The snow was starting to melt even though it was only February. She could almost smell spring in the air. Stepping off the porch, she ignored the desire to make snowballs and aim them at Rylan’s head.
She trudged through the snow to the street, aware that Rylan was following her.
“You’re not invited.” She hated to sound so bitter, but she knew what happened when she let her guard down and trusted.
“I don’t remember asking for an invitation. I’m walking. I didn’t know I needed permission to do that.”
“Please, just leave me alone.” Couldn’t he see she needed time to herself?
It was more than that; she needed to figure out her future and Mckayla’s.
“No, you’re in danger and I don’t want you walking alone.”
“No one wants me, believe me.” She had been thrown away by the people who should have cared for her. If they didn’t want her, no one else would.
She turned the corner at the end of the street eyeing him. She was headed for town but that wasn’t hard to figure out.
They walked side by side as she aimed for the small diner. She stopped, and took a big breath before walking in.
There was a wall of booths and a long counter with backless stools for customers in front of it. Aviana walked up to the counter giving the woman behind it a friendly smile.
“Hi, I’m Aviana and I saw your help wanted sign. Is this position still available?”
“Hi Aviana, I’m Molly. We have been trying to start a new evening/night shift and we are looking for waitresses and cooks to fill it. The hours would be from seven pm till one am. Are you interested?
She shook her head no. “Unfortunately, I am not available those hours. I need a daylight shift; if something were to come available please keep me in mind. Right now I am staying with Victor and Selma at their bed and breakfast.”
Molly nodded. “I will keep you in mind as well as telling the big boss.”
“Thanks.” Aviana turned away paying no attention to Rylan who had taken a seat in the corner.
“Why are you looking for a job?” Rylan asked her when they left the diner.
Rylan didn’t work and from what Aviana could tell he also never worried about money.
“A job provides me with that elusive stuff called money. I pay all my pesky bills with it. I also use it to take care of Mckayla.”
“Do you need money?”
“No! Yes! I mean my savings will only take us so far and soon I will have to replenish it.”
“I will give you what you need.”
She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to face him.
“No. No, you will not just give me money that I will then have to struggle to pay back. I am not a charity case, and I won’t take it.”
“I know exactly who and what you are, Aviana. You’re definitely not a charity case, but you’re also not supposed to be working. I don’t care if it’s in a diner or being the president of a huge company.”
She opened her mouth to argue but decided to walk instead. His simple words made her feel better and the last part about being president of a company made her feel important. She used to have dreams like that when she was younger. She would go to New York and take it by storm. She had been on her way until her life had changed on a long walk home after school one day.
“You can’t just give people money because you feel sad for them. They need to pay you back or you won’t have any money.
“I’ll always have money, more than I know what to do with.” He pulled his phone out of his coat pocket and turned on some music.
“Because Newburg is where the rich and famous come to play.” She gave him a blank smile.
“Do you recognize that song?”
“Of course I do, it’s the hottest song out right now.”
“Thank you.”
“What?”
“Gabe and I wrote the song, both lyrics and music.”
Her mouth dropped open. They were famous songwriters? Well didn’t that put him out of her league. So she could continue to dream on because a man who could have anything wasn’t wasting his time on her and Mckayla.
“I thought a woman wrote that song.”
“We have more than one alter ego, both male and female. It’s how we stay anonymous.”
She understood how he had money to give away, but not to her. She wasn’t his responsibility and wasn’t trying to get anything from him.
“Rylan, I don’t want your money.”
“Then what do you want?”
Now wasn’t that the million dollar question. Ever since she met him in the Principal’s office at Mckayla’s school she had been aware of him. Her body ran warm around him and the desire to touch him was great. Seemed reasonable that she wanted a one-night stand, so why couldn’t she get the image of just lying in his arms out of her head?
“I don’t want anything. Maybe we can just be friends.”
He gave a rusty laugh. “Even I know better than that, Aviana. You’re like paper and I am definitely a match. Together we’ll go up in flames.”
“Paper and matches get along every day. Unless the match is lit, all is ok.”
“Aviana, this match was lit a long time ago. Now I’m just looking for the kindling so I can explode. I won’t let it be you.”
“Guess that’s a no to my offer of friendship.” She moved further down the street.
“Already we are so much more than friends.” Rylan spoke low before catching up with her.
She walked into a new hotel that would soon be opening its doors. It would give the small bed and breakfast a run for its money. Rylan followed her in.
“Hi, can I help you?” A young woman asked, stopping at the lobby desk.
“Yes, I was looking to put in an application for a job.”
“All job applications go through the owner who happens to be the hotel’s manager as well. He is in the back, I will call him. Peter,” she called over her shoulder. “Someone wants to put in an application.”
A Sudir walked out from an office behind the lobby desk.
Rylan stiffened as the color drained from Aviana’s face leaving her pale.
Whatever was standing before her wasn’t a man. The desire to run was overwhelming but she held it together because Rylan was assuring her with his body language that he was in charge. The thing in front of her had a multitude of eyes and stood on floor legs.
The receptionist gave him her best flirtatious smile not being able to see through the glamour. She turned and gave Aviana an ‘isn’t he handsome smile’ before going back to her work.
Aviana was stuck. Her body wouldn’t move even as her brain begged her to turn and run. The only thing that made sense was Rylan standing in front of her. He shielded her without her asking or turning pleading eyes his way. It was a natural response, one she appreciated
“Who was interested in the application?”
Whatever it was knew she no longer wanted to work here around him.
“My fiancée was looking for a part time job but I seem to have talked her out of it,” Rylan said.
His fiancée? Later, she would have to examine the extra beats of her heart that didn’t come from the terror standing before them.
“I would love to have some part time help. What does your fiancée do? She looks so…strong.”
“She is and when I am done with her she will be stronger. Peter, you have a lovely receptionist; I would hate to find out anything happened to her.”
Aviana’s heart sped up with pain before she pushed it to the side. So what if Rylan went for the unnaturally skinny kind, she wasn’t upset. She already knew he wasn’t for her. She knew he could have any of the women in Hollywood, why would he look at her?
“Peter,” Rylan spit out his human name, “we’ll be leaving now.” Carefully, he built a shield around Aviana before taking her hand and urging her to turn around.
Her legs walked woodenly as she made it towards the door.
Aviana heard the receptionist ask the monster.
“Some people see more than they should,” he replied.
Aviana walked out of the hotel, finally able to breathe in deep clean, cold air.
“What was that?” Her voice was soft, on the edge of hysteria but held together with determination.
“We shouldn’t talk about it here. Let’s go back home.”
Home. Something she hadn’t had in a long time. Her parents’ bright smiles and love filled eyes winked at her for a moment before they were filled with disgust for her.
Disappointment sat on her parents’ faces when they found out she was pregnant. Not only was she pregnant but she refused to have an abortion. Her dreams of an Ivy League school and taking New York by storm went out the window that day.
They made it clear they wouldn’t pay for her to go to school with a child in her belly. She even told them the truth about what happened. Weak was the word her mother used. You must have asked for it came from her father. She had been devastated. The final blow came when they kicked her out of the house when Mckayla was only six months old.
They told her they couldn’t stand looking at that child. Either she gave her up for adoption or left. Aviana left with her daughter it broke her heart but she refused to let it break her. She had almost two years of community college under her belt when she walked out of her parents’ house. She never looked back, not even when she heard a rumor they were looking for her.
They were right, something was wrong with her and now she was seeing monsters.
Chapter Three
She walked into the bed and breakfast looking for signs of life. Victor and Selma were absent and so were Cal and Paige as well as everyone else. There were times it felt like a mad house, all of them together laughing, and other times it felt like a ghost zone with not even the squeak of an animal around.
She walked into the living room, took off her coat, and sat on the couch. There was a large widow behind it. She could look out and see Vick’s snow woman. The Christmas tree that used to sit in the corner was gone. Selma had replaced it with a comfortable chair and a tall lamp for reading. There was a love seat on a different wall and several other chairs facing each other. More than enough seating for everyone in the bed and breakfast to be in this room together.
With a long look at Rylan, she fidgeted on the couch fighting her instinct to isolate herself by sitting in the chair. He sat beside her.
“Rylan, tell me what’s happening.”
“That was a Sudir. It was the same type of being that took Vick and that Vick was protecting Mckayla against. It is the reason I wanted you both to stay here where you would be protected.”
She held up a finger then she put her head between her legs and tried to breath. Finally, she sat up, shook her head, and leaned back over. Coming up more slowly this time she locked eyes with Rylan.
“Tell me I’m dreaming or that this is a sick joke.”
“What you saw was real.”
“How could a being, even if it was an alien, live with four legs and a head full of eyes?”
“Because it was caught in its own weapon blast and mutated like my people did.”
“Not hearing this.”
“You better hear this because your life and Mckayla’s life depends on what I am telling you.”
“Why now?”
“Because you’re strong enough to want to leave. That means you’re strong enough to fight.”
“Not sure I agree with your line of reasoning but it’s done now. What do I do? Say an incantation, carry Sudir repellant? How do I keep myself safe?”
“You develop the talents inside of you.”
“Talents? Like the talent to play guitar or write music?”
“Like the talent to kill to protect what you love.”
“Isn’t that called murder?”
“It’s called self-defense.”
“What about Mckayla? How does she protect herself?”
“The necklace Vick gave her to wear will protect her. Her own natural talent will also help to protect her. Where is Mckayla’s father?” Rylan walked to the wall to look at a picture Victor painted for the room.
Aviana shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know where he is.”
“It’s not like his kind to let a child, especially a girl child grow up alone.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mckayla isn’t alone, she has me. As far as her father, men walk out on their children every day.” Not that she had a choice with Mckayla’s father since it happened against her will.
“You think her father is human?”
Aviana gave him a ‘Duh what else would he be’ with her eyes.
“I don’t think Mckayla’s father is really your responsibility.”
“We’ll deal with Mckayla’s father later; she is safe for now.”
“So then the only one in danger is me. I will just take her and go to a different part of the country. One where it can’t find me.” The thought of calling that thing she saw today a man or even a male made her nauseous.
“What about when another Sudir finds you or something else finds you and you have no knowledge of how to fight against it? Do you think it will just stop at killing you or maybe it would prefer a two for one special and kill Mckayla as well? Who will be there to help you then?”
“This can’t be happening. We were living a safe normal life, it was a little hard, but that’s to be expected. Then you came along. Now were in danger and the world is filled with monsters”
“The world has always been filled with monsters, and you were never safe. You’re simply more aware of the danger now. It’s still your choice and you can run or you can fight.”
He got up and left the room, allowing her time to decide on a course of action.
Run is what her parents thought she would do. Faced with losing her cushy home, her bedroom, and a table full of food, they thought she would run to the adoption agency and give Mckayla away. She was never mistaken for a fighter, spending way too much time in her books and pursuit of the best education possible. She graduated second in her school. She missed straight A’s all four years of high school by getting one C when her father was sick and they thought he might die.
He never let her live it down either. He pointed out that’s why she graduated second and not first. He held her back and made her go to community college for two years as punishment. That’s why she wasn’t on the campus of Princeton when the incident happened. It’s also why she never got to step a foot on the campus, not even for a road trip.
But instead of going to the adoption agency, she straightened her spine and asked how much time she had before she needed to leave. Her father gave her a week. She was packed and prepared in that time. It wasn’t easy. They moved with the help of a cab and the cab driver wasn’t happy when she walked out with a baby in her arms and a suitcase. She had three more of them in the house. He at least did what her parents didn’t do. He helped her. Their first place was an efficiency and not a nice one. She did a good job even if she said so herself, she took care of herself and Mckayla. Her daughter didn’t want for anything.
Moving wouldn’t be fair to Mckayla, always picking up and running scared because some alien had found them. She would have to learn to fight. Standing, she moved towards the kitchen following Rylan.
“Did you come to a decision?” he asked when she came in and plopped down into a chair.
“Yeah. Turns out I’m not the running type. I won’t let some alien or anything else push me out of my home if I don’t want to go. Also, I won’t subject Mckayla to a life of running.
He nodded his head. “I never thought you were the running type.”
She leaned her head back with closed eyes. His body was burning a hole through her brain. His was tall, the kind of height that made her think of climbing him. His body was muscular; she could still see that jacket she gave him clinging to his
chest and arms.
He looked like he could protect her and Mckayla from whatever alien was coming their way. She used to dream about finding a male like him before her life went down the drain. Thick arms to hold her, muscular legs for her to explore. Mentally quick with a wicked sense of humor. She dreamed of a man like Rylan when her head wasn’t stuck in a book.
Books were a luxury now. Sometimes when they were flush, she would stash money so she could buy a textbook and continue to study when Mckayla was asleep. Those times were rare and from the looks of things would soon become nonexistent. Thoughts of Princeton were a dream that haunted her. Becoming the CEO of her own company was no longer a viable option for her.
A tear slid down her cheek, she wiped it away roughly. She wouldn’t cry. All that mattered now was keeping Mckayla safe.
“Tell me what I need to do?”
“You learn to embrace who you are, but that won’t happen overnight. It takes time and practice. Until then, I protect you.”
“Wish I could say lucky you.”
*~*~*~*
He stood and leaned over her, whispering in her ear. “Then maybe I’ll say you’re the lucky one.”
Her eyes hardened, the look of sadness dissipating.
That’s better. Her sad eyes tore at his heart threatening to break through the ice surrounding him. She was the first woman he met who had this effect on him and he wasn’t happy.
He liked living in his own world with a chasm of no emotions between him and those around him. With a single tear, she made him want to throw down a draw bridge and bring her over to his side.
If he brought her over, he’d have to bring Mckayla. His lips twitched trying to stretch into a smile that he fought. She was witty and beautiful in her little girl way. Talking to her made him want to protect her, beat off the suitors that would come to her door one day.
Watching a Disney movie with her made him want to see her work her own talents and gifts. He shook himself.
Aviana came with a ready-made family. What scared him was that he didn’t want to run away from it. They deserved more than him.
“Tomorrow we will start. Stay close to Selma when you go pick up Mckayla today.”
Rylan's Heart Page 2