It did have a calming influence though and my mind started blanking as that light absorbed me into his peace. I felt my heart even and my breath slow to the low and long ones people take while they’re sleeping. I was so relaxed, that if he had told me to close my eyes and go to sleep, I probably would have. But he didn’t try any hypnotic parlor tricks on me - he knew better than that. Instead he twisted to turn on the lamp on his nightstand.
“Better?” he asked, as I blinked in the sudden brightness.
Taking in his back to normal blue eyes, I nodded. “Yes, sorry I freaked out.”
He shook his head and kissed my nose. “I’m sorry I worried you. I just thought I heard…” His voice drifted off and he bit his lip. After a second he shook his head and sighed softly. “I must have been hearing things though.” He shrugged. “I searched everywhere, inside and outside, but I couldn’t find anything…out of place.” He shrugged again and held me close, cradling my head to his chest. “I’m so sorry I worried you, Emma.”
I nodded against his skin, amazed at how quickly I’d imagined the worst. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Teren. I guess I’m still a little…frazzled…by what happened to us.” I said that last part barely above a whisper, hating to even talk about it.
He pulled away from me, resting his forehead against mine. “I would never…let anyone harm you, Emma. You or the kids. Ever.” He practically growled that and I relaxed as the strength in his voice gave me confidence. He wouldn’t, and things were different now. He was different - stronger, and any hunter we encountered here on out, would have their hands full with Teren Adams.
I leaned up and gave him a soft kiss. “I know, baby. I feel safe with you.” I whispered, as I laid my head back down on his chest.
“And you are safe with me,” he whispered as I closed my eyes.
My earlier exhaustion crept up on me and, adding it to my emotionally draining last few moments, I was half-asleep when I responded with, “I know…”
Then I was fully asleep.
The next morning had me awaking with the scratchy stubble of Teren’s jaw rubbing against my neck as he kissed me. He whispered that he had to go to work, but I could stay and sleep in a little if I wanted, since he’d run to my house and picked up some stuff for me…including another pair of underwear. I chuckled, thinking about last night and considering the fact that when he said “run”, he probably meant that literally.
With a swift kiss, we parted ways for the day. Teren worked an hour before me and was a much nicer alarm clock than I’d had yesterday. I smiled as I stretched out on his luxurious bed and considered what waking up like this every day would be like.
After awhile, I got up and walked to the bathroom, still dressed in Teren’s shirt. Flashes of freaking out in this bathroom came to me and I tried to push it back to the farthest part of my brain. As strong as I tried to be, what had happened to us had been traumatic and the side effects still showed themselves sometimes. I knew I wasn’t alone either. As strong as Teren tried to be, when he said things like he had last night, the conviction in his voice betrayed his true fear. He was worried that he would let me down, that he wouldn’t be able to stop someone from hurting me again. In a way, I suppose he felt like he’d let me down before. I didn’t feel that way. There’s no way either one of us could have been prepared for what that maniac had put us through.
I dressed for my day, smiling at the rose Teren had placed upon my stack of fresh clothes, and shaking my head at the tiny scraps of fabric he’d picked out for my undergarments. Still shaking my head, I put on the red thong with its matching demi-bra and garter belts (that’s right, he picked out garter belts) and covered up all the sexiness with a relatively chaste looking long gray skirt and fitted black blouse. Fixing my hair and makeup, I was on the road, snacking on a bagel, in no time.
My day at work was as exhausting as my first day back, with Tracey asking more questions about life on a ranch, which, I gave her pretty honest answers about, since the day to day activities there really had nothing supernatural about them. As we conversed throughout the day, I considered telling her about the wedding. I imagined how excited she’d be, and how much of a help she’d be in the whole planning process. Of course, she’d be a bridesmaid and of course, she’d have an opinion on the dress. I held off though, wanting to tell my family first, and since tonight was our weekly dinner, I’d have the perfect opportunity to tell them.
I spent the rest of my shift daydreaming about dresses and flowers and Teren’s magnificent body all decked out in a tux. Before I knew it, Clarice was grunting some sort of a goodbye, murmuring that she wished I’d get caught up already, and Tracey was calling out goodnight and telling me to say hi to my sister for her.
I called my sister before I left, making sure tonight was still on and letting her know that Teren would be late. She knew the real reason why he wouldn’t be joining us for a meal, she knew exactly what Teren was, but she also lived with our mother and could let Mom know for me, thus sparing me a direct lie. As I pulled into the café a short while later, I called Teren, letting him know I was here and meeting with everyone, and telling him I wished he was here too.
He shared my sentiment and told me he’d wait an hour or so and then join us. I sighed as I hung up the phone with him and cracked open my car door. It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle being without him for an evening or anything, I just liked having him around, and wished he could partake in things that normal guys could, like dinners with the in-laws.
The hostess greeted me by name, told me she was glad I was back, and then actually gave me a brief hug. My family had been coming here for awhile and everyone knew us. I smiled that my absence over the past few weeks had been noticed, and I’d been missed.
I’d beaten my mom and sister to the café, so she ushered me back to our usual table and set me up with a glass of water while I waited. I sighed and took a long drink of my water, suddenly feeling parched. My eyes aching, I leaned my head back on the cushion of the bench seat and listened to the soothing jazz playing softly in the background.
I felt the cushion beside me compress and opened my eyes as I turned my head. “Rise and shine, sleepy.” A horrifically scarred face smiled warmly at me and an ache went through me at how long I’d gone without seeing that face.
“Hey, Ash.” I exclaimed as I hugged her eagerly.
My arms wrapped around her body and I noticed, but immediately ignored, the hard sections of her skin where the scarring on her face was continued. She had a lot of scarring, most of her body really. She’d barely managed to survive a horrid fire as a child, a fire that our father hadn’t survived. The effects of that were lasting ones, even after dozens of surgeries, but her physical appearance was only that – physical. It did nothing to dampen her spirit or dissuade her of her dream of being a nurse in the burn unit, to help others go through what she’d painfully gone through. She was in her second year of school and nothing would keep her from that goal - not the stares, not the whispers, and not the lack of a love life. But, as she pulled apart from me and I saw the glow in her eyes, the same warm brown as mine, I couldn’t help but see what Teren had very correctly informed me of once – she was happy. Despite all that life had thrown at her, she was happy.
“I missed you,” I said softly, as I ran a hand down the side of her head that could still grow hair. That hair matched my color too. I couldn’t help but think that we’d be near twins if her scars were gone.
She snuggled into my side. “I missed you too.”
A plump, happy looking woman took the seat opposite us and beamed at her daughters. I beamed right back at her, missing her just as much as I’d missed my sister. Phone calls were great and all, but it wasn’t the same as being in the same room with someone, and I was used to seeing these two at least weekly, if not more. I reached out and grabbed her hand, thinking that her graying hair had gone a little grayer in my absence.
“We missed you, honey. How was the ranch?” Her eyes lit
up at the romantic notion she probably had of life on a working ranch. I thought about the time I’d scraped off dead skin from between a cow’s toes, but decided to not burst her idyllic picture.
“It was great Mom, and Teren’s dad is doing so much better.”
She leaned back and grinned at me, pride clear on her face as she thought about her daughter stoically helping out an ill man and his young wife. I felt a little guilty that my mom had to be told the cover story, but she didn’t know the truth and couldn’t know it. Unlike my sister, she wouldn’t handle the fact of me with a vampire very well. She was a mom, and she’d always be a mom, and I didn’t want her hair going even grayer over constantly worrying over my safety. And even though, I could now agree that her fears were justified ones, letting her in on the secret would only hurt her. In this case, the lie was better, so I slapped a grin on my face and committed myself to telling it.
We talked about the aspects I could talk about, while our usual waitress, Debby, came up and joined our conversation. Everyone laughed and enjoyed my stories. A general “aah” went over the crowd as I reminisced about Teren helping a cow deliver her calf. Tears may have sprung up as I thought back to that night a couple weeks ago. Not over him birthing cattle, although that had been awfully sweet…gross, but sweet. No, my tears were over the tiny growing babies in my belly, and the thought of Teren helping to birth them. At least he’d have experience.
As Debby left with our food orders – and I’d shockingly ordered something other than my standard Panini, which had caused a moment of stunned silence to go around our group, the conversation drifted back to Teren. As my mom asked what had held him up at work, I gave her a vague response of “a deadline”. Since he worked for a magazine, that excuse came in awful handy, even though I don’t think Teren had ever been under the gun for a deadline in his life. He was…fast.
We all dug into our food when it arrived moments later. My stomach rumbled at the heaping plate of pasta before me and then it churned for just a second. I inhaled slowly through my nose, staring at a circular stain in the table to distract myself. I could not throw up here; that would certainly raise some questions. And as Ashley was seated on the edge of the bench and her scarred body wouldn’t be able to scoot out of the way quick enough, if I was going to vomit, I was going to do it right here at the table. I closed my eyes at that thought and begged my body to return to normal.
“Are you alright, Emma?” My mother asked from across the table.
I made myself open my eyes and look at her confidently. I was sure I was paler, but I hoped my smile was distracting enough that she wouldn’t notice. “Of course, Mom.” I also made myself pick up my fork and dig into the food, even though my stomach was warning me not to. Praying I wasn’t making a tactical error, I swallowed a huge mouthful.
Mom nodded and went back to her omelet, continuing on with a story about her friend’s daughter running off with a married man. I listened to her story, concentrating on the sounds of the words, and eventually my stomach stopped protesting. Then, as if something had switched inside me, my stomach became ravenous and I inhaled my food noisily. Mom and Ash both cocked an eyebrow at me and blushing slightly, I murmured, “I missed lunch.”
Moments later our plates were taken away and we relaxed with cups of coffee. Well, two cups of coffee. Having given up coffee treats when I’d been trying to get pregnant, I was now more partial to hot chocolate. Sipping our beverages and chatting about Ashley’s school load, we were distracted by a squeal down the aisle. We all turned to look and my mouth fell open as my heart shifted into overdrive.
Teren had just shown up and Debby was thrilled to see him. Personally, I think she was always a little too thrilled to see him, especially considering that she was married, but what had me full on alarmed was the fact that she had thrown her arms around him like she hadn’t seen him in ten years. All I could think was – ‘she’s touching him…she’ll know.’
Feeling panicked and on edge, I started to stand at the table. My stomach rose right into my throat when after squealing how great it was to see him, she proclaimed, “Boy, but you’re cold.”
I unconsciously tried to squeak past my sister in an attempt to free him from Debby’s grasp. In my nerve-heightened state, I didn’t even realize I was squishing her, I was only aware of something getting in-between him and me.
“Emma, ow.” I heard Ashley’s voice say that, but my gaze was locked on Teren.
My mother’s firm voice broke through my panic. “Oh, Emma, sit down. You know Debby’s a flirt, but Teren wouldn’t do anything with her…see.”
I glanced down at Mom staring over her shoulder at Teren and Debby. My gaze drifted back up to Teren and our overeager waitress, and I could see what Mom meant. Teren had successfully separated himself from her and was laughing slightly as he gave her a playful warning gesture with his finger. Feeling a little stupid at my overreaction, I slowly sat back down into my seat as he slipped around the boisterous woman.
Mom and Ashley stood to greet him and I tensed again; more people were about to touch him. With a dazzling smile and apologies for being late, he gave my mom an oh-so-brief hug before engulfing Ashley in a long bear hug. Mom accepted her brief hug and smiled widely at his show of affection for Ashley. Teren had a natural kinship with the disfigured woman and their connection was a deep one. Ash also knew that he had died, so he could touch her for as long as he wanted…within reason, of course.
I relaxed as everybody broke apart and started to sit back down. So much for my silent promise to not worry so much about him. Oh well, tomorrow is always another shot. Ash shifted to sit with Mom and Teren sat by my side, leaning close to kiss my cheek and whisper his agreement to my silent goal. “Stop stressing…it’s not good for the babies.”
I bit my lip and giggled, reflexively putting a hand on my stomach. He laughed with me and grabbed my free hand, interlacing our fingers. I heard Mom sigh and I looked across the table at her. “You two are so…” she sighed again and lightly shook her head. “True love….it’s so nice to see. It reminds me of my own.”
I swallowed after she said that and looked down. She meant her and my dad. Even though he had been gone for years, over ten of them, she still considered herself married to him. She even still wore the wedding ring. I’d already given up on trying to convince her that Dad would be fine if she moved on. She just wasn’t interested.
Teren squeezed my hand while Mom asked him if he was hungry. I looked up at him as he shook his head and met eyes with my mom. “No, thank you. I slurped down a quick meal earlier.” He grinned crookedly after he said that and flashed a quick glance at Ashley. She giggled a little into her hand. Mom shrugged and let it go, not understanding what he really meant by that.
I shook my head and discreetly rolled my eyes. We settled into small talk, with Mom asking him even more questions about the ranch, and I started to get a little antsy. I didn’t want to make small talk about ranch life, now that he was here. I wanted to tell them. I wanted to finally let everyone know we were engaged and getting married within a month.
Teren, maybe super sensing my growing irritability, shifted the conversation for me. Placing our laced hands on the table and looking at me adoringly, he calmly said, “Since we’re all together again, Emma and I have some news.”
I glanced at my mom and sister, who both looked equally confused and intrigued, and cleared my throat. Teren didn’t expand on his sentence, only tenderly stroked the back of my hand with his thumb and continued to gaze at me lovingly, letting me break the news to my family. Mom and Ash shifted their gazes to me accordingly. “Well,” I looked at each one, savoring the moment and feeling tears well up as I did. “Teren and I are getting married,” I whispered.
My mom practically erupted in her joy. Her hands reached out for me and she engulfed me in as much of a hug as she could across the table. My sister clenched Teren’s arm and told us both congratulations. My mother’s theatrics got the attention of Debby and
she sauntered back to see what the fuss was about. With tears dripping down her cheeks, Mom told her that I was getting married. The way she put it, Teren was almost inconsequential – it was her daughter’s wedding - and I couldn’t help but grin at Mom’s happiness.
Debby smiled, a little halfheartedly if you asked me, and congratulated us. Offering a round of wine on the house, I politely, but firmly told her no. Joking around, she muttered, “What? You pregnant, honey.”
I bit my lip and felt my cheeks go bright red. I started shaking my head no, trying to laugh off the question, but I hadn’t been expecting someone to ask that just now and I was a little thrown. Teren squeezed my hand and looked at me curiously, maybe wondering if I wanted this bit shared or not. I looked back at him, not sure what I wanted either.
Conversion Book Two: Bloodlines Page 6