by Dakota Brown
Dad was watching George. George was still staring at Doc. Somehow, I thought Dad knew George was a werewolf. Him being here probably wasn't an accident, even with the story about his heat being out at his house.
"It's getting late, Bobby. Why don't you go to bed?" Donna said to her son.
"I don't want to, Mom."
"Bobby, go to bed."
"Matt and Eric are still up."
Rick sighed and got up. "Come on."
Bobby's eyes widened, and he shrunk back into the couch as if he could hide under the cushions.
Rick held out his hand, and Bobby took it and slid off the couch, looking resigned.
I didn't think he was afraid of his father, not the way he clung to Rick's hand. I wondered what was up.
With my heightened sense, I could hear the older boys argue with their father about going to bed, but shortly, Rick had returned and it sounded like the kids had settled down.
No one else spoke for a while, and the wind continued to howl. I really wanted to go to bed, though with George in the house, Doc and I wouldn't be able to really talk. I wasn't sure we needed to. I just wanted to be held.
"Are you a student, too?" George sounded like he knew Doc wasn't.
"No. I work at the college. Admin stuff. Nothing exciting."
"Where are you from?" Rick glanced at George then back at Doc, as if highly interested in Doc's reply. Far more than the question probably warranted.
"Arizona. Phoenix area."
"So, Doc as in like a doctor?" Donna took up the questioning.
I saw Doc's hands twitch where they rested on his knees. He wasn't happy about that question.
"No, it's a nickname. Ed gave it to me. He likes westerns and said I reminded him of Doc Holliday for some reason. It stuck." He sounded tired, or maybe resigned.
"Oh."
He didn't offer his name, though my parents knew it.
"So, you're good with a gun? Because I'm guessing you're not deathly ill or actually a doctor." Donna grinned. She'd obviously seen the movie once or twice herself.
"I'm not bad with a gun." Doc shrugged. "I think it was that, and my accent, and he'd never actually met a real cowboy before he ran across me."
Rick seized on the real cowboy thing and started questioning Doc about cows and his experience.
I knew enough to know Rick was really grilling Doc, but he didn't seem to mind these questions as much.
"What is your name, then?" Rick threw that out there at the end of the extensive cow conversation.
I was watching Doc more than Rick, and I saw his hands twitch again. He was outwardly calm, but I'd seen that coiled, ready to spring expression more than once. His jaw clenched slightly, but he answered smoothly. "Roy Cassidy."
Rick blinked, just staring at Doc for a moment before he slowly turned to look at George.
The name didn't seem to mean anything to George. He was giving Rick a curious look.
"Really?" Rick finally said, turning back to Doc.
Doc sighed quietly. I only heard because I was paying attention and sitting right next to him.
"Last I checked," he replied.
"That Roy Cassidy?"
"Probably." This time he just sounded resigned.
"You're sure?"
This time Doc actually laughed tiredly. "I am the only half Navajo Roy Cassidy that I know of. Admittedly, I don't know everyone."
"What?" George's gaze darted back and forth between Doc and Rick.
I wanted to do something to protect Doc, if I needed to, but I couldn't access my magic. He was on his own, and it pissed me off.
"He's a vampire hunter."
"Not really," Doc objected.
"That's not what I've heard."
"How?" George's voice lowered to not quite a growl. "You're not a mage like you've told Sofia."
"I'm not?" Doc held up his hand and the dark blue motes of Nikolai's magic formed into a spinning sphere above his hand.
Everyone stared at the open display of magic.
George continued to glare, but he backed down a little.
Rick shook his head. "Aren't you a little old for Sofia?"
Doc shrugged. "Maybe." The sphere of magic sank back into his hand.
That question was going to lead into even more awkward ones, so I cleared my throat. "I think that's probably my decision. Anyway, I think he's more of a werewolf hunter than a vampire hunter. There aren't too many vampires around from what I understand."
Doc glanced at me, arching an eyebrow, before flicking his gaze toward George. "Really?" he mouthed.
Why the hell had I said that?
The demon chuckled.
I groaned.
Doc shook his head, probably guessing what had happened. He glanced back at George, who definitely had his hackles up now.
"Is that why you reek of werewolf?" George did growl now.
"I don't know, George. Why do you?"
Dad, Mom, and Donna's eyes were about as wide as I had ever seen them. Wind gusted, making the house shudder. The tension in the room swirled like the snow outside, filling the space and threatening to drown us all.
The lights flickered with the storm, but no one reacted.
George growled and surged to his feet.
Doc simply watched, arms loose, ready to spring if he needed to. He could be up and across the room before even a werewolf could get to us.
Did you have to? I growled at the demon.
Give me some credit, Sofia. We were trying to distract them from the Doc's a vampire line of questioning. They're distracted.
I'm not sure that helped.
He'll be fine.
George glared for another moment before stomping toward the door. A breath of cold air and then the front door slammed.
"It's storming," Mom exclaimed. "He can't go out there in this. He didn't even put on a jacket." She could see the entry way from where she sat.
"He'll be fine," Doc replied.
"Is that true, what Rick said?" Dad sounded mild, but I could hear an undercurrent of something in his voice that I didn't quite understand.
"Not exactly. My parents were quite dedicated to the cause. I'm a cowboy. The only supernatural beings I've ever killed were preying on humans, and the authorities weren't going to be able to handle them."
Rick shook his head. "I guess I've only heard rumors."
Doc shrugged. "You know how rumors go."
They all looked at me for a minute. I just shrugged. Clearly, I had known. What did they want me to say?
"You know, it's really late. No one is going anywhere. We should get to bed," Mom said after another long, uncomfortable silence.
Everyone was ready to escape the awkward conversation, and it took very little convincing to get everyone to head off to bed.
Rick grabbed a jacket and went after George.
Doc rose smoothly to his feet and offered me a hand. Simply because I wasn't going to do anything to undermine him at that moment, I slid mine into his and let him help me to my feet.
I hugged my parents, though Dad barely took his eyes off of Doc, before I dragged Doc off to my room.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered, knowing he would hear.
Doc came up behind me and put his arms around me, holding me tight, making me feel safe.
"There are worse questions they could have asked. Worse rumors Rick could have heard. Besides, it wasn't your fault." He nuzzled my neck.
"Mmm," I murmured.
"Let's get some rest. It's going to be a long few days."
I shivered as his breath tickled my neck.
You're not allowed to kiss him. It's gross.
You nearly started a damn fight. Shut up and let me enjoy my body while I still can.
Your mage will come through for us.
If you sounded more certain, I'd have more consideration.
Ignoring the demon's protests, I turned and pressed my lips to Doc's. He gripped me tightly, strong hands painfully tight as he clung to
me.
Ugh!
You're starting to sound more like me.
Unfortunately.
I didn't let her protests distract me, and we kissed until I needed air.
Doc's eyes shone in the light from my bedside lamp. He brushed his fingers through my hair and hugged me to him.
I could only hope that Nikolai really would come through for us. We were running out of time fast.
Chapter 26
Sofia
The brain fog was real the next morning. Doc was already awake when I finally crawled out of a deep sleep. As was his normal custom, he had stayed in bed and held me until I woke.
Tears sprang to my eyes, and he tightened his arms around me, as if he could tell I was crying.
"He'll figure it out."
I took a couple of deep breaths and nodded. "I know."
He kissed my shoulder.
The demon had muttered last night when Doc pulled me into his arms to sleep, but she didn't say anything about his kiss. That worried me a little. She was playing nice right now, but I knew if Nikolai didn't come through for us, she wouldn't let me keep control of my body much longer.
If she even let me stay at all.
If I even could.
Those cheerful thoughts made me want to pull the covers over my head and hide, but my bladder and my stomach both chased me out of Doc's warm embrace.
The wind still howled, and a quick look out my window revealed blowing snow and almost no visibility.
"That's quite the blizzard."
Doc looked over my shoulder, hands resting lightly on my arms. "Wonderful."
"No kidding." I let the curtains fall back to help keep the warmth in and headed for the bag Victoria had packed for me.
By the time I was finished in the bathroom, Doc was in the kitchen. He'd found the tea kettle had tea steeping for both of us.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you," I mumbled as he handed me the mug.
Mom came into the kitchen a few minutes later. "Want breakfast?"
"Yes please." Mom made the best breakfast.
"I'm okay with tea," Doc answered. "I'd offer to help, but I'm a terrible cook."
"Not a problem. Thought you were a coffee drinker?" Mom glanced at the empty coffee pot before looking at me.
"Yeah, since Alex drugged my latte, I'm having a hard time with coffee."
"Oh." Her expression fell and she glanced at Doc, a great deal of gratitude in her expression.
My parents knew he, Ed, and Allan had saved me. She liked Doc a lot more than my dad did, so at least one of my parents didn't hate my boyfriend. Of course, if they knew I had three more, they'd flip. It might not be an issue for much longer, anyway. If Nikolai didn't save me, no one would be left to care.
Doc moved away from the oven, and Mom took over. Shortly, the smells of bacon had the rest of the house stirring.
I cradled my Earl Grey at the table while Doc leaned against the wall, out of the way, like he did most every morning and sipped his tea.
The storm raged outside. The house shuddered now and again with some of the stronger gusts. George and Rick were talking about the cows when they found their way into the kitchen. Rick glanced at Doc, noting his presence but otherwise not paying much attention to him. George glared.
Doc ignored him.
The weather was more pressing than my boyfriend though, and pretty soon, they were back to discussing contingency plans for the snow. The forecast was steadily deteriorating as the front pulled moisture out of another storm system that had unexpectedly worsened. Nebraska, Wyoming, and the Front Range in Colorado, along with parts of Kansas, were getting battered by fifty plus mile an hour winds and varying amounts of snow.
Matt and Eric came in and sat at the table. Rick got the kids food and helped Mom until Donna arrived. She sank down in Rick's chair when he pulled it out for her, and he served her, too. She looked exhausted. Being in someone else's house with three kids, especially over the holidays, had to be grueling.
I shoved food in my mouth once it was on the table, and Doc made me another cup of tea without me even having to ask.
Dad showed up after a while, and we rotated seats so everyone could eat. He made Mom eat before he did.
George didn't take his eyes off of Doc for more than a few minutes at a time, but my boyfriend continued holding up the wall in the corner and staying out of the way.
"Where's Bobby?" I had expected him to join us before long, but Matt and Eric had been put to work cleaning up, and the younger kid hadn't come to eat yet.
"He said he was coming," Matt grumbled.
Even I could hear the lie in his voice. I glanced over at Doc. He frowned at the kids.
"Rick, go get Bobby and get him in here," Donna sighed. "Please."
He patted her shoulders and left the kitchen, only to return a minute later frowning.
"Matt, Eric, where is Bobby?"
"Maybe the bathroom?"
"I checked, son. Where's your brother?"
"We don't know. He said he was coming," Matt whined.
Donna buried her face in her hands. "What did you say to him?"
"Nothing," Eric bit out.
"You two have got to be nice to your brother, or at least not mean to him. Picking on him is not helping anything."
"We didn't do anything!" Matt crossed his arms and sat down in one of the chairs, lips pursed.
George, Rick, and Dad left the kitchen while the boys pouted.
"Finish cleaning up!" Donna snapped and left the kitchen.
Mom gestured to me, and I followed her into the living room. Doc trailed along behind us.
"What's going on with the boys?" Mom sat down next to Donna and put her arm around the other woman's shoulders.
"They caught him playing dolls with the neighbor's girl a month ago. They have said everything and anything they possibly can to him since then to push him around. I don't know why. They played with dolls with neighbor girls at that age, too." She sank back into the couch and wiped at her eyes. "I'd like to strangle both of them."
Dad and his friends stomped back into the living room. "He's not in the house."
"What!" Donna bolted up. "Where is he?"
I heard Doc sigh. I glanced at him. He had his eyes shut and brow furrowed. After a quick moment, he blinked a couple of times, before looking up. I guessed he had used his vampire senses to look for Bobby and didn't want anyone to see his eyes darken, though it wasn't real easy to tell unless you were close, since they were already so dark.
George went to the door and looked outside before shaking his head. "I'll go look, but I'm not going to find him by scent."
"I'll find him." Doc squeezed my shoulder before leaving my side and heading for the door. I followed.
He slipped on his boots while the others stared at him.
"How exactly are you going to do that?" George blocked his way, arms crossed.
Doc ignored him, pulling on a jacket.
George grabbed for Doc's arm.
Even though I was expecting it, I jumped when Doc slammed George's face into a wall. George struggled for a moment, but Doc had twisted the man's arm up behind his back in an arm lock, and he did it faster than anyone could have seen.
He leaned close, pressing against George's back, and I could imagine that the other man's heart raced. Even if George wasn't actually scared, the wolf in him would probably react to another predator that close.
"Stay here. I'll find him." Doc's voice was low, dangerous. I shivered, and I trusted the man with my life.
George nodded, face pinched in pain.
Doc released George and stepped back, keeping his eye on the werewolf. George rolled his shoulder, glaring at Doc.
The demon purred, enjoying the violence amongst us. I tried to ignore her.
"Hey," I called before Doc could leave the house.
He glanced at me, lips curled slightly into a smile. He'd enjoyed that.
"Be careful."
"I
will. Not my first blizzard." He leaned down and kissed me chastely before heading out into the storm.
The chill he left behind was only partially due to the blast of cold air when he opened the front door.
"I don't care what anyone says, that is not a mage," George growled, eyes turning to me as if I was going to tell Doc's secrets now that he was out of the house.
I shrugged. "He does magic. Seems like a mage thing to me."
"He's stronger than I am. How do you explain that?"
Turning and heading back to the armchair in the living room that I liked, I shrugged again. "There's spells for that sort of thing."
George rubbed his shoulder as he followed me into the living room. "Is he really a vampire hunter?"
I shook my head. "No. His parents were. I think they taught him everything they knew, but he's not really the type to go out hunt someone down just because they're a vampire, or a were. He'll defend anyone he thinks he needs to, but he's not going to look for trouble."
I curled up in the armchair and hoped no one else would ask awkward questions I didn't want to answer.
Mom and Rick focused on Donna. Tears streaked her eyes and she clutched her hands into fists while they tried to comfort her. Matt and Eric had been banished to the bedroom, and George paced by the front door. Dad flipped on the TV. Though the reception flickered with the storm, most of the local coverage was about the closures due to blowing snow.
I pulled out my phone and held it, in case Doc tried to get a hold of me. I knew reception was bad here, but maybe he could get a text through.
Time crawled, but finally my phone dinged.
Doc: Found him. He's okay.
Sofia: Great!
"Donna, Doc found Bobby. He said he's okay."
Donna started sobbing.
It was still about another half an hour before the front door banged open, and Doc stumbled in. I jumped to my feet and just barely beat Donna and Rick to the door.
George shut it behind them, closing off the draft of cold air and swirl of snow that followed Doc inside. He had Bobby wrapped in his own jacket and clutched to his chest. Snow coated both of them.
Rick took Bobby from Doc.
"Bobby, are you okay?" Donna managed through her sobs.
The kid nodded, and Rick set him down and handed Doc's jacket back to him.