Page 302 of Nobody's Girl

“Be afraid, Laura, be very afraid. The self-defense session with him was nothing. Workouts with Beck are a whole different thing.” she tells me in a mock spooky voice as she leads me out to the living room and out the suite’s door. “See you in twenty minutes.”

CHAPTER 58

ALYSSA

The pilot’s voice tells us we’re about to land, so Eden and I go take our seats. “See, Alyssa, it’s not always horrible,” Eden tells me as we get into the car that’s taking us to Kyle and Laura’s new place.

He also showed me a bit about how Kyle liked both Laura and I when we were all fifteen. His best friend, Cody, got in his ear and told him once he’d kissed me the decision was made.

It made me see our whole relationship in a new light, one where he felt he’d messed up his chance with Laura, so he just stayed with me.

Not quite the love story I’ve always had in my head!

Eden had a dream about how Laura will be initiated into The Phoenix Foundation and we flew up to surprise them with what they’ve been given. I’m not happy about the drama of sneaking away and making them think we’re kidnapped to get them here.

We pull up to a large gate, quite a ways from the airport in Austin, Texas. The driver pushes a button and it opens. We drive up the long driveway, which is lined with tall pine trees. The house finally comes into view. It’s a huge, log-cabin-style house.

“Laura is going to lose it when she sees this place. I know Kyle will love it. It’s torture, the panic we’ve put them in, but I think they both will feel like it was well worth it when they see this,” I say.

“The decorators have almost finished their bedroom and it looks like everything has been done out by the pool. It should only be a few more hours, then they should be here. Dad told me they took off several hours ago in your car, right after they were told about the abduction,” Eden tells me.

“That’s the only thing I feel badly about. The lying doesn’t feel really right,” I say.

“I suppose it’s a test to see if they’re really capable of being our guardians. Maybe you could look at it like that, Alyssa,” he tells me.

“I’ll try,” I say.

The front door opens as Linda Banks comes in, followed by a bunch of people carrying boxes and bags. “Eden and Mrs. Fontaine, it’s so nice to see you again,” she calls out to us.

Eden takes my hand, leading me to her. I find it incredible that I feel fine about her now, since Laura helped me to see I don’t have any reason to be jealous.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Linda,” Eden tells her, then points up the stairs. “Their room is the door at the end of the hallway at the top of the stairs. You can have your staff take their things up there.”

I smile at her. “Hello again, Linda. Thank you so much for doing all of this for my friends. And call me Alyssa, please.”

“Well, it is my job, Alyssa. Besides that, I’m happy to do it.”

I can see she’s nothing but a professional in front of her staff. “Okay, we’ll I’ll let you get to work then.”

She hurries off to get working. I turn to look at Eden to find him beaming down at me. “What?”

“You’ve come a long way, baby,” he laughs,  then kisses the top of my head.

“I told you Laura helped me get over the jealousy thing. Anyway, Linda acted very differently this time. Much more professional. She also kept her hands to herself, which I liked.”

Eden looks at me quizzically. “So if she had run up and hugged me, then you wouldn’t have taken that so well?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I really don’t know.”

He shakes his head back and forth slowly. “Alyssa, you are such a mystery. I never know what to expect from you.”

“That’s exactly how I like it,” I tell him as we walk out to the patio in the back of the house.

The sky is beginning to show signs of the sun setting. Oranges, reds, and yellows fill the sky. The air is beginning to cool. The pool looks beautiful and inviting. The waterfall adds a dramatic effect that I know Laura will love.

“Eden, do you really think they’ll like this place?”

“Uh, hell yes they will. Not only is it close to where Kyle’s going to go to college in the fall, but there are twenty acres for him to do whatever he wants with them.  This place has everything. A pool, a giant back yard for the kids they will have someday, a game room, and even a recording studio in the basement. Not to mention the completely badass four-wheel-drive Ford truck and the Mercedes SUV in the four-car garage. It’s not really a gamble, Alyssa.”