"Oh," was all I could think to say to that...so that's all I said.
His dad pointed out a couple cows that were expecting as we reached the edge of the herd. I ran my hand along the extended belly and smiled as the tiny creature inside moved slightly at my touch. I giggled again and stood up as Teren shook his head at my enjoyment. I pointed back to the pregnant cows as we started heading back towards the jeep.
"Do you ever name them?"
Jack laughed, a hearty booming sound, and Teren patted a cow's back as we walked by it. "Sure. This one's Tuesday," Teren said merrily.
I twisted my lips. "Nice."
Teren laughed with his dad. "We try not to personalize the food. It's not as enjoyable to eat, if it has a name."
"I'll keep that in mind," I muttered under my breath, and Teren grinned, so I knew he'd heard me.
Jack didn't and added, "Teren used to name them when he was a boy."
Teren sighed. "Dad."
Jack laughed and ignored him. "He named half Geraldine and half Bessie."
I laughed with Jack this time as Teren scowled at the both of us. I nudged him in the ribs. "Well, weren't you cute?"
Feeling more comfortable with Jack than say, Halina, I asked him, "What do you do with the cows the girls...eat?"
Very matter-of-factly he answered, "We butcher them and sell the meat, well, the meat that we don't use for ourselves or for the guys that help us out a few times a year. Adams Ranch is well known for high quality beef, and our cows are highly sought after." He smiled wide with pride. "We have the best steaks in three counties."
I smiled too. "Yes. Yes you do."
He gently patted me on the back as we reached the fence again. "I think you'll fit in just fine here, Emma."
After the tour, Jack cooked us some burgers and we ate on the back patio, enjoying the sunny day and the slight breeze. Alanna popped out with refreshing lemonades and stayed to sit in her husband's lap for a minute, making Teren roll his eyes in an adorable expression of embarrassment. Then she started shifting uncomfortably and excused herself, going back inside the house. I started wondering about this house of vampires, and what mythic rules applied to them, since they seemed to be ignoring all the rules I'd ever heard of. I thought about asking Teren, but he was enjoying a quiet conversation with his dad, so I figured I could ask him later.
Jack needed to fix one of the Jeeps, so Teren volunteered to help him, after making sure I'd be fine by myself for awhile. I assured him I would be, and gave him a lingering kiss before pushing him away to bond with his father. He seemed to really enjoy the guy time, and I wondered why he didn't visit more often. In the four weeks we'd been together he hadn't come out here once, and by the sound of Alanna's greeting yesterday, his last visit had been quite some time before that.
Back inside the house and wondering what I should do, I ran into Alanna at the stairs. "Alann...Mom, is there anything I can help you with today? Teren's fixing a Jeep..."
She smiled, and for just the slightest second, her pale eyes were almost sad. The look was gone before I could be sure, though. She wrapped her arm around mine and we started walking up the stairs. "No, dear. You're a guest here, and we get everything done that needs to be." She winked at me and grinned in a way that reminded me of her son. "Sometimes being really fast is very convenient."
I grinned too, as I thought about how much fun it would be to zip around on overdrive. She probably got more things done around the ranch before noon, all by herself, than a team of handymen could get done in a day. Girl power indeed.
"Why don't you spend some time relaxing by the pool? It's quiet out there-you could read a book from the library?"
That actually sounded quite pleasant, but I still felt a little guilty. "Would you like to join me?"
She patted my arm again as we reached the top step. "I'm going to visit with Mom for a while. I'll join you later." At the top of the stairs, she kissed my cheek with her cool lips and walked towards the heavy door at the opposite end of the hall from ours. Her long, loose hair swished across her back and her thick jeans rustled slightly, but that was the only noise she made.
I changed into my bathing suit. Teren had packed my two skimpiest bikinis and for a second, I considered revoking his pack-master status...until I noticed that he'd also packed my favorite book, one I'd read so many times, the binding was falling apart, Where the Red Fern Grows. I shook my head and again marveled at his odd skill. Grabbing my dark-tinted, pink-framed sunglasses, I slabbed on a layer of SPF. Snatching a plush towel from the bathroom, I made my way down to the pool.
My skimpy little black string bikini barely kept in all my curves, but the other one he'd chosen to bring was red, and for some reason, wearing that color made me feel a little like a walking all-you-can-eat buffet advertisement. I wasn't sure what he was thinking packing those to meet his family. Well, actually, I was pretty sure I knew exactly what he was thinking-I looked damn good in a bikini-but it wasn't the most appropriate thing to wear around potential in-laws.
The house was quiet, and I didn't run into anyone else as I slipped through the massive living room and out the back door to the patio. I found a comfortable looking chair with full sun exposure and laid out on my stomach, stretching my legs out. If I only had a Mai Tai and a chiseled man, fanning me with a palm frond, I'd have thought I was in some exclusive resort on a tropical island. I cracked open my book and prepared myself for some classic childhood adventure, hunting wily raccoons with lovable and unwaveringly loyal coonhound pups. I promised myself that this time I wouldn't cry, knowing all too well that, of course I would. I did every time. It was an odd book for a girl to like, or so I'd been told, but I did...I loved it.
I was halfway through the novel when I flipped over to my back. I started when I did.
"Thirsty?"
Alanna was standing at the foot of the chair, holding out a glass of lemonade. I hadn't even heard her approach. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my suddenly racing heart, all too aware that she could probably hear every wet, thumping pulse. I grabbed the glass and muttered a thank you before I took a long draw.
"You're welcome." She looked over my body and I tried not to blush at the oddity of what felt like an examination. She smiled with just one corner of her mouth and then looked up to the sky, where the sun was well below the halfway point, between high noon and horizon. "The boys should be done soon." She looked back to me and laughed-a tinkling sound like silver bells. "Those two do enjoy their free time. I think they may have given up on the Jeep and gone fishing." She pointed back towards a valley between two large hills. "They're over there."
Hmmm...that was another super power I wouldn't mind having. Knowing exactly where Teren was at all times. That could come in handy. Of course, it was a two way street, and that would be a little annoying if he always knew where I was too.
She shook her head, her black hair rippling. "Jack sure loves having him here. I think he gets a little overwhelmed sometimes, being around so many girls." She laughed again and sat in a chair beside me.
I laughed too. "I bet. How long has Teren been away?"
She sighed. "He's very good at calling us, but we haven't seen him in over four months."
Surprise washed through me. I couldn't imagine not seeing my mother and sister for that long. I got irritated at him for her, and it could clearly be heard in my voice. "Why has he been gone for so long? You don't live that far away."
She looked at me, and her pale eyes seemed to bore straight through me. I felt an uncontrollable shiver run down my spine and I held my breath. Breaking our intense eye contact, she looked at the river rock around her feet. "He has his reasons," she said quietly.
Before I could respond, she patted my knee and gave me a warm smile. "I'll let you get back to your book. That's a good one, I always cry at the end." She patted my knee one last time and stood. "Dinner's at dark," she said, as she turned to leave.
I wanted to protest that she didn't have to go, that she could stay and chat with me, but I could only watch as she silently slinked back into the house.
Teren and Jack came back just as the sun was hitting the highest hills. Jack was beaming at his son, who was holding a couple of large fish strung on a line. I wiped the inevitable tears from my cheeks as I closed my book and watched them finish walking up the path to the patio. Alanna flitted out from somewhere the second their feet hit the stones, and snatched the fish from Teren while giving him and then Jack a kiss on the cheek. She flitted away again and Jack laughed, watching her leave.
"Always in a rush, that one. The trout will probably be filleted and fried by the time we get in there." Amused, he shook his head at his wife.
Teren laughed at his dad's comment and then leaned over my chair and gave me a kiss. I smiled at him and then noticed that his jeans were wet from the knees down. "Did you catch the fish with your hands?" I asked sarcastically.
He grinned and winked at me, and my mouth dropped a little. Not answering me, he flicked his eyes down my body. "I like your suit."
I pursed my lips. "Yes. Interesting choice for your parents' house."
He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Only showing off your...assets." He blurred away from me just as my hand was swinging around to clap him on the shoulder; I only caught air instead. I frowned and he held his palm out for me. Rolling my eyes, I let him stand me up. "Just kidding," he said, as he pulled me in for a tight embrace.
His mouth started distracting me as he brought his lips to mine. He was a fabulous kisser. I started getting swept away in the softness and stubble and wet warmth of it, when I felt his hand gently tug at one of the strings of my top.
"I will stake you where you stand if you pull that string out," I muttered against his lips. Remembering where I was, I looked around the pool area, but sometime when we'd been kissing, Jack must have gone inside. I felt a teensy bit embarrassed about that.
Teren chuckled. "I could sweep you upstairs, if you really aren't happy with that suit." His laugh turned a little husky and he started kissing me again, running his hand up my back to gently grasp my neck.
I started getting lost in him again, until I firmly remembered where I was, and what I had promised him at the beginning of this little journey. I playfully pushed him back from me. He was a little breathless, which made me grin. "Nope, you're cut off. Remember?"
He gaped at me and then tried to bring his hands back to my body. "You weren't serious about that, were you?"
I batted his hands away and giggled. I hadn't really been at the time, but with vampires around who could hear every delightful groan-I was serious now. "Yep. No treats for you, vamp boy." He frowned as I wrapped the plush bathroom towel around me. I grabbed his hand. "Let's go get ready for dinner. Your fish is probably nearly done." He pouted, but let me lead him to the glass doors to the living room.
"We could go somewhere really far away. I run really fast," he grumbled under his breath.
I shoved him through the door ahead of me. "Upstairs! Go change your wet clothes....and maybe take another shower." He grinned at me over his shoulder and we made our way to the stairs.