Hazel and the Alien Biker (Intergalactic Brides 5) (2 page)

The man nodded, staring at Reyvor, awestruck. With a smile, Reyvor pulled his keys from his pocket and made his way outside to his Harley. He swung a leg over the seat and put the key in the ignition. It seemed the matter of a house was taken care of, or would be shortly. What else had Zanar said? Oh yes… clothes.

The bike rumbled to life and he pulled away from the curb. It wasn’t too terribly late, but he knew the upscale stores would be closed. After driving through town, he found one of those large stores that seemed to carry a little bit of everything and decided it would suit his purpose. Human clothes were a mystery to him, but a gaggle of giggling teen girls were only too happy to help him out. They flirted outrageously, even though he was obviously too old for them. He was kind, but he made sure their flirting didn’t go any further.

After he paid for his purchases, he shoved them into his saddlebags and went back to the motel room he was renting by the week. It was really more of a suite, with a separate bedroom and living area, more than enough room for him. Reyvor pulled to a stop in front of his door, turned off the bike, and retrieved his bags of clothes. Inside the room, he put everything away and pulled out the pajama pants the girls had talked him into. They felt soft and he thought they would be ideal for lounging around the room, but he’d always slept naked and didn’t intend to stop now.

He changed, braided his hair, and was about to sit down and turn on the TV when he heard a commotion outside. The panic of a female voice sent him into motion and he opened the door to see what was going on. A very small woman was struggling to break free of the motel manager. He noticed three small, very scared children hovering nearby.

“What’s the problem?” he asked as he stepped outside.

“I caught this piece of trash digging through the dumpsters and peeking in the windows. She’s here to steal stuff and I’m calling the cops.”

Her clothes were worn and torn in places, her hair matted and dirty. The children huddling behind her were just as worn and unclean. It took but a moment for him to surmise that they had nowhere to go and were living on the streets. He’d seen several people begging for money on street corners, but the stubborn tilt of the woman’s chin told him she’d never begged for anything in her life.

“Did you stop to think maybe they were merely hungry and looking for food?” Reyvor asked. “Perhaps if you offered them a hot meal they wouldn’t need to dig through the dumpster.”

“I’m not running a charity here. If they want to eat, they’ll pay for it just like everyone else. It’s bad for business having people like this hanging around.”

Reyvor frowned as he saw the shame flash in the woman’s eyes and the flush of embarrassment on the cheeks of her children. He didn’t know what had happened to her, why she had fallen so far, but in that moment he determined that he would help her in any way that he could. Despite the grime, he could tell she was an attractive woman, and he couldn’t understand why she didn’t have a male watching over her.

“Let her go,” Reyvor said. “I’ll take responsibility for her.”

The manager eyed him and finally released the woman, shoving her toward Reyvor. She fell against him and his arm immediately went around her. She was slight and he worried that it had been too long since she’d last eaten. The manager stormed off in the other direction and Reyvor addressed the tattered creature in his arms.

“My name is Reyvor and I’d like to help you, if you’ll let me.”

She looked like she might refuse for a moment, but one of the children tugged on her ratty shirt and he saw the stubbornness melt away. Her gaze was adoring as she looked at her children. She smoothed the hair of the one nearest and then turned her gaze up at Reyvor. “I’ll accept your help, but only because my children are hungry. We haven’t eaten in two days.”

“Come inside and I’ll pick up some food for you. The children can rest and watch TV while you wait.”

She hesitated a moment, but nodded her consent, then followed him into his suite. The children settled on the sofa and looked around the room with wide eyes. He handed the eldest child the remote. The mother had yet to take her eyes off him and he wondered what she was thinking.

“I need to step into the other room to change,” he said. “It won’t take long to retrieve food for you. Is there anything in particular you’d like? Or any food allergies I need to know about?”

She shook her head. “Anything will be fine. I appreciate your kindness.”

He looked at the children on the sofa once more and realized they were all three girls. Reyvor couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be to live on the streets with three children, but especially three female children. He would think they wouldn’t be as tough as a boy.

He crouched in front of them. “What are your names?”

The eldest looked to her mother before responding. “I’m Nikki, and my sisters are Winnie and Abby.”

“I’m Reyvor. It’s very nice to meet the three of you. And does your pretty mother have a name?”

The mother in question blushed. “I’m Hazel.”

“Make yourselves at home.”

Reyvor ducked into the bedroom and quickly changed into one of his new pairs of jeans and a T-shirt. After he’d put on his boots, he gathered his keys and wallet, and stepped back into the living room. Four heads turned in his direction and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he should say something. With a smile, he let himself out and got on his bike, revving the engine before taking off out of the parking lot.

What the hell did children on Earth eat?

Hazel looked at her children and wondered what she was going to do next. It had been weeks since they’d had a bath, even longer since they’d had clean clothes. All of their belongings had been stolen at a shelter downtown, and poor Abby had almost been abducted. Hazel had steered clear of the place since then, deciding it was safer on the streets. They’d slept in the park on nights when it was nice, and huddled in shop doorways on rainy ones. It had been so long since they’d felt the comfort of a bed or had the luxury of a roof. But living on the streets was better than the alternative.

“Momma,” Winnie said. “Are we going to sleep here with the nice purple man?”

“He’s a Terran, honey, and no. We’ll stay long enough to eat and then we should move along. It was nice of him to offer food for us, but we mustn’t take advantage of him.” Even though she had to admit staying with him wouldn’t be a hardship. When she’d crashed into him, she’d felt the strength in his arms and her gaze had clashed with his dark pansy colored one. She’d felt her heart race in her chest and had hoped he couldn’t feel it too.

Abby curled into the corner of the sofa. “But it’s nice here. I don’t want to leave.”

“I’m sorry, sweet angel. I know you miss things like TV…”

“And hot water,” Nikki mumbled.

“But we just can’t afford a place right now,” Hazel continued as if her eldest daughter hadn’t just smarted off.

“Since you don’t work, we’re never going to afford a place,” Nikki said. “Are we going to live on the streets forever? Because right now, I’d rather be home with Dad.”

Hazel sucked in a sharp breath. “You don’t mean that! Your father is the reason we’re living the way we do. Did you really want to stay and see if he became angry enough to kill one of us? Or all of us? Weren’t you tired of the beatings and screaming?”

“Daddy’s a mean man,” Winnie said. “But the purple man seems nice. Maybe he wants a family.”

“Honey, you can’t just pick a man and decide to live with him.” Well, technically you could, but she didn’t want to get into that with her middle child. At seven, Winnie was too smart for her own good. And Hazel wouldn’t lie to herself… she kind of liked the idea of staying with the Terran. Their meeting had been brief, but she’d seen kindness in his eyes and there was a gentleness to his touch -- two things that had been missing from her life for a long time.

“Why did you stay with Dad so long if he’s so horrible?” Nikki asked.

“Your father was nicer when we first met, and he treated me all right. It wasn’t until Winnie was born he began to change. Something twisted in his mind and suddenly everyone was out to get him and nothing was ever good enough.
We
weren’t good enough. I’d rather live on the streets than take a chance on your father harming one of you again.”

The sound of a motorcycle alerted Hazel to the alien’s return. She shushed the girls and hoped they wouldn’t say anything embarrassing in front of him. He really did seem like a nice man, but they would accept their meal and be on their way. If they hurried, they might still get a good spot at the park to sleep for the night. Not that Hazel did much sleeping. She dozed off here and there, but she tried hard to stay awake and watch over the children. Her body was exhausted and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept through the night.

Unbidden, an image of her wrapped in Reyvor’s arms rippled through her mind. What would it be like to be held all night by someone like him? She doubted she would ever find out.

The door opened and Reyvor stepped inside carrying two large sacks from the kids’ favorite fast food restaurant. When he set the bags on the small table, the kids scurried over and each claimed a chair. Hazel sat in the fourth chair, even though she didn’t dare eat until she knew her children were full. There was no telling when they’d get another meal, especially one they didn’t have to dig out of the trash.

“I wasn’t sure what they would want so I ordered four cheeseburgers, four chicken nuggets, and four fries. I have sodas in the fridge here already so I didn’t buy any. It would have been hard to drive the bike with them.” He pulled everything out of the bags, setting one of each item in front of each of them.

Her children’s eyes were wide as they looked at all the food, far more than they’d had to eat in weeks, at least in one sitting. Abby hesitantly reached for her burger, then snatched her hand back and eyed the alien with wide eyes.

He gave her an easy smile and tugged on a frizzy curl. “It’s all right, little one. The food is yours. Go ahead and eat.”

Those seemed to be the magic words, and her children dove into their meals like a pack of ravenous wolves. Reyvor raised an eyebrow in her direction when he noticed she wasn’t eating and she picked up a fry to nibble on. Oh God! The salty goodness! And it was hot! Her mouth watered at the promise of more hot food, but she paced herself, saving her burger and nuggets for her children if they should need them.

“There’s something wrong with your food?” Reyvor asked.

“No.”

“She’s making sure we aren’t still hungry,” Nikki said around a mouthful of chicken. “Mom always eats last.”

“If the children are still hungry when they finish their meal, I’ll go find them something else. You need to eat to keep up your strength. What good will you be to them if you faint from hunger?”

She had to admit he had a point. With a shaky hand, she picked up a nugget and forced herself to chew slowly. Really, she wasn’t much better than her children and wanted to shove the food in her face as fast as she could, in case it got up and ran away. When every last morsel on the table had been consumed, and everyone had finished off their own can of soda, Hazel stood and motioned for her children to do the same.

“Thank you for your kindness, but we should be on our way.” It would be wise to get away before she decided she wanted to stay with him forever, much like her children had.

He held up a hand. “And where will you go?”

“The park,” Abby said. “There’s a soft spot under the trees where we can sleep, and there’s enough light Momma says it’s safe.”

His gaze bore into her. “You’re going to sleep in the park? On the ground, out in the open?”

“We’ve done it plenty of times before. We’ll be fine.”

“Or you could stay here,” he offered. “We’ll even make it fun. Give me a few minutes to place a call and the girls can have a campout in the living room.”

Her eyes narrowed and her arms folded over her chest. “And just where do you expect me to sleep? In your bed?” Her heart raced at the thought of sharing his bed, but there was no way she’d whore herself out for a place to sleep. And if that’s what he thought of her, then he wasn’t half the man she’d thought.

A smile flirted with his lips. “I thought you might take the couch. I’d offer, but I don’t think I’ll fit.”

Some of the starch went out of her. “Oh.”

“I know you don’t know me, and you aren’t sure if you can trust me, but I assure you I only have your best interests at heart. Let me help you. When’s the last time you slept inside in the air conditioning? The kids can stay up and watch TV as late as they want. Do you really want to take that away from them?” he asked.

She looked at her daughters’ hopeful faces and knew she would relent. What would one night hurt? He’d already fed them, why not let him house them for a few hours? Once daylight broke, she and her girls could slip away while he was sleeping. The little ones hadn’t seen much kindness in the last few months. She should let them enjoy it while they could.

“Very well,” she agreed. “But just for one night.”

The look in his eyes said
We’ll see
. She looked around the room and wondered where everyone would sleep. “Are you going to ask for more blankets from the manager? He won’t be pleased we’re staying here tonight.”

He nodded his head toward the door and they stepped outside for a moment. “I didn’t want your girls to hear in case you said no. Would you please allow me to purchase pajamas for them and sleeping bags? They can each take a hot bath or shower, change into something comfortable to sleep in, and then camp out in their sleeping bags and watch TV.”

“It’s too much.”

“If it’s the money you’re worried about, don’t. I have more than enough to help you in this small way. Give them one night of normalcy and then in the morning we can discuss your plans. I want your word you won’t sneak out in the middle of the night.”

She bit her lip, not wanting to lie to him.

“Promise me, Hazel. For your girls.”

“Very well.” She sighed. “For the girls.”