Chapter 8

We spent the next two days enjoying ourselves as much as possible at the resort. The first day we visited a nearby dolphin research facility and a wildlife refuge, and that night we had a last dinner at the Dining Room and danced on the verandah until the early hours of the morning. The next day we went wakeboarding and had fun on the beach, while the evening was spent at a romantic private dinner at Solitude Point. In addition, Dean declared a goal of making love on every surface in and around our bungalow before we left.

The morning of the third day, we packed up all our belongings, which included persuading my brother not to steal any of the towels from the bungalow. At the Lodge, we bade farewell to our friends among the guests and staff and exchanged contact information with some of them. We then took the ferry back to the main island and loaded our bags into the Impala.

We could've asked Castiel or even Gabriel to transport us directly to Sioux Falls. But we were in no rush to be anywhere, so we took a meandering route back. We spent a day each in Key Largo, Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, and Sea World in Orlando. We helped Garth take down a revenant in St. Louis Cemetery Number One and then hung out with him in New Orleans for an additional couple of days. After laying to rest a tormented spirit near Galveston, we visited Space Center Houston and attended a Texans game at NRG Stadium. We stopped at the Dallas World Aquarium and the Dallas Zoo and went to the rodeo in Fort Worth. A grateful Osage family took us in for a few days to recuperate after we exterminated a pack of chupacabra on the outskirts of Tulsa. We had lunch with Missouri in Lawrence and barbeque for dinner in Kansas City. In Des Moines, we visited the Science Center of Iowa and Adventureland Park.

In the midst of our travels, we still managed to devote time to the house hunt. We researched the entire home buying process, including the ins and outs of mortgages and realtors. We tried to narrow down some of the criteria for an ideal house. For geographic location, we ended up choosing the Pacific Northwest coastal area for its liberal domestic partnership laws and temperate climate, even though it was farther from Sioux Falls than we'd like. (Dean was excited to learn there was a town called Winchester Bay on the Oregon coast, which even had a nearby stream called Dean's Creek; he was less than happy when I vetoed the idea of living there.) For house style, we both agreed on Craftsman for its character and simple elegance and for its prevalence in our region of choice. We also worked on filling in the details of the life and times of the Smith-Wessons and contacted Frank Devereaux to bolster the paper trail to support them.

In all, it was nearly three weeks from when we left Chavah Island by the time we rolled into Singer Auto and Salvage Yard. We pulled up in front of the house and grabbed our bags out of the car. After the usual greeting of holy water and silver, the older hunter let us in the door.

"Certainly took you idjits long enough to get here! I was 'bout ready to send the Mounties out after your asses when you finally called," Bobby grumbled, before pulling each of us into a hug. "Drop your bags off in your room and then meet me in the study."

"We missed you too, man," I told him with a grin.

After depositing most of our bags in our room, we went down to the study and took our usual seat on the couch in the bay window. Bobby eyed the one bag we brought with us curiously.

"You boys look good," he said. "The tropical air must've agreed with you. I swear you look younger or something."

Dean coughed and looked a little embarrassed. "Um, that's all us, Bobby. We . . . uh, we decided to drop the scars and aging and shit. The conversation you had with Sam 'bout his powers a while back kinda gave us the idea."

"Well, no need to be uncomfortable in front of me if it was my idea, kid! And it's more than that. You both look more relaxed and happy. And I ain't just talking 'bout the goofy, sexed-out looks I'd expect after your extended honeymoon." Bobby grinned when both of us blushed.

"The resort Gabriel sent us to was spectacular," I admitted. "Everything there was amazing—our bungalow, the food, the staff, and all the activities. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime vacation!"

"And no problems with the . . . supernatural element?" Bobby asked gruffly.

"Nah, dude. Everyone there was cool. If it wasn't for how some of 'em looked and some of the things on the menu, you wouldn't know it ain't a normal incredibly swanky resort. And there were all types there—we met vamps, werewolves, skinwalkers, witches, ghouls, kitsune, and more," Dean said.

"According to Gabriel, there's a whole community of supernatural creatures out there, living normal lives. The ones that we hunters run into are usually their equivalent of the criminal element. The rest of them do their best to try not to attract attention," I explained. "We were skeptical at first, but everyone we talked to at the resort basically backed up his claim. There's a whole secret world that we never knew about before, Bobby. This resort is just one small part of it."

"And they know 'bout hunters too," Dean added. "They kinda have a love-hate relationship with us. They're glad when we get rid of the bad apples 'fore they can expose the law-abiding ones. But they're also afraid of us in general, 'cause there's too many hunters that would kill all of 'em and not care if they're innocent or not."

"We're going to try to keep in contact with some of the friends we made there. We're hoping that if we show that we can be trusted, they'll eventually introduce us to more of this community," I continued. "Think about it—there's so much we can learn from each other, and so many different ways we could help each other too."

"Well, hell!" Bobby sat back in his chair. "The idea is certainly gonna take some getting used to! If this was coming from someone else, I'd be convinced you were drunk or trying to pull my leg. But just the fact that this resort exists is some kind of proof. And you were around these people for two weeks, and I doubt all of 'em could be such good liars to fool both of you the whole time. If you can convince these new friends though that we all ain't a threat, then I want in too. In fact, I'd be glad to meet 'em sometime, if they're willing."

"We definitely will. We figured on trying to introduce some of them to you, Jody, and Garth as soon as we can," I said.

"Now for the more important stuff, dude. We gotcha some souvenirs!" my husband announced.

He pulled the gifts we'd picked up for our adopted father from the bag. There was a baseball cap from the resort gift shop, a pirate ship model from Key West, a bottle of aged Jamaican rum, and two bottles of barbeque sauce, one from Dallas and one from Kansas City. The older man looked thrilled and immediately put the baseball cap.

"These are great, boys!" he said. "I'll hafta find a good spot in here for this ship. And I'm gonna save the rum for a special occasion. Maybe your first anniversary?"

"That would be nice," I replied. "We also got a couple of things for Jody. We figure we should try to see her sometime before we leave."

"Uh . . . well . . . she's actually coming over tomorrow for dinner, so you can give 'em to her then. And don't you two morons try to make a big deal outta nothing!" he growled with flushed cheeks in response to our wide grins and Dean's waggled eyebrows.

Dean unsuccessfully tried to wipe the grin from his face. "C'mon Bobby, it's awesome that you two are getting on so well. Would you like me to cook something for tomorrow night? And me and Sam can clear out if you want some alone ti—"

"Don't make me smack you, ya chucklehead!"

I snickered at Bobby's discomfiture before calming down. "Really though, we're happy for you! Anyways, we do have something important to tell you. Dean and I talked before we left the resort, and we've decided that we want to buy a house of our own."

Bobby looked even more pleased. "That's great to hear! You know I've always wanted more for you two than just hunting. You deserve a chance to settle down after everything you've done. I take it that Dean told you 'bout the money then?"

"Yes, he did. And I want to thank you for helping him with that, on top of everything else you've done for us!" I said. "We're going to keep hunting, but we do plan to slow down some now that there's no big doom and gloom hanging over us. I filled Dean in on your and Garth's ideas about trying to implement some order and structure in how hunts are handled. If there's anything we can do, let us know."

"No need to thank me 'bout the money, Sam. I'm just glad your brother was convinced to spend it on the both of you," he responded. "I assume this is why he had Frank do all that extra work on those false identities before the wedding."

"Yeah, you're right. We can't exactly apply for a mortgage and shit as ourselves, after all," Dean said. "We could actually use a hand with some of that. Frank's great for making records, but we're also gonna need references to get real jobs to pay the bills. It ain't so hard for me, 'cause I figure I can use you and the salvage yard. We're trying not to bend the truth more than we hafta, to make keeping our stories straight easier, and it ain't much of a stretch to say I've worked here."

"I've tried to tell him that he won't need any references to find work as a mechanic," I interjected. "He just has to show a prospective employer the Impala, and they'll be offering him their firstborn kid as well as a job!"

My brother's face turned pink. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, it's trickier for Sam. We're thinking of saying he's been doing research or teaching for a university, so he can find similar work or even go back to school himself. But that's gonna involve more than giving someone a fake card with your number on it like on a case."

Bobby nodded. "I see what you're saying—everything would fall apart if your potential boss tries to contact the school you say I'm working at and finds out they never heard of me. Hmm, I think I know of someone who could help. Me and Ellie go way back. She's a professor of medieval studies at San Francisco University. I'll get in touch with her and see what we can do."

"That's fantastic, Bobby!" I said gratefully. "If you don't mind, we'd like to stay here for a little while. We have to wait for Frank to finish the background info for out aliases, and in the meantime we need to get a better idea of what we're looking for."

"You know you both are welcome to stay as long as you want. Even after you get your own place, you'll always have a home here."

We discussed our home search for a while and also filled him in on some of what we'd done since leaving the resort. Eventually Bobby said he had to get back to work and chased us out of the study. Dean pulled me outside and led me out back to the auto shop.

He stopped me just outside the garage doors. "Wait right here, Sammy. I got something I wanna show you."

He disappeared inside and emerged moments later driving a classic muscle car. With surprise, I recognized the GTO that he'd been working on for the past few months. I hadn't been paying a lot of attention to his progress, but the last time I saw the vehicle, he'd still been sanding the rust off. Now though, it looked as if it had just rolled off the showroom floor. The exterior was a glossy dark green with thin white striping running from the front quarter panel to the rear of the side window, and what I could see of the interior was upholstered in black leather.

My husband shut off the engine and got out. "I'm sure you're wondering why I dragged you out here, since you're usually as interested in cars as I am in nature documentaries. I figured if we're going sorta legit and getting a house and jobs and crap, you're gonna need your own ride to get around. And since no brother or husband of mine is gonna drive some cheap plastic piece of shit, here!" He handed me the keys with a wide grin.

As I took them with a stupefied stare, he continued, "So this baby mighta started out as a beat-up sixty-nine GTO Judge, but she's now what you'd call a restomod—I wanna make sure you're in something safe, and I know you'd want better mileage and modern features. So while the outside is as stock as I could manage, underneath she's got a four-hundred horsepower LS2 engine, updated suspension, disc brakes, rack and pinion steering, four-speed automatic transmission, stiffened safety cage, upgraded tires, the works. It's like what I did when I had to rebuild Baby and put in the five-fifty HP big block engine and updated some of her systems. For your girl, I also added a modern radio with a CD player and even a douchey iPod jack."

I walked around the car and examined it, feeling stunned. I'd never had my own car before—even at Palo Alto, I took public transportation or got rides from others. While the GTO might not be what I'd choose for myself, there was no way to deny that it was stunning. And to know that my brother had put so much time and effort and artistry into something for me . . .

Dean continued as I stared at the car, "I know purists would complain 'bout not using factory parts and shit. But most modern cars are safer and handle better for a reason. So I fixed up what original parts I could and sold 'em to buy the new parts for her. And Bobby helped a lot, of course. I couldn't have finished her by now without him. So whaddya think?"

I threw my arms around him. Dee, I don't know what to say. This is gorgeous! I—I can't believe you did all this for me. I feel bad that I haven't done anything like this for you.

He put his hand up on either side of my face. But you have, sweetheart! You saved me! Before we got together, I was in seriously shitty shape. I was barely sleeping, I was drinking as bad as Dad, and I was 'bout ready to give up. I was tired of fighting and eaten up with guilt, and nothing in my life seemed worth putting up with all that crap. I think I wasn't far off from saying "Yes" to that damn archangel and not giving a fuck 'bout what happened to me after.

You accepting me, supporting me, loving me—that gave me something to live for again. You made me see that I was worth something, that I was strong enough to stand up to whatever life threw at me. I wouldn't have survived all the shit that was on my shoulders, and I wouldn't be here now, if it wasn't for you. And that's worth more than a fucking car or house or some other thing. He kissed me fiercely.

I leaned my forehead against his. You know you've done the same for me, right? There's no way I could've resisted Lucifer or—or learned to accept and forgive myself without you! And you deserve more. You've given up everything for me and Dad and everyone else, and—and a nice house is a drop in the bucket compared to what we all owe you. I kissed him back just as passionately.

"Alright, that's enough—we don't wanna turn this into a giant chick-flick fest." He cleared his throat and straightened. "How 'bout we take this girl for a spin and try her out?"

I nodded, and he went around to the other side of the car. We got in, and I turned the key in the ignition and listened to the engine rumble and purr. I started to smile as we pulled out of the salvage yard. The smile turned into a wide grin after we found some empty back roads and I opened her up. She wasn't quite as powerful as the Impala, but she was still no slouch and handled like a dream. For the first time, I began to understand why Dean was so enthralled with his own car.

I glanced over at the passenger seat and watched the other man grin and whoop as we raced down the road. I abruptly turned down a small gravel path and entered a wooded area frequently used by the local high schoolers as a make-out spot. I parked in an empty clearing and turned off the engine, then leaned over the center console and pulled my husband into an ardent kiss.

"Backseat, now!" I told him once I let him up for air, before getting out and folding the front seat down.

"Wow, not wasting any time here, huh?" He smirked and waggled his eyebrows as he scrambled into the back.

Dean removed his shirts, dropped them into the foot well, and toed his boots off, then lay back on the bench seat. I first reached over to unfasten his jeans and pulled them and his boxer-briefs off, and then I climbed into the back above him. I kissed him hungrily and scrabbled my hands up his chest to pinch and tug at his nipples. He hissed slightly at the small pain and pushed my t-shirt up so that he could run his hands up my ribs and around my pecs and back.

After a couple minutes, I dropped my mouth to his chest to suckle and nibble at the small nubs. He arched his back and dug his fingers into my shoulder blades, then slid them down to fumble at the closure of my jeans. He eventually got them open and drew my cock out of my boxers. He threw one leg over the back of the rear seat and hitched the other up around my waist, then pushed himself down until he'd impaled himself on my length.

I groaned as my shaft suddenly was encased in his damp passage. I began thrusting into him and grabbed his thigh with one hand, using the other to stroke his weeping member. My lover whined and rocked his hips against me, his heated channel contracting around me.

He soon gasped, "Slow down, Sammy, or I'm gonna . . . gonna cum!"

My hand sped up. "Go ahead, love. Wanna see you cum all over my hand."

He bucked his hips and shot his load onto my fingers, his inner walls clenching on my cock. I lifted my hand to his mouth and watched his pink tongue come out to lap up his own seed. I growled at that and started driving into him harder, stimulating his prostate with each stroke. He braced himself against the side of the car as I gripped his legs tighter and bent over to claim his mouth.

"Come on, Dee . . . take it . . . take my cock," I grunted between bruising kisses.

"Ahh, yeah, Sam . . . don't stop . . . ahh, gimme more!" he panted in response.

As I raised my head, I could see the car windows had fogged up from our steamy breath and could feel the vehicle swaying from our vigorous motion. Dean keened and wrapped his legs tightly around me as I pounded repeatedly into his silky depths. It wasn't long before my climax rushed toward me, and I redoubled my pace, determined to bring him over with me. He screamed and quaked beneath me, and I cried out as I ejaculated inside him. He caught me as I collapsed atop him and turned us onto our sides.

Hate to tell you this, kiddo, but I don't think you can return her now, my brother said with a laugh.

That's okay. I think I love her already, I responded. I definitely love the guy who gave her to me!

He beamed at me. We'll make a gearhead outta you yet, Sammy!