Dragon Lords of Valdier Boxset Books 1-3

Chapter 6-2

Abby laughed as she pulled down the driveway for the forty-minute ride to town. She was beginning to wonder if Zoran was ever going to let her leave. She went over all the things she could think of in the house to make sure he didn’t starve while she was gone, but it took even longer to convince him she didn’t need protection against whatever imaginary creatures he thought she might encounter.

He wanted her to take some type of weapon he had with him and was mad as hell when she laughed and said she didn’t need it. Now, she was running even later and would have to stop at the post office first if she wanted to get there before it closed.

Abby rolled down the window after she got on the highway and turned up the volume on the CD player, singing as she drove. She actually enjoyed the drive to town along the winding roads. The scenery was beautiful, and the weather was perfect. She made it to town with a half hour to spare before the post office closed and pulled into a spot right up front. She had no sooner turned off the engine to her pickup truck when Clay’s sheriff’s truck pulled in next to her.

Abby let out a frustrated sigh. She swore he had cameras set up to monitor for her arrival in town. Otherwise, there was no way he could know she was headed in. She really didn’t want to deal with his advances today. She wanted to get her mail, stock up on some food, and get home as soon as possible. It was weird, but she already missed being with Zoran.

“Hey, Abby,” Clay said, getting out of his truck and walking over to where Abby was locking her own vehicle.

“Hi, Clay, how’s it going?” Abby asked as she moved toward the post office.

“Good. I’m glad to see you were able to get out after that storm the other night,” Clay said, holding the door open for her.

“Thanks. Yeah, it was pretty bad, but it didn’t take long for the electric company to get the power back on. I was expecting it to be much worse than it was,” Abby said, moving to her post office box.

“Did you have any damage? I can come up to your place and help you clean up if you need me,” Clay said, watching as Abby pulled out her mail, picking out the green notices of boxes to pick up, and stuffing the rest of it in her bag without looking at it.

“No, no damage. A tree fell behind the barn, but it didn’t hit anything. There were some smaller branches lying around, but it won’t take long to clear those up. I need to pick up some stuff. It was nice seeing you,” Abby said, hoping Clay would take the hint and leave.

“I’ll help you. How about going to the diner and getting something to eat when you’re done?” Clay asked following Abby to the counter.

Abby let out a soft sigh. Nope, he wasn’t going to leave her be. “Sorry, can’t. I need to get back home before dark. You know I don’t like driving at night.”

It was the same excuse she had been giving Clay for the past four years. Their conversation could have been recorded, since it usually went the same. Clay would ask her out, she would give him an excuse, he would follow her around trying to change her mind, and she would smile and say maybe another time.

“Hi, Mrs. Patterson, how is Harry?” Abby said to the postal clerk, pushing the green notices toward Alicia Patterson. She had been the postmaster for Shelby probably since the beginning of time and was the number one person to see for any gossip. The woman had to be at least eighty.

“Harry’s fine, dear. Thanks for asking. Are you going to be in town for the festival this year? We so look forward to listening to you sing,” Mrs. Patterson said as she reached under the counter to pull out the boxes. “Strange to be getting men’s clothing in the mail. Haven’t seen any of this since your grandfather passed on. Are you seeing someone, dear?’

Abby gritted her teeth. She should have known Mrs. Patterson would have noticed where the items were coming from. Now everyone in town would know Abby was ordering men’s clothing.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it this year. I have quite a bit of work to do,” Abby said, ignoring Mrs. Patterson’s inquisition.

Abby moved to pick up the boxes, but before she could, Clay grabbed them off the counter, reading the names on them. A dark flush colored his cheeks, and his eyes flashed with anger as he moved toward the door leaving Abby no choice but to follow.

Abby unlocked the door to her truck and opened the extended cab portion so she could slide the packages into it. Clay didn’t say anything until she was done.

“Who are you buying men’s clothes for, Abby?” Clay demanded softly.

Abby frowned at Clay before answering. “That’s really none of your business, Clay.”

Clay grabbed Abby’s arm as she moved to get into her truck. “I think it is. I’ve been asking you out for the past four years, and you will hardly give me the time of day. Who are you buying clothes for?”

Abby sighed. “Clay, I like you as a friend, nothing more. You should know that by now. Please, just leave it at that and find someone else.”

“I don’t want someone else, Abby. I want you. You live up on that damn mountain all alone. It’s not safe. You should move into town.” Clay moved closer to Abby, trapping her between his body and her truck seat. He twirled a long piece of her hair that had come loose between his fingers. “You know I’m attracted to you. Why won’t you give me a chance?”

Abby swallowed hard. Clay had never come on to her quite this aggressively. Before, it was almost a teasing game between them, one Abby had never really taken seriously.

“Clay—” Abby began but was silenced as Clay wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her into him, kissing her deeply.

Abby was so startled by the kiss she didn’t even think to resist. Clay had never tried to kiss her before. Now he was not only kissing her, he was doing it in the middle of the parking lot of the post office. A soft cough behind them caused both of them to jump.

Abby looked over Clay’s shoulder to see Mrs. Patterson grinning as she locked up the post office. Abby blushed. Now, everyone in Shelby and every county within a fifty-mile radius would know the sheriff of Shelby got caught kissing in the parking lot. Abby felt like a teenager getting caught making out.

“I have to go,” Abby muttered, pulling herself into the driver’s seat of her truck. “I still have to get groceries.”

Clay backed up with a grin on his face, tipping his hat to Abby as she pulled out of the parking lot. He had staked his claim on Ms. Abigail Tanner, and he knew Mrs. Patterson would help let everyone know it. Whistling, he walked over to his truck. Abby might not have said she would go out with him, but she had not resisted him when he kissed her. He was off tomorrow, so he might just make a trip up into the mountains.

Abby had forgotten all about the incident with Clay by the time she was winding her way back up her driveway. She was thinking about Zoran and his golden ship. She couldn’t believe that, out of all the places in the world for an alien to land, it was in her own backyard. She wondered what her grandparents would have thought about him.

Abby absently reached up and rubbed the gold around her neck. She could feel the thin gold chain warm under her touch. She knew the creature, or whatever it was, enjoyed it when she rubbed it. It would often try to wrap around her fingers, moving in and out. She was amazed at how fast she had gotten used to it. She wondered what it was like where Zoran and the gold creature came from.

As Abby rubbed the gold necklace around her neck, flashes of images poured into her mind. She saw huge trees and creatures that resembled dragons in Earth’s mythology flying through the air, gold armor covering their bodies. She saw a city of white rising out of the dense forests surrounded by huge walls that towered high into the sky. Large crowds of men and women were strolling about what looked like a market with the gold creatures taking on all kinds of shapes and sizes. She saw what looked like spaceships flying over the city and landing, while others took off. She saw Zoran naked and surrounded by lots of females who were rubbing on him. The gold necklace around her neck seemed to realize it shouldn’t have shown her that image, and it quickly faded away.

“Hey! No fair,” Abby said, sucking in her breath as her heart beat wildly.

She didn’t even realize she was stopped in the middle of the driveway until the last image faded. She felt a wave of pain around her heart at the sight of Zoran naked with so many females. Obviously, he didn’t lack for female attention. She would be damned if she would be one of his harem girls! It wasn’t like it was likely to happen anyway. After all, he wouldn’t be here much longer.

She got the impression his family was on their way to get him. It would be better for both of them if she kept a distance between them. The kiss they shared this morning wasn’t a big deal. Hell, Clay had kissed her too, and it didn’t mean anything to her. She would just have to make sure it didn’t happen again—with either one of them.

Abby finished the drive up the mountain. Try as much as she could, the image of all those women rubbing on Zoran wouldn’t fade from her mind. Abby bit her bottom lip as she prepared herself to face him. She wouldn’t let him know she found him attractive. She would concentrate on her work. She found if she did that it helped. It helped when her grandmother died, and it helped when her grandfather passed on. It would save her from making a fool of herself now.