Chapter 9
~ Andrew ~
Watching Danielle coming up the walk with his children, Andrew couldn’t help but admire the woman’s adaptability. The girls ran up to him and he kneeled to scoop them up into his arms. It felt good to have them close again. Since they did not have in their minds to let him go, he stood with one in each arm and followed Danielle over to the table.
Glancing down at the helpful female, he smiled. “You were correct about this space being well designed. It is the perfect space for detainees to spend time with their children.”
“If there is one thing you can always count on from me, it is honesty.”
She pulled out activities for the girls and they grudgingly let go him to grab their markers. “My little ones looked and smelled clean and well cared for. I watched you making the strange design in their hair this morning. I find that I am still perplexed about it.”
“It’s called a French braid. I don’t know the origin of the style, but it’s good for keeping the hair off their necks.”
“The little metal clips are pretty. Thank you for caring for them as if they were your own.
“Andrew, your girls are great. I’m having the time of my life. You should drink your coffee before it gets cold.”
Bringing the cup to his lips, he took a sip, nearly strangling on the exceptionally sweet taste.
“You don’t like?”
“It has quite a bit more cream and sugar than I normally use. Is this how you drink your coffee?”
“Not hardly, your little ones made it for you. It took them a nice long time, so I was pretty confident that it was perfect.”
Smothering a smile, he glanced from one to the other his daughters. “If the girls made it I am surprised it did not come with gum drops and candy sprinkles.”
Smiling warmly at him, she responded quickly. “That’s hilarious. I did notice they seem to have a sweet tooth.”
“Well their father certainly does not. I prefer my coffee strong with two sugars and very little cream.”
Smiling knowingly, she responded. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered for tomorrow.”
Andrew was not certain what kinds of things were appropriate to talk about in a situation like this, so he gave it his best effort. “I know taking care of alien children must be strange for you.”
“You know it’s not. I already told you that I grew up with a Kalian family. Heck, sometimes I think I liked your family better than my own.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how exactly did they come to know each other?”
“My father responded to one of the last ships that landed during the war. Your family was rescued, and for some reason, my father and yours really hit it off. In fact, several of the males from that ship ended up living and working on my father’s ranch. Your father jokes that they are his elite hunting team. They spend a lot of time outdoors, hunting, fishing, and reliving their glory days.”
“It astonishes me that my parents so easily found a place to belong.”
“You’re dad’s a pretty tough guy. Our fathers are running our whole town back home. They’re both filthy stinking rich and far too used to getting their own way.”
“You speak like only someone who knows them intimately would.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I love the salty old war dogs.”
“Is that a human saying? I must admit to never having heard it before.”
Shrugging she quipped. “If it isn’t, it should be.”
Tossing her a small smile, he nodded. “I agree. Will you tell me about my siblings?”
“Well, let’s see, you have a bunch of them.” Rubbing her chin, she seemed pensive. “Oh, I almost forgot that I brought pictures.” Reaching into her purse, she a small holographic picture platform from her purse. She began to scroll through pictures and Andrew could see his parents only they seemed to have grown much older. He was not particularly surprised that he had so many brothers and sisters. There were many pictures with Danielle in them, horseback riding, fishing, hiking, dancing in fancy clothes, family dinners with both of their families. Danielle obviously knew his family extremely well. Even though the rational side of his brain knew it was true, somehow seeing her with his family drove home the fact that he did not imagine this unlikely scenario.
Danielle pointed to a young male. “Well, your oldest brother is Nard. I think he is about twenty-six now. He is a resident at one of the local hospitals. I forget his specialty, but he has a human bond mate and a child who’s about three. He really is smart, and my family always embarrasses me by bugging him with medical questions. It probably drives him a little crazy, but he is a good sport about it.”
Moving on the next man in the picture, she continued. “You have another brother who is about twenty-five now. Tre is very much a man’s man. He has a hard time with women because he spends most of his time hunting and tracking and isn’t very good at talking about things that interest women. He works for the local ranger station as adjunct staff because he didn’t want to take their three-month training class. They were so desperate for his skills they just took him on anyway under a private contract. He is the only person they trust for search and rescue missions over the mountain range. I reviewed the contract myself and ensured his compensation was appropriate to the danger level of his job responsibilities and that the contract was fair. Don’t worry I did a good job for him because he was always my favorite. Tre was my very best friend growing up, and we did absolutely everything together. He taught me to love hiking, tracking, and hunting. Jesus, he took me places my father would have died if he had known.”
Andrew frowned. “It sounds like he would have been the logical choice for you a bond mate.”
“That was the idea that everyone had in their heads for years, I’m afraid. Tre and I talked about that all the time. We both knew from a very early age that we didn’t have feelings like that for each other. I think he was always rooting for his older brother because we were both inclined to be professionals and he thought we looked good together.”
Clearing her throat, she smiled as she pointed out a beautiful female. “Then there is your sister, Val. She is twenty-four, pretty, nice, outgoing and everyone she meets adores her. She had so many boys interested in her when we were growing up they called us the foxes. I know it sounds corny, but we made a pact between the two of us to never date any guy the other had dated. That used to really make the guys mad because if they blew it with one of us, they didn’t have the option of dating the other. She moved to New York for a while and modeled, and now she designs clothing in the Kalian style. Her designs are becoming really popular. I own several of her pieces. Let’s just say, her talent in that area has made her a very wealthy woman. I’ve really missed her since I moved here.”
Andrew asked, “Who is this person?” Danielle glanced down, and her voice changed. “That’s Karn. He is about twenty-three now and is taking natural resource management at the local university. He is always at odds with Tre because he’s is interested in mining and logging, and Tre is naturally against anything that destroys the forest. Trust me when I say you want to avoid dining with the two of them together if you can. It gets ugly fast because both of them are so passionate about their vocations. To be quite honest he was the person I was most terrified that I would somehow end up attracted to because although he’s drop dead gorgeous on the outside, I’m concerned about what is going on inside.”
Andrew could tell whatever was going on with this person gave her a cold chill. Touching her gently on the arm, he advised, “If he makes you feel that way, stay far away from him.”
She swallowed hard and nodded, before turning her attention back to the family photo. Pointing to a pair of boys who appeared to be about the same age, she perked up again. “This is Sam and Cam. They’re both eighteen, and obviously, they are twins. They love to hunt, canoe, swim, shoot the bow and do pretty much anything outdoors. They don’t have Tre’s skill level, so they tend to stay out of the mountains, but they get really stir crazy indoors. Keeping them in school was your parent’s most difficult challenge. Finally, I made arrangements to link with the physical education department, and we developed curricula related to outdoor studies and for three hours per day the kids, who can’t stay in the classroom all day, get to go outdoors and learn outdoor skills. We side-winded Tre into teaching one day a week, and a couple of other Rangers volunteer the other days. Trust me when I say the only reason anyone signs up is to be mentored by Tre. The young boys worship him.”
“You seem to be very involved in my family’s personal affairs.”
Danielle teased him, “Funny I never got any complaints until now.”
Worried about his comment being perceived as a critical, Andrew quickly clarified. “I’m not complaining. It is just strange that you know them so `well, and you somehow found me so very far away. It is also a little odd to hear all about them from you.” Sighing that he was still off-putting, he stated, “I mean thank you for sharing.”
Danielle was pensive for a moment. “Now, where were we? I remember, there is little Ran, he’s seventeen. He’s another gorgeous one. The girls literally flock after him. He plays football, makes good grades and he’s nice and popular as well. Honestly, he’s the whole package.
Then there is your sister Lyn. She is fifteen and very studious. She makes straight A’s and is on track to get into an Ivy League school. I think she is my father’s favorite because she reminds him of me when I was young. Now we are getting down to the little ones. Your brother Wel is fourteen. He’s kind of nerdy and unsure of himself. I have every confidence he will grow into his own one day, and that will be something to see. He does a little bit of everything with everyone. He is the one you can mix into any situation, and he dials down the discord.”
All right we have talked about Nard, Tre, Val, Karn, Sam, Cam, Ran, Lyn and Wel. That leaves the twin girls, Mam and Pam. They are both twelve now, I think. They’re extremely inquisitive. Their little eyes and hands are in just about everything that happens on the ranch. They’re both very interested in science, and they turned one of the outbuildings into a small science lab. Everyone who knew them just kept getting them stuff for their lab and before long they had a pretty good set up. They can actually make toothpaste from scratch. Maybe I am easy to impress, but I think they are phenomenal.”
“I feel like I know them already.”
“Also, I don’t need to tell you that your parents are the absolute nicest people anyone would ever want to meet. Your family is great, the females are stunning the males are gorgeous.”
Andrew looked down and thought to himself how disappointed they were going to be with him. He wasn’t all that handsome and got stuck with a human name, rather than the one they’d chosen for him. That was bound to rub them the wrong way. Sure, he’d had a successful career and could translate really obscure alien languages into the top five human languages, but that didn’t seem the kind of skill set his family of outdoor lovers valued.
As if intuiting his thoughts, her hand landed on his arm. “Trust me, they are going to love you. They’ve spoken of you often and marvel at the fact that no many how many children they seem to have, none have ever replaced you in their hearts. Your father jokes that his heart just grows a new chamber to house the love for each new addition to his family.”
“That actually sounds like something my father would say. I remember him as someone who hardly ever spoke, but when he did, the words were profound and branded into my brain.”
“That’s a very good description.”
“I am excited about finding my family after all these years. It’s one of the reasons I am so looking forward to getting myself out of this situation. I wish to see them with my own eyes and hear their voices with my own ears.”
Realizing all too late that his words were bizarrely old fashioned and Kalian, he glanced away.
“The Kalian are very family oriented. I hope you don’t ever feel shame about being who the gods made you, Andrew. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“Thank you for saying so. Do you have any idea how often can I visit with my children while I am in here.”
“Like I said before you are entitled to visit every day. I was thinking maybe for an hour or two. What do you think of that?”
He immediately reached out and hugged her tight. “That sounds like the best news I have had for a while and thank you for helping me out without involving my family. I can’t tell you how embarrassing that would be for me and how disappointing it would be for them to find me in a situation like this.”
“If you think that, then you don’t know your family very well. You didn’t do anything wrong. You seem like a nice person, but once I realized who you were, I knew I would do whatever it took to get you through this. I love your family and would never let them down by letting anything bad happen to you. I have to admit that after growing up hearing of your parent’s grief at losing you, it does not sit well with me to finally find you and not let them know. I happen to know they looked for you and your grandfather for years.”
Becoming choked up, he murmured. “You must have important things to do with your day. I will live only for the moments I spend with you and my daughters.”
“Hang tough, we’re going to get you out of here.”
“That belief is the only thing holding me together right now.”
Watching her walk away with his girls loosened something in his chest. They would be alright with her until he could get home to them. He believed that deep down in his soul.
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