Chapter 67
Seeing the animal control truck approaching, Roger casually attached his leash to Sasha's collar and continued strolling along as if he owned the place.
The truck slowed and stopped, the driver's side window came down and Paul Ramirez grinned at them, "How you guys doin'? Hi Sasha! Remember me?"
The huge wolf grinned and easily pulled Roger along behind her as she strolled across the narrow road for a treat.
Paul laughed and said, "I don't know why you bothered to clip that leash on her as we approached, if she decides to take off, she'll just go and never mind what you might think about it."
Roger smiled as Paul gave her a treat and played with her fuzzy ears.
His partner, a younger black woman simply rolled her large, expressive brown eyes at her senior partner's antics.
With Sasha now sitting on her haunches, her long pink tongue lolling out of her massive jaws, Paul grinned at Roger and said, "Rodge, I want you to meet Roberta. Roberta is going to be taking over this area as I'm getting moved upstairs."
Roger smiled at Roberta and said, "Pleased to meet you."
She glanced at Sasha's great lupine form and said, "The pleasure's all mine. I am glad she's friendly, all the neighbors seem to really like her."
Roger chuckled and remarked, "She's almost a little too friendly, I'm gonna have cut down on her food portions a bit because of all the treats she cons out of the neighbors. She and Dena have quite the little racket going up here."
Roberta laughed and got out of the truck to play with Sasha a bit
Roger was struck by her physicality, Roberta was obviously in very good shape as her well muscled arms flexed and bulged while she gently played with Sasha's great velvety soft ears.
She was taller than him by several inches and with her chestnut hued skin, beautiful face, large expressive eyes and athletic build, she made quite the first impression on Roger.
Roberta finished playing with Sasha and said happily, "I gotta admit the first time I saw her I was like, "Oh, hell no!" Then I saw her with all those small children gathered around her all perfectly safe, and so I introduced myself and we became friends!"
She extended her hand and Roger clasped hands with her and smiled at her as they shook hands.
Her grip was firm and confident, her hands as large as his own, no small person was Roberta Mercer.
He smiled and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Roberta!"
She smiled back and replied, "The pleasure's all mine!"
Roger grinned at her and said, "You've probably heard this one a million times, but what kind of exercise program are you on? You have quite the physique."
Roberta laughed and replied, "At least you didn't ask me if I "worked out" and say I have a "nice body". You just phrased it differently!"
She grinned and said, "Yes, I do work out, I like being strong and feeling good. Blame my grandfather for my height and build, he was a big, strong, very black, tobacco farmer in North Carolina. All of us grandkids are big and strong, I just helped it along with weights and a strict diet."
She smiled again and said quietly, "I have done a few fitness modeling gigs, but not enough to pay the bills. They seem to prefer lighter skinned girls I guess."
Roger frowned and retorted, "Well, they're idiots. You're probably quite interesting to photograph with your dark skin and muscularity. With good lighting to enhance the contrasts and emphasize your curves...Wow! You just haven't met the right photographer who can bring all that out."
Roberta turned on a 1000 watt smile and said happily, "Why thank you! That's the nicest thing I've heard all week."
Roger was about to reply when they heard Freya's voice, "Sae 'at's whaur yoo've gang aff tae, Ah was wonderin'"
Freya came striding up to them.
Her gym shorts and tank top doing little to conceal her lithe build and incredibly long legs.
She seemed perfectly comfortable with the fall chill in the air, she came up and loomed over Roger then hugged him, his head against her swelling bosom.
She turned to Roberta and asked, "Is he in onie sort ay trooble, ma'am?"
Roberta looked up at the towering teenager and said with a smile, "No ma'am, he's not in any sort of trouble. We were just getting acquainted."
Roberta stuck out her hand and said cheerfully, "I'm Roberta by the way. I'm going to be taking over this area and Paul's just showing me around."
Roberta smiled when her large hand was engulfed by Freya's even larger hand as they shook hands.
Freya smiled at the smaller woman and replied, "Ah'm Freya an' Ah abide wi' Roger just oop th' road a bit, an dornt caw me ma'am, Ah'm jist a lass ay thirteen."
Roberta flashed a toothy grin and replied, "Duly noted...Don't call Freya, ma'am!"
Paul cleared his throat and said, "Well guys, I hate to be the drag here, but Roberta has a lot more people to meet, both two and four legged."
Roberta paused to give Sasha one more ear rub and hopped into their truck before Paul drove off without her.
As the truck disappeared around the corner, Freya commented, "Tha' war different."
"How so?"
She smiled at him and said, "Roberta didnae comment oan me height, Ah'm nae used tae 'at."
Roger laughed and replied, "She herself is a standout and probably gets a lot of comments about her height, size, physical conditioning, you name it, she's likely heard it."
Roger smiled up at his young giantess of a companion, took her hand and said, "C'mon, I'll buy you a coffee!"
Freya squeezed his hand and replied, "Ah loch me coffee wi' cream an' sugar an' Ah wooldnae be averse tae some ay yer cookin' as well."
Roger smiled at her and they set off for the house with Sasha padding along behind.
As they strolled along, Freya said softly, "Ah've really missed yer cookin', Ah got sae used tae seein' ye in th' kitchen with aw th' pots an' aw th' pans a cookin' makin' food fer aw ay us."
She squeezed his hand and said quietly, "When ye got hurt, Ah didnae ken aw tha' went oan, th' police an' th' news people aw stickin' cameras an' microphones in me face askin' quaystions Ah cood'nae answer."
Her voice briefly rose in volume as she exclaimed, "One stoatin' bloody oaf asked me if Ah war still a virgin! He war implyin' 'at we war sleepin' togaither loch man an' wife, as if 'at had anythin' tae dae wi' ye being hurt an' aw! Ah war sae wantin' tae gie heem a thumpin'!
Roger paused a moment then said, "First of all I'm glad you didn't, you know how strong you are, you could have killed him. Second of all, he was probably some jerk who wanted to record your reaction because he thinks it would be funny to his viewtube viewers. Hopefully he didn't get his wish."
Freya simply replied, "Ah tauld heem tae get off uir property afore Ah called a cop."
As they approached the house, Sasha surged forward and scratched at the kitchen door, wanting to be let in.
The door opened and she slipped inside ahead of them.
Roger smiled and remarked, "And I get accused of spoiling her? Y'all do the same thing, but I get the blame!"
The kitchen was nice and cozy after the chill in the air outside.
A pot of water was heating on the stove to make soup while a large skillet was laden with sizzling bacon, potatoes and eggs all cooking at once.
The coffee maker was nearly finished gurgling and filling the glassy pot.
Toast was being buttered and jellied and the table was already laid out.
In the midst of all this gastronomical enterprise, stood Anna Karlsen AKA Anastasia Karloff, author of popular Gothic romance novels and actual vampire (Known only to a select few.)
She had an apron tied around her slender waist and had a spatula in one hand with a plate in the other.
She grinned at the incoming duo and said cheerfully, "Good, you're just in time! Help me with serving up our breakfast."
Roger smiled as he pitched in and brought her the plates which were laden with food and placed on the table.
Freya filled coffee mugs and set them on the table with cream and sugar nearby.
Roger grinned as he handed Anna the tiny plates reserved for Dena, Anna smiled back and daintily loaded the tiny wood elf's plate with her food.
Roger then set the little plate at the place where he had put in a special seat for her. Being only two feet tall, Roger had made a special high chair so she could eat at the same table as everyone else.
He even came up with a service for her, plates, bowls, cups and saucers and flatware all for her.
Dena was very thrilled when she saw it and she had liberally sprinkled kisses on him, to his embarrassment and Freya's amusement.
When everyone was seated Roger smiled at all of them and said, "I can't tell you how glad I am to be home again. I really missed you all and the sense of having a family waiting at home for my return made it all the harder to bear."
He sighed and said quietly, "As you may have already heard, I didn't really have a family while growing up, my father died in prison and my mother left me with the state and they left me with my elderly grandfather. He died not long after that and I ended up in one foster home after another. I was always in trouble and was encouraged to go into the Marines to avoid a stint in the youth prison system. They really straightened me out and made me into a responsible young man."
He grinned and took Freya's hand, "I now have a family of sorts and a mission in life. Thank you all for becoming my family!"
While Freya flushed slightly, Dena rose from her seat and got up on the table.
She walked up to Roger with a smile on her pretty face and a gleam in her bright blue eyes.
Anna smiled and muttered, "I see a kiss in your very near future!"
Dena stooped slightly to plant a kiss right on his lips, she held it for a few sweet moments and as their lips parted, said, "Ah'm a part ay yer family tay an' dornt ye gang fergit it!"
Roger grinned at his tiny friend and said cheerfully, "How could I ever forget such a thing as getting kissed by a wood wife named Dena!"
Dena smiled at him and flounced back to her seat.
Anna took a sip from her coffee, dabbed at her full lips with a napkin then rose from her seat.
She came over to Roger's side and as he looked up at her, she leaned over and kissed him softly, her kiss lingered a moment, then she said, "I am happy to be a part of your family."
She smiled and said quietly, "I lost my original family when I was turned at the age of twenty one. They knew what I had become and yet could not bring themselves to obey church law regarding my kind. They sent me away with a small fortune while some other poor girl's corpse got a stake driven through its heart and was beheaded, then buried in unhallowed ground."
She looked thoughtful then said quietly, "Fifty years later, I returned and placed flowers on her grave, no one else had ever done so, I owed her that much."
Anna smiled at everyone and said, "The next two and a half centuries were spent in hiding and adapting to a changing world. Then I met you guys and for the first time in my long existence, I feel like I have a family!"
Freya smiled and said, "Ah awreddy hae a family an' friends at haem. Since Ah mit Roger, Ah hae seen an' experienced things nae other Jotun has. Ah've flown an airplane, an' seen th' jungle, an' eaten Japanese food."
She grinned and said cheerfully, "Ah must soond loch a broken record sayin' an' aw th' time. It's jist 'at Ah've had sae mony new experiences, Ah dornt ken whaur tae begin."
She flushed and hesitated and fidgeted until Anna laughed and said gaily, "You may as well kiss him too, all the rest of us have!"
Freya only turned even redder and Roger stood up this time, stepped over to her and leaned over to gently kiss her right on her lips.
It was the first time he had kissed her instead of it being the other way around.
Roger smiled at his towering young companion and said to her, "Living with you has been an amazing experience and one I will always treasure. I know that all too soon you will reach the age of making the biggest decision of your life. At that time I would hope that you will continue to include me in your future as a trusted advisor and very dear friend."
Freya turned even redder and burst into tears, then abruptly fled the kitchen.
It was an emotional display he had never seen from her before and he stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Anna sighed and muttered, "And here I was hoping you weren't a typical male, dense as a block of wood!"
Dena was a lot more forthcoming about her opinion when she strode across the table and slugged him on his still good arm.
Roger gasped in surprise at the amount of pain her tiny fist had delivered and when he gaped at her in his shock, her eyes were brimming with tears as she cried in her squeaky toy voice, "Ye stoatin' bloody oaf! Th lassie is in loove wi' ye an' yer tay dense tae see it!"
She glared at him and strode back across the table, jumped to the floor and stormed out of the kitchen.
He looked over at Anna and said drily, "I suppose you are also going to slug or cuss me out or something."
When Anna did not reply he said, "I'm not entirely without feelings when it comes to her. She has been better for me than the two women I was once wedded to. Those marriages were disastrous and left me with a lot of trust issues where women are concerned."
Roger picked up his dishes and set them in the kitchen sink.
As he left the kitchen he turned and said to Anna, "I trust her, and that is saying something."
He paused, "As big as she is, she's only a child of thirteen and is experiencing emotions that, while they are very real to her, they are also new to her."
He muttered, "I have feelings too, but I'm the adult with the responsibilities of pretty much raising her. Whatever my feelings are, they have to be kept under control for the time being."