I smiled inwardly at the return of "professional" Clarice. "Sure...no problem." Well, the leaving date would be easy-two weeks from Friday was what Teren was giving his work, but the coming back date? I'd just have to pick a date as far out as I could and hope for the best.
Clarice compressed her lips as she regarded me. "You could have given us longer than two weeks to prepare."
I cringed an appropriate amount. "Sorry...it was sort of an emergency that popped up at the last minute. Thank you for understanding," I threw in, as she looked about to protest.
She swallowed her complaint. Flicking my stack of papers with her finger, she pointedly said, "By noon. I don't want you slacking off because you're leaving soon."
I stifled a sigh. "No problem, Clarice."
She waddled across the aisle to her spacious desk in front of Mr. Peterson's office, and I turned to set down my stack of urgent papers and my starting-to-get-heavy purse.
I'd barely shoved the purse in my drawer before Tracey's blonde head popped up over the wall. "You're leaving?" Her eyes scrunched in a mixture of annoyance and concern.
A soft sigh escaped me as I looked over my sad-faced friend. When I got back, things would probably be different in our friendship. Not that she and I wouldn't still talk nearly every day, have lunch every so often, take kickboxing together, and maybe even occasionally take Ashley out for a drink...but the double dating aspect of our relationship would change.
What we could all do together as a foursome would change, and how close Tracey and Ben could get to Teren would change. To lessen the risk of exposure for Teren, there would just be a lot more...carefulness when we were all together again. The breezy casualness of our group outings would be gone. I'd miss that.
Smiling sadly, I answered her question, "Teren's Dad is sick, and Teren needs to take some time off, to work at the ranch, until he gets better. I'm going as well...to help out." Teren and I had talked about what to tell people last night. This was what he was telling his boss and coworkers...it would work for mine as well.
Tracey's face fell in sympathy. "Oh...is he going to be okay?"
I knew she meant Teren's Dad, but Teren's jet-black hair, pale blue eyes and lightly stubbled face leapt into my head, and I had to swallow to force back the sudden tears. "He'll be fine, Trace."
She nodded and, accepting my lie, reached out over her wall to pat my shoulder. I tapped her arm in thanks, and she ducked her head back down to continue on with her day. I got to work on my papers, forcing my mind to completely shut off.
I spent every waking moment that I could with Teren as we prepared to leave. There were several more conversations that we had to have. The first, and easiest, perhaps, was calling his parents. He waited until Friday evening to do it. At his reluctance to pick up the receiver, I wondered if his stubborn pride would even let him make this phone call. As he blankly stared at the thing, I considered punching in the numbers for him.
Looking at me, and perhaps noticing my expression, he sighed and finally dialed his family home.
"Hi, Dad," he said when the line picked up. He leaned back against the kitchen counter, tucking a hand into his pocket. Walking over to him, I untucked his hand and slung his arm around my waist. Teren smiled and kissed my head as he listened to his dad talk to him for a few long seconds.
During a break in the conversation he muttered, "Will you tell Mom that I'm coming home...to stay." He said it very quietly, and I wondered if his dad's normal human ear even registered the sound.
Teren straightened a bit and his eyes unfocused as he listened to a voice on the other end. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. "Mom...put Dad back on." As he closed his eyes, I smiled at his mom's enthusiasm. "Please stop crying. I'm fine...Emma's fine...you win." He opened his eyes and sighed. "I know, Mom. I know it was never a contest."
Smiling softly, he started rubbing circles into my back. I ran a hand up his chest and our eyes locked as he spoke with his mother. "She's coming too. I want her there." His tone was final. It clearly said There will be no debate on this. I smiled and kissed his jaw.
His mom apparently gave no argument, for the next thing he said was, "Wagyu...really? Well...thank you." His lips lifted to a genuine smile and I wondered what they were talking about.
His fingers ran through my hair as he smiled down on me, still listening to his mother talk in his ear. For a moment, I wished I had his uncanny hearing, so I could be privy to their conversation. "I'll be coming up in two weeks." He frowned into the phone and stopped stroking my hair. "It was the best I could do, Mom." He paused as he listened. "I have a job...a life that needed some loose ends tied up..."
He scowled. "Mom..." His tone was getting irritated and I cleared my throat in warning to the both of them. Teren paused, smiled and then laughed. "Yes...she does do that." He grinned with a crooked smile, and again, I wondered what they were talking about.
"Okay...I love you too, Mom. Give my best to Dad and the others. Bye." He hung up the phone and slung both arms around my waist. I waited for an explanation on the many pauses, but all I got was a warm set of lips on my neck.
"So..." I began, struggling to remember the bits and pieces I'd heard, while Teren's soft lips traveled up my skin.
"So..." he huskily repeated in my ear.
I resisted the urge to press my body against his and run my hands through his hair. When I pulled back to look at him, his eyes danced with playfulness. "What did they say?"
His hands lowered to firmly cup my backside and he pulled me tight against him. "Do you really want to talk about this now?"
I ignored how incredibly nice that felt, and pushed back on his chest to separate us. "Wa...gyu?" I said, stumbling a bit over the odd word.
He laughed and relaxed his hold on me. "A couple months ago, they ordered me some cows, just in case I changed my mind about the ranch." He ran a finger through the hair by my ear as he shook his head. "Kind of an incentive. They're arriving next week." Shrugging, he finished with, "It's actually pretty nice of my parents. Wagyu cattle are the best around."
My face scrunched in confusion. Was I missing something obvious? He laughed as he looked at my bewilderment. Ignoring his amusement, I asked, "Are they raising these Wagyu now? Do they expect you to stay and work there?"
He tilted his head as he broke into a wide smile and a laugh. "They're congratulations cows." I shook my head, still not getting it. "Emma..." He brought his two fore fingers to his mouth and held them in front of his lips like fangs. "Congratulations. Here's your cow...cheers."
I shut my eyes and shook my head. Oh...duh, right. I reopened my eyes and raised an eyebrow as I regarded him. "You and the girls aren't going to go hunting or something, for your first day as a dead vampire?"
He grimaced. "I hate hunting. Fishing I like, but hunting..." he shook his head, "no thanks."
I smiled at my very unvampire-like vampire. "You are such a disappointment," I muttered, kissing him.
Laughing, he grabbed me tight. I tried not to gasp, but it came out anyway. "I bet I could change your mind," he growled.
I bet he could. Not giving in to his very clear desire just yet, I pulled back. "Why don't you like hunting? Isn't that some instinctual part of being a vampire?"
He cocked an eyebrow at me, as he smiled. "Why don't you like shoe shopping? Isn't that an instinctual part of being a woman?"
I pursed my lips. He was right...about the hating it part. There was nothing that irritated me more, than trying on pair after pair of they-just-look-funny-on-me shoes. Chuckling at the look on my face, he said, "Why would I want to run through the countryside like an idiot, when Bessie will just stand there and let me drain her dry?"
I rolled my eyes as I gazed up at him. "You're just...you're a metro-vampire."
His face contorted into an odd expression. "I'm what?"
I put on my matter-of-fact face. "You're a metro-vampire. You drink espresso and drive a hybrid and work for a lifestyle magazine and dress better than any other man I know." I playfully dug my finger into his chest. "You just don't want to get your nails dirty, running through the woods after your dinner."
He gaped at me in mock shock, then he cocked his head to the side. "Wait...why are my nails getting dirty in your little scenario? Am I falling down a lot after the change?"
I started to glare at him and was thinking about smacking his smartass, when his lips were suddenly on mine again. When his tongue slid into my mouth, I stopped my pointless, flirty banter. When his hands firmly found my ass again, I stopped stifling the groans I'd wanted to make, and when he zipped me to his bedroom, he proved that his manliness, vampiric or otherwise, was never in question.
After a long couple days of phone calls-shutting off services, holding mail, paying bills in advance, all the mundane stuff you have to do before a long trip, we were back at our Tuesday night dinner with my family, and we had to break the news to them. It wasn't as if I were going all that far away, but there really was no telling when Teren's change was going to happen, so I wouldn't be leaving the ranch for any reason. And it wouldn't be safe for them to visit...not until after.
Teren and I sat down across from my mom and Ashley, and right away I knew Ashley knew something was up. Her brown eyes-eyes that were the exact same light shade as mine-burned with questions that she wanted to ask, but couldn't in front of Mom. I'd pull her aside later, but for now, she'd have to buy the lie that we were about to spill to my mom.
Mom seemed to notice the tension in the air as well. She tucked some of her chin length hair behind her ears and eyed the two of us speculatively. I looked at Teren, hoping for a way to be honest with my mom, without having to tell her the truth. That just wasn't possible though.
Mom broke the silence with, "God, you're pregnant, aren't you?"
My eyes snapped to hers, and Teren started laughing nervously beside me. I wanted to laugh with him, brush off her concerns, but I wasn't pregnant yet and I really wished I was, so my eyes started to tear up. Teren stopped laughing when he noticed my eyes. Squeezing my hand, he leaned down and casually kissed my cheek. After he did, he quickly whispered, "There will be time."
I gave him a brief nod and forced the Don't be silly grin onto my face for my mother's benefit. "No, Mom," I exaggerated.
She sighed with relief, then her jovial face sparkled with playfulness. "Are you getting married? Do I finally get to plan a big wedding?" Her eyes, the same shade of brown as Ashley's and mine, glowed with the thought of planning the big day for her daughter. I swallowed and forced back the tears. I wasn't even sure if that day could happen, not that Teren had asked me yet. But he wouldn't exactly be the champagne swilling, cake eating groom. How would I explain that to her?
Teren leaned down and kissed my cheek again. He didn't whisper anything that time and I slumped a little at him not taking that opportunity to ask me. Was he getting cold feet? The thought that my vampire, who actively tried to knock me up daily, would in a few months actually have cold feet, made me giggle with barely contained hysterics. My mom watched my odd reaction and then started laughing herself. Teren and Ashley joined in and we all had a moment of levity, for no apparent reason.