A Special Gift

by Alice Brown

  People soon were swarming around them, wanting to wish them congratulations. Charles’s booming voice seemed to bring everyone back to the present. “I think a celebratory dance is called for!”

  Marshall raised his head to meet Charles's eyes and agreed. Family and friends immediately started moving everything off the dance floor, while congratulating the happy couple.

  Jennifer rushed over to the couple and enclosed her niece in a hug. “Congratulations, Stephanie! So, does this mean I get to be your wedding coordinator? You know, if a certain sister of mine would decide to settle down, I could plan her wedding, too, but since that doesn’t look promising, can I settle for yours?” Aunt Jennifer was well-known for her bubbling, outgoing personality, and it was a well-known fact she absolutely adored setting up parties for weddings and any other kind of celebration.

  Before Stephanie had the chance to answer, Kate cut in. She was standing next to Pop Atkins and put her arm around him as she stated, “Just hold on a minute! Pop Atkins and I are getting married, but I will only let you plan my wedding if you behave and ask nicely.” This got everyone in the room laughing, well aware of how the two sisters loved teasing one another.

  Then Pop Atkins decided to get in the middle of it. “Oh, honey, if only I were five hundred years younger!”

  Stephanie glanced back over to her Aunt Jennifer, knowing the lady was waiting for her answer, and not expecting to hear the word “no”. Things were happening too fast, and she wanted time to think, and to have a chance to figure out exactly what type of wedding she wanted. “You and I can sit down next week and start discussing the plans, Auntie. This has happened so fast, I think I need a little time for it to sink in.”

  As the final scraps of wrapping paper and gifts were removed from the dance floor, Stephanie’s Grandpa Charles came to shake Marshall’s hand. “Welcome to the family, son.” He turned his attention to his only grandchild. “Now, let me get a good look at this ring. Are you sure about this? You really haven’t known this fellow very long.” He was teasing, grinning from ear to ear as he made a fuss over Stephanie’s engagement ring.

  “Yes, Grandpa. I am sure about this one.” Even in heels, Stephanie was forced to stand on tiptoes in order to place a kiss on her Grandpa Charles’s cheek.

  “I know you two will be happy. You belong together, to one another,” he stated as he hugged her in return.

  The remainder of the evening was a blur. There were more presents to be opened, and everyone wanted to see Stephanie’s ring and congratulate the happy couple. And of course there was more dancing to be done. Pop Atkins had his “official” dance; this tradition had started on Stephanie’s first birthday. She had been so little then that he had placed her feet on top of his, and she held on tight as he moved them around the floor. As she became older, she realized that he had taught her to dance that way, so when she became old enough, she already knew how. Every year, at some point during the birthday party, Pop Atkins and she would hit the floor for the birthday dance. For the past few years, he had commented how she must have inherited her mother’s dancing skills because according to him, she was just as smooth a dancer as her mother was. This year as they entered the dance floor, everyone else moved to the sides, leaving the two of them to glide across the floor.

  For some strange reason, she nearly had to cry on his shoulder as they glided across the floor. The air around them seemed to hold a note of finality, as if this would be their last dance together.

  Stephanie blamed it on her half-human emotions and her coming of age; this was her official ‘adult’ birthday, and probably birthdays wouldn’t be a big deal for her anymore. Her brain evidently was warning her that things would be different from now on—she was officially an adult.

  They finished their dance, and he leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Thank you, my dear. You have grown up to be a truly beautiful young lady.” They left the dance floor arm in arm, and Pops delivered her back to Marshall’s side. “Take care of her, son. You know this one is special to me,” he stated solemnly to Marshall.

  “I will, sir,” Marshall promised, all prior humor fading. Marshall knew and fully understood there were numerous people in his girl’s life who were very protective of her. He was actually quite thankful for that. Although he planned to protect and take care of his mate every day for the remainder of their long lives, it was nice to know there was a circle within their community that would defend his woman with their very lives.

  It was well past midnight before the party broke up. The immediate family and Marshall took the private elevator back up to the house. Everyone had their arms full of birthday gifts. As the elevator doors opened into the house, Kevin said, “Let’s take these to the family room, that way we can all sit down and talk for a moment.”

  Uh-oh, here it comes, Stephanie thought. Her father had seen no other choice but to smile happily at the party. Now that they were alone, he was going to voice his opinions. Stephanie followed everyone into the family room, knowing there was no way to avoid the upcoming conversation. That didn’t mean she wasn’t dreading it with everything inside of her.

  Kevin drew Erica into his lap and cleared his throat before beginning. “Stephanie, I want you to know that Marshall spoke to me prior to tonight. Your mom and I have known this day was coming for a long time now. You have our blessing, but if I could impart a bit of wisdom to both of you, it would be to go slow and remember that Stephanie is still very young. And if Jennifer is going to get involved with planning the wedding, I am sure my wallet won’t know what hit it for at least the next six months.” He stopped, as if lost in thought. “I am kind of hoping you two will wait at least six months to get married, so Stephanie will have time to make sure this is truly what she wants.” He hung his head and sighed deeply. “With my sister getting involved with the planning, I may have to look at selling off some assets to pay for the damn event.” The twinkle in his eye told everyone he was teasing.

  “Darling, don’t say such a thing and make our daughter think you can’t afford her wedding. You should know better,” Erica warned.

  “What, after the shopping trip the two of you did earlier today, you think I am joking?” Kevin shot back at his wife while laughing. “Marshall, if you could have seen these two walk in the front door, you would have sworn they had bought out at least half the mall.”

  “Oh, you are being an imp,” Erica growled playfully, slapping his shoulder.

  “Yes, I heard your wife answered the question of how much they spent with a kiss,” Marshall acknowledged. “I would spill the beans if I knew, but it seems my fiancée is keeping quiet about that one, also.”

  “That’s okay. I can remember one particular trip to the beach, when a certain lady friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, stated that she was terrified she would come home one day and I would, and I quote, “have a fit” over her spending too much money. I told her then that would never happen. As long as the girls had fun, that’s all that matters. I couldn’t care less how much they blew through,” Kevin stated.

  Erica and Stephanie quickly exchanged glances, both sporting the same devilish gleam in their eye. “Stephanie, I don’t think we spent quite enough money today. Maybe we need to go back for a second round.” Erica kept a sideways glance toward Kevin to catch his reaction. She didn’t have to wait long.

  “All right, now who is being the imp?” Kevin playfully growled in rebuttal as he wound his arm around Erica and pulled her in tight. “Besides, I doubt you two left enough merchandise in the mall for round two.”

  Kevin turned his head to the other two occupants of the room, suddenly turning serious again. “Are you two okay with holding off the wedding for about six months?”

  Stephanie was the first to speak up. Glancing over to her left where Marshall sat beside her, she replied, “Sure. By the time Marshall and I figure out what we are doing, and then Jennifer arranges everything, I can’t imagine how it would work before then anyway.” She turned her attenti
on to Marshall. “Are you okay with this?”

  “Me? I am more than fine. You agreed to be my wife and my mate for the rest of our lives just a few hours ago. Besides, you are right, we have decisions to make, such as where we are going to live, what kind of wedding you want, and ones I haven’t even thought of yet. I agree with your dad, I think we will need every bit of six months just to pull it off.”

  Okay…well, that certainly went better than I anticipated, Stephanie thought. Looking over to her parents, she did have one final question for the evening. “Dad, you gave me the official VCTF ring tonight and told me I was part of the team. Does that mean that I can get involved in cases? Or, is the ring just a token for what I have done? I am a little confused since you never seemed to want me involved before.” She wanted to verify the ring’s actual meaning before allowing her hopes to build.

  Kevin gave her a gentle smile before answering, “You are right, I have had reservations. However, I was only concerned with the fact you are half-human, sweetie. I don’t want to see you get hurt. It seems you are using your projection abilities more these days, though, and the chances of your getting hurt while in projection are remote. I have to acknowledge that you have done a wonderful job on the cases you have been involved in.” He stopped for a minute as if trying to put his words together. “You are not a child any longer, and as much as I may want to sometimes, I can’t hold you back and protect you forever. I know you want to get involved with the VCTF, and I am giving you that opportunity. As of tonight, you are a full-fledged team member. I would highly recommend you still spend most your time here in your mother’s office, though. If we get a call and you project from the VCTF office, we don’t have the computer equipment, nor the personnel, to hook you up in order to retrieve the needed information.”

  “Also, there is a good chance no one will be in the office while we are on an assignment. It is simply not safe to have your body there alone while you’re projected out, with no one else around,” Marshall added.

  “Okay…that makes sense.” They were right. She would be better helping the team with her body at her mother’s side hooked up to the computerized equipment, relaying everything back to home base.

  “Besides, I would not recommend you and Marshall working side by side day in and day out, while trying to plan the wedding, figure out where you are going to live, etc. Sometimes, too much of a good thing is not such a good thing,” Kevin continued as he cocked an eyebrow up at Marshall. Hmm…wonder what that is all about?

  “Stephanie, I think what your father is concerned about is that we will end up getting on each other’s nerves,” Marshall injected. “This partially stems from my being a total grouch all week at work, and snapping everyone’s head off for no reason.”

  “Why? I knew you had been quiet toward me, but what would make you be in a bad mood for a week?” Stephanie asked in clear confusion. What in the world had happened that would put him in a bad mood for a whole week?

  “Nerves,” he replied, shaking his head with a grin. “I have been a nervous wreck anticipating tonight.”

  “Well, you kids can stay here and talk if you want, we are going to head upstairs and relax,” Kevin stated as he picked his wife up and started out of the room. “What I really want to do is get out of this monkey suit,” he grumbled.

  “Dad, you look very handsome in your tux. Why don’t you like it?” Stephanie questioned from her seat on the couch.

  “It’s just not what I consider comfortable clothing.” He smiled and wished his daughter and her fiancé a goodnight.

  Even though they were alone in the room, and the ground floor of the house, for that matter, both were well aware that Kevin and Erica could hear every word that was said. Just one of the drawbacks to having vampire parents.

  “We never did get around to discussing where we are going to live,” Marshall murmured as he pulled her close. “We’ve got time, but we do need to discuss what kind of house we want, and an approximate location.” He planned to tell her about her father’s offer of land, but he wanted to hear what she thought first.

  “I need to think about that one. I really don’t know.” She cuddled up against him, laying her head on his shoulder. A deep yawn escaped her. It was getting late, and she was starting to feel sleepy.

  “I don’t need anything too specific. Maybe just narrow it down to what country you might want to reside in.” She popped her eyes open and stared at him for a long moment before realizing he was teasing her.

  Laying her head back down, she shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, is that all? Well, in that case, let’s go for Switzerland.”

  Kevin’s voice was loud and clear as it bellowed through the house. “Oh, no you don’t, she stays in this country!”

  Stephanie muffled her laughter in Marshall’s shoulder. “Goodnight, Dad!” she called in a sing-song voice.

  “Goodnight, kids,” Kevin growled in reply.

  Chapter Eleven

  Stephanie sat at her mother’s desk, filing her nails. She was proud of herself for taking Pop Atkins’s advice and allowing life to return to normal. She felt better now that she had stopped worrying about the future. Instead, she concentrated on filling her days helping her mother or grandfather in their offices, helping Elizabeth with the Meals on Wheels program, and spending time at the elderly center.

  This particular morning, Erica had needed some time to herself, and had asked Stephanie to cover the office while she was out. Her mother very rarely spent time away from the office, and her Grandpa Charles was just next door if any problems arose.

  Her mother had been gone about an hour when the police scanner went off with information about the abduction of a small child. A seven-year-old little girl named Maria had been taken by her mother’s boyfriend. The child was a US citizen, but the police had reason to believe he was heading for Mexico with the little girl in a stolen white Toyota Corolla with California plates.

  Stephanie propelled herself into action immediately. She noted the information coming across the scanner, and pulled up maps of the city on the computer as she placed a call to her father at his office. As she began filling him in on the details, she could hear him speaking to someone else on his end. She assumed he was speaking to her grandfather while she was filling him in on details. After a few minutes, Charles became annoyed at trying to listen to two conversations at once. When she stopped to take a breath, she heard, “Stephanie, where is your mother?”

  His tone was clipped and irritated, and Stephanie found her feathers ruffled at her grandfather’s tone. Nevertheless, she tried to remain calm and pleasant outwardly, while she stewed inside. The way he spoke to her made her feel like a child who couldn’t be relied upon to do the job. “She took the morning off. I’m covering.” Moments later, Charles was standing behind Stephanie in Erica’s office.

  “Okay, the team is getting involved in this case, we can try to make sure that bastard won’t cross the state line,” Charles grumbled with a frown.

  When it came to people hurting children, Charles showed no mercy. Stephanie thought back to the tone he had used with her and realized that he may have just been frustrated with the case. She finished relaying all pertinent information to her father, including possible routes, as Charles stood over her and watched her every move. She assumed since her grandfather had showed up, she would be relieved of her duties momentarily.

  “Here, Grandpa, you can take the controls,” Stephanie stated sweetly while wondering why she was so upset that it seemed like he didn’t trust her to step in for her mother.

  Charles’s response took her by surprise. “Sugar, you are doing fine. I’m just here in case you need backup. You’ve been helping your mom for a long time, you probably know the systems and protocols just as well as I do.”

  The compliment soothed the raw hurt that had been festering in her heart and Stephanie smiled up at him—all ill feelings fleeing upon hearing his words of praise. Still, she stood from her seat as she replied, “I kno
w, and thank you for your vote of confidence, but if you’re handling the computer end of things, I’m free to see if I can help locate the missing child.” She gave her grandfather a pleading look. “Please, Grandpa, I want to project out. I can cover a large area at one time and should be able to zone in if I hear a child upset or crying. Please let me try.” Charles was her only hope; she knew if she consulted her father, he would have told her to stay put at the office.

  Charles sat down in the vacated seat and frowned; he had never been able to say no to his granddaughter. “Okay, but the next time this happens, you come over to my office. I’m more comfortable with my equipment than your mother’s.” Even though he was grumbling and still frowning, he snatched up the headset that would allow him to communicate with the team, and also give voice commands to the computer in front of him.

  On the few missions Stephanie had been allowed to help with, she had always worked with her mother. With this in mind, she felt the need to make sure her grandfather understood the protocol she was accustomed to. Even if Charles had a problem with it, it would be better to iron it out before projecting. “Once I have information, I’ll send it back through my body. Mom usually hooks me up to that software program you developed a couple of years ago, so she can see and hear everything I send back.” She sat in the chair next to Erica’s desk and began to prepare her body to project.

  Charles didn’t respond, already engrossed in the situation and busy mapping out routes for the VCTF members. Not wanting to waste any more time, Stephanie quickly projected out of her house. She had memorized the little girl’s address and made that her first stop. It was in a rough neighborhood, and Stephanie was glad she was there in projected form only, invisible to everyone around her. She headed to the little girl’s bedroom, hoping to catch a scent or something to go on. Stephanie found nothing that would help with the little girl’s disappearance, but once she was back outside, she caught the little girl’s scent about thirty minutes old. It was mingled with a human male’s scent, and Stephanie quickly committed both scents to memory. The driveway held the scent of the vehicle that evidently the child had been taken in. Stephanie followed the scent of the vehicle and quickly picked up the trail. Once she knew which way the vehicle was heading, she sent the information back to her body for her grandfather to retrieve and relay to the other members of the team.