Fire in the Woods (13 page)

She threw down the last napkin and joined us. “What are you guys up to?”

“Nothing.” Bobby’s word came out in a growl. His eyes didn’t leave David. “Just getting to know Jess’s—
cousin
.”

Maggie smacked her brother’s arm, lightening the mood in standard Maggie fashion. “Okay Mr. Brand New MP. Don’t get yourself all in a ruffle.” She placed her hand on the banister. “Come on guys. Let’s go upstairs.”

She gestured for us to follow. Bobby’s eyes remained on David as we ascended the stairs, passing portraits of relatives in military regalia. The largest photograph, at the top of the stairway, showed General and Mrs. Baker with the President and First Lady.

I grabbed the handrail and looked down. Bobby’s hands fell to his sides, and the anger fled from his face, replaced by—what—regret? I mustered up a smile, until Maggie backed up and grabbed my arm.

“Come on, Juliet. Show’s over.” She shoved me toward her room.

David slipped through the doorway just before me. I grabbed my shoulders, shivering as the adrenaline slipped from my body.

“I thought everyone was called to full active duty?” I asked Maggie. “Why is your dad here? For that matter, why isn’t Bobby with the rest of the military police searching houses?”

She tousled her frizzy curls. “Yeah, sorry about that, but dinner is important in the Baker household. Dad never misses it. I think he pulls strings to get Bobby long breaks so they can come home together. I guess I should have thought that one over.” She placed her hands on her hips. “You did good though. My dad’s not at all suspicious.”

“I nearly freaked when he started asking all those questions,” I said.

“No worries.” She fixed her hair in the mirror. “That’s standard protocol to interrogate a suspicious boy in the house. Everything is fine.”

Maggie turned on the radio while David swished aside the curtains and peered out the window.

I touched his wrist. “Maggie’s probably right you know. They won’t look for you here.”

He folded his arms. “I’m scared, Jess. I was trained to be strong and focused and ready for anything…but I’m not.”

I ran my fingers down his left cheek. The cheetah ready to pounce that I saw downstairs had disappeared, replaced by a frightened little cub. I wished I could erase some of the strain from his delicate features.

Maggie jumped onto her bed and sat crossed legged on her quilt. “So, E.T., what were you doing in that spaceship before it crashed? You weren’t abducting people, were you?”

“Abducting? No.” He glanced at me.

I felt dumb for not asking the question earlier. Everything had happened so fast. “What
were
you doing, David?”

He sat on the opposite corner of the bed. I slid between him and Maggie.

“I was sending a ready signal to our people on the planet.”

“Ready for what?”

“Pick up. My job was to notify them that the transport was coming. Another ship would come after with the location.”

David’s jaw tensed and he swallowed. Was he nervous about something? Well, other than the jealous MP and the Army general downstairs.

“So, there are more of you guys on Earth?” Maggie asked. “Are they all as cute as you, because…”

“Maggie!” I turned to David. “So, what happened?”

“A few black ships came out of nowhere. They were on me before I could react. I’d never experienced combat before. I didn’t expect weapons fire.”

“They shot you down,” I said.

Maggie scoffed. “Typical. Welcome to our planet, now get out. Idiots.”

I raised my brow. If they were idiots, her father was the king idiot, and mine was no better. “Was this, like, a rescue mission then?” I asked.

“They don’t really need rescue. They aren’t in any danger—or at least they weren’t.” He rubbed his face. “I guess I screwed up. Now your defenses know there are Erescopians on your planet. I just hope the Army doesn’t find our scientists while they’re looking for me.”

“So what happens now?” Maggie asked.

David walked across the room, massaging his bandaged hand. “I guess I’m like them, now. I wait until the coordinates come, and I’ll have to go to the specified location for retrieval.” His hands fell to his side. “Unfortunately, I’ll have to figure out a way to dodge your Army while I try to get there.”

Maggie leaned forward. “So, you’re the warm-fuzzy-pick-up-your-friends kind of alien—not the abduct-people-and-experiment-on-them kind of alien? I guess that’s cool.”

Leave it to Maggie to put things into perspective.

“When will you get the signal to leave?” I asked.

David rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought I would have gotten it by now. I’m not really sure when it will come.”

“So what exactly is this signal? We can watch out for it, too.”

“It’s audible, at a frequency above your hearing capability. Don’t worry. I won’t be able to miss it.”

Maggie rolled onto her stomach. “So we hide you until this signal comes. How hard can it be?”

David ran his fingers through his hair. “Has anyone else noticed that the guy looking for me is right downstairs?”

“It’ll be all right,” I said, taking his hand. I wished I believed it myself, though.

Maggie sat up. “Yeah, keep your skin on. Literally that is. Hey, what do you really look like under there, anyway?”

I cringed. The question had popped into my mind, too, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. Leave it to Maggie to cut straight to the good stuff.

David shrugged. “I look a lot like you, but I have four fingers and four toes, and lavender-tinted skin. My markings are, umm…” He rubbed his stomach. “I can’t find a word in your language.”

I put my arm around his shoulder. “It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”

His smile sent a swirl of pure delight shooting through my nervous system and blasting out my toes. Yeah, that good. I didn’t care that what I saw was some kind of costume. I’d never tire of looking at him.

The smell of gravy seeped through the door. Maggie breathed deeply. “Mmmmm, can you smell that? Who’s hungry for dinner?”

***

Bobby forked an enormous helping of roast beef onto his dish and passed the platter to me. After placing two chunks on my own plate, I passed the tray across the table and gave David the salad and vegetables.

His nose turned when I slathered my meat with gravy and sliced it up
.
Sorry, dude. I was not passing up Mrs. Baker’s cooking because my new alien friend was a vege-saurus.

A cell phone twittered. General Baker stood and plucked it from his pocket.

“Already?” Mrs. Baker said. “You haven’t even eaten yet.”

“Let me see what’s going on.” He left the table, holding the phone to his ear.

David fiddled with his fork, looking at the tongs. His gaze passed across the table. He seemed to concentrate on each person holding silverware. He bit his lip before he scooped up a piece of cauliflower and slipped it in his mouth. I wondered what he ate with at home.

The general pulled out his chair and settled back in his place. He stabbed a piece of meat and stared at it before popping it in his mouth. His reddened cheeks bounced as he chewed. Once he swallowed, his attention settled on David, then moved to me before he placed his fork down. “You know, Jessica, I called Major Martinez earlier to ask him about David.”

Busted.

My heart wiggled down into my toes. A hunk of meat lodged in my throat. I imagined the entire Army circling the house, aiming grenade launchers into the windows. Would the napkin on my lap make a good surrender flag?

“Unfortunately he was on radio silence.”

Thank God!
“Oh, umm, it’s really hard to get him at work. I always have to leave a message.”

His gaze lingered on David way to long.

“So, the two of you are staying here tonight, is that it? I’d really like to talk to Tom and make sure he’s okay with that.”

“No!” All movement at the table stopped.

Smooth, Jess. Scream ‘the alien is sitting right here’ why don’t you.

“I mean…it was his idea. He said he would call and check in. He just hasn’t yet. Probably because of that, you know, radio silence thing.”

The general’s gaze darted back to David and my pulse quickened. His eyes narrowed. “Fine. If he doesn’t call by eleven, though, I’ll make sure he’s contacted. Silence or no silence.”

Oh. Crap.

On second thought…staying at Maggie’s: bad idea. Very, very bad idea.

General Baker’s ruddy appearance darkened as he continued to eat. His plate cleaned, he stood and walked into the kitchen.

Maggie crumpled her napkin as she watched him leave. She scooted her chair back and followed him.

The room’s silence intensified the clanging of silverware on the china plates. David’s gaze panned to the front door. I placed my hand on his knee, hoping to settle him. We couldn’t leave now. It’d look even more suspicious.

Maggie returned, and cleared her father’s plate. “Jess, can you help clear the table?” She motioned to the kitchen door.

“Sure.”

David stood, and stacked his own dishes.

“Sit, David,” Bobby said. “Let the girls clean up. It will give us time to talk.”

David’s nose twitched, and I tapped his shoulder. “It’s that good-old Martinez family upbringing. Everyone chips in, right David?”

He raised an eyebrow. I nodded my head.

“Yes,” he said, mimicking my nod. “Everyone helps.”

Bobby’s jaw dropped, and Maggie snorted a laugh. Their father pushed open the kitchen door and stood in the dining room with folded arms. His jaw set, his gaze on David as we passed.

Yikes. He had that
I’m gonna snap this boy in two
look on his face. I’d seen that expression on Dad way too many times. It never turned out good. Well, not for me, anyway. Had the general figured us out? Talked to my dad while he was in the kitchen?

“Come on, guys,” Maggie said, leading David and I through the door and away from the immediate danger.

Her mother followed behind. “I’ll take that, David.” She took his plates and settled them into the sink. “And thank you for being such a nice gentleman. The rest of them could learn from your good manners.”

David bit the inside of his lip. His focus shot toward the back door.

“It’s okay, guys,” Maggie said. “I told my dad the truth. He knows about David.”

Lightening shot through my gut, sending my heartbeat into overdrive. David backed toward the door.

“What about David?” Mrs. Baker asked, scrubbing a pot in the sink.

“That he’s not Jess’s cousin. He’s her boyfriend.”

David furrowed his brow. My panic deepened. Having an unknown boyfriend would probably rank worse than harboring an alien in Dad’s rule book.

Mrs. Baker placed her hands on her hips. “That explains some things.” She placed a stack of plates in the sink. “So, Major Martinez is out, and you were going to spend the night with Jess, is that it?”

David’s lips formed a few unspoken words. He looked to me, but I was just as stunned as he was.

“Umm—yes?” he said.

Mrs. Baker shook her head. “I suppose it’s none of my business, but I hope you two are using protection.”

David straightened. “Protection from what?”

Her brow furrowed, and she turned to me. “Jess, I’m sorry, but I will have to mention this to your father.”

Great. Thanks, Maggs. “We weren’t going to do anything. David was just going to keep me company until my grandmother gets here tomorrow.”

She folded her arms. “He was just going to keep you company?”

David’s brow popped up. “What did you think we were going to do?”

Mrs. Baker huffed out a laugh. “My goodness, that surprised look is so genuine I almost believe you.” She dried her hands with the towel. “Tell you what, Jess. I won’t say anything to Tom, but I want you to tell him. If he’s comfortable with David, that’s good enough for me.”

Relief swept over my body. Temporary respite. “Thanks, Mrs. B.”

***

“Yeah, we had dinner. Everything is fine, Dad.” I clutched my cell phone to my ear, wishing the general wasn’t within hearing range of our conversation.

“All right,” Dad said. “I’m glad you’re not alone. Everything okay with Bobby?”

I glanced toward Maggie’s father, wishing he wasn’t staring me down like a bug he wanted to squash.

“Boyfriends are not an issue. I’ll be sleeping in Maggie’s room.”
Smooth, Jess. Placate two dads in two sentences. Go team me!

“Okay, well, get some sleep. Call me in the morning before you and Grandma get on the plane.”

“You got it. Bye, Dad.” I touched the ‘end’ button and slid my cell into my pocket.

Mrs. Baker handed David a blanket, and General Baker threw a pillow on the couch. He walked out with a s
tay down here and don’t go near my daughter
look on his face. Do they teach that in dad school or something?

For now I just hoped he didn’t call my dad back. My best chance actually lay in the hands of what I hated most about my father’s job—not being able to talk to him on the phone.

I flashed David a smile and followed Maggie up to her room.

“I have an ef-ing alien sleeping on my couch,” Maggie said, jumping on her bed. “This is so cool.”

I shivered as I laid my blanket out over the floor. Personally, I wasn’t all that cool with it. Had they searched my house already? Was David really safe down there all by himself? What if he got cold? I hugged my pillow. So much had happened, and so fast. I couldn’t keep track of it all.

David.

His face appeared every time I closed my eyes. His quirky grin, his long lashes, the shape of his shoulders. But none of that was really even him. It was a façade, a costume—but did it really matter?

My hands trembled. Downstairs sleeping on the couch was the epitome of my dreams come true. David had molded himself into exactly what I wanted physically, but it wasn’t about how he looked anymore.

He listened. He understood. He didn’t judge. I’d never felt so right as I did when he stood beside me. He made everything perfect…or did he? How many of those feelings were real, and how many had he inserted into my brain?

I hugged myself and held my breath. My heart raced at the mere thought of him. My chest heaved and twisted, strangling me with an ache I couldn’t swallow away.