Ch. 4
Sam hopped out of the car and stretched with a groan. They'd left Dallas early, driving all day only to end up in the middle of nowhere. The openness was incredible though; the area surrounding the little ranch house stretched on for days. Desolate but beautiful. He kept the thought to himself. Dean's whistle broke the silence, and Sam whirled. A figure was walking towards them from the stables. Sam had to agree with Dean, the girl was gorgeous. Dark-gold hair that flashed in the sun, curves in the right places. But when she came closer Sam felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. It was the girl from his dreams. She was even wearing the same brown leather jacket and boots. Then she broke into a smile, and at her voice he froze.
"Sammy! Dean! Holy shit you boys are a sight for sore eyes!"
She threw her arms around Dean who spun her around, before holding her out at arm's length.
"I'll be damned, Cali you sure as hell grew up on me."
Cali punched him in the arm. "And you haven't grown up at all. Sam don't look so happy to see me."
When her eyes turned on him Sam forced a smile. "Jesus Cal I'm sorry. It's been a long time."
She pulled him down into a hug. A combination of intense fear and joy at reunification knotted his stomach. Cali kissed him on the cheek.
"Too long, in my opinion."
"Not that that's any fault of our own." Dean's voice had gone from happy to sharp in an instant.
That woke Sam up. "Yeah Cal, where you been?"
Cali sighed and scratched the back of her head. "That's a long story. But if you want to hear it, it ties into the problem we're having here."
Sam looked at Dean, who was still a little tense. "Course Cali."
Cali looked at him softly. "Come on. There's food inside."
Sam could hear Dean's stomach rumbling. His was too. He decided to wait to tell Dean what was going on. As far as he could see, there was no Bryant Hotel out here in the middle of nowhere. And the way Dean and Cali were looking at each other, he had a feeling they had some unfinished business to hash out together.