Chapter 3
Annabelle
A few hours of work, some pictures and curtains later, and this place felt like home. Marie was still missing from our little family, but she'd be here soon. Finding her a job might be a bit of a task. She's good at many things, but hates doing almost all of them. She did seem to like that job at the hotel, tending bar. Maybe Merlotte needs a bartender? That would be convenient. Not counting any chickens though. I got up and packed a diaper bag. I needed some essentials so it was looking more and more like a dreaded trip to walmart would be necessary. Emma chose that moment to wake up, so I packed two sippy cups and picked her up. I changed a diaper and put shoes on Nat. "Let's go, ladies. Time to go buy food."
We loaded into the car and headed to the local Wal-Mart. I bought a few groceries including a frozen pizza, diapers and some toiletries. I checked out, loaded us back into the Jeep and drove us home. I took the kids and the groceries inside. Preheated the oven and went to put a movie on for the kids. I went back in the kitchen and popped the pizza in the oven. Twenty minutes later we were eating our first dinner in our new home. After that, we took baths and got ready for bed. I took my quiet time to read some and soak in a bath myself. After I was clean and effectively exhausted, I locked up, flipped off lights and climbed into bed myself.
The next day flew by, as most days do with two kids. By dinner, I was exhausted. Might as well check out Merlotte's, considering I'd been invited by the owner and I've reason to go. I'm too tired anyway. I'd forgotten baby wipes at the store last night. I figured I'd run to Wal-Mart first to pick them up. Then feed the kids at the bar. Two birds, one stone and all that. I repacked the diaper bag, corralled my children into the car and headed to Wal-Mart. I checked out, threw the wipes in the diaper bag, and headed toward Merlotte's Bar & Grill. It wasn't anything fancy but it came off welcoming. I pulled into the parking lot, parked and got us inside. I went to sit in an empty booth and one of the other teachers waved me and the kids over to her and I assumed, her date.
"Hey, Annabelle! Are these yours?" she asked, waving to my kids. "They're beautiful."
"Thank you." I said smiling.
"Annabelle..Laing, is it? This is my fiance, Detective Andy Bellefleur." she said, introducing the man she was having dinner with.
"Good evening, Detective Bellefleur." I said nodding to him.
"So where are your little ones going to stay during the school day? Do you have family here?" Halleigh asked.
"No. I was actually told to speak to one of the waitresses about that. Sookie or something?" At that moment, a petite blonde haired, blue eyed waitress appeared at our table, smiling a bright smile.
"Well, speak of the devil. Sookie, this is Annabelle. She was just sayin' that she was lookin' for you."
"Howdy-do. What can I do for you?"
"Yes. Your brother, Jason sent me to ask you about a sitter." I didn't mention how his frankness had made me uncomfortable. Overconfident men made me that way. So I was shocked by her response. "Oh, Jason's harmless. He just doesn't have the sense God gave a goose." I stared at her in shock.
Halleigh leaned over and whispered, "Sookie does that. You'll get used to it." I was torn from my shock when a man walked up to her. He was tall and muscular, dressed in jeans, boots and a red flannel shirt open over a fitted white t shirt. His black hair made an unruly halo around a beautifully sculpted face. A proud nose, squared jaw and bright green eyes so deep, I thought I might drown. He was the most perfect man I'd ever laid eyes on. He had a power about him, it was intoxicating. I'd felt it before around my dad's old golfing buddy. We'd lost touch because my mom freaked when she found out he was a werewolf. Said he was too dangerous around us. Like he wasn't the same man he'd always been.
I don't know why I was letting myself get worked up over him. Men like that don't go for girls like me. A man like that wouldn't want a woman burdened by kids. Not that I thought my children were anything less than a blessing, just that a lot of man tucked tail and ran from a single mother. God, he was nice to look at though. When I came back to Sookie had said something. "I'm sorry, what?"
Halleigh nudged me and said, "She says that this is Alcide Herveaux. Of Herveaux and Sons. The contractors?" I shrugged. I guess that was supposed to mean something. During this exchange over his credentials, Natalie had taken to tugging at his shirttail. "Excuse me, sir." she said sweetly. He looked down at her. "You're very tall and you have a lot of hair."
Oh my god. Leave it to my kids to completely humiliate me in front of the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen."Natalie! Leave him alone. We don't pull on people's clothes!"
Thankfully, he smiled and crouched down to Nat's level. He looked her and flashed a devastating smile. I almost melted into the seat. "It's alright, isn't it Natalie? I am tall, and I do have a lot of hair. You have long hair too. Is that because you're a princess?" "No, sir. I'm THE princess." He laughed a low rumble. He wasn't anymore immune to Nat's charms as anyone else, I see. Sookie laughed too and turned to me and said, "Here, give me your number. Gran would love to keep your girls during the school day. I don't know that she'll take money from a single mom, even if she needs it. If you'll give me her pay, I'll sneak it in on her bills." "Thank you. Thank you so much. This is a life saver." "Nice to meet you, Annabelle. Welcome to Bon Temps." Sookie said and then walked away. Funny, I don't remember mentioning I was single. I looked up and Sookie turned and winked at me. Had that just happened?
I turned back to Halleigh. "That was odd. She's really nice. It's funny. I felt like she was reading my mind or something like that." Then, speaking at the same time, Andy said, "Yeah. Something like that." and Halleigh said, "Sookie's as sweet as can be." It seemed an odd remark, but she'd came off very genuine to me. And my instincts are usually dead on. Which is why I didn't know why I couldn't seem to let go of that gorgeous man, Alcide. He was way out of my league and off limits if attached. I'd been cheated on, I'd never put someone else through that. I went home with my kids after bidding Halleigh and her date goodbye. I got home feeling very accomplished. That night I dreamed of drowning and deep green eyes.
Alcide
I spent as long as I safely could at work, in order to avoid this conversation with Sookie. I knew why I needed to talk to Sookie. But as to why she wanted to talk to me, that made me nervous. Ir could be a good talk or it could be a bad one. The uncertainty was killing me. My gut told me what kind of talk this was. But my heart made me hope it wasn't for my pride's sake. I couldn't help hoping. When I could no longer put it off, I stood up from my desk, grabbed my keys, portfolio, and cell phone and went to my truck. I sat in the cab for a full five minutes, trying to convince myself to go. "Dammit, Herveaux. Let's go. Have some balls." I told myself. With that, I started my truck, backed out of the parking lot, and got on the highway to Bon Temps.
A little over an hour later, I pulled into the Merlotte's parking lot. I parked and sat in my truck, mentally persuading myself to go inside. I took a deep breath, tried in vain to tame my hair in the visor's mirror, and then stepped out of my Chevy and into Merlotte's.
She was standing there talking to two women, two kids and that detective. The woman facing me had simple features framed by short, ear length brown hair. She was attractive in a simple way. I'd seen her in here before with the detective. The other woman had her back to me, she had honey-blonde hair to the middle of her back. I couldn't see her face from where I was standing. She seemed to be the mother of the children, which made sense since they were both the same shade of blonde as their mother. On one hand, I envied her, being able to have normal children. On the other hand, seeing a woman care so much about her family was oddly attractive. So many women don't have that kind of love for their kids. Or don't want families. Which, really deep down, I wanted. But Were babies seldom carried full term with human women. I'd given up hope for kids years ago. It's not a life I would put on a with another Were woman. Most women don't want wolves around their children. And it's not something you can hide for long. So a ready made family like that was out of the question. I'm not entirely sure why I'm thinking about it now.
Sookie seemed to just be chatting. I should let her know I was here. I walked over to her and stood by while she talked to the blonde woman. They were discussing Sookie's grandmother sitting for her during the school day. I had a lot of respect for Adele. I wonder what she did at the school? Sookie glanced up at me and told me she was almost done there and then she had to check her tables. "I'm fine. Take your time." Of course, she knew better.
At that point, the elder of the children starting pulling on my shirt. Sookie went back to talking to them but the blonde didn't seem to hear her at first. Sookie was introducing me to the table, when the mother looked up and said, "I'm sorry, what?" It was then that I got my first good look at her face. She was beautiful. Long blonde hair, soft hazel eyes, long eyelashes and full lips. Life did seem to have left it's wear on her face but she was still so beautiful. The brunette nudged the blonde, Annabelle, I think, and said, "She says that this is Alcide Herveaux. Of Herveaux and Sons. The contractors?" She didn't seem to know who I was. It was refreshing to have someone not fall all over me because of my father's name.
Her accent didn't seem native to Louisiana either. While I was trying to place her accent, she and Sookie had continued talking. All this time, the little girl was pulling on my shirttail. When I looked down at her she said, "Excuse me, sir. You're very tall and have a lot of hair." She was a brave one. And adorable. Her mother noticed at this point and scolded her. "Natalie! Leave him alone. We don't pull on people's clothes." I bent down to the girl, smiled at her and said, "It's alright, isn't it Natalie? I am tall, and I do have a lot of hair. You have long hair too. Is that because you're a princess?" "No, sir. I'm THE princess." I had to laugh at that. She was something else. The whole table laughed too. She handed her a slip of paper and the reason I was here settled back down on my shoulders. Anxious all over again, I waited for Sookie to finish her conversation. Sookie mentioned something about Adele not taking money from a single mother. I clocked her ring finger and sure enough it was bare.
"Here, give me your number. Gran would love to keep your girls during the school day. I don't know that she'll take money from a single mom, even if she needs it. If you'll give me her pay, I'll sneak it in on her bills." Sookie told the blonde.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. This is a life saver." the mother responded.
"Nice to meet you, Annabelle. Welcome to Bon Temps." Sookie said and then walked away. I wasn't paying attention so it took me a second to follow her. So, I just abruptly walked away. Sookie and I went to the bar. I sat down on a stool and waited for her to check on her tables. She came back a few minutes later and started slicing lemons and limes from across from me from behind the bar. "So what did you wanna talk to me about?" I asked, figuring it was better to just get it out of the way. She slowed her cutting and then put her knife down and started separating the limes and lemons into their respective containers.
"Alcide, I..." she hesitated. "Do you want a beer?"
"Sook, you know I can't tonight. Spit it out."
"I'm still seeing Eric."
"I thought you weren't exclusive?"
"We're not. But exclusive is what you deserve, Alcide. You need much more than I can give."
"Why don't you let me decide what I need?"
"Alcide-" "No, Sook. I just want you to try."
"I can't." "How do you know you-"
"Because I'm in love with him, Alcide." I sat back, in a state of shock. "I'm sorry, but I do. I can't help it. But look, you see that blonde over there?" I looked back at the table and nodded. "The one you were ogling?" I looked at her, surprised. "Forget I could read your mind, again? Anyway, you both need something from someone. She needs to someone to remind her that she's more than a mother. That she's attractive and desired. She was all but drooling over you, convinced you were too good for her. She has everything to give and everything to lose. You need a woman that will treat you right and give you everything you deserve, and she's been through a lot of same things you have. And before you go thinking that your 'other self' is an issue, she's more open minded than you think. And you won't have to tell her about them, she already knows." I looked at her, puzzled. "Military family." she answered my silent question. "Here's her number. Just try. For me? No, for you." she smiled. "It'll be worth it, I promise."
I took the number and shook my head, kissed Sookie's forehead, smiling. She may not want me but I could still piss off the fanger. Sookie smacked me in the chest and told me to behave. Later, after visiting with Adele for a few minutes, I was running free. This night certainly hadn't ended like I'd wanted, but, it may not be all bad. Here's hoping.
Sam
We did a bit more research on Bon Temps. Turns out this little town had quite a history. They've had a serial killer, a maenad, werewolves turned witches attacking predominant vampires, an entire community of were-panthers outside of town, fae on fae conflict, and even the town's very own telepath who seems to be involved in pretty much all of it. I told Dean all of this and he was skeptical at best. "Were-panthers?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. Apparently. And another case of seemingly random shootings a few years ago. It turned out to be the cook at that Merlotte's. Also, before that, he had another cook murdered by people that turned up dead at the hands of the maenad. And the serial killer killed one two of his waitresses and attacked a third. Oh and the telepath? She's one of his waitresses. There's no name, just that she's been seen in the different situations in her Merlotte's uniform. Oh and get this, there's reports here of Sam Merlotte turning into animals. And he has a dog named Dean that is around sporadically. And neither of them are ever seen at the same time."
"Wait. Let me get this straight... His name his Sam. He's an animal shifter who's pet name is Dean? Do you not see anything wrong with that?" Dean asked, angrily. "And an animal shifter? There's just Were animals."
"No. Actually, there are pure shifters that can shift into anything. They're very rare, but their real."
I countered. "You think this is what he's hiding?" I asked.
"I don't know yet." Dean said thoughtfully.
"Well, I guess can go ahead and go check out the bar." I conceded. Dean bent and pulled his arm into his chest in a triumphant gesture. "We should probably dress down, though, or no one will talk to us."
"Maybe not you. I look good." Dean said , wagging his eyebrows at me. I just rolled my eyes and went to change.
We got in the car about 5:30 and made to the bar within 20 minutes. That Bellefleur hadn't been lying, the place was packed. But being the only bar in a small parish, that was a given. It was homey inside the bar with a mix of booths and tables. The décor was mostly browns and reds with the occasional neon beer sign or old gas station sign. It reminded me of a small Texas Roadhouse minus the peanut shells on the floor. We walked up to the bar and sat down. Terry was behind the bar.
"I thought you said Merlotte would be here?" Dean eyed Terry like he wondered if Terry was his real name. Suddenly, a head of reddish-blonde hair popped up from under the bar. "I'm Sam Merlotte." He wiped his hands on his pants and held it out. Dean took it and said, "I'm Dean Winchester. This is my brother Sam. We're with the FBI." He cocked an eyebrow and a small smile played across Sam's face as if he found something amusing. "Something funny, Merlotte?" Dean asked, playing bad cop I guess. I decided to lighten the atmosphere by asking questions we already knew the answers to.
"Merlotte, like the bar?" I asked, holding out my hand, gesturing to the bar around us. Merlotte eyed me, like he couldn't decide if I was stupid or if I was being facetious. I thought he'd settled on the former until he came back with, "Yes, like the bar. Winchester? Like the gun?" He laughed at our reaction. I was starting to understand why everyone liked him so much. He smirked at I heard Dean stifle a groan. We hated getting that question. I held up my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I deserved that. We just want to ask you a few questions."
"Always happy to help the police. What can I do you for?"
We had just started explaining the case to him when a peppy blonde walked behind the bar and started making drinks. Dean's eyes widened and, of course, he's suddenly much more interested. She turned to Merlotte and asked, "What's going on, Sam?" She stood there, taking a long drink from one of the drinks in front of her and waited for an answer. She had shoulder length blonde hair, big, beaming blue eyes, a natural looking tan and filled out her uniform very nicely. "This is Sam and Dean Winchester. They're FBI and are here to ask some questions." She nearly choked on her tea. Coughing and trying to hold back her laugh, she smiled at us. "Nice to meet you, Sam and Dean." she said, grinning widely.
At least she didn't make the Winchester rifle crack.
She eyed me mischievously and asked, " Winchester? Like the rifle?" Sam coughed back a laugh. And I had to laugh at Dean's expression. It was like interest crossed with discomfort. "Well, we all love Sam here." she continued, laying her hand on Merlotte's shoulder. And then she turned her attention to putting beers and other drinks on a tray.
"What was your name? In case we need to question you?" Dean asked, pouring on the charm.
"Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse." She walked out from behind the bar and leaned in close to Dean. "You can forget it, though. I'm thoroughly involved with someone you don't wanna mess with. But I think Lafayette is available, he's been eyeing you since you walked in." she said, laughing, pointing to the window on the back wall and walking away. Peeking out of that window, fluttering his false eyelashes and wiggling his fingers at Dean, was a very flamboyant, slender black man. I spewed beer all over the bar. Dean was scarlet and in a state of shock. I clapped him on the shoulder and Sam and I were trying to contain our laughter. Dean was suddenly very anxious to leave. "Let's go, man. We aren't gonna find anything else here tonight." I finally obliged, agreeing with him. But not before finishing my beer that Merlotte had so graciously refilled. I let him stew for a few more minutes. He stared straight at the bar the entire time.
We were on our way out when we overheard someone talking about someone being attacked 'over on peach tree street'. "There was cops everywhere. It took me years to get over here." ranted the heavy set woman in the booth by the door.
"I guess we found something, after all." I smirked at Dean. Dean glared at me, as we walked out the door. We found the crime scene pretty easily. It had been dark by the time we'd left the bar, it being mid-march, it still got dark relatively early. We pulled up behind the cars but couldn't see much of the scene for the blinding police lights. But we could see the house was on fire. It was in the middle of a set of duplexes so the volunteer fire department was trying desperately to contain to keep it from spreading to the other houses. When they finally put out the fire and the smoke and ash had settled, you could see it had only engulfed the front part of the house. The bedrooms and front of the kitchen had been spared aside from the layer of soot and the smell of smoke and melted plastic. We knew it wasn't likely to find the kind of evidence we were looking for in the charred remains so we walked through to the back. We scanned the back yard, looking for any clues, but came up empty handed.
I was ducking under the crime scene tape when Dean cursed. "Son of a bitch. Sammy, you better come here." I walked over to see what Dean had found and my heart fell to my feet. Son of a bitch was right. "Dammit." I said, touching the yellow powder and bringing it to my nose. "Sulfur. We're ealing with a demon."
Sorry about the delay, guys. I am working my way through Sam's POV right now and I should have a new chapter posted for you by the end of the weekend. I came up against a bit of a block with Sam and Dean's story for a while but I think I've worked out the kinks and will review and post asap. Thanks for your patience and support. As always, I appreciate your reviews and will start replying to them and start work on Chapter 5 of this and Nothing is Ever Certain if you're reading that one too. Back to the drawing board. Much love.