Authors: T. L Mitchell
“Oh Darling,” she began in her overly dramatic tone. “How are you? I heard the news and got a flight immediately. It’s just dreadful, dreadful I tell you.”
Aunt Doris, the adopted sister to my father. Married money and still looking for money. I suppose her motivation was probably not respect, but to see if her dear brother left her anything in his will. She was a few years older than my father was. Even still, I thought back to how my father made his own way in life. Even though he was a self-made millionaire, his family was very poor. Not compared to Thomas, whose family always had money. I suppose living a life of luxury didn’t impress me. Dad’s dreams were just to take care of me. On the other hand, bringing my thoughts back to Aunt Doris, the only goals she had were the alcohol and where her next rich husband was coming from.
“Have they caught the animal?” Her question sent my nerves into a wild frenzy. I settled down when Daniel’s warm hand touched my back. His body pressed closer while he inhaled a quick breath to speak.
“Not yet. I understand the authorities are still looking for it.” His stern voice denoted a slight “
Drop it”
. Aunt Doris, even in her intoxicated state noticed the tone. Quickly her eyes shifted to me again.
“Dear, are you eating well? You are skinny as a rail,” she reached down and grabbed my hands. “Pale too. What no engagement or wedding ring? Nowadays, it is best to get married early; at least you have your pick of the good-looking ones. When you get my age, the only thing you have to look forward to is their bank accounts, retirement funds and death benefits.” Her cold hands patted mine while her eyes trailed to Daniel.
The warm flush fell again over my cheeks. There was no word in the dictionary that my father could properly use to describe my aunt. There were however, several, which he had used, which were inappropriate. Always, this woman brought out the animal in my father. After being in her presence only a few moments, Dad would put a sailor to shame.
I remembered clearly the language he would use was a series of grunts, huffs, and four, five and six letter words that made a complete sentence. This was the only time that I had ever seen my father upset and mad. I smiled to myself thinking of poor Uncle Dave. The short, balding and overweight man was so passive compared to his overly opinionated and controlling wife. He was a sweet, quiet man and I often wondered repeatedly how he ever married this obnoxious woman. Maybe it was love. I could only believe it was her love of money that drew them together. Knowing Aunt Doris, she probably told him they were going to get married and when. Whenever Dad would ask Uncle Dave how he put up with Aunt Doris, Dave’s response was always the same.
“When it becomes too bad, I just take my hearing aid and teeth out. So when she yells at me I can’t hear
it and I just smile at her.”
I let out a laugh that surprised everyone standing around me.
“How’re those batteries, Uncle Dave?” My lips twitched trying to hide my smile.
His aging eyes twinkled as he looked at me. “Oh, they are holding in there.” His smile broadened as he winked at me. “Quite some gathering. Your father had a lot of friends.
”
“Well, you know how his friends do things. When everyone gets together, it is the same type of function for a funeral or wedding. I think it is more social than mourning. … ”
my voice trailed off when I noticed Aunt Doris looking curiously at Daniel. “I’m sorry,” I began, “Aunt Doris, Uncle Dave this is Daniel Maxwell.” I wanted to cringe in my seat at what I could only expect would come out of her mouth next. Her long fingers reached over to shake his hand.
“Well, Julie.” My heart pounded loudly. If there was some way, I could distract her from the next few words.
“It is nice to meet you, Daniel. Maxwell? As in Thomas J. Maxwell, attorney at law?” I looked up at Uncle Dave hearing his voice. The expression on my face was a pleading venue of thank you.
“Yes. Thomas is my father.” Daniel’s smooth voice tingled in my ears.
“Yes, I thought I could see the resemblance. Tell me, are you following in your father’s footsteps?” For some reason, I don’t know exactly why, Daniel’s body stiffened. His arm muscles tightened against my side. Nervously, he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“No, sir. I am following a different route all together.” The sharp tone in his voice indicated tension at the mention of his father’s name. I knew he could tell that I noticed the difference in his voice when he looked into my face.
“Well, I have always believed that every man should follow his own heart,” Uncle Dave replied.
“So do I, sir, so do I.” Daniel smiled broadly while his fingers ran lightly up and down my back.
“Well, I...” Aunt Doris started.
Uncle Dave turned toward her and cut her off again. “It was nice seeing you again Julie. Daniel it is truly a pleasure to meet you. Hope to see you again. Don’t let your dreams die.” He gave me a quick wink and smile.
She opened her mouth to protest, but his arm was already moving Aunt Doris away from us. Her voice trailed out in a series of protests while he guided her through the crowd.
My eyes fell to the table and I couldn’t help laughing again. I felt Daniel’s hand on my back again. “That woman,” I muttered, sounding like my father.
“I think she’s… well, unique,” he teased.
“So did Dad.” We both laughed. It was a good feeling to be able to laugh again. The anxiety wasn’t as bad as it was a few minutes ago. The waitress returned with our drinks.
Daniel held his glass and leaned slightly toward me. His hand touched my back ever so lightly.
“Shall we… ” My eyes followed his to an outdoor patio. I nodded.
I knew there were two things I was certain about at this point; first, I didn’t like being in a room full of people. Second, I hated being the center of attention. It was as if he read my mind. Gently he held on to my chair. When I stood, I felt his hand on my back again steadying me, and then guiding me toward the patio.
The sun had gone down, resting long behind a grove of trees. The full moon illuminated the night, bringing with it a romantic feeling. The gentle chill in the night’s air felt good against my bare skin. I couldn’t express in words my gratitude to Daniel for saving me from my anxieties. The silence of the night, along with Daniel's presence washed away all my fears.
“Thank you.”
“For… ” His voice trailed softly in question.
“For saving me from all those people. I don’t think I could’ve taken another second being in that room.” I ran on.
“You do not like crowds do you?” Daniel leaned against the railing holding his drink while he looked curiously at me.
“No, I don’t. I become uncomfortable.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t like people staring at me. It makes me… uncomfortable.” A warm rush filled my checks and I lowered my eyes. A quirky grin crossed his lips, followed by a humorous chuckle.
“What?” I moved closer to the balcony, resting my arms on the concrete rails, my eyes lifted to his.
“Nothing. I just can’t imagine that
you
would feel uncomfortable with people staring at you.” The word ‘
you’
pulled on my nerves.
“What do you mean by that?” The words that left my mouth shot out before I had a chance to control the tone.
“Well, it’s just… ” he turned to me and glanced around, “You are the most beautiful woman here.” He whispered as if he were telling me a secret.
A sly and sinister grin crossed his face while he raised his eyebrows. For some reason it was the way he said that and the expression on his face made me laugh. I couldn’t even be offended or embarrassed. The sly grin turned into a complete smile showing off his beautiful teeth. I glanced at the moon again, suddenly remembering the thoughts of why we were here.
“Daniel would you tell me something?” I hoped since we were alone maybe he would answer some of my questions.
“I guess that would depend on what you want to know.” He turned the glass to his lips.
“What happened to my father? Everyone seems to be so sensitive
around me.” I checked the box one more time to make sure I could handle the information. So far, the box was secure. I took a deep breath and prepared myself. His eyes looked deep into mine; the expression on his face showed concern.
“Dad received a call from one of his friends in the Midwest, Ted Neely. He owns a ranch in Oklahoma. It did not seem to be a big problem at first, one or two cattle missing per season. This was different. Ted had gone out to check on the herd one morning and found something he had not expected. A full-grown Black Semital bull weighing approximately twenty-eight hundred pounds found dead. He had been use to wolves in the area. Normally they would take out a calf or two. The pack never was strong enough to take out a full-grown bull. He knew that these types of killings were not normal. No matter how many wolves were in the pack, there was a slim chance they would have taken down this bull. He was huge.” His voice trailed off in thought. Looking to me, he could tell the story pulled my curiosity. He continued.
“So that is when he called my Dad. Dad called his hunting buddies to go help their friend. They all flew out there and decided to hunt the pack down and kill them.
Apparently, they were too dangerous to leave running wild. The chances of them reaching human population would be dangerous or even attacking a human for that matter of fact. Wolves normally stay away from human populated areas. The day before everyone left, Dad received another phone call from Ted. He explained they believed the same pack of wolves attacked a local. The person… .” He stopped.
I didn’t realize I had stopped breathing, until I caught my breath and began breathing slowly again. The expression on his face told me he didn’t want to continue. It was too late; I already had a good idea. I waited silently for him to continue.
“So,” I decided to try to figure out the rest of the story. “The person was mauled and they took off after it. In short, my father was attacked by the same animal.”
He nodded silently. The sick feeling in my stomach grew heavy when the thought of my father mutilated by some wild animal ran through my mind. “Wolf?” I stared into his eyes.
Daniel closed his eyes and nodded. His gentle voice soothed the emptiness that I felt.
“There were two of them. Martin had managed to take a clear shot into one of them. It went down immediately. The second one slipped away. Apparently it backtracked and attacked Martin before the others reached him.” The numbness crept back up my spine. I couldn’t help the next question that escaped from my mouth.
“These were not
normal
wolves were they?” He shook his head slowly. My mind flashed back to my dream.
“Lycans”
I whispered. I noticed Daniel straighten up and his expression turned from sadness to curiosity. His eyebrows knitted together.
“What did you say?”
“Lycan. I heard it in my dream.” Then I heard something inaudible that sounded like he said “
not lycan“.
Before I had the chance to ask him to repeat himself the door opened behind us.
“There you two are,” Thomas announced, exchanging glances between Daniel and me.
“She needed some fresh air.”
“A room full of so many people just made me uncomfortable. I just couldn’t take it anymore,” I chimed in. I knew that if I gave him another suspicion he would let it go.
Apparently, Thomas's intention was to hide the truth from me. I reached over and squeezed Daniel’s hand, “Daniel brought me out here so I could breathe.”
“Oh, well of course then. You should have come to me and said something. We would have left immediately.”
“I didn’t feel right about doing that.”
“Honey,” he began, I raised my hand in protest. He closed his mouth and nodded his head. It was pretty easy to understand how Casey wins arguments with her father. He was a sucker when it comes to the women in his life. “Well, let’s go then. It is late.”
Everyone knew that the Maxwell’s make an appearance. Unfortunately, so do the Knights, a legacy which I couldn’t live down. We always arrived fashionably late to any event, only to leave ever so fashionably early.
Either way, I was glad that it was time to leave. I had enough to think over for one night. Daniel’s warm hand moved slowly across the small of my back, breaking my thoughts, which were headed into another direction. He led me back in the room and through the crowd of people. We stopped occasionally for the people who wished to convey their sympathies. The mask I wore became a fixture for the routine of the smiles, the hugs and the handshakes. There were the never-ending compliments I received concerning my appearance and not to forget the curious glances from Daniel to myself.
Moving toward the door, I noticed Thomas, Charlotte and Casey waiting on us. In a way, I envied Casey. She looked like a beautiful blond model striking a pose for
Vogue
magazine. Her beautiful long blond hair hung over one side of her tan shoulder leaving the other side exposed. Her brilliant diamond earrings sent sparkles across the room whenever she would nod and smile at people. My chestnut brown hair and olive colored skin didn’t compare to her features. Smiling to myself, I was proud to have a best friend, let alone someone who I considered a sister as beautiful as her.
Under the awning, our driver quietly waited with the door held open. Another hour drive back home, allowing me to mull over my thoughts. Charlotte entered first, Casey next and Thomas followed. I waited for Daniel, but he gave me a little nudge and leaned over to my head, his lips gently brushed my ears. A feeling of warm heat rushed up my spine before I heard the breathless words
“I would rather you go first. I couldn't take that again.”
Heat burned my cheeks again. I bent my head down, holding the top of my dress with my hand and started inside the limousine. I know it wasn’t my imagination, I swear I thought I heard Daniel clearing his throat. What now, I thought, I have nothing exposed. Once I settled inside, his head popped in to see where everyone was seated. Casey had decided to sit between Charlotte and Thomas. The current seating arrangement forced Daniel to sit beside me.