Page 33 of Alien Mine

“Probably, but where’s the fun in not?” Jude asked. “Come on back. I’ve got some news you’ll want to hear sitting down.”

Her stomach curled into a tight knot. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Well, potentially nothing.” Jude led her into his office and shut the door firmly behind her, then plopped into the chair behind his wide, ruthlessly organized desk. As soon as she’d perched on the edge of a chair opposite him, he said, “Juan’s being moved from the Hall County prison to the local correctional facility.”

Every bone in Rachel’s spine melted. She slumped againstthe back of her chair and gaped at her attorney. “What? Why?”

Juan spread his hands out, palms up, and shrugged. “Overcrowding. He’s a model prisoner. Keeps his head down, does what he’s told.”

“But hemurderedsomebody.”

“He’s not getting out of his sentence, Rach,” Jude said gently.

“I’m not worried about his sentence,” Rachel wailed. “I don’t want him near my girls. I don’t want the folks he hangs around with near us, either. That’s why I wanted to talk to you!”

“To have his parental rights terminated.” Jude sat back in his chair and steepled long fingers together under his pointed chin. “It’s a drastic step, Rach. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“As sure as the wind in March,” she said flatly, then briefly explained the events of the past few days, beginning with seeing members of Juan’s old gang at the lake. “It’s starting up again, Jude. My girls have been through enough. I’d be willing to deal with the devil if it keeps them out of harm’s way.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Jude puffed his cheeks out on a long sigh. “Ok, here’s what you can expect.”

Rachel listened carefully while Jude outlined fees and a time table, and tempered her expectations based on his advice. All the while, worry churned in her gut, along with the sure certainty that life was about to get very, very messy.

Chapter Nine

After Rachel left for her meeting, Dyuvad used work and the companionship of her family to cool the lust heating his blood. It worked, mostly. By the time they sat down on the porch to a simple midday meal, he could at least think coherently without his mind drifting into daydreams.

Maybe if she hadn’t bent over in that tight skirt she’d worn. As soon as she had, his imagination had leapt to bending her over the table, sliding her skirt up, and sinking into her wet heat one slow inch at a time.

His groin tightened and tingled, and his half-hard dick twitched behind the fly of his shorts. He shifted on the top step, easing some of the ache. It hadn’t been that long since he’d been with a woman. The mere memory of Rachel shouldn’t stir him so easily. No other woman ever had. What was it about her that wound him so tight, need tested the patient demeanor he’d vowed to maintain with her?

Fate cleared his throat and set his empty paper plate on the porch behind them. “Looks like rain.”

Dyuvad followed the other man’s gaze to the darkening sky. “Rachel might not make it home before it starts.”

“She’ll wait it out at Yasmin’s shop, most likely.” Fate cleared his throat again and scrubbed his palms against well-worn jeans. “I reckon I could take the girls for the night, if’n you and Rach want some grownup time.”

Kelly swiveled around on the step, her dark eyes round. “You’re gonna let us spend the night on a weeknight?”

“School’s out, punkin.” Fate tugged a loose strand of her fine hair and a smile softened his lean features. “We could fetch a pizza, maybe put a movie on and pop some popcorn. What do ya say?”

Tiny leaned her head way back and grinned up at her uncle, nearly upside down. “Mallowmarsh.”

Kelly gasped. “You almost did it, Tiny. You almost made a real word!”

Dyuvad firmed his lips against laughter. How could he possibly explain that Tiny could speak English? She simply chose not to, or perhaps the many languages floating by her somehow melded into one in her mind and she was too young to sort them out. Either way, the effect was the same.

Tiny clapped her hands, and nearly tipped her plate off her lap. “Mallowmarsh!”

“Yup, I bet we can talk him into that, too.” Kelly stood and snagged Tiny’s teetering plate. “Come on, Sis. We gotta get you saying a real word on the record or Mama’ll never believe it. She didn’t believe you saidspaceship, did she, even when I told her plain like.”

The two girls clamored between Dyuvad and Fate into the house in an excited babble of chatter. Fate turned around, watching them go, then speared Dyuvad with a laser sharp gaze. “I saw the way you was looking at her earlier.”

Dyuvad stifled a sigh. Wasn’t it just his luck that Rachel’s brother was, as the other man would put it, like a dog with a bone when it came to his sister? “She’s an attractive woman.”

“Hell, man. I’m her brother and I know that.” Fate glanced at the sky. “Thing is, I see the way she looks at you, too. Ain’t seen that kinda interest on her face in a long time. She fancies you.”

Dyuvad propped his forearms on his thighs, unsure what he could say that wouldn’t get him in trouble. Rachel was interested. That was obvious. Whether she’d act on that interest was anothermatter, but it wasn’t something he could discuss with her brother.

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