Page 4 of Dallas

“All right. You saved my life. How is that the worst?” He told her. “Yeah, I guess I can see where you didn’t have any idea on how I’d react. Okay, on to the next thing. I’m assuming that it’s going to be something bad too.”

“Yes. And I’m sorrier for this than I am for anything else. Your home was burnt to the ground. The police believe it was your neighbors from across the street for getting the police there. Everything is gone. Even your car was substantially damaged when one of the walls came down on top of it.” That, to her, was devasting. She’d grown up in that house, and while the neighborhood had gone to shit, it had been a good roof over her head for years. “I didn’t make the call, but there are people crawling all over the place to get evidence. I think it might have been my mom, but I’ve not asked her yet.”

“Are you all right?” Amy just turned and looked at him, telling him what she’d been feeling about the house. “I thought that’s what you told me when I got to your door. That you had lived there all your life. It’s been a little foggy with all the other stuff that’s been going on. But the neighborhood was really going to shit there. I don’t doubt that at one time, it was a good place, but it’s no longer safe for anyone to live there that’s not into drugs and murder. The houses on either side of you were burnt, too. The fire marshal is saying that the street will more than likely change now that the people that caused most of the trouble were going to jail for arson and for shooting the two of us.”

“Okay, what else? I don’t know why, but I feel that you’re holding something from me. Something that you’re afraid to tell me. Tell me or don’t, but I’m going to be really pissed if you knew something and should have given me a heads-up about it.” He nodded, then stood up and began pacing. “You’re starting to scare me a little. Tell me, damn it.”

“You didn’t have a cell phone. Or if you did, it was in the house. As I said, my parents pulled some strings and were able to get in touch with your parents. As well as your brother. I hadn’t any idea when we called them who they were.” She laid her head back on the bed and closed her eyes. If her parents were coming, then— “They arrived yesterday afternoon. Not your brother. He, of course, isn’t able to leave right now. I have to admit, I was pissed off at them for not taking better care that you were safe, but they said it was your idea to lay low. But my parents have invited them to—”

“Calm down, will you please. You’re jumping all over the place for no reason whatsoever.” He sat down and stared at her. Amy took in a deep breath and looked at him. “It’s never been a part of my life. Not his political stance nor what my parents do to keep him in office. Not that they do all that much to keep him there, but he, I think, at least he’s doing a good job. They do help me out when I need it, and there are times when they just step in. But me living where I am…or was, I guess, kept me from having to have the Secret Service around me all the time. Can you imagine me trying to get anything—you would never have been able to approach me at the zoo had I had it out there who I was related to. Hell, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get into the zoo without everyone being aware of my visit as well as anything else that happened that day. Right?”

“I guess so.” She sighed heavily. “What do you suppose he’s going to say, or for that matter, what your parents are going to say when I tell them that I belong to you.”

“You don’t belong to me. No one belongs to anyone at this point. I’m just a person who just happens to be the sister to the President of the free world.” He laughed. “Yeah, laugh it up, buddy. He’s not here right now, so you have no idea what sort of person he can be. I love him to pieces. My parents, too, but they’re very different than I am. As in, they have money. I don’t. I could, don’t get me wrong. But I like living…well, that’s not true. I don’t care for living paycheck to paycheck. But I dislike living in a bubble like they do even more. I don’t want to be on stage every time I leave my house. I like the freedom that I have, thank you very much. Which brings me to you. I’m not going to be your mate if you try to take what freedom I have chiseled out for myself away from me. I’ll have you murdered in your sleep if you try it.”

He started to speak but stiffened up. “Your parents are coming down the hall. I’ve not told them I’m a shifter yet. I only told them that I was with you when you were hurt.” He stood up as the door opened and turned toward it. “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Parkerson. I didn’t expect you until later this afternoon.”

“We couldn’t wait to see our little girl. She has it in her head that she’s not worthy of being Jamie’s sister or some nonsense. Come here, baby. Let me have a hug.” She could tell that Dallas was uncomfortable. She was, as well. But getting a hug from both Mom and Dad made her feel emotional, so she didn’t speak. “You’re too skinny, Amy. I’ve told you this before. You need to eat better.”

“I eat just fine, Mom. Stop fussing with me.” She looked up at Dallas when her parents sat down. “I take it you’ve met Dallas Dixon. And his family. That’s more than I have, I guess. Where are you guys staying?”

“The cutest little bed and breakfast in town. I’m so glad we’re not at a hotel. They get to be such a drag when that’s all you can see is the same four walls. This one has such lovely wallpaper that I’m going to ask the owner where she got it before we leave. Raymond, do say something.” Dad told her that she’d not stopped since they walked in. “Don’t be rude either. Dallas, darling, what is your relationship with my daughter? I know you’re a shifter. But that’s about all.”

“I’m a gorilla. My family is. I have six brothers and a sister. The oldest brother and sister are from my father’s first marriage, but we consider them to be our brother and sister too. Patrick and Beth are both married and have families of their own. We see them a few times a year at the bigger holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.” Dallas looked at her. “I’m mate to Amy. We only figured that out the other day when she was hurt. Well, both of us were hurt.”

“A gorilla, are you? I don’t know that…well, I suppose it’s something that I’ve never thought of. Not that it matters. Congratulations.” Dad looked at her as he continued talking to Dallas. “Perhaps you can talk her into coming out of the woodwork and be a part of the family with us. I know that I’d feel a good deal better with her having protection. Especially after what happened the other day. Not that I’m saying you can’t protect her, but this happening only makes me more worried for her being out there on her own.”

“I like my freedom as much as she does, sir. Also, you should know that it wouldn’t be up to me to have her do anything that she doesn’t want to. If she wants something, I will move heaven and earth to get it for her. Otherwise, she is the one that will decide, on her own, what she wants to do or not.” She stared at Dallas. Some pod person had switched out his body or something. This was not the man that she’d met at the zoo the other day. He looked at her and smiled. “I can read your mind, and I’ve had a long talk with myself, and I was a rude bastard that shouldn’t have ever done the things that I did nor said to you. I’m profoundly sorry.”

“I’m assuming that I can talk to you like this, too.” Dallas nodded and told her that she could. “I want you to know that I’m not in the least bit happy with you right now. My parents are pushy, and they can wear down the hardest diamond in the world when they want something.” He laughed and then covered it with a cough. “Laugh it up. But I’m telling you the truth. Unless you want your life exposed, they’re going to get what they want.”

“I’m stronger than they are.” Dallas looked at her parents when she did. “My family is having a dinner tonight in honor of me being Amy’s mate. If you’d like to join us, Mom said to invite you. All of my family will be there, including my niece and nephews. I don’t know what we’re having, but I’m positive that it’ll be delicious.”

“That would be lovely. I think that would be a wonderful way to meet everyone. Jamie, of course, won’t be able to make it, I’m sure, but we’ll tell him about it. Perhaps he can sneak away for a little while.” Great, Amy thought. Her brother there to put more pressure on her. Smiling at her mom when she looked at her, Amy knew she wasn’t fooling her. Mom was worse than Dad about getting things that she wanted. “You, young lady, will rest up and behave yourself. No giving your brother a hard time just because you can.”

“But it’s what I live for.” Mom tsked at her, and Dad laughed. “Dad, you know that the house burnt to the ground. I’m sure you had insurance on it, but if you don’t mind, I think we should hold onto the property for a while. I have a feeling that, according to the police that since the drug cartel is out of there, there might be a renovation to the entire street, and it’ll be worth more in a couple of years.”

“That’s a good plan, but you know that we don’t really need the money.” She nodded and then glanced at Dallas. “I take it she didn’t tell you anything about her life, young man.”

“It’s not like we’ve had a great deal of time to spend with each other. Much less talk about our lives.” Dallas looked at her. “She and I will have a long time to get to know each other, and I will be glad for whatever she shares with me.”

She snorted, and her mother tsked at her again. The nurse came into the room just as her mom looked as if she was going to say something to her. They were releasing her to go home with Dallas so that she’d have a place to rest up.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she’d just get herself a hotel, but that, she knew, would cause trouble. And right now, she didn’t need anything else to be talked about. There was plenty of it, too.

Like how very little they knew about each other, there was the money that her parents had. Jamie and his wife, Carol, with their two kids, living in the White House. She didn’t want to get into any of it but knew that, on some level, it was going to be impossible to ignore it all.

As soon as she was dressed, her mom and dad told her that they were headed to the hotel again and would meet them later. Mrs. Dixon had been thrilled that her parents were going to come for dinner and all she could think about was that they weren’t going to be thrilled when they met them. After her parents left, she went to the bathroom before leaving. Dallas was standing by the bed when she came out of the little room.

“You seem tense. Is everything all right?” She told him that she was tense and nothing was all right. “It’ll be fine. My parents are used to big crowds of people. They’ve been around us for our whole life.”

“It’s not that. I guess if we have to make this work, I thought that we could talk a little bit before it came to meeting our parents. I mean, I’m sure yours are normal.” He said that they were all gorillas, so normal went out the door the moment they were born. “Okay, normal might not have been the word that I should have used. But they are different than my parents. Especially since they’re just humans. Is that what you call non-shifters? I haven’t any idea.”

“Yes, humans. I want to tell you, however, you’re not human anymore. I’ll explain in more detail when we have time, but for now, you were enhanced the moment that I claimed you.” She nodded, distracted too much to think about what he was saying. “Something else is bothering you. What is it? I can deal with it better if I know.”

“It’s about money. I won the lottery about six years ago. It was my eighteenth birthday, and to celebrate, I bought my first, well, my first legally gotten lottery ticket. It was one of the biggest jackpots ever. I won it with some other person, but it was a big enough cash payout that I ended up with nearly a billion dollars.” She watched as he sat down, grabbing for the mattress when he nearly slipped off onto the floor. “I have learned a great deal since I won and have been…are you all right? You look a little green.”

“You said about six years ago?” Nodding, she sat down when he asked her to. “It was my mom. You shared the jackpot with my mom. Christ, it is a small world, isn’t it? We, my mom was an investment attorney when she won it and has turned it into a great deal more money than we started with. Amy, this is the most—I can’t believe this.”

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