Inheritance (The Dark Gifts) (13 page)

Jason shrugged and before closing the door, said, “Whatever you think you need to do, buddy.”

Sarah peeked through the curtain of her bedroom window.  Shad was not going to just walk away.  She knew she’d have to speak with him, but she had no idea what to say.  It’s not like she could tell him the truth.  He’d think she was crazy. She needed to figure out a good reason to give him for not wanting to see him anymore. 

Sarah sat on her bed with her legs hanging from the side, kicking at the frame.  The problem was she
did
want to see him.  All the time, every day, she wanted to see him.  She couldn’t think of an excuse good enough to give him. 
It’s not like I want him to go away forever, I just want some time to get myself under control. 
Sarah had a plan.  All she needed was a month to gain control of herself, and strengthen her control over the pack.  Once that was accomplished, she could see him if she wanted to and no one would be able to stop her. 

Jason stood at the door watching his sister suffer in silence.  He knew he should say something supportive, but he couldn’t find the words.  As much as he was into Ashley, he was expected to keep up a relationship with her--for the packs sake.  Even though his info gathering had more to do with finding out her favorite color than her family history, at least he was able to see her.  Shad seemed like an okay guy.  Other than the mating out of your species rule, Jason thought Sarah should be allowed to see him.  Of course, there were ways around rules.  If Sarah happened to bite him while in wolf form, then he would become part of the pack.  Sarah would never agree to it, though.  She thought of them as monsters.  But Sarah didn’t have to know everything that went on around here, and he was still Alpha until she took over…

“I’ll go talk to him.  Don’t worry.  It’ll all work out, I promise,” Jason said.

Sarah’s eyes met his and filled with tears.  She wanted to thank him but the lump in her throat would not allow her to speak. 

Jason pivoted and left to have another chat with Shad.

***

Slid down in the front seat, Shad sulked.  His expression was a clear indication he wanted to throttle someone.  Jason leaned against the side of the truck and waited for Shad to acknowledge his presence.  Shad didn’t say a word.  As the silence became uncomfortable, both young men spoke at once.

“Look, I want you to know--”

“Jason, you have to make her--”

Both men chuckled and Jason continued, “Shad, you need to know this is not Sarah’s fault.  She just doesn’t know what to say.  Our family is very close knit, and they don’t like the idea of her being with you.  Especially since she’s not eighteen yet.  Uncle Thomas is really giving her a hard time.”

“Okay, I get it.  My age is a problem.  I wouldn’t have approached her to start with if I'd known she was only seventeen.  I can’t help it, I like her.  What if I talk to your uncle?  Would that make a difference?”

“Yeah--that wouldn’t be such a good idea.  It would probably make things worse.  We just need some time.  If you could just lay off for a little while and let me and Sarah sort this out with him, then it could work out.”

Shad’s eyes drifted away from Jason to the woods surrounding the house.  He appeared deep in thought.  After a few moments he looked warily back at Jason. “How much time do you need?”

“A couple of weeks?”  Seeing the look on Shad’s face, his voice softened.  “Look, I know that seems like a long time, but it isn’t all the much.  I want my sister to be happy.  If she’s happy with you, I want her to be able to see you.  I don’t have any ulterior motive.  Seriously.”

Shad’s mouth slid into a passable excuse for a smile.  He nodded his head in agreement.  “So what are you doing tomorrow?  You want to go fishing or something?  If I can’t see her then I might as well get to know you.  We can bring Ash, if you want.”

“Sounds like a great idea.  Let’s plan on it.”

Sarah watched from the bedroom window as the two shook hands before the truck drove down the driveway. 

Jason winked at her and smiled as he returned to the cabin.  Neither young man knew the other left with the same thought in their minds--
I got this all under control.  It’s going to work out just exactly like I planned.

Jason leaned back on his elbows and watched Ashley and Heather splash around in the stream.  Both looked extraordinary in their hot pink bikinis.  They were exactly the same except for one major difference, their personalities.  Ashley was quiet and thoughtful, more subdued than Heather.  Unlike most girls her age, she knew how to be quiet.  Not the uncomfortable, don’t know what to say kind of quiet.  The enjoying each other and spending time together kind of quiet.  Ashley was a gentle soul full of love and beauty.  Jason loved to watch her discover something new.  Her face would light up with a child-like innocence he’d never noticed in children over eight. 

Heather was a completely different story.  She was a hot-head.  One needed to tread lightly when talking to her.  Avoiding her temper tantrums was a full-time job.  Full of sarcasm and mean comments, she rarely had anything nice to say to anyone, including her sister and brother.  Jason shook his head as he listened to the girls banter.

“Oh my God, Ash, did you have to get it in my hair?”

“It’s just water.  Chill out.”  Ashley laughed as she forcefully shoved her hand through the water.  A large wave splashed over Heather’s head.

“Oh is that how you want to play it?” she sputtered.  Raising her hands over her head, Heather dove on top of her sister pushing her under the water.

Ashley came up laughing, but Heather looked pissed.  She immediately began wringing out her long hair.  “Great.  I just did a hot oil treatment, too.”

Shaking her head, Ash laughed, “You did it.  I didn’t ask you to dunk me.”

“Whatever.  I’m done.  I’m going to lay on the beach and get some sun.”  Then looking her sister over, she went on, “You should lay out too.  You look too white and in that suit, all the pale skin makes you look fat.”

Also wringing the water from her hair, Ashley smiled.  “We wear the same size dork.”

“Yes.  But your hips and butt are bigger than mine.  I got the good genes, thank God for that.”

Ashley shook her head as her sister plopped on a towel and began spreading oil over her skin.  “Shad?”  she said holding the bottle out to him.

“Ugh.  You know I hate getting that crap on my hands.”

“Well I’d ask lover boy to do it, but you know who might get jealous.”

Sticking her hand out, Ashley said, “Give it to me.  I’ll do it.”

Heather smiled smugly and passed her the bottle.

Relieved, Jason sighed.  The last thing he wanted to do was put his hands on Heather.  He looked over to Shad and whispered, “Guess we were saved by the bell on that one.”

“Yep.”  He replied without turning his gaze from the water.

Shad, a full two years younger than his sisters, was surly.  Jason wasn’t sure if it was because Sarah wasn’t there or if it was the interest he showed his sister.  Either way, Shad seemed less than impressed with Jason’s attitude toward Ashley.  Sarah spoke of Shad frequently, and the laughing, fun guy she professed her undying
like
for, had yet to surface.

The two men sat in silence while the girls baked in the sun.  Finally having enough of being uncomfortable, Jason tried to strike up a conversation with the surly young man. “So my sister has a lot of good things to say about you.”

“Oh yeah?  Like what?”

“Well, apparently you’re funny and easy to talk to.  She says you make her laugh.”

“That’s good.”

Jason waited for Shad to say more but he wasn’t biting any better than the fish.  Jason shook his head and chuckled.  “Anything you want to know about my sister?”

“She’ll tell me when she‘s ready.” 

“Look dude, it was my idea to help in her quest to go out with you.  You keep acting like this is all my fault.”

Shad, eyes full of contempt, looked at Jason and nearly hissed, “I didn’t say it was
your
fault.  It pisses me off that this is just an age thing.  Or is it more than that?  Is it that we are Native American?  Or better yet, because our mother was Mexican?  What is it with you people?”

“Whoa, just hold on there, slick.  It’s not a prejudice thing.  You need to try to understand.  Our family is old.  Really old.  Almost everyone in the family has stuck to the old ways for hundreds of years.  Sarah and I are just trying to fit in.  She’s spent her whole life wanting a family, and now that she finally has one, she doesn’t want to mess it up.  That’s all.  End of story.  Don’t read something into it that’s not there.”

Shad laughed as he pulled his tank top off over his head.  Folding it neatly, he used it to wipe the sweat from his forehead.  “Old?  You want to talk about hundreds of years of tradition?  I know all about tradition.  Our traditions go back to the beginning of time, and I’m not catching any flack for wanting to see Sarah.”

“All this anger isn’t going to get you anywhere with her.  It will push her away.  You don’t understand what it is like to grow up an orphan.  Even though our
family
is odd, it’s still better than no family at all.  At least for Sarah, anyhow.  If it were up to me, I’d move back to Aunt Edna’s.  But it ain’t up to me.” 

A confused look came over Shad’s face as he asked, “What do you mean if it were up to you?  You guys have to stay here?  Someone’s holding you prisoner or what?”

“It’s too hard to explain.  Our situation is…complicated.  I don’t know that either of us
want
to be here, but we really don’t have much of a choice at this point.  There’s stuff going on here you couldn’t possibly understand, Shad.  I wouldn’t know how to begin to explain it to you.  Even if I wanted too--and I don’t.”

Shad picked up a round flat stone and threw it at the water.  It skipped across three times before sinking.

“That’s pretty cool.  How’d you do that?”

“It’s easy.  I’ve been doing it since I was five.  Here, I’ll show you.”

Jason uttered a mental sigh of relief.  Sarah was right; he was easy to talk to. Too easy.  He’d almost let the cat out of the bag, that would have caused huge trouble for all of them.  Maybe her seeing him was not a good idea after all. 
Oh well
,
I have a whole month to decide if he will make a good pack member.  After that, it won’t matter what he knows.

***

A loud crack resounded as Thomas split another log.  Even with everything going on, someone had to make sure the menial tasks were accomplished before winter set in.  When the heavy ice came, power could be out for weeks.  The chain saw roared to life as Pete and Jason began taking down another tree across the back yard.  Thomas smiled as he looked over the expanse of the lawn.  When they first came here, there was no room for grass and flowers.  The trees grew nearly to the back door. 

“Here’s the next load,” Jason said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.  The rusty wheelbarrow, laden with large chunks of tree trunk, sunk into the ground leaving tracks across the grass. 

Thomas arched his back and popped his neck.  “Thanks.  Hard work, huh?”

“Meh, it’s not so bad.  I’d rather do this than sit around and do nothing.”

“You’re a good boy, Jase.  I don’t know how you managed to turn out that way with no parents to guide you, but you’re a good boy.”

Red faced, he looked at his feet.

“Hey, I’m not bringing this load up by hand,” Pete yelled.

Jason laughed, dumped the logs on the ground, and headed back toward Pete.

Yep, things are going pretty darn good around here,
Thomas thought as he watched the boys throw the next load in the barrow. 
Seems like they’re getting along well.  Might be just what the doctor ordered. 
Although Pete hadn’t said anything, Thomas noticed the way he watched Sarah when she was around.  He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and it seemed like he was spending more and more time at the house. 
The boy’s too shy.  I’m going to have to have a talk with him.  If he’s going to stand a chance, he needs to learn how to court.

*** 

The day before her eighteenth birthday, Sarah sat in the woods alone contemplating what was about to happen.  She was lucky.  Unlike Jason, she knew it was coming.  She wouldn’t have to worry about killing anyone, because she was prepared for it.  The guilt Jason carried over those he’d murdered wore heavily on his heart.  When he thought she wasn’t looking, she could see the pain of it pass over his face and knew what he was thinking.  He’d been trying hard to spend as much time as possible with Shad and his sisters, constantly relaying messages back and forth between them.

Sarah didn’t understand why Shad hadn’t given up on her.  She was relieved he hadn’t changed his mind,
yet
.  That was the key word.  Tomorrow everything would change for her.  She was still having the dream about changing.  It still woke her with a scream.  Bad enough she'd be turning into a monster, but to have to take control and lead the pack was too much to comprehend.  Everything about this was unfair.  Why had they come here?  Why didn’t they just leave it alone and stay where they were?  Now her whole life was messed up.  No college, no marriage, no kids…everything she wanted was out of the question.  She couldn’t start a family, and bring more like herself into the world.