Chapter 15

Fred took his time returning to the cabin. He wandered up and down the hills and through windswept fields. He had a bit of an idea, but had to find a birch grove first. He smiled, knowing he could do it, as long as he was careful, he just hoped that it was something Tanya would really enjoy. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, smelling for the characteristic swamp-sweet scent of birches.

He moved southwest, and came upon a stand. He was hunting for a long straight branch with no off branches; nothing to leave a knot and ruin the lines of what he had in mind. He inspected it carefully, and then broke off a branch.

He sat with the lump of hardwood in his lap, his fingers digging carefully, creating smooth curves and feathered lines. He crushed some sand from a nearby boulder, and used his sand-coated thumbs to rhythmically smooth away any imperfections in the delicate wood carving.

Fred smiled at the carving in his hands, hoping that it would make Tanya smile. He hated that she often looked so sad. He looked at it slowly, the eyes, so realistically peeking out at him.

He practically flew home, smiling to himself all the way. Home-he liked that thought. It had been a long time that he felt like he had a home. He found he was much calmer now, and knew he had Bella to thank for it. He wanted to talk to her. The kiss was...well, amazing...but he wanted more than that...he knew he needed to get to know her—really get to know her.

Fred could admit it now, he wanted to know what made Tanya tick, what made her cry, what made her sing. He knew she'd been around for a while, but what exactly is a while? He smiled again thinking how he was going to enjoy unwrapping the mystery that was Tanya.

Everyone was sitting in the living room, just relaxing. Carmen was in Eleazar's arms, as he read quietly to her in Spanish, stroking her hair. Tanya and Kate were sitting on the floor in front of the fire, looking at magazines and comparing hair styles while Garrett sat in chair behind Kate with a laptop.

All eyes were on Fred when he walked in, forcing an embarrassed smile and a small wave from him before he headed to the back of the house. He knew he had to talk to Tanya, but he didn't want it to be the family entertainment for the night.

Thankfully, he didn't have to.

As he sat in his room, trying to decide how best to get her alone, he sensed her at his door. He couldn't really explain, it wasn't her scent of wood smoke and cinnamon, thought he breathed it in deeply. It suddenly just felt...right.

"You can come in, you know," he said softly, and the doorknob turned as Tanya stepped in. He knew everyone was likely to be listening, but at least he didn't have to see them watching him make an ass of himself. It was going to be bad enough that he was afraid he was going to make an ass of himself in front of her. But damned if he was going to let her think he didn't want this...want her. He felt guilty for how self-conscious she seemed to be. A woman that beautiful should never have to feel self-conscious.

"Look-"

"I'm sor-"

They giggled nervously as they both tried to speak.

"Ladies first," Fred said with a swipe of his arm.

Tanya looked at him sincerely and said, "I'm sorry for running off on you."

"And I shouldn't have gone all caveman on you," Fred said as he pulled his fingers through his hair. "Wait. For running away?"

Tanya smiled at his confusion. "Well, yeah. I was...ummm...enjoying myself."

Fred moved with vampire speed across the room in front of her, before his fingers slid up to stroke her face. "Never let it be said that I didn't take a lady's wishes into consideration."

His cheeky grin morphed into a soft smile, before dropping his lips to hers. Perfect. Smooth, welcoming. She moaned softly, as softer than a butterfly, his lips barely brushed against hers, lingering as he inhaled deeply the smells that reminded him most of home, the spicy warm scent of his mother baking spice cookies for the holidays. It should have surprised him, both the memory and the connection, but it didn't. Tanya was his home now.

Her eyes were still closed as he leaned back from the kiss. Now that's a sight I could get used to, he thought to himself. So serene and perfect.

"I um...I have something for you."

Tanya's eyes slid open in confusion. "What? How?"

"Well, I knew I couldn't give you chocolates," he chuckled softly, "but you've given me so much, I didn't want ..."

"Fred, what you've gotten is from the family—not from me," she said seriously. "I won't have you feeling like we're starting something unequally."

"Just so you understand," he replied as he moved swiftly to the bedside stand in the room before returning and kissing the tip of her nose. Carefully, he took out the palm sized sculpture, and held it out to her.

Tanya's eyes widened. "You made this…for me?"

It was times like these that Fred was glad vampires couldn't blush. "Well, you seemed concerned about them, and I can't really get out to shop for anything right now. You also kind of remind me of her.."

"Her" was an exquisitely rendered arctic fox, her fluffy tail wrapped around her body in repose, her sharp, vulpine eyes staring watchfully out through the carefully carved wooden fur.

"She's beautiful."

Fred wore a cheesy smile. "I said she reminded me of you. Beautiful, yet guarded, but still a complete vixen."

Tanya smiled and chuckled lightly, all the while realizing exactly how much he had seen into her true self.

"Thank you. Truly. I've never gotten such a special, thoughtful gift." She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently.

His arms wrapped almost carefully around her waist, even though he didn't attempt to deepen the kiss. When they finally broke apart, Tanya rested her forehead on his firm chest.

"I've never done this before—the whole relationship thing," Tanya whispered softly. "I'm afraid I'll do something to screw this up. I've looked for you for a very, very long time."

Fred smiled into her hair. "I want to learn all about you. And to be honest, I'm really not all that complicated. We have plenty of time to take it slow, and figure it out as we go along."

Fred heard a muffled snicker from the living room, confirming they were actually being listened to. "Tanya's never done slow before!" and then the muffled explosion of a smack came from the distant living room. A masculine groan followed.

Tanya groaned and hollered back, "We can hear you, you know!"

Fred looked down at the beautiful, yet irritated woman in front of him. He leaned forward and whispered ever so quietly, "You want to go for a run?"

Tanya beamed up at him. "God, yes!"

They dove out the front door, cheered on by hoots and hollers from the peanut gallery currently residing in the living room, and sprinted out into the trees.