- Chapter Thirty-Seven -
Welcoming Party
Tail beating the side of her master's leg like a great big welcoming drum, the golden pup trembled excitedly in her shiny sun-kissed fur as she watched the battered boat being tied down at the end of the pier. Windswept breeze dying just enough to fuss with the colorful second skins of her people, Vicky could practically taste it in the salty air that the short seasonal storm would break soon. Ending as abruptly as it had started, it was a relief to the pooch to see the sky and the sea return to the same harmonious shades they usually were. Her master would let her girl out to play when the weather was nice. She liked to play, especially with her girl!
"Remember what I said Nate," friendly and always cautious for the clan, the master's mate chose her words with care, "just be nice." Breeze carelessly running prying fingers against them all, her own canary tresses began to flail against the master as well. Kind brown eyes adamant even as the familiar tumble threatened to loosen across her pretty face, the woman gave her spouse a light squeeze on the inside of his wrist as she wound her arm into his, "I mean it." A practiced form of communication, she whispered too low for their offspring to hear, however Vicky's canine ears had no problem hearing the human speech perfectly fine. "Chloe filled me in yesterday, and I gotta say, it doesn't sound good."
Wounded by the fact that she even had to ask - or rather playing like he was - the master held his chest and made a face, but frankly Vicky had lost interest by that point. People were coming! New people! And dog? Cat? Better not be a mangy stray... Buried beneath the rancor of agitation and mixed among spices and herbs, there were simply too many aromas invading the air to be absolutely sure; definitely man-made and natural alike, there was life aboard the vessel.
If she were still listening, the faithful companion would have heard her master mumble to himself, "You be nice... I'm always nice."
Barking at the unfamiliar watercraft, Vicky didn't let up in her defense until a familiar person disembarked; semblance of silence short-lived, the dog was back at it as soon as she identified two new humans.
Master's kin as notable as ever by the distinct fragrance of oiled leather, there was something different - something off - lingering just below the usual briny musk. Parchment and ink recent mixtures to the temporary layers, this was stronger, yet not quite enough to immediately stand out... Sniffing at the air with an almost fervent suspicion, Vicky discerned a feminine base, clouded by sterile antiseptics and a light balm. Despite an attempt to wash away the pungent odors of intimacy, master's blood brother was soaked in the new aroma, implying to the pooch that one of the companions was in fact a potential mate.
Obviously smell went a long way in determining whether or not a person could be trusted, however it was not the only deciding factor. Entrusted with the safety and happiness of her humans, Vicky gave the two strangers a once-over. Yapping and impatient pacing causing her little human's arms to wrap tight around her body in an oppressive manner, the embrace made it difficult to judge, yet the old girl wouldn't be deterred from her task.
Knotted at the base of graceful neck that gave way to burgeoning muscles, the she-creature had a dark mane and light eyes swallowed by even darker bags. Reeking of the bitter stench of medicine, the wounded shape being supported like some lopsided beast carried the same undertone of rich sweetness that tainted the master's kin, as well as the same suggestion of sex. In fact it was stronger on her, with time and water only doing so much to mask what had happened. Confused by the lack of seed, she could still make out something like light and velvet beneath a war of male dominance.
Grounded and earthy where the smell Vicky knew was the closest to freedom a human could get was slick and rather like diesel, the fainter of the two essences surrounding the female was dark. Enigmatic, dangerous possibly. Technically speaking the second male had yet to leave his mark on the female, however there was no denying that the two men were antagonistic towards one another. While both strangers were worth keeping an eye on, the first thing Vicky's superior nose picked up on was the telling perfume of other animals that he carried on his person like a blanket. Only... she couldn't see any of them... Were they still on the small ship? It was absolutely driving her crazy!
"Vicky!" Feeble rays of late morning sun glinting off her hair as she held fast to the family pet at her mother's side, Cassie exclaimed as her control waned. Pooch vigorously squirming to greet their company, it was only just barely her fault that the dog got away.
Forever young at heart as she rambunctiously tore away from her girl's constraint and bounded up the pier for a closer look at the visitors, Vicky's enthusiasm could have been misconstrued as a sudden assault to a stranger. Ultimately harmless as a fly, like her owners she was a sweet girl with a lot of love to give. Unfortunately for the pair making their way to the dock, the furry ball of yellow loving was so wiled up by the lie of other animals that she bowled straight into the pillar supporting the prospective mate. Nose first, she was determined to find where the other animals where hidden.
[Sam]
Arms thrown up to protect his face, in the act of doing everything he could think of to keep the sniffing beast at bay, Rafael made the idiotic split-second decision to let go of Daniella. Probably just survival instinct kicking in, whatever the real reason was, there was no justifying his stupidity. As Sam knew from almost a month of experience tending to Sleeping Beauty, the girl was inexplicably cursed with the sort of rotten luck that would almost certainly see her taking a swim. For that reason and that reason alone - well, to be fair the brunette was also the closest to her in terms of proximity - his muscles were snaked around her waist before she could so much as threaten to teeter in place.
Why did Dells have to fit so well against his body? Thinking to himself that he shouldn't have acted so quickly this once, as she fell against his chest he caught a whiff of the hotel's lavender soap; pleasant as some claimed the smell of lilacs and lavender and all that crap to be, personally he didn't think it suited her. Daniella smelled fine enough on her own (even though there was something that recalled Rafe), and besides, the wound was still too raw to be reminded of what had almost happened. She had been right where he wanted her, yet they had made hardly any progress at all! So then why did she have to be so warm in the cold wind that promised to cut them all to shreds?
Dells...
Hope was honestly a force that the thief could say he believed in, as he himself had experienced a handful of the wondrous things it had accomplished, however for the girl, it was a thousand lemon-soaked knives in a single wound. No stranger to harboring an unspoken faith, he could feel it sticking like barbed points in her ribs, hear it catching like gasoline fire in the little gasp to escape her lips when she lost balance against him. Yet he still couldn't bring himself to look at her; knowing full well that his actions (or rather lack thereof) was a slow and silent punishment, he wouldn't change his mind.
Enough to offer a small prayer, he told himself that it only had to be this way for a little while.
[Elena]
Cass and Nate had their hands full trying to regain control of Vicky while subsequently attempting to apologize to... the ship's sole crewman? Chloe had filled her in on the whole messy affair with Rafe Adler's daughter, from the time in the safe house to the kidnapping and all the way to the recovery of the young woman. What the other woman failed to mention was how this kid had fit into any part of the tale. Or had he been touched upon, and he just hadn't left a mark? Regardless, the rest of her immediate family was otherwise preoccupied, which left her free to lend a hand to the young woman.
Except... from what the former investigative reporter could gather, someone already had that angle covered. A little too covered. Dark as the clouds swirling in the distance, his normally unreadable eyes shifted away from the dock to scan the front of the house, yet nothing else was matching her brother-in-law's line of sight. Old leather worn in places and past the point of beginning to crack open, from what Elena could tell the shoes were pointed more inwards, towards the young heiress. Protective bearing making a great deal of sense, the signs hadn't ended there - circumstance a great cover, there was no reason to let his hands linger on her waist once the girl retained her balance, nor was it necessary to keep his own body pressed so close. Unless... Sam's gaze might not have been with the rest of the family, but the fact that it wasn't quite lining up with the rest of his body spoke volumes.
Maybe she was reading too much into a simple gesture, but the blonde felt it in her gut that she wasn't wrong about all this. Not the only one guilty of saying too much about the possible nature of things, the girl's body bent to reply on its own accord, meshing close to her protector. Weather a possible explanation for the prolonged proximity, there was so much more at work in the young woman's eyes as she allowed herself to be held steady. If she hadn't known any better, the now-legitimate adventurer could have sworn that a very adult look crossed the girl's face as everyone fussed with the dog, a cross between anguish and hope.
Oh Sam, what have you done?
Wishing that she could close her eyes and just forget about what she thought she saw pass between the winter-summer pair, the blonde couldn't help but to suffer a saddened combination of horror, disapproval, and disappointment. As Nathan's wife - or perhaps it was just because of the kind soul she was - the journalist had a habit of granting her in-law credit where ever she could. Good a guy as he was capable of being, usually it ended with Sam doing what he wanted and then just leaving on his merry way once he'd had his fill. As a mother Elena didn't much care to think of the heiress in terms of being only so many years older than Cassie, but Daniella Adler was just a girl; a girl that had absolutely no idea of what she was getting herself into with the brunette.
A trait she'd had for far longer than she'd been a mom, she was more concerned about the heiress than she had been before. Being a teenager wasn't an easy thing by any means, what with finding yourself and the approach you wanted to take in the world (forget about discovering boys), so Elena could only imagine adding all the factors the young woman had had to contend with. Stepping up to the plate, the older of the two women pulled the Adler girl away from one of the lesser evils in her situation and off the dock without leaving much of an option. Calling over her shoulder, she ordered Sam to bring the luggage up to the house.
[Sam]
Vaguely aware of his little sister saying something about getting Dells out of the cold and inside, before he could properly register what was happening Daniella had been yanked out of his grasp and he'd been left with the bags. As most of it was Rafael's, the thief was almost tempted to knock it into the churning water that had yet to calm, although if he did that then there went a good chunk of the medicine. Truthfully most all of it could be replaced within a day, but not easily or cheaply - until he got his hands on that payday coming his way, it was probably best to not incur needless debts.
Temptation resisted for the moment, the brunette figured he'd gotten a good one over on the kid by neglecting to mention that his brother's dog would probably go ballistic when they first met. Speaking of his little brother, he greeted his kin with a smile and a hug. "Been teaching Elena some of your old magic tricks? I could have sworn she and our guest were both here with us a moment ago. Cassie, your dad teach you the vanishing act too?"
His niece could care less about her dad's days as 'Nate the Great', whereas his younger sibling was the poster-child of amusement. "You know, I look forward to the day that you find someone special, just so I can pay you back for precious moments like these."
What dirt did Nathan think he had over his big brother? Sure, there were a few - a few - stories he could tell that didn't exactly put the better pickpocket in the best of lights, but no one was perfect. More importantly, the little punk had gone and lost his marbles if he honestly thought that such a parallel figure existed. "Hey, we can't all be as lucky as you and find someone like Elena." Shrugging off the fact that he wasn't exactly looking, he glanced sideways at his niece as she introduced herself to the tag along, "As much as I just hate to burst your bubble little brother, you'll be waiting a long time for that."
Knowing his big brother as well as he did, that was probably true. All the same, that didn't prevent the happily married father from reminding Sam about a certain little incident in Jaipur, "Brass platters ring a bell?" Whether they were good or bad, the thing about sharing experiences with another person was that each individual encounter built up a kind of secret shorthand, an inside joke or something so meaningful that it could be summed up in just a few short words. For the brothers, that trip was no exception.
"Enough said," cases swinging around as he threw his hands up in mock surrender, the brunette figured that that was not a story for Cassie's virgin ears, or Rafael for that matter, "I still don't think it was any worse than you and Sullivan in that town on the way to Lima, but I get it."
Stroll across the vacant stretch of beach cut short as the five came to the front porch, Vicky bounded up the stairs and through the open door, leaving the other four in her dust. There was probably a bowl or treat with her name on it. As for the humans, curious as Cassie was about the story her uncle hinted at she followed the pooch inside with the dog; questions quelled by a single look, her excuse had been something along the lines of her mom possibly needing help. "Doctor" Rafael in no rush one way or another, he merely tagged along with the impression that the Drake brothers would bring up the rear. Which was the case, more or less.
"Hey," Nathan swatted his sibling as they paused on the way, eyes on his daughter's back until he was certain that she was out of earshot, "Careful with that kind of talk. Cass still doesn't know anything about all of that." Everyone kept telling him it was only a matter of time until she found out the truth, and by all rights she was probably ready, but he kept dragging his heels all the same.
Asshole move bringing it up in front of his niece like that, Sam knew that it was the best way to catch his baby brother before they went inside with everyone else. "She won't hear about your illegal exploits from me..." If it had been anyone else, the dubious explorer easily would have blackmailed silence without a second thought, however since it was family he refrained from taking that approach. With family, it was an automatic win. "Just like Dells won't hear about Rafe from anyone but myself."
"Jesus, Sam!" While the story of the first time he had gotten truly good and drunk wasn't anything his little girl (or wife for that matter) needed to hear, Nate saw the truth about Rafe's final days as the exact opposite scenario. In other words, the heiress not only had every right to be clued in, she needed to be told. "She doesn't know?! How can she not know?!"
Weary of the fact that Rafael hadn't exactly made himself scarce in any great hurry, the grizzled brunette wasn't entirely positive that he hadn't overheard - at least Nathan had kept it vague. Following by example, the brothers joined the party and found the young man with Elena and Dells, "tending" to his patient no doubt. Still just the tiniest bit irked that the young woman hadn't flatly rebuffed the transparent play of false affection, the historian spitefully mused that she was probably savoring every last drop of attention.
Rafe would have.