” one of the men answers him.
“You might want to get them outta here. They’re kinda fuckin’ up our night,” Kyle says.
“They sure are barking like they treed something,” another one of the men comments.
Kyle offers an explanation, “Well, we have some baby ducks in the back of the truck, so they must think they have something, but they don’t.”
An older man asks, “Y’all are new around here?”
Kyle nods. “Yes, sir. We just moved here from Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Me and my wife are going to UT in the fall. Our friends are visiting us for a while. They helped us move in.”
“You had a big party last night,” the older man says.
“A housewarming party. Where abouts do you live, if you don’t mind me asking,” Kyle asks.
“Oh, about twenty minutes up the road. Did you people notice a loud jet airplane flying around last night?”
Kyle nods again. “We did. The noise from it broke up our party last night. Does that type of thing happen a lot around here?”
“No. I have a police scanner at home. The plane was watching something fly and lost it about right here,” the man says.
“We were all outside. We saw nothing but the loud jet plane. If he had seen something, we should have seen it too,” Kyle tells him.
“Quiet them dogs down, Jimmy!” the older man yells.
“I can’t get them to quit, Bob,” the one who must be Jimmy answers.
“I tell you what, boy. What did you say your name was anyway?” he asks.
“I’m Kyle Stevens.”
The old guy’s eyes narrow and he starts wagging his finger at Kyle. “Well, let me tell you what I think, Kyle Stevens. I think you did see something and I think you’re hiding whatever them things is.”
Kyle laughs. “Sir, I don’t know how you’re used to doing things down here in Texas. Where I come from, no one comes onto another person’s property and accuses them of such ridiculous things. Now you and your friends and this pack of dogs need to leave my property now, or I will call the police.”
“Oh, I must have forgotten to introduce myself to you, son. I am the police. My name is Sheriff Hardy. Two of these guys here are my deputies and that man over there is Judge Picket.”
Oh my God, what have we gotten ourselves into?
We’re getting off on the wrong foot immediately with the law here. I find I’m standing up before I realize what I’m doing.
“Shhh,” I say to the dogs and miraculously they all stop barking. The men all look up at me, astonished.
Kyle is dumbfounded, but somehow finds his voice. “This is Kat. She’s an animal trainer,” he offers for my feat.
“It’s a pleasure to meet such distinguished members of this community,” I say.
I walk to the back of the truck, holding my hand out for Kyle to help me down. He takes my hand and helps me jump down. The dogs all sit at once as my feet hit the ground.
“Who taught you to train animals, young lady?” the sheriff asks me.
“My grandfather back in New Mexico. He was a full-blooded Navajo.” I lie, and then I reach out to pet one of the dogs on the head.
“He might bite ya,” the guy called Jimmy cautions me.
“I highly doubt that,” I say as I stroke the top of the dog’s head, making him wag his tail.
“Would you look at that?” one of the men says under his breath.
“I think it’s time for us to be getting this fire put out and going back up to the house. Thanks for stopping by,” I say.
I motion for Eden to get down too. He comes down and stands beside me. The men seem puzzled, but call to the dogs, and begin to walk back the way they came from, mumbling as they go. One of the dogs turns around and runs back to me and Eden, wagging its tail like crazy. I pet his head, as does Eden.
I lean down to the dog. “Good boy. Now go back,” I say, and then he turns and leaves us.
Laura climbs out of the back seat of the truck and walks over to help us put the fire out. Then we get back in the truck and go up to the house.
Once inside, Kyle makes a big whooping sound. “Okay, Ally, you have to let us in on your secret. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Don’t you mean Kat,” I say with a giggle. “Where did you come up with that name?”
Kyle laughs. “I have no idea. My mind was all, what the hell is she doing? I had almost no control of what came out of my mouth.”
Eden begins to laugh. “Navajo grandfather, Alyssa? I almost laughed out loud.”
“That was terrifying,” Laura yells at us. “These people are backwoods. I mean, the sherriff and his posse can just roll up in your pasture like it’s no big deal, ask you a lot of questions, and accuse you of shit.”
Eden moves to stand beside Laura. “Laura’s right, guys. We should stop joking about this.”
“It was tense, Laura,
” Kyle tells her. “We’re just trying to lessen the tension with a little laughter. Try it sometime.”
Laura’s face goes red.
Oh, hell, here it goes!
“You are a child, Kyle,” she yells and throws her arms around close to his head. “I don’t know how they could have chosen you to keep them safe. We should have gotten in the truck right away and brought them back to the house. That scene should have never happened.”
“Laura!” I shout. “Stop. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
She ignores me as she directs her anger straight at Kyle. “Then you let Ally get out of the truck. You helped her out, for God’s sakes,” she yells at him. “Those fucking dogs could’ve ripped her apart. Then what? You don’t think. You don’t fucking think!”
Kyle looks shell shocked. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel, Laura?”
“Okay, Laura,” Eden says as he takes her hands in his, standing in front of her and looking into her eyes. “We’re all okay. That is what’s most important. I can see we need to work a lot more on how we handle situations. You’re right about the danger we put ourselves in. However, Kyle is not to blame for any of this.”
Laura shakes her head back and forth. “The hell he isn’t.”
“This is my fault, Laura. I shouldn’t have taken the chance of flying around a place that’s so close to the capital of Texas. It was dumb and reckless of me,” Eden tells her.
“You just wanted to have some fun with your wife, Eden,” she tells him. “You two have had little fun and so much more drama. You saw a chance to cut loose and you took it. The reason I’m upset with Kyle is because he needs to take this commitment to your safety seriously.”
Kyle moves towards her as he sees Eden has finally calmed her down. “I’m sorry, Laura,” Kyle tells her. “You’re right. I should’ve directed that a whole lot better. I am a little new to this, though, so cut me some slack, please.”
She smiles at Eden, then takes her hands out of his, turning to Kyle. “I’m a bitch. I know that. I’m sorry for over-reacting.”
“You are not a bitch,” Kyle tells her as he takes her in his arms. “You take your responsibilities very seriously and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Eden comes to me, putting his arm around my waist. “Let’s give them some privacy,” he whispers in my ear as he leads me quietly up the stairs.
“You want them to be happy together, don’t you?” Eden asks me as we sit on the bed in the guest room.
“I do, but we may have to get used to the fact they might not be together.”
“Why would you say that, Alyssa?”
Changing into a silky, red nightie, I glance at him as I say, “Like so many relationships, this one is built on their physical want for each other and that seldom lasts. At least, according to my mother’s theories.”
“I see. She must have confided in you,” Eden says.
“Yeah, and get this, Eden. She heard him dreaming last night. That’s why I sent you guys the message not to say anything about how he and I are sharing them.”
A knock sounds at our bedroom door. “Can I come in?” Kyle asks.
I slip under the blanket to cover myself, then Eden answers, “Yes.”
The door opens, revealing a very unhappy Kyle. “Laura left.”
I pick up my cell phone and call her, but she doesn’t answer, so I call her again. “She still isn’t answering her phone.”
“I don’t like this at all. Why would she do this?” Eden asks me.
“Do you think she’s going back to Cloudcroft?” Kyle asks me.
“I don’t know. Kyle, tell us what happened, exactly as it happened,” I say.
Kyle sits down on the bed. “I thought everything was going all right between us after that fight. Then she went all crazy again, telling me I didn’t really love her and I only wanted her for her body. Like a dumbass, I agreed with her, then she stormed out the front door.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe you said that to her. Are you trying to get her to break up with you?”
“I’m not, Ally. It just came out of my mouth before I could stop it. You don’t know what a jackass I feel like. If she would just answer her phone, I know I could make it better,” Kyle says. “I was just kidding!”
“How long exactly do you think it was before you went outside to look for her?” Eden asks.
Kyle plays with the bottom of his shirt, something he does when he’s nervous. “I waited about thirty minutes, so she and I both could cool off. Then I walked out to see the garage door open and her car gone.”
“She never came back inside the house. Did she have her keys with her?” Eden asks him.
“The keys were in it. She left them in it. She has a very bad habit of doing that.”
“It’s just going to take her a little while to calm down. She has the credit card we gave her. She’ll probably stay at a motel and come back, or at least call one of us, in the morning,” I say.
“It’s late. Let’s get some rest. I’m sure she’ll be back before we know it,” Eden says.
“I’m going to sleep on the sofa, so I can hear her if she comes back,” Kyle tells us.
“See you in the morning, Kyle. It’s going to be okay. I love you,” I tell him as he leaves our bedroom.
He turns back to look at me. “Thanks, Ally. I love you too. Eden, I’m sorry for making more drama. You guys get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning,” Kyle tells us, then shuts our bedroom door behind him.
Eden stands up, taking my hand as he does and pulling me up as well. He turns and slips his arms around me, hugging me tightly to him. His breath tickles my neck as he nuzzles it.
I giggle a little at the sensation. His hands move up my back, pushing the straps of my nightgown down once he reaches my shoulders. The light weight of it moves off of my shoulders. The softness of his lips on my shoulder makes my knees weak.
“You are mine, Alyssa,” Eden says as his hot breath warms my neck.
My eyes fly open with his words. “Eden, don’t,” I say, but he cuts me off.
He grabs a handful of my hair, pulling it so that my neck is exposed. Suddenly his mouth is on my neck, biting me. I rake my nails down his back. He stops, then tosses me down on the bed. Quickly, he undresses. My heart is pounding in my chest.
He turns and walks out of the room, into the bathroom. I hear the shower start.
What the hell? What is he doing?
I walk into the bathroom to find him in the shower. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” he replies offhandedly.
“Eden, you started something in the bedroom. Don’t you want to finish it?”
“Do you?” he asks me.
I look down, feeling embarrassed. “Damn, Eden, do you want me to beg you or what?”
“Maybe. Why don’t you join me in here and we can see if you can convince me,” he says as he opens the glass shower door.
I step in and look up at him. “What can I do to convince you?”
A smile crosses his lips and a twinkle shines in his gorgeous emerald eyes. “I’m sure you can think of something. I have faith in your abilities, Mrs. Fontaine.”
CHAPTER 65
ALYSSA
A bright white light is shining in my eyes. Kyle is standing on one side of me. I’m so hot and sweaty. A sudden tightness wraps around my stomach. I look down to see what’s squeezing me. All I see is a light blue sheet. My legs are up in some type of a device. I can’t move them. They’re strapped down.
“You’re doing great, Ally,” Kyle tells me and then taps my forehead with a damp washcloth.
Through clenched teeth, I say, “It hurts Kyle. It hurts so badly.”
Kyle pats my leg and I feel like choking him. “Ally, it won’t be long now and she’ll be here. Just try to be tough, okay?”
My words come out a bit louder than I mean them to as I yell, “I don’t want to do this anymore. I changed my mind. It hurts t
oo badly. I want drugs. I want them now.”
“It’s too late for that, Mrs. Stevens,” a man in a white mask who’s standing at the end of the bed tells me.
The squeezing stops and I can breathe again. “Kyle, please never do this to me again.”
Kyle leans down, kissing me on top of my head. “I’m so sorry, Ally. I thought you were ready for this. You just have to get through it. You’ll be holding your daughter before you know it.”
The squeezing starts again. “No, no, no!”
The man at the end of the bed tells me, “Mrs. Stevens, you need to breathe.”
“I can’t,” I yell at him. “Where’s my mom? I need my mom.”
Kyle holds my hand, or rather, I’m squeezing his. “She’ll be here as soon as she can. You went into labor earlier than expected. Don’t you remember, Al?”
The pain eases up and Kyle takes his hand away from me, rubbing it. I look at my hand, which has an IV in it. It’s not him who has to endure this pain. He’s just standing there, feeling nothing. This isn’t fair. And the squeezing starts again.
The doctor glances at me over the sheet. “I can see the top of her head,”
Kyle smiles and it makes me want to smack that smile right off his face. “Okay, Al, it’s almost over.”
On top of the squeezing, I feel an uncontrollable need to push. “I have to push,” I yell.
The doctor looks at me and says, “Not yet.” He’s completely messing up my world.
“What?” I yell.
Kyle puts his hand in mine and kisses my forehead. “Ally, just do what the doctor tells you.”
This is all too much. Neither one of them feels this pain or this urgency to push. “Fuck you both, I’m pushing.”
The doctor’s tone is stern as he says, “The cord is wrapped around your baby’s neck. If you push before I unwrap it, you’ll choke her.” His words take the little bit of air I had in my lungs away.
Pressure on my shoulder makes me look up at Kyle. His jaw is set and his tone commanding as he says, “Alyssa, get ahold of yourself. That’s our daughter. You can do what you have to so she doesn’t get hurt.”
Nobody's Girl: A Billionaire Romance Novel Page 86