Chapter Twelve
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Two days until the Royal Caldera Forte returns to Earth
The week since their big day at the biker bar, carnival and mall had flown by for Cam.
A zealous photographer hired by the town to take photos of the crowds thronging the main street for a fair in Old Coot had snapped their picture another day while they’d stopped to look at a woodcarver’s wares. Cam had almost had a heart attack, but Ria said not to worry so much and told him not to be an old fuddy-duddy. The pain in his chest returned when their photo ended up on page three of the local paper.
He told himself the picture was so small, no one could recognize them. If they did, the phone calls from Alienn’s nosy Parkers would have flooded his line before the papers hit the welcome mats in time for coffee and toast.
Somehow, they’d dodged another bullet and he was grateful.
He and Ria spent every single moment together. They had done lots of different things on their mission to get through her extensive list. She crossed many things off, but added just as many items as she drew a line through. They laughed. They talked endlessly about everything. They barely slept, each and every night staying up into the wee hours talking about anything and everything they could think of. It seemed neither wanted to waste a moment of their dwindling time together.
Cam found himself mulling the increasing problem of how he’d ever live without her. He knew if he let her go without a fight, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
His viable ideas were few. One was to go on the run with her on Earth. That meant never again spending a peaceful moment. The Royal Magistrate Guard Special Elite Trackers were relentless. They’d search for Cam and Ria until they were caught, tried for their crime on Alpha-Prime and sent to live out their days on a gulag.
He put that idea out of his mind and focused on today’s destination—the special property a few miles out of town he’d promised to show Ria. It was the very butt crack of dawn, and he was weary after a restless and mostly sleepless night on the futon in his spare bedroom.
When he’d first explained the sleeping arrangements, Ria had looked forlorn at the idea of sleeping alone in his bedroom each and every night. She didn’t say a word in disagreement, but he didn’t think her silence on the matter would last. Or maybe he just hoped it wouldn’t.
He’d half expected her to put her foot down last night and demand they sleep in the same bed, but she seemed to be making an effort to follow his stupid no-sleeping-together rule.
Two more days together would be both an eternity and a mere snap of his fingers.
“So, where are we going?” Ria asked, her sleepy tone completely adorable.
“It’s a piece of property owned by a good friend of mine.” Hopefully it will be mine one day very soon. He turned off the main road and onto the access road leading to the property. “We’re almost there. Up here at the gate is the property line. But I have the combination to the gate lock to get in.”
“And this friend of yours won’t mind if we go there today and look around?” Her mood seemed hopeful, like she actually wanted to see his future land.
“Nope. It’s a piece of property I’m thinking about buying. And maybe I’ll put a house on it someday.” Actually, I’m halfway to ownership and maybe I’ll fix up the existing cabin, too.
“Really?” She seemed awestruck at the idea of owning property and putting a home on it. Perhaps hopeful was a better word.
A warm feeling rose in his chest, one he batted down immediately. He should keep his guard up. Shelly hadn’t been difficult at first, either. She had looked on with interest when he opened the gate to usher them in. It was after that when things went downhill.
Cam looked out at the land on the way to the property he loved as the warm feeling filled his chest once more. He loved this place. He couldn’t wait until the property was all his.
“I come out here a lot to dream and scheme,” he said offhandedly. He put the SUV into park, unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door before looking in her direction.
“Dreaming and scheming sounds like lots of fun.” She turned toward him with such a look of longing it was all he could do to keep from pulling her close and kissing her the way he wanted to. He was used to firming his resolve where Ria was concerned. He had to do it pretty much every time he looked at her since they’d met.
“It is fun,” he managed to say. “At least I think it is.” He wanted her to be interested, but was unsure if she was serious or humoring him.
“I’d love to own a piece of land and live on it, especially if it looked like this. It is beautiful here.” Her wistful tone sounded sincere.
Cam cleared his throat. “But you probably live in a palace. I can’t imagine you’d like living a hard-scrabble life on a piece of property without all the luxuries either of our worlds has to offer.”
“There’s where you’re wrong.” She stared across the serene landscape. “I’d do almost anything to get out of the life I’m about to be forced into on Alpha-Prime.”
Out of habit, he said, “Anything?” in a super suggestive tone. It was a joke he and his brothers perpetuated. One would say he’d do anything to get out of a certain punishment, for example, such as work an extra shift. Invariably, another brother would say, “Anything?” in the weighted tone and the first brother would yell, “The extra shift! The extra shift!”
Ria’s expression filled with a level of anguish he wished he wasn’t impacted by. “Almost anything,” she said again. She focused her attention out the windshield at the land he loved.
He got out of the SUV and went to the gate, fumbling with the lock.
The two-year-old memory of when he’d almost ruined his life slipped into the forefront of his head before he could stop it. He should remember it well. He should keep it close to his heart as a cautionary tale.
Worse, he couldn’t shake the feeling that if he asked Ria to marry him today, right now—as he almost had asked Shelly on this same piece of property—that she would react the same way his old girlfriend had, with utter and complete disdain.
Did he have the courage to face another contemptuous rejection?
The ugly memory of his halted proposal tortured him as he unlocked the gate to the land he adored, wishing he wasn’t the only one who wanted to live out here. He pushed the barrier wide, and hoped this wasn’t another colossal mistake.
The day he’d brought Shelly to see his land had been much like this one. The sun rose fast in the clear-blue morning sky, birds sang and a slight breeze made the intense humidity manageable. He’d cleaned out the ground-floor master bedroom of the ramshackle cabin to share with her the beauty of waking up to the stupendous view.
He wanted Shelly to love each of the twenty acres of his pride and joy, even though loving and marrying an earthling meant he could never live here as he’d once dreamed. So instead, he spent his money on the expensive engagement ring he knew Shelly would expect.
The ring burned a hole in his pocket both on the way to his land and even worse on the trip back to town, his question unasked. At least he’d gotten some of his money back from the jeweler.
Shelly had slowly and carefully exited his vehicle, looked around at what he considered beauty personified with a frown.
“What do you think?” he asked.
She didn’t have to say a word. Her disdain would have filled ten sports stadiums to overflowing.
“I think I’m ready to leave now.” A honey bee buzzed around her head and she swatted at it viciously.
“What? Already? I haven’t even shown you the cabin.” Cam softened his exuberant attitude, hoping she only teased him.
It took a fraction of a second to realize she was serious. Anger filled her gaze when she said, “In no uncertain terms will I ever live out in the wilderness with a bunch of wild animals, slimy reptiles or a million bugs swarming around trying to sting me, not even if you were the richest man on the planet.”
Cam kept waiting for a smile that never came. “What are you saying? You’re only looking for a rich man?”
Cam was not, nor would he ever be, considered wealthy. Well, he was rich in friendship, rich in family, rich in siblings and rich in his love for living on Earth. If he married Shelly, he’d have to give all that up to move with her to Alpha-Prime. He’d warred long and hard with himself over his decision to give up everything for the woman he loved.
“That’s right. But you aren’t rich, are you, Cam?” she’d asked with a sneer. “Not even close.” She pushed out a weary sigh, as if she hated being forced to have a long-overdue conversation.
“Why are you with me if you’re looking for a wealthy guy?” he’d asked, still not fully cognizant of her ultimate declaration.
“Good question.”
“What does that mean? I thought you loved me. I thought you loved spending time together.”
She shrugged. “I’ve come to realize that if we stay together you’ll never be able to give me the kind of luxury I desire. Certainly not as a grease monkey at a truck stop in South Arkansas, I imagine. You’d have to do much better than the job you currently hold. But you like working with your insanely large family at that low-rent truck stop, don’t you?” The question sounded more like an accusation.
Cam was still stuck on, “If we stay together.” That had been the first of several canary-keeling-over-in-the-coal-mine moments regarding their relationship and how blind he’d been to the truth. Her attitude also brought the first inkling of panic and made Cam wish he hadn’t brought her to this beautiful place. She wasn’t worthy.
Watching Shelly morph from the sweet yet determined young woman he thought he loved into the shrill, unkind, mean-spirited soul he didn’t recognize had been a harsh lesson. It only got worse.
“Are you joking?” Cam said. “I love this place. I love my insanely large family. And I especially love my job, which is not grease monkey, by the way. Please tell me you’re joking, because your whole spoiled-rotten brat approach is not funny or appreciated.”
“No. I’m not joking, Cam. I’m not trying to be funny.” Shelly crossed her arms in a stubborn move he should have seen coming from a mile away. “I want a different kind of life than the one I’ve been raised in. It wasn’t bad, but I want to live better. I want to have more money than I need always at my disposal. You don’t even take me out to dinner anymore.”
Cam had spent everything he had keeping her entertained. He was broke. If he kept it up, he’d have to take out a bank loan. Yes, he had enjoyed the fancy dinners, but he never thought she wanted to live like that all the time.
She hadn’t wanted to come out to his property. She hadn’t wanted to learn what surprise he had for her. She hadn’t given him the chance to ask his important question before she pooh-poohed not only the land, but also his job and, of course, him.
He was a fool to bring another woman he cared about here. Showing her the land was like showing her his soul.
Cam looked at Ria, waiting for him in the SUV. A faint smile parted her lips as she took in the nature around them. She seemed captivated. Well, she would be. This place was nothing like their desert-dry homeworld. As far as he was concerned, it was paradise.
If he’d married Shelly, an earthling, he would have had to give this place up. If he married an Alpha, like Ria, he wouldn’t have to give anything up to be with her.
Was he going to try again?
Ria was not Shelly. What he’d felt for the earthling was nothing compared to what he felt for his rebellious Alpha with blue-streaked hair.
He tried not to think about the fact that this joyful journey together on Earth would come to an end in a mere two days. How could he live without Ria? What crazy plan was he willing to instigate in order to keep her here with him?
Any plan, crazy or not, that keeps us together.
He wanted to show her what was important to him. He wanted to show her the land he’d spent the better part of two years since his break with Shelly doing his best to save the money to buy.
Today was an important day, a pivotal day in deciding if they had a chance of making it over the long haul. Today he was showing her the land he loved. The land he’d been prepared to give up for someone who ended up not being worthy.
Only one thing cracked Cam’s certainty that Ria had nothing in common with Shelly—wealth. Ria had been raised with it and Shelly wanted more of it.
He guessed when it came right down to it, today was a test. Only Ria had no idea.
Cam needed the answer before he could move forward with any plan to try and break up her arranged marriage and keep her with him forever. He had an idea of how to get that answer, but it was not very honorable.
Cam hopped back inside his vehicle. He guided the SUV through the open gate, deciding not to close it behind them. They likely wouldn’t be long. Cam was prepared for the worst, but a little beacon of hope remained in his heart.
Not wanting to jinx anything, Cam didn’t say anything or look in Ria’s direction until he got to his favorite spot. He drove along the narrow dirt road leading over a small hill. At the hill’s crest, the view was perfect. The edge of the lake, the wooden dock leading out to the water and the old cabin could be seen all at once. He loved it.
Beside him, Ria sucked in a deep breath. “Ooh, it’s so beautiful, Cam.”
Her awestruck expression sent a rush of newfound hope to fill the previously cold spot in his heart.
Cam pulled his vehicle up next to the cabin and parked. He hadn’t even gotten it into gear before Ria popped open her door, jumped out and raced toward the dock. He quickly got out and followed her to the water’s edge and the long row of sturdy wooden planks leading out into the lake.
“Look at all that water. It’s so lovely. So perfect. I love it, Cam.” She pointed at the cabin. “And I love the tall old wooden house, too.”
“It’s called a cabin.”
“A cabin,” she said as if tasting the word on her tongue and finding a new flavor she liked.
“It’s a rather ramshackle old place. The outside is very weathered and so is most of the inside, but it’s definitely interesting in there, too.”
“I’m sure it’s perfect.” She twisted back to stare at the lake, dropping to sit on the roughhewn wooden planks of the dock. She crossed her legs and stared from all the way left to all the way right.
Cam lowered himself to sit beside her. He wasn’t even fully seated when she hugged him around the middle. “Thank you so much, Cam. Thank you for bringing me to this wonderful, magical place. I truly love it. It’s my favorite place so far. We should have come here sooner.” She transferred her hug to his neck, leaving her arms around him as she studied the lake. The wind picked up, sending wavelets across the water to lap against the dock posts.
She rested her head on his shoulder and stared out at the water as if transfixed, releasing a long sigh of what sounded like utter and complete happiness.
Cam circled his arms around her and they sat quietly, simply watching the surface of the lake ripple in the early morning sun.
“I love you, Cam,” she whispered as another soft sigh escaped her lips.