The Rise of the Omarlo Clan. Rosylan McCallum

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СКАЧАТЬ over a woman stumbling down the road. As he passed, he saw the woman bring her fist to her mouth and stop. He stopped the truck, checked on the twins, and got out. It was obvious to him that the woman needed help. She was out in the night, stumbling down the road, and looking the worst for wear as if she had unsuccessfully fought off an attacker.

      He walked over to her and asked what had happened. She was distraught and incoherent. She then screamed and cowered as he reached for her arm to keep her from falling. She must think he was her attacker. Drak used the mind link to calm her down, and then she was able to tell him her story. Tank Hanling, a guy she had been introduced to several weeks ago as a friend of her cousin’s family, saw her in town and offered her a lift home. Her cousin had told her to call when she needed to be picked up, but against her better judgment, she accepted the lift. She figured this would save her cousin a trip.

      They had just passed the town limits when Tank pulled over onto the side of the road and attempted to rape her. She fought back and managed to get out of the truck and run down the road back toward town. He swore at her and started up the truck to come after her, but hearing another vehicle coming, he did another U-turn and took off down the road to make his getaway. Drak removed the hysteria and changed the memory to a less-aggressive assault. He looked around and knew that he could not leave her on the road, so he put her into his truck and drove off.

      The boys were still asleep when they reached the farm. Drak carried both boys, one at a time from the truck and put them to bed. The woman had fallen asleep and also had to be carried into the house. She looked so peaceful. He did not have the heart to wake her up to find out where she lived. He put her on the couch and covered her with a blanket. He then carried his purchases into the house and gratefully found his bed.

      The next morning, the woman awoke to find that she was in a strange but pleasant room. She vaguely remembered that some unpleasantness had happened to her the night before. Hearing the sound of children’s voices, she got up to see who the people of the house were and to thank them for assisting her. The boys had seen the woman on the couch and had questioned Drak about her presence in their house. Drak’s response had been as little information as possible. He told them it was late at night, the woman was in the road and needed a ride. She fell asleep before telling him where she lived. As she entered the kitchen, three smiling faces looked up at her from the breakfast table, and Anya Hogane was hooked.

      Anya had always been straightforward in her dealings with people, “Hello, I am Anya Hogane. So are you then the new family that I have heard about who moved into the area two months ago? I seem to be a little fuzzy on what happened last night.” She looked at Drak. “I must have you to thank.”

      “It needs no thanking. It was late at night and I could see that you needed help. I couldn’t just leave you out there alone at night. Anything could happen.”

      “Well, yes what you say is true but thanks anyway. Do you mind if I can contact my cousin? I live with her and need to let her know I am okay.”

      “Sure. No problem the vidcom is in the great room where you slept.”

      The twins immediately zeroed in on the word “help.” Something had happened while they were asleep the night before.

      They asked, “Drak can we be excused from the table.” They got an okay and went to linger around Anya while she made the call. Their intention was to listen in on the conversation. They knew asking Drak for more details would be a lost cause. He had already informed them that it was grown-up business, which meant no more questions. They were rewarded with hearing some of the details of what had happened. Someone had attempted to hurt her, and Drak had saved the day.

      Anya, not one to stand on pretensions, saw an opportunity that she could use to her advantage and so returned to the kitchen with the twins trailing her. “Look, I know that this may seem strange coming from a complete stranger, but I can see that you can use my help. I am not saying that things aren’t neat or clean because I can see that they are, but I can also see what you are eating . . .”

      Drak was caught off guard and was without, for the first time that the twins knew, anything to say. He just sat there.

      “The way I see it, we can help each other. It’s really a unique opportunity,” pressed Anya as she looked at Drak and the boys.

      She proposed becoming their full-time live-in housekeeper. She explained that she recently moved in with her cousin, but their place was small. She had been in town all day without success looking for a job. He had two small sons and a farm; surely he could use the help. Drak had looked her over and could see that she was well-spoken, which meant educated as well as a fine figure of a woman. So he agreed to let her work on a trail basis. The one stipulation was that each night he would see that she was returned to her cousin’s place.

      By the end of the month, Drak knew in more ways than one that he could no longer do without her help. The decision was made, and she moved in and became a part of their household. Drak felt himself fortunate to have Anya appear in their lives so soon after their arrival. He couldn’t believe how well she fit in with their routine. The twins soon learned she brooked no foolishness from them but had a soft spot for flattery and chocolates. It was Anya who registered the boys in the local school. As the years passed, everyone around knew who ran their household, and all wondered when Drak would pop the question.

      With the memory of the attack reduced to an annoying thought, Anya never filed a report with the authorities. Drak, however, made it his business, unknown to Anya or the boys, to cross paths with Tank Hanling. Whenever Tank’s name came up, it was remembered that he had very suddenly left town; some said even the planet. The only other residual effect Anya had was the pleasant feeling of gratefulness that she had for Drak. She somehow knew it came from more than his having made a place for her in his household. She gave up trying to determine why she felt as she did because the reason was always just beyond her recall. Drak always knew when she was trying to recapture the memory because she would look intently at him. He in turn simply sent <forget>.

      Anya turned out to be of great assistance in enabling Drak to settle in. She explained the meaning of the forms he had, which proved him to be the owner of the farm. She registered the twins into the local youth organizations. As the years passed and they grew older, they began to tease Drak about his relationship with Anya. The twins knew that he had strong feelings for her, and she for him. However, Drak never gave Anya any sign of wanting or needing marriage. Anya had no problem with it and accepted the fact that marriage between them was not possible. Both gave the twins the same lecture when they became too demanding in wanting to know why their household was the way it was.

      It bothered them that Drak and Anya were the only parents they could remember; yet they did not call them by anything other than their actual names. They were told that theirs was a unique household, therefore the use of first names. Drak and Anya also reinforced that it was better to have an ongoing liaison rather than a binding union, especially when neither desired to produce children. Raising two were enough.

      Eventually the boys let it go and accepted Drak as Drak and Anya as Anya in their lives. Johan and Collin never called them “Mom” or “Pop,” but the affection that they developed for the two was on the same par as any that would be felt for biological parents. Anya ruled over all issues concerning deportment, cleanliness, assignment of household chores, and learning the rudiments of cooking and taking personal care of the house. Drak controlled the twins’ education as well as development of their combat skills.

      These drills began when the twins turned seven. At first, Anya questioned this aspect of their learning. She periodically asked, “Aren’t they the sons of a farmer? Why such intense needs to develop combat skills? Why start this at such a young age?” Anya’s questions went unanswered, and she saw that Drak remained firm on his sense of duty. Anya, СКАЧАТЬ