by Fox, Piper
She smiled as she started jotting things down, “You know what? Why don’t I just make you a list so that I can be sure you don’t forget anything? Let’s see, we need red wine. Do you remember the list I rattled off earlier when we were on our way back from the woods?”
He gave her a confused look causing her to sigh and continue as she wrote furiously on the notepad, “Look for a nice Zinfandel, I think that wine will be appropriate for tonight. Hmm, we also need some butter, sour cream, and chives. Maybe get some bacon so I can make homemade bacon bits for the baked potatoes. Other than that, I believe we have everything we need here so I can whip up this dinner.”
Tamara moved closer to Declan as she pointed out some items she’d written down, “I’m going to need these items to make a strawberry shortcake for dessert. Make sure to pick me up some fresh strawberries if you can find some. If not, then frozen will work in a pinch. Oh, and some heavy whipping cream. I know how much you prefer my homemade whipped cream to the store-bought stuff.
She tore the paper out of the pad and handed it to him, walking him to the door, the excited look still on her face, “You better get going if you want to get back before the rain starts. I’ll make sure to ask Christian all about your expedition in Madagascar.”
Declan stopped at the door and gave her an annoyed look, “Are you really going to start up on that again?”
Tamara held her hands up in surrender, a crestfallen look on her face, “Don’t worry, Declan. I won’t grill him or anything. I promise. It’s just I’d like to know what happened, how it went, and why you were sent home before the study had even started. And maybe how you were turned into the creature we’re learning to deal with. That’s all. Everything will be fine.”
She tilted her head to the side as if a new thought had occurred to her while she had been speaking, “He’s gotta be a pretty awesome guy if you like him and want to introduce him to me. Now go. And hurry back. I don’t want to spend most of the evening in the kitchen.”
Tamara stood on her tiptoes and gave Declan a kiss, then watched him walk to the car. As he pulled out of the driveway, she closed the door and made her way back into the kitchen. Going over the steps in her mind, she pulled out the frying pan and the big Dutch oven, setting them both on the counter by the sink. Satisfied that she had the items she needed to begin dinner before Declan arrived with the items, she sent him to the store for, she moved to the fridge and took out the ears of corn she’d told her fiancée about. Setting those by the stove she placed the Dutch oven in the sink and filled it with water. Humming her favorite song, Tamara shucked the corn and set them in the water, adding a small amount of salt. She then moved the pan to the stove and turned on the burner.
There was a knock on the cabin door as Tamara was chopping the onions and mushrooms. She turned the burner under the frying pan off so that the olive oil wouldn’t burn and grabbed a hand towel.
Tamara wiped her hands and opened the door, a friendly smile playing on her lips, “Hello. Can I help you?”
The man standing on the porch was good-looking in a pretty boy kind of way. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and white T-shirt. Biker boots and a leather jacket completed his outfit. He had blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Tamara glanced over his shoulder and saw a beautiful motorcycle gleaming in the moonlight and rain. When she returned her attention to the man standing before her he was smiling, and she noticed a dimple on each cheek.
He held his hand out, his own smile widening, “Hi! I’m Christian. Uh, Declan’s friend? He’s expecting me. Is he around?”
Tamara took the offered hand and gave it a shake, her smile slipping a little, “Hi there. I’m Tamara, Declan’s fiancée. Nice to meet you, Christian. Unfortunately, Declan isn’t here right this minute. He ran to the store to get me some things I needed to make dinner. But why don’t you come on in and make yourself at home? I hope you’re hungry. I have quite the dinner planned.”
Christian walked over the threshold, looking around the cabin as his stomach growled involuntarily, “Oh, I’m always hungry. Though I wasn’t expecting to be fed when Declan called and invited me over. He said he needed my help with something, and I told him that I would do my best.”
She shrugged as she led him into the living room, very aware of the presence at her back, “Well I was raised to entertain and since it is about dinner time, I figured I would offer you the choice to eat with us. Besides, I love to cook.”
Christian stopped next to the fireplace snapping his fingers as a realization hit him, “Oh yeah! You own a restaurant, right?”
Tamara looked over her shoulder in pleasant surprise and nodded, a proud smile blossoming on her face, “I do. Have you ever been to Poppy’s? Over on Main?”
He moved a little further into the living room, “That’s yours? That place is amazing. But you don’t look familiar. I’m pretty sure I would remember seeing a pretty thing like you.”
She smiled and turned around with a confident air about her, the smile intensifying, “Yup, that’s my place. Thank you. I worked hard to get it to where it is now. And the reason you’ve never seen me there when you’ve been in is because I spend most of my time in the kitchen. I’m a self-taught chef.”
Christian had a seat on the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table in front of him and placing his hands behind his head, the picture of comfort, “Ah. That explains it. Declan said you were a damn good cook, but I’ve eaten at Poppy’s. I’d say he’s been understating your culinary talent.”
She ducked her head trying to hide the blush she could feel creeping across her face, embarrassed by the compliment, “Thank you. Well, as I said before, make yourself comfortable. I need to get back into the kitchen and finishing prepping, but Declan should be back any minute.”
Christian watched as Tamara walked back into the kitchen before standing up and following close on her heels, suddenly unsure of himself and not wanting to be left alone, “Do you mind if I join you in the kitchen? There really isn’t much to do in the living room and I would really love to see the chef in action.”
She moved back over to the stove, turning the burner under the frying pan back on and scraping the chopped onions and mushrooms off the cutting board into the screaming hot oil.
Tamara stirred the vegetables, making sure they didn’t stick to the pan while checking to see if the water in the Dutch oven was boiling, “Sure. Have a seat at the table there. I don’t normally cook with an audience, besides Declan anyway, so forgive me if I ignore you.”
He pulled a chair out and had a seat, watching her move around in the kitchen with a small amount of curiosity, “That’s okay. I just want to see the artist at work.”
She laughed as she took the boiling pan off the stove top and drained it into the sink, “While I don’t know about artist, I do know your dinner will taste good.”
Satisfied that the vegetables were sautéed enough, Tamara took the frying pan off the burner and placed it on the back of the stove. She was seasoning the corn when the front door swung open and Declan rushed in, bringing a cold wind and rain with him.
He made his way into the kitchen, a small scowl on his face as he set the wet paper bags he was carrying on the counter, “Man! It’s really starting to come down out there.”
Shaking the water out of his hair he turned to the man sitting at the kitchen table the scowl replaced with a warm smile, “Hey there, Christian. Glad to see you were able to make it before the storm really started.”
Christian stood and shook Declan’s hand, a determined look on his face, “It started coming down right after your lovely lady invited me inside. I wasn’t sure I’d arrive before the first drop of rain fell. Trust me when I tell you that I kept my eye on the sky the entire ride.”
Declan’s smile dropped a little as he looked around the cabin, unsure of how his friend would react to what he was about to tell him, “It looks as if you’re going to be stuck here for a while, at least until this storm lets up. You might eve
n have to stay the night. Hope that won’t be a problem.”
Christian shuddered, his face displaying the disbelief running through his mind at his friend’s statement, “Stay the night? Really, man? That wasn’t part of the deal. Besides there isn’t much to do way out here in the middle of nowhere. I’m not sure I would survive! I mean I barely get cell signal out here. Ah well, at least there’s gonna be good eats.”
Declan laughed, relieved to hear his friend returning to good spirits, “There will definitely be good eats. As for nothing to do, I’m sure the three of us can come up with something.”
The men looked at the woman standing at the counter going through the grocery bags, presumably ignoring their conversation.
Christina gave Declan a knowing grin, winking as he returned his attention to his best friend, “I’m sure we will. Now, over the phone you said that you needed some help with your issue? You know the, uh…”
Declan returned his grin, spreading his hands wide to encompass the kitchen and the woman therein, “Relax, Christian, Tamara knows about my, uh, condition and is okay with it. In fact, I would say that she has been pretty understanding about the whole thing. Though the first time I shifted came as a bit of a shock, I’m sure.”
Tamara put the cast iron pan on the stove, pouring a thin layer of olive oil on the bottom before placing the thick steaks her mate had brought home on to cook, “A fairly big shock since I didn’t even know Were-animals existed before you shifted.”
She wiped her hands on the towel hanging off of the fridge door as she turned to look at the men standing not too far from her, “Okay, boys. Take it into the living room. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Oh, and Declan? Would you mind running upstairs and getting out of those wet clothes? You’re dripping all over the place and I really don’t have the patience to mop it all up.”
Declan made his way to the stove where Tamara was standing and kissed her cheek before looking at Christian and gesturing toward the room his mate had indicated, “Okay, my love. We can take a hint. Christian, head on into the living room while I run upstairs and change so my mate doesn’t lose her mind. I’ll be down in two shakes of a lamb’s tail and tell you what my problem is.”
The men left the kitchen, as Tamara set the oven to the temperature, she needed to bake her strawberry shortcake, making their way into the living room to discuss Declan’s issue, leaving his fiancée to finish cooking dinner.
Chapter 4
Christian pushed away from the table, patting his stomach with his right hand, “That was out of this world, Tamara. Thank you for such a great meal.”
Tamara smiled in pleasure, practically glowing with pride, “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Christian. It really was just a throw together meal. I hope you left room for dessert though.”
She stood and reached for the dishes, intent on taking them to the kitchen and getting the dessert she had put together.
Declan placed a hand over Tamara’s as she reached for his plate, “I’ll clear the table, my love. You just go get that dessert.”
She set her plate back down on the table and gave him a kiss on his forehead, ruffling his hair, “You’re so sweet, my heart. All right, dessert it is.”
The men watched as Tamara walked into the kitchen and opened the oven door. She went to the fridge and took out the bowl of homemade whipped cream and some fresh strawberries and brought everything back to the table.
She set it in the middle and sat down, waving her hand over the dessert and the choices that sat alongside it. “Everyone likes to dress their strawberry shortcake up in a different way so you have some choices.”
Declan cut them each a good size piece and passed out the saucers, eager to taste the sweet treat his mate had made from scratch, “It smells great, dear heart. I can’t wait to taste it.”
Christian accepted his offered plate and reached for the whipped cream, taking a deep inhale of the delicious fragrance, “I agree with Declan. I can’t wait to dig into this.”
Tamara took her plate and set it in front of her, reaching for the fresh strawberries, an uncertain look in her eyes, “I just hope it turned out okay. It’s my first try at making strawberry shortcake.”
Declan gave her knee a quick, reassuring squeeze under the table, “I’m sure it’s going to be amazing. Everything you make turns out great. I wish you would have a little more confidence when you try something for the first time. I honestly believe that you were born to cook, darling.”
Christian had already taken a big bite out of his dessert and mumbled with his mouth full, his eyes half-closed, a look of rapture on his face.
Neither of his hosts could understand a word of what he was saying and said simultaneously, “Wait until you’ve swallowed, Christian. We can’t understand you with your mouth full.”
The couple looked at each other and laughed. Tamara could tell that her dessert had turned out better than she’d hoped just by Christian’s body language and his attempt to say so with his mouth full.
Christian swallowed and looked into Tamara’s eyes, hoping that she would see how sincere he was being when he said, “This is the best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had. Seriously, it’s to die for; completely heavenly!”
Declan took a bite and nodded his head in agreement after licking his fork as clean as he could get it.
Tamara looked from one man to the other and smiled proudly, “I’m glad to hear that it turned out right and to see you’re enjoying it. I was considering adding it to the menu at Poppy’s, but I always like to get feedback from test subjects first.”
She took a bite out of her own dessert and her smile widened. Tamara was always surprised when one of her creations turned out perfectly.
Declan leaned forward with a smile and gave her a quick kiss, “By test subjects she means me. Not that I’m complaining. Listen, I’m going to look outside and see if the storm has let up a bit. Be right back.”
Just as he was pushing away from the table a crack of thunder sounded above their heads and shook the windows, causing lights to go out and he groaned, “Well I guess that answers that question. Christian come help me find some candles.”
Christian pushed away his empty plate and stood, scraping the chair legs along the tile floor in his hesitation, “All right. I usually keep my flashlights and candles in the kitchen, where do you keep yours?”
Declan made his way into the living room, feeling along the walls so he didn’t trip over any of the furniture, “In the living room actually. That’s usually the room we’re in when this happens.”
Tamara stood with Christian, gathering the dishes on the table, “I guess I’ll just take the dishes into the kitchen, along with the leftover dessert. I’m going to put the shortcake in the oven though because I don’t want to open the fridge unless we absolutely have to. We don’t know how long the power is going to be out and we certainly don’t need what food we have to go bad.”
Christian followed the shadow that he thought was Declan into the living room and responded over his shoulder with a chuckled, “Sounds like you guys have been through this many times before. How long does the power usually stay out when the storms hit out here?”
Tamara laughed with him, “I’d say we’ve gone through this a dozen times in the last few months, give or take. The longest the power has been out was a full day. We had to find a way to keep warm besides using the fireplace since all of the firewood was soaked. Yeah, the storms out here tend to get pretty intense.”
Christian stopped at the edge of the living room, “That sounds miserable. Hey, Declan, man, where the Hells did you go?”
Declan’s voice came from Christian’s right, “Standing in the middle of the living room trying to get my bearings. Just follow my voice and be careful of the…”
Christian banged into the coffee table before Declan could finish voicing his warning, “Ouch! Damn it gets pretty fucking dark in this place when the power goes out doesn’t it?”
Declan laughed
and finished his statement, “…coffee table. I’m guessing you found it though by that loud banging noise and your response. It does get dark here but that’s why we come up here on the weekends. It gets us away from the world. It definitely gets us away from people. And there aren’t any neighbors for miles so there are no prying eyes. Which makes it easier for me to shift and take care of a few things.”
Christian reached out and found Declan’s shoulder, gripping it for balance as he rubbed his throbbing shin, “Well, that’s why owning a piece of property out in the middle of nowhere is so great for any Were. They can get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life; shed their humanity and run free, even if only for a weekend. Seriously, you would have some severe trouble if you didn’t allow the shift to happen at least twice a month, though you really should try to get out here so you can shift once a week. I strongly believe that yours is not a case of less is more. Just be glad your shifting process isn’t tied to the phases of the moon like most Weres. Then things could get disastrous.”
Tamara almost dropped the dishes in the sink, causing them to clatter, in her shock, “You mean to tell us that most Weres have no choice but to change depending on the phase of the moon? Like when it’s full or something? Just like all the legends talk about?”
Christian turned his head in the general direction of her voice, straining his eyes trying to find her in the dark, “Something like that. Though not all Weres are forced to change on the full moon. There are a few shifters that need to change when the moon is new. But that is a witch’s curse and really depends on the witch. I know a Were or two that are forced to change when there is a waxing moon. I’ve even heard of some that have to change when the moon is waning. There are witches out there that hate other supernatural beings, so they make things difficult for them. Not a lot, but they are out there.”
Declan had found the flashlight while his fiancée and best friend had been talking and turned it on, shining it in Christian’s direction, “That’s terrible. I couldn’t imagine having to wait for a certain moon phase to shed my human skin. But that leads to the question, why am I so special? Why do I get to choose when I shift? What makes me so different? All the research we have been collecting has stated that all Weres are attached to the phases of the moon and that ninety percent of them have to change when it is full.”