“Silence!”
Chapter 3
“He told me he was an alien from another planet,” Ria explained to Heath.
Heath gave an exasperated sigh, but before he could open his mouth, Ria hurried on.
“And no, I don’t think he’s an alien, but I do think he’s certifiable, and he’s renting my old room from my parents. He could murder them in the middle of the night. I want you to lock him up. Put him in the state hospital…something.”
“How about if I just talk to him for now?”
Just talk? That was all? He was a threat to her parents and possibly the whole community. She opened her mouth to tell him she wanted him to do more, but his expression said that was all he would do for now. It was a start, she supposed. “Fine. You’ll see. The guy is off his rocker.”
Heath scanned the park.
“There he is,” she said, pointing Kristor out. He was looking quite unconcerned that he was about to be carted off to the loony bin. The guy probably didn’t even know he was crazy. Heath would help rectify the situation, she was sure.
Heath started toward Kristor, or whatever his name was. It could be an alias for all she knew. Ria stayed right on Heath’s heels.
He stopped, studying her for a moment. “Wait here.”
“Wait here? But…but…” Of course. It made sense. Heath had a gun and everything, and if there was a tussle, he couldn’t concentrate on taking the stranger down if he was worried she’d get hurt.
“Okay, but be careful. He’s pretty big.”
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Heath said, without much conviction.
And Kristor was big. The guy had some serious muscles. Sexy muscles. Not that she was even remotely attracted to him. The guy was a nut case. The outside package tempted her, she wouldn’t deny that. It was the inside that scared the hell out of her.
Ria tugged on the hem of her shorts, then twisted the material around her finger. If anything happened to Heath, her parents would disown her, the townspeople would probably kill her, and she was pretty sure Ruffles wouldn’t like her, either.
Not that the cat had much to do with her now. The cat had always seemed fond of Heath, though. Most men actually. Ria had adopted a slutty cat.
But if the stranger hurt Heath, Ria would feel so guilty. Heath was practically an uncle. He’d given Ria her driving test. She frowned. Her first speeding ticket, too.
“You look deep in thought,” Donald Evans said as he came to stand beside her.
She jumped, then quickly smoothed the hem of her shorts and stood straighter. She hadn’t heard his approach.
Donald was looking as handsome as ever. They’d dated for a while. Nothing serious, although Donald would’ve liked to take it to the next level. But when it came to sleeping with him, she drew the line. Maybe she still secretly harbored a grudge because he’d told on her about the whoopee cushion.
But he was handsome, she couldn’t deny that, and it was the reason she’d first started dating him. He was very
She’d been on a self-improvement quest that month and thought dating him would help. It hadn’t. She’d felt worse about herself. Nothing she had done was right. He always seemed to find fault.
And that coming from a man who didn’t sweat. There was something really strange about a guy who didn’t sweat.
Maybe she was being just as critical as Donald. He had a membership to the local gym, so she was pretty sure he sweated when he worked out. She’d just never seen him looking anything but perfect, and that bothered her.
“So, are you going to tell me what you’re thinking so seriously about?” His gaze followed where she had been looking. His lips formed a straight, irritated line. “Or maybe I should say
“His name is Kristor, he’s renting my old room, and the guy is certifiable.”
His expression relaxed. “Is he the alien you saw?”
For a brief moment, she had a vision of herself screaming at the top of her lungs and pulling at her hair. The only thing stopping her from following through was the fact she didn’t want to be in the same car as the one that would be taking the once naked man, who claimed to be an alien, off to the state hospital.
“I didn’t see an alien,” she ground out. “He told me he was an alien.”
“Ahh…” He still looked skeptical.
Why should he believe her now? He never had in the past.
“I just want him out of my parents’ house.”
“Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.” Donald nodded toward the two men.
Heath shook the stranger’s hand as though Kristor had just told Heath that he’d won the Texas lottery. What the hell? Heath was grinning when he started back toward her.
“Did he tell you he was an alien?” she asked when he joined them again.
“You must have misunderstood. He’s from another country. Kris is a really great guy. He even agreed to play in the flag football game this afternoon. Good thing—we were short a man, and would’ve had to cancel.” Heath cast a sour look in Donald’s direction.
What?
No, no, no!
“Let me get this straight,” Ria began as calmly as she could. “He won you over because he agreed to play in a stupid football game? And you’re not taking him to the state hospital, not even after the game?”
Heath frowned. “It’s not a stupid game, and I can’t very well lock him up just because he’s a foreigner. How would that look?”
“He said he wanted me to go to his planet, and he would take me there in his spaceship.”
Heath chuckled. “Maybe that was his way of sweet-talking you?”
Beside her, Donald went rigor mortis. Sheesh, it wasn’t as if they were still dating. He didn’t own her. Then again, he could just be concerned the guy was a stranger. Doubtful, though. Donald still acted as if they were an item.
Her attention turned to Kristor. He was helping the Widow Simmons up a steep slope, and she was grinning like a young girl. Good Lord, she was at least eighty-five.
“You could do worse.” Heath glanced at Donald again, then back to her. “And you’re not getting any younger.”
Ria bristled. “Twenty-eight is not that old.”
Donald slipped his arm around Ria’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll check this new man out, Deputy. After all, it would be a shame if he was indeed a lunatic. I would rather believe one of our own, than someone you’ve known all of two minutes.”
Heath squared his shoulders. “I’d already planned to do that, since it’s my job. I don’t think you have to worry that I don’t know procedure. I signed on to protect the citizens, and that’s exactly what I’ll do.” He tugged on the end of his hat, then turned and left.
“You can move your arm now,” Ria told him. The heavy weight was like an anchor.
He took his time moving it. “Have lunch with me.”
Donald had inherited the running of his parents’ restaurant when they retired to Florida. It was a good place to eat. Not that they had many choices. It was either the restaurant, the Dairy Queen, or Sonic.
“I’m going to grab Carly a burger, and see how she’s feeling.” It was best not to start something else up
