Fates Altered: A Halven Rising Prequel

After leaving Theda with his sister-in-law, Alex stepped out onto the porch—and ran into Old Bob, whose neck was craned as he peered in through the front window just as Leti had moments before.

“Who ya got in there? She’s not living with you, is she?” Alex hesitated a second too long. Old Bob frowned. “Can’t let someone move in just because she has the looks of an angel. She needs a rental application. I need to see her credit report. Could be a devil of a girl hiding beneath all them blonde, pretty looks.”

Alex mentally rolled his eyes. This was the reason he and his father had taken over running the estate these last ten years. As he’d aged, Old Bob lost some of his sanity and had grown too paranoid. Over everything. But the man meant well and had been extremely good to Alex.

How was he supposed to explain Theda to him? She wasn’t his girlfriend or his wife…

But she could be. For simplicity’s sake. “She’s—my girlfriend. I’m paying the rent, but Theda’s living with me.”

Alex had never lived with a woman, and it had been a while since he’d had a girlfriend, but he couldn’t kick Theda out. This seemed like the best solution. She didn’t want people to know where she came from, and Old Bob wouldn’t understand someone living with Alex who wasn’t one of three things: a roommate, a girlfriend, or a wife. If Alex said she was a roommate, Old Bob would insist on a background check. He couldn’t say she was his wife, because of the whole life commitment issue, so that left him one option. Of course, he needed to convince Theda that pretending to be his girlfriend was a good idea.

How had one innocent trip to his tool shed resulted in this?

His family depended on him, and he had a plan: take over his father’s responsibilities on the farm and become Old Bob’s right-hand man, securing his family’s lodging and a place for his father to retire. He would also be able to make sure his brother had steady income, since Tony was a bit of a wild card, and their father would be secure with the small pension Old Bob promised to provide.

“Your girlfriend?” Old Bob said disbelievingly. “Since when do you have a girlfriend?”

Alex frowned. It had been two years since his last girlfriend, but he’d been busy holding down the farm. “Point is, I’ve got one now. A shipment came in and I need to meet up with one of the foremen. Are we good here, or do you want to meet Theda?” Please say no, please say no…

Old Bob kicked the porch railing with the heel of his boot, as though testing its strength. “Maybe some other time. I gotta get going too. Just came by to tell you that I spoke to your father. This summer would be a good time to transfer over his last responsibilities to you.” Old Bob’s gaze grew wary as he peered once more into the living room. “You think you’re up to it? Don’t have anything burdening you that would prevent you from running the farm?”

“No, sir. I’m ready to take over. Thank you.”

“Good, well”—he held out his hand—“congratulations. Just make sure to stay on the straight and narrow. I don’t mind your brother working for me, but I don’t trust him to run the place. Wouldn’t want to see you doing some of the stupid stuff that kid has done over the years.”

Unfortunately, Tony’s reputation preceded him. “Tony has changed since he married Leti and had a son. He’s a responsible family man now.” When he isn’t dragging me to bars.

Old Bob frowned with the side of his mouth. “Right, well, I better be off.” He turned and hobbled down the steps, taking them slow with his bowed legs. Though once he hit the dirt drive, he kicked it up a notch, his pace faster than you’d think for a man of his age.

Everything would be fine. Theda could pretend to be his girlfriend until she got back on her feet.

How much trouble could one woman be?

Alex returned home exhausted from working a ten-hour day, but anxious to see how Theda was doing. He found her sitting quietly on the couch and looking oddly right in his home. He toed off his work boots. “How was your day?”

She stood and glanced down. Her hands twisted together, though her chin remained tilted up. “Leti gave me clothes.”

He took in what she was wearing for the first time. She had on slim jeans that narrowed to the middle of her calves and a simple navy T-shirt that highlighted the paleness of her hair, pulled from its braid and spilling over her shoulder.

He swallowed. Theda was beautiful in regular jeans and a t-shirt that hugged her slim curves. Lord help him if she ever dressed to impress.

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to call her his girlfriend.

They would need to look like a couple to everyone on the outside. Which meant spending time together. Touching. “You look great,” he said, his voice deep and scratchy from his throat having gone dry.

Her cheeks pinkened and she glanced toward the kitchen. “Leti also showed me where to put the dishes.”

Alex had been in such a rush to get away from Leti and her questions this morning that he’d left breakfast on the table. “Thanks. I’ll make us something for dinner. Pizza okay?”

She blinked, her face blank.

For a moment, he got the feeling she didn’t know what pizza was, but that was crazy. “Feel free to turn on the TV while I get it ready.”

He moved into the kitchen and grabbed a frozen cheese pizza from the freezer. He added extra cheese, sausage, and bell peppers while the oven heated. After a minute, he glanced up and saw Theda staring at the dark TV, biting her lip.

“Let me get that for you. There are a couple of different remotes. I should have shown you how to use them.”

Alex walked over and grabbed the two remote controls. He turned on the television and flipped through channels. What would a girl like Theda watch? Not that he knew what kind of person she was, since she wouldn’t share anything about herself. He sighed. Sports weren’t typically high on most women’s lists, which was what he’d normally select. Instead, he chose a popular reality dating show. Not something he’d normally watch, but the women on the farm were always talking about the latest episode.

He handed the controls to Theda and went to check on the pizza. When he turned around, she had taken a seat on the couch. Alex joined her and sat beside her—but not too close. No need to act like a couple when no one was around.

She stared at the screen. “What are those men doing with that woman?”

“Dating her? This is that show where a bunch of guys vie for the attention of one girl. She picks the men she likes, and gets rid of the rest.”

“She is with…all of them?”

He chuckled. Theda really hadn’t seen this show? She must have been living under a rock. “Not all of them. Well, maybe for a while. She dates several of them, letting one or more go home at the end of each episode, until only one man is left. Then they decide if they want to get married.”

Theda held up her hand. “The woman decides whom she marries?”

Alex stared at the side of her face. The look she held was one of astonishment. “That’s usually how it’s done, reality show or not.” He was beginning to truly worry about where she came from and how they’d treated her.

She glanced down and fidgeted with her new top. “Oh yes. Of course. I’ve just never watched this one before.”

Of course. But Alex didn’t believe it.

The buzzer for the pizza went off, preventing him from asking the probing questions he wanted to address. He pulled the pan from the oven with a towel and cut the pizza into slices, still thinking about Theda and what she might have been through. Of what could have forced a young woman to leave her home and sleep in a shed.

He loaded two plates with pizza and grabbed a couple of beers, then set the food and drinks on the coffee table.

She smiled. “Thank you.”

They watched the dating show and drank their beers in relative silence, Alex only moving to grab another beer.

“Why would the woman choose that man?” she said indignantly.

He shook his head and chuckled. The guy the girl had chosen was a douche. “Who knows? His sculpted pecs?” he said. Theda’s eyes dropped to Alex’s chest and his smile died.

Her cheeks went rosy as her gaze moved from his chest to his shoulders and arms.

He took a deep swig of his beer. Theda shouldn’t look at him like that. She really, really shouldn’t. What was she trying to do? Get him to kiss her? Because it was working. He wanted to kiss her. And she appeared completely unaware of the response her heated looks had on him.

He stood and grabbed their plates, finishing off his beer at the sink while he attempted to get his body to cool down. He wasn’t the aggressive caveman type. But right now, he felt like one… “Theda, it’s getting late. I don’t mean to make you move, but you’re sort of sitting on my bed.”

“Oh.” She stood quickly. “I’m sorry. I’ll return to the bedroom. Thank you for the pizza and the dating show.”

And now he felt like an ass. She was sweet. He needed to stop thinking about kissing her. It was that damn conversation with Old Bob this morning about how long it had been since he’d dated anyone. Which reminded him…

“One more thing before you head back. I—uh—sort of told my landlord that you’re my girlfriend. He wouldn’t understand why someone was living with me unless I came up with a good reason. He started asking questions about where you came from, and I know you’re not comfortable talking about that right now. I hope that was okay?”

“Yes, but what is—that is to say—what do you mean, your girlfriend?”

He held up his hands. “Oh, it’s not what you’re thinking. We’ll just pretend we’re like those people on the dating show. We might need to go on dates, or hold hands sometimes when people are around. That sort of thing.”

Her brow furrowed.

Shit. He felt as sleazy as the douche on the show. “I’m sorry. It’s the only way, unless you want to have my landlord run a background check on where you came from—”

She quickly shook her head before he could finish. “I am a girl who holds your hand from time-to-time,” she said slowly. “Yes, that will be fine.”

“Also, we might want to tell my family that you’re my girlfriend too. Could be the safest explanation all around. After we found you in the shed, Tony was halfway to believing you are anyway. My brother has a big mouth. I wouldn’t put it past him to let the truth slip.” Alex had dodged his brother all day to avoid talking about Theda, and it hadn’t been easy.

“I understand.”

He meant to turn away, but his gaze landed on her mouth instead. Even if it was just handholding, the thought of touching Theda had his mind going in the wrong direction.

“Good night,” she said.

“Good night,” he answered after the door had already closed.

This was a bad idea. But he’d committed to helping her, and he’d keep his word.