Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“So did a lot of people. I don’t like to use the word normal. It’s not a very good describer of the world. Normal or average is something you should say when you’re talking about blood pressure, not our families. All loving, functional families are normal in their own way. My daddy was a hunter, but see, I didn’t want to go into that.”
The man wasn’t getting to the point, but at least he could understand him now. “You grew up around here? I’m not surprised your dad was a hunter. Lot of that around here, as we recently learned.”
“Oh, no. My daddy hunted werewolves,” Mel explained. “They’re not as bad as they sound. Some real nice fellas, and they can smell an alien from a mile away. Helpful creatures, but my daddy was mean.”
And reality was gone. “None of this explains why I am freezing my ass off when I should be warm and toasty back at Trio. Elisa and I are friends. We have a good relationship where I’ve been open and honest about what I can give her. I know you’re her dad and I respect the relationship, but we don’t have to do this thing where you warn me off. She’s the only one who gets to do that.”
“I assure you if I felt the need to warn you off my daughter, I could make it happen, Sylvan,” Mel said, that perpetual look of innocence gone from his face. He stared at Van with much older eyes, eyes that had seen a lot of the world. “But I wouldn’t do it out in the open. I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t warn you at all. That’s the mistake a lot of people make. When you want to protect someone you love, you don’t let the enemy know you’re coming. You simply pick a time and take out the threat, and no one ever has to know. So many people go missing these days. They walk away and leave everything behind and are never heard from again.”
“Shit, man. I think Mel’s planning on killing you,” Hale whispered.
Or letting the Neluts take him. “I’m not trying to hurt Elisa.”
That dark look left Mel’s face. “I know that. Like I said, I wasn’t trying to warn you off. You’re close to my daughter. That means you’re close to me. You don’t have any family out here, so you can spend time with mine. Today is our first task, boys. Next week we’re manning the aerial watch tower on the alien highway. There’s a meteor shower, and lots of those suckers like to sneak in,” Mel said with a cheery smile. “Cassidy’s going to make us sandwiches.”
“Like I was saying, Elisa and I are casual.” He could think of nothing less he wanted to do than sit in whatever a watch tower was with Mel.
And it wasn’t merely about the fact that the alien thing was weird. That actually could be fun. He’d been around enough people who believed ley lines could heal and crystals attracted wealth and prosperity. He’d spent a whole week camping with a woman who was looking for proof of the Jersey Devil. He’d seen it, but he was pretty sure that had been the secondhand smoke from whatever she’d been smoking.
He was over those adventures. They were wasted time. Spending a night with his future fath…
There it was, the impulse to throw himself right over the emotional edge and jump in with both feet, and where would that lead him?
“You’re not, but I get that you’re afraid. She’s smart and beautiful, and way more intimidating than either of you,” Mel pointed out. “You’re probably thinking you’re not good enough for her, and you are right. Thing is, she gets to decide. Let her. If you fall for her, if you have even an inkling that she might be the right woman for you, don’t fight it, Sylvan. Fighting it only wastes time and turns you bitter. Life is too short for that. But even short, it can be so good. Blessings come when you least expect them. I was happy just having Cassidy’s boys in my life. I thought that would be enough family for me and then Elisa walks in and… I spent so much of my life lonely, and the idea that I get these years with her and Leo and Wolf, and she says her sister might come here. Sabrina doesn’t have a mom or dad. She’ll need a family. Can’t you see what a miracle that is?”
Mel had brought him out here to offer him a place in his family? That seemed inconceivable, but here he was, trying to pass on his knowledge. Some potential father-in-laws would take them fishing or want to teach them golf.
He got alien hunting.
The thing was he didn’t actually like fishing or golf, and he did like a surreal experience.