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He went to work, making her hot chocolate in a small carafe. He moved with a masculine grace, pushing up the sleeves of his jacket and showing off muscular forearms.
She needed to focus on why she was really here. To look for her biological father and find out if he was as awful as her mom had been. “I’m good. Are you from around here? I’m looking for a man named Mel Hughes. Do you know him?”
He stopped what he was doing, and for a moment she expected his demeanor to change, to go from friendly to cold as some others had done. He stood there, his hand on the carafe as it made a frothing sound, and then it was as though he’d committed to a path. His eyes lit up as he turned her way. “Sure do.”
She was surprised at how relieved she was at his answer. “Really? Because I got the feeling this was a very small town. The kind where everyone knows everyone else, and you are the first person to know him.”
He waved that off. “Oh, they’re all lying because Mel’s a little on the crazy-as-fuck side and it’s easier to lie than to have to tranq him. It’s okay. I’ve been told Doc Burke is excellent at putting him down with the first shot. He’s had a lot of practice.”
The guy talked pretty fast. Had she missed something? “I’m sorry, what?”
“Do you want whipped cream?” he asked. “I’m putting in an extra shot of Bailey’s because you’re going to need it if you’re looking for Mel. Are you from the government?”
She was finally getting somewhere. “No. Why would you think I’m from the government?”
“Because Mel came by and said someone from the government was looking for him. Military, in particular.”
“I used to be in the military,” she explained. “I’ve been a civilian for the last two years. Why would the government be looking for Mr. Hughes?”
One big shoulder shrugged as he passed her the mug. Even through the gloves on her hands, she could feel the warmth of the hot chocolate. “No idea. I’m fairly new to town, but Mel is known as something of a character around these parts.”
“Everyone’s acting like they don’t know him.” It kind of hurt. She knew it wasn’t, but it felt like rejection. That redhead had seemed pretty nice, but she’d lied to her. “Does he not come into town often?”
“Oh, he’s always around. He was here earlier to place the alien tree.”
“The alien tree?” Maybe this guy was fucking with her.
“Yeah. It’s the one with the beets. I didn’t hear all of it. Something about the Reticulan Greys using the holidays as a mating season. Or it was some other alien. I don’t know. I was setting up at the time. You were a soldier?”
He was confusing her a bit. “Yes. I was. What is a… What did you call it?”
The handsome man crossed his arms over his chest. “Reticulan Grey. It’s a type of alien. Think little green men except taller, scarier, grayer. It’s what most people think of when they think about alien abduction, which is a big thing with Mel. He’s very much against it, if you know what I mean.”
“I do not.” She was fairly certain she didn’t know what anything meant right now.
“I only know about it because I spent half a year in a commune in Arizona that was dedicated to helping survivors of alien abductions renormalize to the human world,” he explained. “My dad was absolutely certain he had an alien encounter, but he finally figured out he’d mistakenly taken some peyote. According to him he thought it was an herbal blend for anxiety, but let me tell you it did not work. Once he figured out it was the peyote and we were probably alone in the universe, we moved on to California. I had an interesting childhood.”
It seemed he had. She was still confused. “Why would everyone tell me they haven’t seen him?”
“I told you about the tranquilizer darts, right?”
She nodded.
“There you go.” He looked up and gestured at someone behind her. “Max, come here.” He sighed. “Please. I don’t think she’s here to take the old guy in. She’s not from the government.”
“Which is what she would say if she was from the government,” a deep voice said.
One of the two men she’d seen with the redhead was suddenly beside her. He was a very attractive man with brown hair threaded through with red and gold. He was slightly taller than she was and had a well-kept beard. Just like the other one. She glanced back and the man’s twin was playing in the snow with the girl she’d seen him with earlier. One wore a dark coat, and the man beside her was in a khaki-colored coat. She wondered which one was the father of the kids.
