Did I ever tell you I'm part alien?
Which part, you may ask.
It's the part that sets off those theft detection alarms in
stores.
I'd rather have the part that gives me supernatural powers -
like becoming invisible, or reading your mind, or causing my posts to go viral.
But no, I merely set off detection alarms.
Last weekend, I was leaving J Crew with a couple of
large bags full of merchandise. The store was very crowded and when the alarm
nabs you, it's not fun times. The security guys comes over and asks if I bought
jewelry. This is akin to asking if the Pope is Catholic, because I am standing
there with three teenage girls. Of course I bought jewelry!
He checks the jewelry. That's not the problem. Then he has
to take every item out of every bag to check for the security tags. I know he
won't find them, and he doesn't. Although he doesn't find or fix any problem,
he waves the bags by the door and the alarm is silent. (No surprise there,
because he is not an alien.) However, the alarm likes me now that it has
embarrassed me, so it lets me go at this point without shrieking its
displeasure.
On we go to The Gap. I try to enter and the alarm is
activated immediately. I scurry back out and decide to take my bags to the car.
The alarm screams its displeasure when I return, empty-handed. So when I'm
checking out, I warn the clerk that the alarm will go off when I exit, even
though one of my kids will carry the bags. Surprise. The alarm system has been
mollified by my embarrassed explanation to the clerk, and it is silent when I
depart.
You see, the fun part for my inner alien is catching me off
guard. I can go weeks never setting off an alarm. Then on some days, I'm viewed
as a criminal caught in the act wherever I go. I've entered stores wearing
nothing more than a t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, with another family member
carrying my purse ahead of me. The guard can see that I couldn't possibly be
stealing anything (aside from the fact that I'm entering the store, not
exiting). Yet, the alarm is screeching like Satan himself has just walked in.
It's so bad that one day I left Macy's with a dress for my
daughter that had the security tag still on it because the clerk had forgotten
to remove it. But no one stopped me so I continued on my merry way despite the
fact that the alarm was blaring. That was super-annoying when I had to return
to the store to get the tag removed!!!
It's embarrassing. It never gets less so. I've been stopped
everywhere from Wal-Mart to Kate Spade. I don't want to be an alien. So that's
why I only admit to being in "my alien phase" on those days when the
security systems and I are simply not getting along.
Does anyone else have this happen (please?)?
The USA Today bestselling author of award-winning Scottish historical romance. Her favorite pastime is exploring Scotland, and taking photos along the way. She also enjoys creating hot, Highland heroes and spirited lasses to drive them mad. She lives in the mountains of North Carolina where she is crafting another Scottish story. Please visit her website at www.vondasinclair.com
USA Today Bestseller and Award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, to include personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses. Originally from California, she’s lived in eight states and now resides in the heart of Texas. She is the author of Heart of the Wolf (Publishers Weekly's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR), Destiny of the Wolf, To Tempt the Wolf, Legend of the White Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf, Wolf Fever, Heart of the Highland Wolf, Dreaming of the Wolf, The Highland Wolf in Paradise, Deadly Liaisons (vampire romantic suspense), Winning the Highlander’s Heart, The Accidental Highland Hero, A Ghost of a Chance at Love (Time Travel Western Romance), The Vampire…In My Dreams (young adult), Deidre’s Secret (young adult) and numerous articles and short stories for magazines.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Gwyneth Carswell, an English lady banished by her father to the harsh Scottish Highlands, wants nothing more than to take her young son away from the violence of two fighting clans--her own distant kin, the MacIrwins, and their enemies, the MacGraths. She risks everything to rescue the fierce MacGrath warrior from the battlefield where he’s left for dead by her clan. She only knows she is inexplicably drawn to him and he wants peace as she does. When her clan learns of her betrayal, they seek vengeance. Dare she trust the enemy more than her own family? 
