Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
In other circumstances, Vicky might have been brave enough to invite him home for a sexual tour around the world. The cowardly Ted might have stood her up, but the big Kindred hadn’t appeared to be put off by either her age or her weight. Vicky would have sworn she’d seen real interest in those midnight-blue eyes before everything went to Hell.
“Forget it—he was too young for you, anyway,” she muttered to herself. “In fact, let’s just forget the whole weird evening and take a hot bath and have a glass of white wine.”
Then she remembered the three daiquiris she’d had at the Last Call before Mr. Trouble stepped into her life and decided maybe she’d better have some chilled fruit juice instead—she didn’t want to be hung over tomorrow. Then she further remembered that Valentine’s Day had fallen on a Friday that year and that she’d taken Monday and Tuesday of next week off.
She had a long weekend planned and didn’t have to be back at Woodrow Wilson High School to teach until next Wednesday and also, she’d had a really scary and traumatic night, so she would damn well have the wine if she wanted it!
Feeling justified in her decision, Vicky ran herself a hot bath and added some vanilla and lavender bath salts before pouring herself a half-glass of wine and sitting it by the side of the tub.
The Jacuzzi garden tub Kevin had installed as her tenth anniversary present was, in Vicky’s opinion, the best thing in the whole house—except maybe for the convection oven he’d gotten her for their twelfth anniversary. Always into practical presents, that was her ex. She wondered if his new wife would enjoy unwrapping the latest kitchen appliance for her birthday and Christmas every year.
Hope she’s not expecting a diamond bracelet or a trip to France, Vicky thought as she began removing the shredded Teri Jon dress in the steamy, lavender and vanilla scented bathroom. Because she’s way more likely to get an instapot or a new air fryer.
The steaming tub and the chilled wine looked awfully inviting. Vicky pushed the thoughts of her ex and his new life away and decided she would forget everything that had happened that night and just relax.
But as she slipped out of her best black lacy bra, something heavy fell out of it and landed on her foot.
“Ouch!” Vicky gasped, grabbing her injured right foot and hopping around on the left to try and keep her balance. “What in the world?”
She looked around for whatever had hurt her and saw something glimmering with a faint, golden gleam way back under the bathroom vanity.
Cussing in irritation, Vicky eased herself down on the floor—making sure the fluffy bathmat was between her knees and the cold tiles—and reached under to try and snag whatever it was. Her seeking fingers found it soon enough and she pulled it out and held it cupped in her hands.
“Oh,” she breathed, staring at it. “It’s that thing the Kindred stole from those awful copy/paste twins. The… what did he call it? The Twix-something or other. How could I have forgotten about it?”
How, indeed? Because now that she was looking at it closely, the object in question was completely unforgettable.
It was about the size of a golf ball and appeared to be made of solid gold. There was some kind of language she couldn’t recognize etched on its round sides—Vicky studied it closely and thought it must be some kind of alien alphabet. It certainly wasn’t any Earth language she’d ever seen before.
The artifact wasn’t perfectly round, however—there was a little divot at one end that looked just deep enough to hold about half a teaspoon of liquid. Vicky rubbed the divot with her fingertip experimentally and the golden sides of the little ball-bowl suddenly lit up with rows and rows of tiny, multicolored lights like sparkling gems. The lights threw rainbow patterns on the bathroom walls and ceiling and the large, bay window right beside the bathtub.
“Ohhhh,” Vicky breathed, positively mesmerized by the rainbow light show. What was this Twix-thing, anyway—some kind of alien Christmas ornament? Or something much more special and valuable? Something irreplaceable?
She wondered uneasily if the Varians and the big Kindred would be coming back to find it. But no—she’d left them all in the dust and hadn’t even given the Kindred her first name, let alone her last. Her neighborhood was set far back from Dale Mabry, the busy main road that ran all through Tampa from North to South and it was a complete maze once you got into it. There was no way either the aliens of the Kindred would be able to find her. Right?
“Right,” Vicky told herself firmly as she sank into the steaming tub. She gave a relieved sigh and placed the golden alien bauble—which was still putting on a light show—down on the broad side of the tub. Lifting her wine glass instead, she took a sip and tried to let her nerves unwind. Everything was going to be just fine, she told herself. Everything would be perfect and right now she would just relax and take her bath.