Clan of Redemption (12 page)

Very slowly.

“Ok, but I want you to
call me every day to make sure you’re alright,” Dad
said.

“Everyday Dad!" I
screeched.

"Every day, is NOT
happening Dad," I firmly told him.

He just stared at me, with
his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against his
desk.

"Seriously! Come on Dad,
how about every other day?" I asked.

No matter how crazy I made
my face, he still just stared at me with a blank look on his
face.

"Fine. Fine. I will try my
hardest, but I might get busy and forget. So don't flip out when
that happens,” I said exasperated.

"Every day Jayden or
you're not going!" he said with finality as I walked away. I knew
he meant it. At this point, it was pointless to argue with
him.

I went up to my room and
packed for about a week, I really didn’t have any idea how long we
would be gone. I made sure I packed warm clothes, since it is the
ocean weather and can be little unpredictable, especially in the
Pacific Northwest.

Who knows if they still
live there, or if they do, would they really want to know who I am.
I grabbed a few of my zip up hoodies and few warm sweaters. I would
rather layer up and be on the safe side. While I packed, I kept
thinking about what we found in my Mom’s chest and what it all
meant, I still needed to read those letters from my grandmother to
my Mother. I finished up packing when my cell phone
rang.

“Hello” I said, but I knew
it was going to be Sully.

“Hey, I just wanted to let
you know that I’m packed and on my way,” she said.

“I’ll make some dinner for
both of us if you haven’t eaten yet,” I said knowing if we were to
eat anything healthy if would have to be me cooking. Sully could
mess up a box of macaroni and cheese.

“That would groovy, I’m
famished. I couldn’t eat at Logan’s house,” she said.

“I understand me either.
Ok, come on over and I should have something put together by the
time you get here,” I said.

She hung up and I grabbed
my bag and started downstairs.

(Whining) I looked behind
me and Saska was sitting next to my bed whining.

“What’s wrong? I haven’t
forget about you, I’ll make you something when we get downstairs.
Or do you want dog food, it’s been so busy I haven’t had a chance
to go get anything from the store,” I said as I walked up to him
and squatted down and stroked his chest.

“Come on let’s go, we need
to get going soon,” I said as I started back towards the
door.

I turned around and he was
still sitting there.

“Ok, what’s the deal; you
have been a great dog until this moment, what seems to be the
problem?” I asked him.

He jumped onto my bed and
laid down.

“Are you tired…or what, you
don’t want to leave right now, is that it.?” I asked him, thinking
that he would be able to tell me what was wrong.

I turned around and thought
if I start to leave maybe be will follow. As I started towards the
door he barked at me.

“Ok, now you know that I
don’t understand dog talk, so I have no idea what the problem is,”
I said.

He jumped off the bed and
went and started to drag my bag back to my closet.

“So you don’t want me to
go is that it,” I said.

He barked again.

“I have to go, you can
come with me too, I suppose that I could ask my Dad to watch over
you while I’m gone,” I said as I stared at him.

“I have no idea where you
came from or why you are still with me, but I have to go on this
trip. Come if you want, but I’m going,” I said as I went over and
picked up my bag and walked out of my room.

I could hear him walking
behind me. I just hope that bringing him along doesn’t cause me
more of a problem.

I stopped and he walked up
beside me.

“If you can understand me
like I think you do, I have to find out what my Mom’s letter meant
and why those two guys tried to kill me and the dog attacks,” I
said has I bend down and kissed him on his nose.

He licked my
face.

“Dog breath, just wanted I
wanted,” I said as I wiped my face off. “I’m going to take that as
a yes you’ll go with me,” I said.

On the way to the kitchen
I stopped by Dad’s study and asked him if he wanted me to make a
plate for him. He declined, saying that he had eaten earlier and he
was going out in a while.

In the kitchen I found a
casserole that my Dad had made a few days ago, he loves to cook; we
always have something in the fridge to heat up. I dished up two
plates knowing that Sully would scarf down whatever I put in front
of her. She never gets to eat home cooked meals, with her cousin
traveling all the time.

I had just pulled the
first plate out of the microwave when I heard a tapping coming from
the backslider.

I walked over and Blake was
standing in my back yard with a smile.

“Hi Blake, you have come
to the front door,” I said as I stepped aside to let him
by.

“I thought it might be
better not to have to talk to your Dad right now. He’s probably not
very happy that his little girl is going on a trip with a boy he
doesn’t know,” he said while looking around.

“I’m not his little girl
anymore, but I understand what you’re saying. He did confront me
about you, but he let it go. He knows that I’ve had a rough week so
he’s not pushing it. My Dad is pretty easy going as long as I’m
honest with him,” I said.

“It’s nice that you have
that kind of relationship with your Dad,” he said.

“Would you like some
dinner, I was just warming up some for Sully and I,” I said as I
went back around the breakfast bar to grab another
plate.

“If you’re sure you have
enough, I ate a little at Elvina’s, but every time I tried to put a
bite in my mouth someone came up and would start asking me
questions, so I really didn’t get much down,” he said as he sat
down at the breakfast bar.

“I have enough; my Dad
doesn’t know how to make for two, especially when it comes to
casseroles. Can I get you something to drink as well, we have soda,
or juice…” I said as I opened the fridge to get the
casserole.

“I would love a glass of
water, thank you,” he said with that smile.

He really is very handsome
in that mysterious way. His eyes are a dark brown with dark brows
and lashes. He has one of the most welcoming smiles, it’s the kind
of smile that makes you want to open up to him and tell him
everything.

“I’m really glad that you
are going, thinks have been so strange lately and the more of us
there are the stronger is makes me feel,” I said.

I gave him a warm plate of
my Dad’s chicken casserole and a glass of water. I was just putting
down Sully’s dinner when she popped into the kitchen.

“What’s smells so good,
chief?” Sully asked.

“Chicken casserole. What
would you like to drink?” I asked her as she sat down next to
Blake.

“I’ll take one of those
cold beers I saw in the fridge,” Sully smiles at me.

“Hello Sully, did I miss
your 21
^st
birthday?” Dad sad
as he came into the kitchen.

“No, but I thought it
sounded good with the casserole. I’ll take some water too Jayden,”
Sully said.

“So, this must be Blake.”
My Dad said as he came and stood next to me in the
kitchen.

“Hi Mr. St.Claire, yes I’m
Blake, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he stood up and offered is
hand to my Dad.

“So I hear that you are
going to Ilwaco with my daughter and Sully. I want you to be aware
that my daughter has taken plenty of self defense classes, her
pepper spray and a tazer.” Dad said.

“Dad, I’m sure that there
won’t be any need for that, plus it’s not a very nice welcome is
it,” I said as I started to eat my dinner.

"It’s ok Jayden, if I had
a daughter I would probably feel the same way. I will look out for
your daughter and treat her with the utmost respect,” Blake
said.

“You see that you do, or
you might see a side of me that hasn’t come out in many years,” he
said as he took a drink from his glass of I water I had poured
him.

“Ok, ok, thanks Dad for
putting the fear of god into my friend. I’m sure that he
appreciates that,” I said and I frowned at him.

Dad finished eating his
plate and left us alone, but not before he told to make sure that I
checked with him before I left.

“Your Dad is very
protective of you isn’t he,” Sully said.

“He’s just worried about
me, I’m all he has left,” I said.

While Sully and Blake were
finishing their food I searched the fridge wondering what I was
going to feed Saska.

“So Saska, what are you in
the mood for…I’m not really sure what I have that you might like.
Do you want to try some of this casserole, it’s pretty good.” I
looked down at Saska and he gave me a quite bark.

I dished some up and put it
down for him, he seemed content with what I gave him. I wonder how
he would fair on our road trip, he seems to listen to me very well,
but sometimes he has a mind of his own.

When we all finished
eating, we grabbed our things, said goodbye to my Dad and loaded up
my car.

Driving me
Crazy

We had everything all
packed in the trunk when I heard Sully and Blake having a
disagreement about something.

“Are we already having a
dispute before we even leave the driveway?” I said as I went up to
them to try and figure out what was wrong.

Blake was leaning against
the door and Sully was standing next to him with her hands on her
hips.

“He won’t ride in the
back.” Sully said.

“I'm not riding in the
back with a dog that obviously doesn’t like me. That’s setting
myself up for a rough ride. Especially since that dog doesn’t seem
to fond of me,” Blake said.

“Why do you think that
Saska doesn’t like you?” I asked.

They both pointed to the
back seat where Saska was sprawled out.

“So, he’ll move when
someone gets in the back with him,” I said.

“And who do you suggest is
suppose to sit back there with him, lady,” Sully said to
me.

“I really don’t care who
sits back there with him, but one of you has to, there’s only two
seats up front and one of them is the driver,” I said as I walked
around to the driver’s side and got in.

Let them work it
out.

I could hear the two of
them arguing about who was going to sit in the back. I saw Sully
try to get in the back and Saska growled.

“Jayden, I refuse to get
bit by your dog, you need to control that mutt or so help me I will
go buck wild on him,” Sully said with anger in her
voice.

“Saska, you can’t have the
entire back seat to yourself, there’s one seat up front and two in
the back so take your pick,” I said.

Saska jumped up front and
sat in the passenger seat next to me and I could swear that he was
smiling.

“Well that settles that,
you both can sit in the back together,” I said.

Sully and Blake got into
the back seat, but neither one seemed very happy about it. I guess
being afraid of my dog stopped that argument.

“Your dog seems to
understand what you say, I’ve never seen a dog so well trained,”
Blake said.

“Well I guess he is just
that smart,” I said as I took a glance at Blake through the rear
view mirror.

I noticed that Sully
already had put on her tunes and was staring out the window
watching the cars go bye on the freeway. I wanted to strike up a
conversation with Blake but I didn’t know what to say so I turned
on my stereo and popped in my Tracy Chapman CD. I kept it low
volume just in case he might want to say something. Plus I only
cranked Tracy if I was by myself so I could sing along with
her.

It was about an hour into
the drive before he finally said anything. It took me a minute to
realize that he was talking.

“I’m sorry Blake, I was in
deep thought, what did you say?” I asked him.

“You must have been in
deep thought because I asked you three times,” he said with a
smirk.

“Sorry” I
smiled.

“I said…..are you nervous
about meeting your grandparents,” he said with a little irritation
from having to ask me so many times.

“I won’t be nervous until
we get closer. So where did you grow up?” I asked with real
curiosity.