“Shit,” one of the guys shouts as he ducks down.
“They’re huge!” The sheriff says, with excitement in his voice.
“So, you see, Sheriff Hardy, that’s what we’ve been hiding. A pair of escaped California Condors. This is Leo. He’s here to pick them up and take them back to the wildlife park they escaped from,” Kyle tells them as Leo walks up to the group.
“Hi, guys. They’re pretty cool, huh?” Leo says.
“I’ve never seen birds that big,” the other guy tells Leo.
“I bet you haven’t. They aren’t found in this area. These two accidently missed out on getting their wings clipped and ended up taking off one night. We’ve been missing them for about a month. We were sure they would never make it out on their own,” Leo tells them.
“Why was it so secretive?” the sheriff asks him.
“I have to be truthful with you. It was my doing. I’ve been covering up their absence, hoping to find them. I met Kat and Koby a while back when they came to a training seminar. I called them and many other trainers to help me find the birds,” he answers.
“So you made them keep it a secret that they’d found them?” the sheriff asks him.
Leo nods his head yes. “I would lose my job if the truth came out. I had to make up a reason to come all the way down here. It took me several days to get the time off and drive here with a cage to take them back home with. I hope you don’t turn me in. I didn’t want to tell anyone I didn’t have to about this. But these guys tell me you have their friend’s wife in custody.”
“I had to do whatever it took to get to the bottom of this. I live here, you know?” the sheriff says.
Alyssa and I drop our hands, bringing in the birds once again. They come in just over their heads. They land, then come to us, stopping in front of us. We turn to walk back into the barn and the birds follow us. Once in the barn, I turn to the birds.
“Thank you for helping us out,” I tell them.
“Time to go back home, Lucy and Ricky,” Alyssa tells them as we walk to the door of the cage. The birds walk into the cage, then turn around to look at us.
As I close the door to the cage, Alyssa says, “I hate that we have to send them back into captivity.”
“It’s for a good cause, Alyssa. The conservation program is bringing them back from near extinction. Ricky and Lucy are helping to increase the California Condor population,” I explain.
She takes a deep breath and sighs. “Bye, guys.”
I hold my hand out to them. They both come to touch my hand with their bumpy faces. My mate touches them too, wishing them a safe journey.
Leo comes back into the barn. “I think it worked, guys. They all just left to go to the jail.”
I smile at him, then Alyssa walks to him, giving him a hug. “I can’t thank you enough, Leo. We’re going to come see you at work soon.”
I shake his hand and laugh. “Thanks so much for all of your help. You are a great actor.”
“I guess those acting lessons paid off after all,” Leo tells us.
“When you get back, you’ll find that The Phoenix Foundation has given a generous grant to your California Condor Program, as well as a generous grant to you for all of your help,” I tell him.
“That’s really not necessary, guys,” he says. “I’d do anything to keep your secret.”
I smile at him. “Your protection is greatly appreciated by us. Please accept our gifts to you. It would make us happy.”
“Thank you, I will,” Leo says, then closes up the wooden door on the bird’s crate.
He gets back into his truck and waves goodbye to us. “Come on, Alyssa. Let’s walk up to the house,” I say as I take her hand and lead her up the dirt road.
She puts her head on my shoulder as we walk back up to the house in the darkness. “You handled that situation really well, Eden.”
“Kicking ass and taking names isn’t always the best thing to do,” I say, then laugh a little.
“I guess I was a little bit ready to go to war with these people,” she admits.
“You have to learn to take some time to completely assess the situation before you make a conclusion about how to handle it,” I say.
“You’re so mature. I’m lucky to have you,” she says.
I stop, taking her hand and touching my lips to it. “I’m the lucky one, Mrs. Fontaine,” I say as I take her arms and wrap them around my neck, then place my hands on her waist. “I love you so much, Alyssa. I feel closer to you every day. You have no idea what you mean to me.”
She smiles up at me. “I have some idea. You mean everything to me, Eden. I couldn’t love anyone more than I love you.”
I continue to lead her up the road to the house. “I can’t wait for Laura to be back,” she says.
“You know that Kyle is going to ask her to marry him some day, right?” I ask.
“No, I don’t know that,” she says. “And with my connection to him, I’d be the first to know if he even had that thought for a micro-second.”
“Will it bother you if he does?” I ask.
“It’s a bit soon for them to take that step. Look how badly they can fight. It might not be the right thing for them to do, at least not right now,” she says.
“You do know you care more for Kyle than you do Laura, right?” I ask.
A long sigh comes from her. “No, that’s not really true. Laura is just as important to me as he is. Though if she knew about our little dream-life, I doubt she’d be too thrilled with me. I know Kyle and I both know our lives are better on this path, rather than that one.”
“I know, but you two fall asleep and have a different life. Who’s to say when it’ll stop happening,” I say.
“Do you think it’ll continue, even though we both think our lives are better this way?” she asks.
“I don’t know, Alyssa,” I tell her as we approach the house. “I do know it’ll be hard for Laura to handle. It was difficult for me at first.”
She drops her head. “Maybe you shouldn’t touch me at night if it bothers you, as it’s something I can’t help,” she says as I open the door.
I laugh a little. “I can’t not touch you when we sleep. That’s impossible. I’m fine with it now anyway. At least Laura doesn’t have to be a witness to your dream lives. You should limit your discussions about what all went on in the dreams, though. At least with her.”
She nods. “I’m sorry, Eden.”
I lift her chin up and say, “I can take it. I can take whatever comes with being with you. I know Kyle can take whatever comes with being with you too. Laura is lacking the connection, so watch what you say to her. I’m not saying to lie, but I am saying not to be so upfront with this thing.”
“Okay,” she says. “I would control it if I could. You know that, right?”
I smile at her. “I know that, Alyssa. I wish there was something I could do too. I guess this is just another thing we have to go through. We’ve been given special gifts. Some really crazy things go along with that, apparently.”
The door opens to reveal Kyle carrying Laura into the house. “Is she okay?” I ask.
Laura’s head is lying against Kyle’s chest. She’s pale and looks very weak. “No, she isn’t all right. She almost fell as she walked out to me,” he tells us.
“I’ll call and get a doctor over here,” I say as I take out my cell.
“Lie her down on the sofa. I’ll get her some water,” Alyssa tells him. She takes the water to Laura, sitting next to her. “Laura, what’s wrong?”
“I’ve been really sick, Al. I can’t keep anything down. I feel really tired and weak,” she tells her.
Alyssa takes the straw she put into the bottle of water and puts it up to Laura’s lips. She takes a sip of it. “Kyle, bring down a blanket,” Alyssa directs him and he dashes off.
After a very brief conversation with my doctor from home, I tell them what he told me. “We need to go ahead and take her to the hospital. She’s most likel
y dehydrated and they need to get an IV in her and start giving her fluids as soon as possible. One of our doctors will meet us there. He said there’s a small hospital right here in town.”
Kyle comes back down the stairs with the blanket. “We have to take her to the hospital, Kyle,” I say.
“What? It’s that bad?” he asks.
“The doctor said that, since she’s been unable to keep anything down, she’s probably dehydrated and we need to get that taken care of as soon as possible,” I tell him.
Kyle wraps the blanket around her. “Let’s take her car, Eden. You drive and I’ll ride in the back with her,” Kyle says, then he picks Laura up and walks to the door.
Alyssa follows behind us. “Don’t worry, Laura. You’ll be feeling better in no time,” she tells her.
We pull up at the hospital’s emergency entrance. Kyle gets out, picking her up. “Go with them, Alyssa. I’ll park the car and be right in,” I say.
When I come in, I see them all still sitting in the waiting room. “They should be taking you straight back,” I tell Kyle.
A nurse opens the door. “Laura Stevens?” she calls out.
Kyle looks at me. “Stevens?” he asks.
“Take your wife and follow the nurse, Kyle,” I tell him.
Kyle stands up, taking Laura and following the nurse. Alyssa and I walk behind them, only to be stopped by the nurse. “Only her husband can be back here for now. Sorry guys. Hospital rules,” she tells us.
Alyssa looks at me as the nurse shuts the door in our faces. “Now I see why you lied when you took me to the hospital,”
I smile at her. “I know she’ll want someone in there with her. It should be him.”
She nods in agreement, but I feel the pain in her heart.
She’s not ready to let him go.
CHAPTER 69
ALYSSA
Just as Eden and I sit down, I realize I need to let Laura’s mother know we found her. “I need to call her mother.” I tell Eden. “I’ll be right outside.”
I take out my cell phone and walk out the sliding glass doors. “Hey, Joan, I know it’s late. I just wanted to let you know we found Laura and it’s a long story, but she’s okay,” I tell her.
“I want to talk to her,” Joan says.
“She’s sleeping right now. I’ll get her to call you in the morning,” I say.
“Ally, please. I am worried sick,” she says.
“Look, Joan, I don’t want to wake her up. Please know she’s okay. I’ll have her call you first thing in the morning,” I say.
“You better, Ally. You have no idea how hard this has been. You’ll never understand until you have children,” she tells me.
“I’m sorry. Just know that she’s okay and she’ll call you as soon as she wakes up,” I say to her before I hang up.
Eden comes out just as I turn to walk back in. “We should go home and rest. The nurse came out and told me they’ll most likely be moving her to a room later. She’s severely dehydrated. They’re going to run tests on her to find out what’s making her sick.”
He puts his arm around my shoulders and moves me towards the parking lot. “I feel bad about not being able to tell her mother everything. She told me I would never understand how she feels until I have children. I hope we’re doing the right thing for Laura,” I say.
Eden opens the car door for me. I sit down and he leans across me and fastens my seatbelt. “She’s being taken care of. Don’t second guess things,” he tells me, then shuts my door.
I look at Eden as he drives me back to their house. “Do you think that they were poisoning her?”
“I don’t know. God help them if they were,” he says.
“God won’t help them if they were,” I say. “Then we can kick ass and take names.”
The little ducks quacking in the box next to the bed wakes me up from a dreamless sleep. I rub my eyes and look over to see Eden sleeping next to me, his leg draped over mine. I gently move his leg off of me so I can get the ducks something to eat.
I pick up the box and take it downstairs to find their duck food. Each little ducky eats like they were starving when I put the feeder down for them. I stroke each one’s little head as they quack and eat, leaving the box on the table as I go to get ready to go up to the hospital.
“You’re up,” I say as I walk in to find Eden sitting up in the bed.
“Yeah,” he groans, then stretches.
“Meet me in the shower,” I tell him as I walk into the bathroom.
I hear him get out of the bed and walk to the bathroom. I turn on the water in the rather small shower, then stand under the water as it helps me to clear my head.
Eden steps into the shower with a smile on his face. “I noticed you slept dreamlessly,” he says.
I smile back at him as I put a dollop of shampoo in my hand. “No dreams,” I say as I raise my eyebrows. “I had a quiet night in my head for a change.”
He presses his body up against mine, holding me back against the wall, his forehead touching mine. I feel his hands moving over my wet skin.
“I suddenly feel very happy to be awake,” he tells me.
“You’re making me pretty happy too,” I tell him, then his hands pull me closer to him and I am lost.
I button my shirt as Eden walks past me, delivering a slap to my bottom as he does. “Let’s get a move on, Alyssa. It’s almost time for visiting hours,” he says.
“Eden, you are very promiscuous this morning. What has gotten into you?” I ask him.
“I don’t know, maybe the fact that a whole twenty-four hours has gone by since I’ve had to watch my wife making love to her dream husband has perked me up some,” he says.
I smile at him, but inwardly I feel sad. “I hope the dreams are over for good. I hate that you have to see that.”
“I hope they are too,” he admits. “I don’t like to share you, even in a non-existent reality.”
I walk to take his hand. “I love you, Eden. You understand even the craziest things. Now let’s go see how Laura is this morning.”
“She’s in room 222,” the lady sitting at the desk tells us.
“I can’t believe she’s still here. I thought they would give her some fluids, and boom, she would be better,” I say.
“We’ll find out soon enough why she’s still here,” Eden tells me as we get in the elevator and go up to the second floor.
The elevator doors open and we see the room number right away. “Here she is,” I say.
Eden knocks lightly on the door. The door opens and Kyle’s unshaven, very tired-looking face peeks out at us. “Oh, good, it’s you,” he says as he stands back for us to come in.
“Kyle, you look terrible,” I say.
“I haven’t slept,” he tells us.
No wonder I had no dreams about him. “Why not?” I ask him.
“I think Laura will want to tell you that,” he says as he shuts the door.
I look at Laura, who is fast asleep. “Is she okay. Did they find poison?”
He shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t anything that they did to her,” he says.
“That’s a relief, because I would’ve lost it if they’d done something to her. Probably just the stress of the situation had her like that,” I say.
“Eden, can you take me back to the house so I can get cleaned up? Ally can you stay here with Laura for a while?” Kyle asks Eden.
“Sure, Kyle, whatever you need me to do,” Eden says. “We’ll be back in a little while, Alyssa.”
I look at Kyle and sense something’s wrong. His mind is blank, though, almost as if he’s closing himself off to me on purpose. “Kyle, you sure you don’t have something you want to tell me? You seem out of it.”
“No, Ally. I’m really tired,” he says. “She needs you right now, a lot more than she needs me anyway.”
I watch them walk out the door, knowing full well that something has happened between them. I turn to look at Laura sleeping. Her color is better;
there are still black circles under her eyes, though. I sit down in the chair next to her bed. The TV is on, so I flip through the channels, leaving the volume on low.
“Ally?” Laura says with a hoarse voice.
I stop and put the remote down. “Yes, Laura, it’s me,” I say, then move in front of her. “Can I get you anything?”
She smiles weakly. “You can get me out of here,” she says as she laughs a little.
“I bet you are ready to come home and sleep in your own bed. Hopefully the doctor will let you go today,” I say.
“I’m sure he will. What’s wrong with me can’t be fixed by staying in the hospital,” she says.
“So what is wrong with you?” I ask.
“You must have seen Kyle,” she says. “He didn’t whine to you about it?”
I shake my head. “Why would he whine about what’s wrong with you?”
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell you,” she says, almost to herself. “I thought he would come crying to you for sure. All he could say when they told us was that you were going to be so upset. It was pretty embarrassing, as the nurse thought we were married and might actually be happy with the news.”
I frown at her. “Well, he didn’t. He asked Eden to take him home so he could get cleaned up.”
“I see. He’s going to cry to Eden about it, then,” she mumbles.
“What is he going to be crying about, Laura?” I ask, getting tired of this runaround.
“I’m pregnant,” she states flatly.
My jaw drops open. “I thought you were using birth control!”
“The thing about birth control pills is that you have to remember to take them and I have trouble remembering that. So I got myself in this predicament. It’s not really Kyle’s fault. I was taking the responsibility for keeping myself from getting pregnant and I failed. He probably hates me now,” she says.
“No, he doesn’t hate you at all, Laura,” I tell her, reaching out to hold her hand. “He was worried sick about you. He told me he knew for sure he loved you because he was so upset over what was happening to you.”
Nobody's Girl: A Billionaire Romance Novel Page 89