“Just shut up,” she said before the voice could interrupt. “I’m driving on to Roswell to see my aliens and then I’m going home. I’m not going to fall for your tricks and stay here frightened. I’m moving on to Roswell, and I’ll find another route home if I have to drive through Chicago to do it.”
After fastening her seatbelt, she stepped on the gas and the car took off as though it had been shot from a cannon.
“Wow. They really fixed your get-up-and-go, didn’t they,” she said with a grin.
“They did.”
Birgit frowned, but kept driving.
“Haven’t you noticed that no matter how hard you step on the gas pedal the tachometer doesn’t move?”
Inexplicably, her gaze jumped to the gauges and she noticed the voice was right. At the speed she was driving, it should read about two-thousand revolutions, but it read at about six-hundred, which should have put her at an idle, not sixty miles per hour.
“What the hell?” How had they done that? No wonder her gas mileage seemed so phenomenal.
“I told you. They put in a few new computers. One makes it so I can talk.” The female voice sounded smug. “The other runs an ion propulsion unit Reno connected to the drive train and is what is pushing us down the road.”
“I still don’t believe it.” Birgit tightened her fingers on the wheel and continued toward Roswell. “It’s not possible. No one has ion propulsion. If they did, they’d be powering space ships with it.”
“But they do.” A soft chuckle reverberated the speakers. “At least the Zolonians do.”
“Zolonians?”
“Yes. The four men who own Brewer’s Garage are from a planet somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy. Their real last name isn’t Brewer. It’s Brewerigeron.”
“Bull puckies.” She bit her lip. “Prove you’re telling me the truth.”
It was an impossible demand, Birgit knew that. There was no way anyone could prove to her that her car was, talking to her.
“Remember the day you bought me? You weren’t sure you made the right choice.”
“That’s an easy assumption. Everyone second-guesses a major purchase—especially a car.”
“But not everyone knows what you said to me the day you brought me home.”
“What…what I said?” Birgit lifted her foot off the accelerator a bit. “What did I say?”
“You said you thought I was the most beautiful car you had ever seen.”
“Easy guess. I’d just spent ten grand on you. I wouldn’t have done it if you were ugly or covered with rust.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head when she realized she’d addressed her car as you.
“You also said you hated it when people sent their cars to junkyards and you would never do that to me if I took care of you.” The sound of the voice changed to one of injured pride. “You told them to take me to a junkyard when you arrived at their shop.”
“What do you expect? You’d just died on me for the umpteenth time!” She pressed her lips together with a sigh, determined not to say another word directed at an inanimate object.
“That’s it! I’m taking this thing back to that shop and making them fix whatever it is they’ve done. TV shows aside, cars don’t talk and they aren’t sentient.”
“Oh, and I suppose the fact that I told you those men aren’t human, but real live aliens has nothing to do with your decision to drive another two hours out of your way.”
“Shut up.” Birgit refused to reply any further as she turned the car around, her teeth clenched tight. “Just shut up.”
Chapter Six
Reno stared up at the underside of an SUV and prepared to change the oil. He enjoyed routine maintenance. It didn’t require much thought and gave him something to do.
He removed the drain plug and watched as a thin stream of dirty oil ran down into the pan hooked to a small barrel for containing it. When a car door slammed and the sound of angry muttering reached him, he glanced out of the pit.
“Where are you guys and what the hell did you do to my car?”
Shapely, jean clad hips came into view as the woman who belonged to the irritated voice, stopped near the SUV and tapped her toes with a sigh.
“I know those guys are around here somewhere and I’m going to find them.” She spun around. “Whoever heard of a talking car?”
Well, hell. She’d come back. Reno didn’t know if he was going to kill his brother, or thank him.
“Can I help you?” Reno crawled up and out of the oil change pit, pulled a red shop rag out of his back pocket and wiped his hands. “Is there something wrong,” he asked as he rounded the back of the vehicle.
He knew damn well, something was wrong. What was I thinking when I left Ceno alone with her vehicle? He should have guessed his brother would do something to give them away. Ceno wanted to stay here on this backward planet with its too-small women and no sonic showers.
Sonic showers, even Reno could do without, but most of the women he’d seen outside of Magic were short and so thin he feared breaking bones if he bedded them. Forgetting the feminine curves, Reno’s ideal mate would be at least five-feet nine-inches, by Earth measurements, and he’d yet to see one that tall who was still unmarried.
He rounded the back of the SUV and his eyes widened. A Zolonian goddess stood just inside the doorway. Her long red-brown hair hung around her shoulders in soft waves, resting on large, perfect breasts. Her hourglass figure gave way to wide birthing hips that nearly made him drool. Her chemistry matched his, for certain. Just the sight of her almost brought him to his knees.
His skin itched as his body fought to change into that of his beast for the first time in his life. Thankfully, he knew that couldn’t happen until they had mated, or her life was in danger. Either of those things could trigger a change in him—one more violent than the other.
She smelled of mixed fruit and sweet, woman’s musk. His chest—and other body parts—swelled as he breathed deep and took in her perfect scent.
No other woman smelled the way she did and no other Earth woman he’d ever seen looked the way she did with her flashing green eyes, and hair the color of burnished copper.
“You!” She stomped over to him and poked him in the chest. “You’re the one who did that to my car, aren’t you? You’re Reno.” She narrowed her eyes for a moment when he didn’t supply an immediate answer. “Aren’t you?”
“Guilty as charged,” he drawled as he looked her up and down. His hormones went into overdrive as she glared up at him. He moved, putting the workbench between them so she couldn’t see the erection tenting the front of his coveralls.
“Cars aren’t supposed to talk.” She waved her arm toward the large garage doors. “Why does my car talk and why does it say you’re an alien?”
“It said what?”
“It told me that you and your brothers are from somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy.”
“Your car talked to you?” I’m going to kill Ceno. Dead. I’m going to murder him and dump his cold, rotting corpse somewhere in the mountains where the animals can feed on him. I never should have left the idiot alone with her car.
“Yes. It talked to me. As a matter of fact, it talked to me all the way back here. The damned thing didn’t shut up for over an hour and a half.”
She crossed her arms, pushing her luscious-looking breasts up and out of the vee of her blouse.
Reno fought the urge to lick his lips.
“Can you imagine what it’s like to hear someone babbling for that long. Why is the carpet dirty? Why don’t you clean out the trunk? Did you know that there’s a dead mouse in the air filter? Oh, my God. It’s driving me crazy!”
Her last complaint jarred him out of the near trance he’d been in since she’d poked him in the chest. The woman had more guts than brains. Reno grinned as he decided he liked that about her.
“Don’t you dare stand there and smile at me. Do something about it!”
He planned to do ju
st that. However, he would need her in town for more than a couple of hours to carry out his plan.
“Well,” he said as he scratched the back of his head. “I can try, but it’s going to take a bit. How about I put you up at the local bed and breakfast while I work this out?”
“B-bed and breakfast?” She stared up at him for a moment and then took a step back. “Why do you want me to stay overnight?”
“Because, I have no idea what my idiot brother did to your vehicle.” He glanced around her with a frown. The car sat in the parking lot. It appeared harmless enough, but who knew what mischief his brother had gotten into while under the hood.
Then there was Topper. Could she have had something to do with the car and its sudden penchant for verbiage? He’d heard somewhere that she had a tendency to meddle in matchmaking. Perhaps she was the one he needed to go see.
“He wanted me to stay. He said I needed to meet you.” She stared up at him. “I’m not sure why.” Her cheeks reddened putting the lie to her words. “Well, I might have a clue.” She lifted a trembling hand and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I think he’s trying to fix us up.”
“Fix us up?” He stared down at her with a frown.
“Yeah.” She smiled. “Are you really an alien?” She looked him up and down, in much the same way he had done to her. Appreciation mixed with disappointment on her face. “You don’t look like one.”
Should he admit to it, or shouldn’t he? Wasn’t the damage already done with the loudmouth Ceno had put, or arranged to put, in her car?
“Just how, exactly, do you think an alien should look?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She smiled up at him. “Green skin, maybe.” She moved around him as she checked him out. “Different hair and,” pausing, she glanced at his hands. “You definitely don’t have enough fingers. You should have six fingers and six toes. Yeah. That would definitely make you an alien.”
What a coincidence. Without the glamour the people of Magic put on the town, and its people, she would have seen six toes had he been barefoot. Not to mention the fact, while he wasn’t green, he was a light shade of blue. At least they hadn’t had to change his hair color. It seemed as though blond was okay for a hair color on Earth, but his skin caused a need for a myriad of explanations. Not to mention the fact that both of those features made him and his brothers look like something the locals had called cartoon characters.
“What makes you want to see six-fingered aliens?” He tagged the windshield of the SUV so his brothers would know it still needed the oil change service, before he walked to the sink and washed his hands.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It’s just a… fantasy, I guess. Ever since I was little, I’ve dreamed of aliens. I’m not sure why. My friend, Angie, says it’s because I’ve been abducted, but I don’t believe that.”
“I think I’d remember something like that, don’t you?” She canted her head and met his gaze, her brow furrowed.
“I don’t know. They could hit you with a memory serum.” He fought the urge to smile when her face lit up at the prospect.
“You think?” She bounced on her toes for a moment. “That would explain a lot of strange dreams I’ve been having.”
“Dreams?” He couldn’t follow what she said, he was so distracted by her scent and the fact that she was taller than five-foot six.
Chapter Seven
“I… ah…” Damn! Me and my big mouth.
Birgit clamped her mouth closed. What should she say? She couldn’t very well tell the man she’d dreamed of a tall, handsome alien making love to her. Damn her overactive imagination and damn her love of paranormal and science fiction romances.
Dreaming about a tall and sexy, albeit faceless, alien for the last three years was one thing—admitting to it, was out of the question.
She stared up at his face, marred by a bump along the bridge of his nose. It hinted at a break at some point. He must have gotten it scuffling with his brothers, if the way they all seemed to get along was any indication. Brows, just a shade or two darker than his light blond hair pulled down into a slight frown as she stared.
“I’m sorry.” She glanced away with a shake of her head. “Forgive me for being rude. It’s just that you seem very familiar to me.” She tilted her head to the side. “Do I know you?”
Reno flashed a brilliant smile that revealed white teeth, and a dimple she had the overwhelming urge to stick her tongue against. She rested her hand over her stomach in an effort to tame the fluttering and little flips it did as she stared at him.
“I’m sure I’d remember such a gorgeous woman.” He winked at her and moved toward the large garage door. “Why don’t I take you down to the bed and breakfast? He strode toward her car, not waiting for an answer. “Let’s just get your bags out of your car.”
“I… Wait!” She hurried after him. “I want you to listen to what the car says.” She glared at the vehicle when it stayed conspicuously silent. “So talk already.” She kicked the tire.
“Open your trunk and I’ll get your bags.”
“I’ll warn you, they’re heavy.” She pressed the trunk release on her key fob with a sigh.
“Heavy?” He turned to her and raised a brow. “I doubt it. I’m much stronger than I look. My brothers and I come from good Zol… stock.”
“I’ll bet you do,” Birgit muttered as she stared at Reno’s muscular behind and suppressed a smile. She thought his accent was sexy and the fact that he’d almost used a word from his own language in place of the word stock, made him seem much more attainable.
Reno reached into the trunk and pulled out her cases with ease. He was stronger than he looked. He didn’t appear to strain even the slightest as he lifted them out and set them on the ground to close the trunk lid.
“Don’t leave me here with him! I’ll be good. I promise,” the voice begged.
“Yeah, right. Like you promised to shut your trap sixteen times on the way back here.” Birgit walked around to the passenger side, and reached in through the window to grab her purse and phone.
The power window hummed as it raised, seemingly of its own accord.
“You do know this isn’t helping your cause, right?”
“I don’t want to go back to being that sad, lonely piece of… piece of—“
“Crap?”
“Machinery! I am not a piece of crap!”
“You couldn’t prove it by me.” Birgit crossed her arms and glared at the car.
“Please don’t let him change me. Think about how nice it would be for me to be able to tell you what’s wrong and how to fix it, before I break down.”
The window came back down and Birgit quickly freed herself.
“Well, Hell…” Birgit sighed. How could she tell Reno to take out the parts? Was her car sentient? Had it always been so and just couldn’t communicate before? She turned to Reno and met his gaze. “What do I do?”
“It’s your car.”
“But it’s asking for help.” She bit her lip. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. Cars aren’t supposed to talk.” She rested her hands on her hips with a sigh.
Maybe she should go stay a night at the local bed and breakfast and think about what she was asking before she let Reno remove whatever it was they had added.
“Would you mind putting my bags back in the car?”
“You’ve changed your mind?”
Birgit glanced at the man, wondering if she’d heard the slight panic in his voice, or if it was her imagination.
“Not yet, but I thought maybe I should stay here a night or two and think about it.”
It seemed as though the man was almost reluctant to place her bags in her trunk. She stared at him for a moment, while he wasn’t looking. What was it about the guy that seemed so familiar?
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think they serve dinner at the bed and breakfast.” He checked his watch. “And the diner closes in less than an hour.”
“I guess I�
�ll just have to check in and then make my way back to the diner.” She wished she had the nerve to ask him to dinner. It wasn’t as though she couldn’t afford to do the things she wanted to do. She’d just always lived as meager a life as she could and it was difficult to get used to the fact that she now had the means to do whatever she wanted.
“I…” He cleared his throat. “Would you care to join me for dinner?” Reno placed her luggage back into her trunk and closed the lid. “I mean, if you want the company.”
Birgit stared at his back for a moment, her stomach doing little flips as she fought the urge to answer too quickly. “Ah… sure. That would be great.” She smiled up at him when he turned to face her. “Should I meet you there or—“
“I’ll follow you and you can ride with me.”
The city girl in her almost said no. Years of self preservation jumped up to scream drive yourself!
“That would be lovely.” She cleared her throat. “They don’t serve alcohol, do they?”
He shook his head. “If you want drinks we’ll need to eat at the bar.”
“No, no, the diner is fine.” She smiled up at him. “Thank you for being so kind after I came in here with my horrible attitude.” Her face burned as she thought of the way she’d stormed into the garage, berated him, and then poked him in the chest.
“I don’t blame you a bit. I think a talking car would have upset me, too.”
“You don’t seem surprised, though.”
“Me?” He shrugged. “There’s not much my brother can do that would surprise me.” He walked her to her driver’s door and opened it. “I’ll just shower and change real quick and I’ll pick you up in about fifteen minutes.”
Chapter Eight
Reno stood in the parlor, waiting for Birgit to come downstairs and join him. She rounded the corner and his breath stopped. Inner alarms sounded as his beast, once again, tried to break free. Still, he had an iron grip on it and, would have, at least for a while longer.
Magic, New Mexico: Bewitching Birgit (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 3