Take Her to HeVan (Nephilim Book 6) (5 page)

“Whoa, there’s no need to get mad at me. I’ll sign whatever you want. You know I think women can achieve anything. Now let’s not fight,” he said with a smile, “my head hurts. How about some breakfast? I’m starved.”

“Should you be eating if you have a concussion?” Marla asked him.

“I don’t see why not, nothing’s wrong with my stomach,” he reasoned.

“Alright, I’ll bring you something. I want you to stay in bed, though, you need to rest,” she said, that would also enable her to make a phone call without him hearing.

Karlo agreed because multiple aches throughout his body were making themselves known again. Marla got up out of the chair and he got a look at her legs. His own blanket tented over his lap. Karlo tried to hide his instant arousal, he didn’t want to anger Marla or make her feel she needed to give him sex. He’d put her through enough.

Rusty followed her out of the room. He was ready for his own breakfast. After that, he would do his rounds, making sure everything was in its proper place as Marla did the morning chores.

As soon as Marla left the room, she ran upstairs. Going into the bathroom, she went over to the mirror. Yep, it happened every time she went to bed with wet hair. She looked like Alfalfa on a bad hair day. The only thing that would help at this point was getting it wet again. She grabbed her washcloth and wet it under the tap. Running the damp cloth over her head brought her hair under control and back to normal. She made quick work of brushing her teeth and getting dressed in her normal attire of jeans and t-shirt. She was halfway out the door when she ran back and put on some lipstick and brushed on mascara.

“You’re an idiot, Marla Jones, like he’s even going to notice,” she told her reflection.

When she went back downstairs, the sound of running water told her Karlo had found the bathroom. Good, she didn’t have to worry about bedpans and other unpleasant grossness. She got the coffee started and then pulled some bacon and eggs from the refrigerator. When the bacon started to crisp up, she popped the bread in the toaster. She had this well timed, as the bacon sat on a paper towel to soak up the excess fat, the eggs fried in a little leftover drippings, and she buttered the toast. Two minutes later she had two bacon and fried egg sandwiches. She put them both on a plate and added it to the tray she was preparing.

She’d purchased the tray when her grandfather lost more of his mobility. It had recessed cup holders for coffee and juice along with pockets on the sides for napkins, utensils, and even the morning paper. Today she had added a few magazines so Karlo wouldn’t be completely bored while she finished her morning rounds. She’d have to get on that soon—animals couldn’t wait.

Pushing the door open with her hip, she saw Karlo had returned to the bed.

“I brought you some breakfast. I have to go and see to the animals, so I’m leaving you with some stuff to read and the remote for the TV is in the nightstand,” she said.

“You should not be working so hard,” he said, lifting up the blanket and intending to get out of bed to help her.

Marla put the tray over his lap and then her hand on his shoulder.

“I’ve been taking care of this land by myself for over a year now. I can tell you’re in pain. You have to stay in bed until you’ve completely recovered. I don’t want you to have a relapse,” she said, pulling her hand back.

It would bury her in guilt if he got up and tried to help her when he was obviously hurt.

Karlo caught her hand as she stepped back, rubbing his thumb over the back.

“I came to help you. Remember, you’re not on your own now. I’m here.”

“I know,” she smiled, “and I will appreciate having your help. Right now, though, you really aren’t in any shape to help. I can’t do my work and look out for you at the same time. So stay in bed, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll stay in bed for now. Tomorrow you can show me how to help you.”

Marla smiled and nodded without saying anything. She left the room to get to work. She was already taking advantage of him. She would make sure he got all the rest he needed; it was the least she could do. If he needed to stay in bed, she’d find some way to keep him there.

Karlo watched as Marla left the room. As he started eating the food she brought him, he considered how soon he could convince her to let him help her. He decided to get up and do some stretching after he ate. He was determined not to be a burden. Tomorrow he’d do his share of the work. For today, he did what he could to help by resting the way she wanted him to. Just walking to the bathroom, slowly, holding on to the wall all the way there and back, tired him out. He ended up falling asleep.

A pattern was set from that first day. Marla would wake him up with the scents of food cooking in the kitchen. Then she would bring him a tray and sit with him for a few minutes before going back to work. He would make his way to the bathroom and perform some stretches. Then, tired from the exertion and full of good food, he would fall asleep again.

The next morning, dawn was just breaking when Karlo woke up again. His headache was finally gone and even the aches and muscle spasms he’d been experiencing had stopped. He wouldn’t let Marla keep him in bed for another day; he was ready to start being a help to her. He still didn’t remember anything about his past. Everything he’d seen still seemed wrong and unfamiliar.

What he did remember was everything Marla had said to him from the time he’d first awakened in her grandfather’s bed. One of the things she told him was that strange things had been happening around the ranch. It was her reason for carrying around a shotgun. Those things had ended up costing Marla money
—
money she couldn’t afford to keep paying out.

He would make sure nothing else occurred to harm the ranch or Marla. The first step was getting out of this room and convincing Marla that he was well enough to help. She had been adamant he stay in bed all day yesterday. He would be just as adamant that he was now able to work. Throwing back the covers, he got out of the bed and strode naked to the bathroom.

After showering, he returned to the bedroom to dress. Now that he thought about it, if he had shown up to stay for a couple of weeks, where was his luggage? Looking around, he spotted a duffle bag in the corner of the room. Walking over, he picked it up and put it on the bed. The bag didn’t open with a zipper; it was sealed using Nephilim technology. Karlo opened it without even giving it a thought. Inside were lightweight Nephilim work uniforms. After wearing heavy suits designed for walking in space, a warrior needed something lighter to change into. This is what Karlo found when he opened the duffle.

A part of his brain recognized the clothes, though he didn’t recognize them as belonging to him. Pulling out the pants and shirt, he also found a grooming kit and other standard items. Everything looked familiar; he knew what each one was and what it was used for. What struck him as he was halfway through his grooming routine was that his clothes and standard grooming tools didn’t have the same sense of wrongness everything else had.

“Well, it’s my stuff, isn’t it?” he rationalized.

He hoped he remembered who he was soon. Images and voices would flit through his head. When he tried to grasp one of them, his head would start pounding so much, he couldn’t think.

*****

Marla took her cell phone with her on her rounds. She wanted to call Mr. Edwards, her grandfather’s and now her attorney. She didn’t get a chance to call yesterday since she was too busy around the ranch and looking after Karlo. It was too early to call him at the office, so she dialed his home. At times like these she was happy to be living in a small town.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, Mr. Edwards, this is Marla Jones. I’m sorry to call you at home,” she said.

“That’s alright, Marla, don’t you worry about it. What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Well, as you know, I only have nine weeks and four days to get married. I’ve gotten my guy and he’s willing to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. I was hoping you could draw one up for me,” she said.

“What do you know about this man, honey?” he asked her.

He knew she was all alone in the world now, and he felt almost like a substitute parent to her.

“He’s a pilot and a scientist. He’s taking some time off work to help with the ranch. Not a geeky guy, he’s tall and strong,” she said, describing him.

While Paul Edwards listened to Marla’s description of the man she was planning to marry, he also listened to what she didn’t say. The tone of her voice changed when she talked about the man. He hadn’t heard about her meeting anyone. He was surprised she had fallen in love with someone so quickly. This man would have to be someone special after her negative relationship with Jake O’Brien. Still, he was happy the man was willing to sign a pre-nup.

“That’s fine. He sounds very nice. I’ll start drawing up an agreement this afternoon. When are you planning on getting married?” he asked.

“I’d like to get married as soon as possible. With the deadline looming, it’s important for me to have this taken care of so I won’t have to worry about something happening. How long will it take you to get the pre-nup ready?” she wanted to know.

She couldn’t explain to her lawyer that she needed to get married before her fiancé regained his memory.

“Oh, I should have something for you by Friday. Let’s plan for you to come by the office at three,” he said. They chatted a little about what the pre-nup would entail. Too much discussion wasn’t really necessary, though, because Mr. Edwards was already familiar with the assets of the ranch, her grandfather’s will, and also Marla’s personal assets. He wanted the time to make sure the language was airtight so Marla wouldn’t risk losing the ranch. Sometimes women in love made big mistakes around men. His job was to protect her interests, and he took his job seriously.

“Great, we’ll see you there,” she said.

After hanging up her cell, Marla had one less worry on her mind. Good thing, because this morning she had a new one. When she went to open the gate to let the animals out of the small corral into the larger pasture, she saw something shiny out of the corner of her eye. She turned to get a closer look. Scattered around were small pieces of twisted metal. If the alpacas stepped on those, they could be seriously injured because the bottoms of their feet had soft pads like a dog or cat. She got a bucket and started picking them up. She spent an hour walking the pasture to make sure there was nothing on the ground to harm her animals. She was about to open the gate when Karlo arrived.

“I’m feeling much better, no headache at all. Just don’t ask me any personal questions,” he joked to let her know he still couldn’t remember anything. “So what can I do to help?” he asked.

“I was just about to let the alpaca out of the corral and into the pasture. As they pass through the chute between here and there, I check them over from head to toe to make sure they don’t have any health issues I need to deal with. If there’s no problem, they go through the second gate into the main pasture. If I spot something, I loop them back toward the corral using this corridor,” she said, gesturing to the side.

Alpacas were accustomed to being outdoors in all weather and only needed a three-sided structure to stay out of the worst rain or snow. Their shed was located in a small corral of about five hundred square feet. There were three gates into the corral, one led into a gated aisle about fifteen feet long. At the end of the aisle were two gates, one into the large pasture and one into another aisle that looped back to the corral’s second gate. One person could easily move the alpacas into the pasture while segregating any animals that were ill or injured. The third gate was on the side of the corral near the house. She used it for bringing in new animals, hay, and removing dung.

“I’ll watch and help wherever you want me to. You’ll have to train me because I have no clue what I’m doing,” he said.

He watched as she opened the gate and walked halfway down the aisle. A few of the alpacas followed her. He watched as she checked over the first two. And if his eyes wandered from what she was doing to her body
—
well, he was a man after all. He really liked her curvy shape and was pleased that even with no memory of their past, he still wanted her. He was so entranced with the shape of her ass as she bent over he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. He heard a sound and then something hit him in the back.

“Hey!” he shouted, turning around.

Marla stood and looked over and started laughing.

“Oops, I guess you didn’t pay attention,” she said, trying not to laugh as Karlo twisted and craned his neck in an attempt to see what had hit him in the back. “Alpacas chew a cud, and when one of them gets mad at another one, they spit. They generally don’t spit at us so you must have gotten in between them at the wrong moment. You need to watch them.”

Marla couldn’t say anything else for laughing. While Karlo was twisting and reaching to get the wad of cud off his shirt, he stumbled between the two alpacas, getting nailed again. This spit bomb hit him just below his belt buckle. It was too much for Marla. She fell on her ass she was laughing so hard.

Karlo decided the safest place was next to Marla, so he ducked to avoid additional spitting and jogged across the corral and through the gate to where she was still laughing.