Chapter Thirteen
Alpha-Prime sounded like an online service that would be top notch at everything it did. After asking what it was, she didn’t care if she found out. What was wrong with her?
Juliana’s brain felt extra foggy as she stared at the vibrant fabric. The material looked like it was alive. She blinked a couple of times, staring at the unusual jacket. She couldn’t seem to focus.
It was like most mornings she lived. She typically couldn’t form sentences until her first cup of coffee. But she’d already had two cups of coffee this morning, hadn’t she? One cup before he made pancakes and one during the meal.
She remembered last night, vividly. She remembered this morning equally well. Juliana even remembered that she was wearing clothes borrowed from Diesel’s sister. But how had she managed to doze off after arriving at the truck stop? She had not even a shred of memory as to how she’d made it into this room.
“Is this your office, Diesel?” she asked, momentarily forgetting about the strange fabric the intense inspector wore. “How did we get here? I don’t exactly remember.”
The man with the strange suit looked at her like she was an alien after asking about Alpha-Prime, whatever that was, and like she was drunk for asking how she’d gotten into Diesel’s office.
Her eyes slid shut, wanting to remain that way, but she blinked them open. A quick glance around the room yielded no kind of mirror. She hoped her hair wasn’t standing up on end or mussed like she’d been rolling around kissing Diesel for a good long while on his comfy sofa. Then again, she couldn’t remember that very well either. Is that what they’d just been doing? Was she so far gone from his kisses she couldn’t remember recent events? Given that they were falling madly in love with each other, she guessed it was possible. But certainly curious.
She’d woken up a few minutes ago in the middle of kissing Diesel with no recollection of how she’d gotten all the way from the truck stop’s parking lot to a room inside the building.
The third man in the room, presumably Diesel’s brother, although she’d never met him before, looked very uncomfortable.
“Is this woman an earthling? She shouldn’t be in your office. Isn’t this private?” asked the inspector with the interesting animated shirt.
“Yes. She is. And, yes, it’s private. However, I invited her into my office,” Diesel said. “You, on the other hand, just barged in here. You are supposed to remain below.”
“Be that as it may, if you want this galactic way station to be a regular and continuing part of the Royal Caldera Cruise Line port of call, you’ll cooperate. As an inspector I have more leeway regarding rules.” The man puffed up a bit, acting like he was important and not being treated as his obvious superior station should be handled.
Diesel opened his mouth, looking rather annoyed, but the man Juliana presumed to be his brother said, “Inspector Centauri, why don’t we leave and let Our Fearless Leader wrap up his meeting? I’ll take you to get a bite to eat.” He reached for the man’s arm as if to guide him out of the office.
The man yanked his arm away and said, “No. This is a surprise assessment. Once I announce my purpose, the inspection must commence immediately.”
“Okay. Diesel, why don’t you go with Inspector Centauri and I’ll take—” he stared at Juliana. “I’m sorry, what was your name?”
She didn’t get a chance to answer.
“Juliana,” Diesel said. Then he added, “Juliana, this is my brother, Axel.”
She nodded once and extended her hand to Axel. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise. And I’m super sorry to interrupt your date,” he said softly, and turned to Diesel. “Want me to take her to your place?”
Diesel looked at her like he was being forced to do something he didn’t want to. She answered for him. “Yes. He can take me to your house and I’ll wait there until your inspection is complete.”
Diesel took her hand. “I’m sorry our day has been interrupted. I’ll try to wrap this up as fast as I can, okay?”
She nodded.
“I’d planned a more detailed tour of the town and then dinner at my place. You know, the one we never got to eat last night.”
She grinned. “I do remember last night.” She squeezed his fingers gently. “Don’t worry. I also remember well that my neighbor interrupted us, breaking up our last date at my place.” She tilted her head to one side. “You don’t think it’s the universe trying to tell us something, do you?”
“No. I don’t. The universe is a busy enough without concern for our new relationship. Axel will take you to my house and I’ll be there directly.”
“Okay.” Juliana smiled at Axel. He seemed to be the easy-going brother. Not like… Cam, was it? He was definitely the grumpy brother. The names in this family were very interesting. Then again, what did she expect from a family running a semi-famous truck stop in southern Arkansas?
“Make sure you take her out through the public door,” Diesel said in a low tone to Axel. “Do you want the keys to my truck?”
Juliana said, “Is your home close enough to walk to? I feel like I need to stretch a little and wake up more.”
“Sure thing, we can walk there,” Axel said. “And don’t worry. I’ve got your back, Bro.”
“I know you do. And if you can avoid Cam on your way to my house, that would be great.”
Axel winked at him and nodded once. Taking Juliana’s elbow, Axel said, “Happy inspecting. I’ll return directly.”
Inspector Centauri pushed out a long-suffering sigh. “Can we go now?” he asked in a tone much like one coming from the backseat during a long road trip. He stared at the wall clock like he was severely pressed for time.
“Juliana,” Diesel said. She turned toward him and he gave her a look that made her melty inside. “I won’t be too long.”
“It’s fine. Do what you need to and I’ll be waiting for you.” He looked like he wanted to kiss her goodbye, but Inspector Centauri started tapping the screen of an electronic clipboard she hadn’t noticed him carrying and asking questions about accommodations and the level of amenities available for the wealthy guests aboard Royal Caldera Cruise Line ships, citing that they demanded the very best.
She didn’t hear Diesel’s response, but hopefully he’d be more cordial once she was gone. She didn’t want him to lose business because of her.
Axel led her toward the front of the convenience store, meaning they’d have to pass by Alice. Juliana decided to take the high road, not wanting to tempt or give reason to the possibility that the universe didn’t want them together for some reason.
If Alice was jealous she was dating Diesel, too bad. Alice frowned when she saw Juliana, until she noticed Axel walking alongside her. Her expression softened.
As they got a couple of steps away from the counter, Juliana asked, “Do you want to simply give me directions to Diesel’s house so I can wait for him there, instead of walking me there? I don’t want to take you away from your work.”
Alice’s expression darkened. In fact, if looks could kill, Juliana would have been smoked into a pile of ash where she stood.
Axel glanced in Alice’s direction before giving Juliana a look that said he knew exactly what she was up to. He didn’t seem upset about it, though.
“Nah. That’s okay. I needed a break anyway.” He pushed one of the swinging glass doors open for her and she exited, trying not to show the triumph in her face.
They walked along the sidewalk a few steps, then across the parking lot toward a large building called the Satellite Truck Wash. The scent of windshield washer fluid, soapsuds and damp air filled the air as they passed by.
Soon they came to a wide boardwalk lined with street lights. Juliana thought it would be nice for strolls in the dark. A wooden sign with a carved arrow said Alienn, Arkansas only 500 steps away. Someone had carved an additional message below the numbers that said, More or less!
“Is it really five hundred steps to Alienn?”
Axel laughed. “It is if you have a really long stride, maybe like a giraffe.” He glanced down at her legs, assessing her stride length. “You might have to tack on a few more steps to your count, puny earthling.”
“You all are really funny with that ‘puny earthling’ stuff,” she said, picking up speed to match his steps.
“Well, we always aim to entertain our customers, so it comes naturally.”
Juliana did her best to keep up with Axel’s pace, which was healthy. The wooden boardwalk was weathered but well-built and in no time they were closer to the houses she’d noted in the distance when they started their 500-step journey.
“Is Alice an old girlfriend of Diesel’s or something?”
He frowned. “No. Never. She’s an employee. There are strict rules. Why?”
“She just seemed rather uncooperative from the first moment I stepped inside and asked for directions to Diesel’s office. I’d never seen her before, but she seems to already have a dim view of me.”
Axel pushed out a long sigh. “You have to understand this place is likely the biggest gossip mill in the state. When Diesel took off work on Friday—I’m assuming to go see you—rumors flew around like autumn wind driving piles of raked leaves into the swirling air.”
“So what’s the rumor?”
Axel shrugged, seemingly unwilling to share.
“Oh, come on. Tell me.”
“The rumor I heard was that Diesel has a new secret girlfriend out of town.” He stressed out of town like it was something gossip-worthy.
“Out of town? Meaning what?”
“Meaning not a girl from Alienn.”
“He has to date someone from this town? That’s a bit draconian and archaic, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t mean it like that. He can date anyone he wants, he just never has before. In fact, I don’t know that he’s ever even had a girlfriend.”
“Why not?”
“Is this a trick question?”
“No. I’m just surprised. He’s attractive and I’ve seen the way females talk to him and react to him.”
Axel ran his hand though his hair in what seemed like a nervous gesture. “Listen, I’m not comfortable discussing his love life, but I will say he’s very devoted to his job, likely because he took it over from our father last year.”
“So he’s never dated anyone? I find that hard to believe.”
“He’s dated. I think. Thing is, he’s been busy with being the Fearless Leader up to now. Before he took over from our dad, he was in training for the job for years. Maybe now that he’s settled in, he has more time for…distractions.”
“Oh, is that what I am? A distraction?”
“I don’t think he views you that way. Personally, I think it’s a good thing.”
“So what are the rumors about me?”
He hesitated, like he was afraid he might hurt her feelings. “It’s not you in particular, but just that you’re—well—an outsider.”
“I see.” But she didn’t exactly get it. Anyone not from Alienn was an outsider? That didn’t seem fair.
“Some folks are just suspicious of outsiders.”
Juliana nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”
“I didn’t really tell you anything though, right?” He winked.
“That’s right. You barely spoke on this walk over here. I simply have an intuition about such things.” Juliana smiled at the thought of people gossiping about Diesel and his outsider girlfriend. However, she also considered the incident of the apple with the bite taken out of it that had so troubled Diesel.
“Do you know Alice very well?”
He shrugged. “I guess so. Why?”
“Would she be the kind of person to threaten someone?”
“Nah. I don’t think so. It’s not really like her.”
“Are you sure?”
“What are you really asking?”
She debated about two seconds before spilling. “I found an apple on my doorstep with a single bite taken out of it. Diesel seemed rather upset about it. Actually, it happened twice. The first time was the day I met him and the second time was right before Diesel came to my apartment on Friday.”
Axel’s reaction was immediate. He stopped, grabbed her arm and stared into her eyes. “That’s sort of a threat.” He paused and looked all around the completely empty area where they stood.
“I know. Diesel told me. I find it interesting, but not threatening. He said it was a mild romance-related threat, but that he didn’t have any other romance and he seemed to calm down.”
“And you think Alice did it?” He looked back the way they’d come as if to ensure they weren’t being followed.
“Well, she was a mean hag to me last night when I came into the store asking for Diesel. She interrupted us twice when we were about to kiss before we left.”
Axel flashed a grin. “Is that so? Go, Diesel. I’ve never seen him so—” He paused as if he couldn’t find quite the right word, finally settling on, “—engaged with any woman. The truth is I don’t keep up with any of my brothers’ love lives. However, the few dates I ever saw Diesel on, he always seemed bored or like his thoughts were elsewhere. And that’s all I’m willing to share.”
“Interesting.”
“Yeah. That’s Diesel all right. He’s interesting.” He sounded distracted. He looked at the trail behind them again and said, “Come on. Let’s get going.”
“Why are you so troubled?”
“I’m not troubled. The info about the apple is just unexpected, that’s all. Let’s get you to Diesel’s house, okay?”
Axel hustled her at a rapid pace to the end of the wooden boardwalk. They went down a couple of steps to cross several yards of grass and an empty space between two houses. Axel looked over his shoulder repeatedly.
They took a left when they reached the sidewalk, hurrying past three more houses along the tree-lined street. It was peaceful and warm and Juliana had a sudden desire to live here tucked away and gloriously happy.
Axel kept them moving at a brisk pace toward the end of the street. It wasn’t a cul-de-sac, exactly, and didn’t end with a circle and houses all around it. Instead, the street abruptly ended at a large two-story house with a wide porch running all the way across the front. It was blue with black shutters and had a dark cherry-red door. She loved it immediately and wanted to climb onto the very inviting porch swing and curl up with a good book.
“This is Diesel’s place,” Axel said. He guided her along the path in the lush green front yard that smelled recently mowed, headed for the porch.
“This is beautiful. I love it.”
Axel tested the knob of the carved wooden front door. It opened right away. It hadn’t been locked. Axel gestured for her to enter first. There was a light on in the hallway, but it wasn’t needed. Probably Diesel had left it on for them last night, and they’d never gotten over here.
Instead, she’d been rather insistent they spend the night in his old room. He’d been easily convinced. Juliana had not a single regret, but she enjoyed seeing Diesel’s home now.
She stepped across the threshold and onto hardwood floors set in a lovely two-story foyer. To her left was a charming wooden staircase leading straight up to the second floor, sporting a carpet runner in predominantly dark blue with some sort of pattern in the center.
To her right was an opening to the formal dining room with a lovely table and ten chairs. She could see another open doorway in the dining room, leading into a kitchen.
On her left, past the wall next to the staircase, was a living area with comfortable seating parked perfectly around a tall stone, wood-burning fireplace. Juliana breathed in the lingering scent of wood smoke in the air and smiled. She loved everything about a crackling fire, whether camping or simply in a fireplace, even when it was already warm enough.
Directly in front of her and to the right of the staircase was a straight shotgun hallway to a back door.
“It’s older, but Diesel restored a lot of it himself over the past few years in what little spare time he enjoyed. What do you think?”
“Now that I’m inside, I love it more, especially since I know he worked to renovate it himself.”
Axel closed and locked the front door, threw the deadbolt and put the chain in place right before testing the door handle as if to confirm it was secure.
“Should I be afraid that you just bolted us in here?”
“Um. No,” he said unconvincingly, adding quickly, “Do you want something to drink? Or better yet, something to eat? I could probably rustle something up that’s edible.” He started down the hallway to the kitchen.
“No. I’m okay. I’ll just wait for Diesel.”
He motioned for her to follow him. “Well, I’ll at least brew some coffee for us.”
“You’re staying?”
Axel stopped in his tracks. “I can’t leave you alone.”
“Why? Because of some fruit threat? Maybe I shouldn’t have told you about that.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but just then someone tried to open the front door, rattling the handle rather violently. Axel took a step toward the noise, but a buzzing sound stopped him. He plucked a small device off his belt. Before he even looked at it, whoever was at the door started rattling the handle again even harder. A large thump hit the door, like someone had thrown their shoulder against the outside surface trying to break it down. The heavy door practically shook in the doorframe from the abuse.
Axel ignored the buzzing and then subsequent ringing on his belt, marching toward the door. Juliana hoped it wasn’t the fruit-wasting menace, chewing on the single bite they’d just taken out of an apple ready to hurl it at her once the door opened.
Axel put his hand on the door and then removed it. The pounding increased. He backed away another step, turned and glanced over his shoulder at her, a worried expression etched in his features.
“Are you going to answer it?” she asked, hoping he wasn’t going to.
“I don’t think I should.”