Dawn Redeemed

Fallon giggled and playfully batted her uncle's gnarled fingers away. She could imagine Uncle Alexander stomping down to the school, barreling through the playground in his battered boots, tattered overalls, and faded John Deere ball cap to kick some little kid's butt. He was weathered and crinkled around the edges, like a piece of old paper. Rugged as some character in a western. But he had a lightness and true joy twinkling in his mischievous blue eyes that made her capable of seeing her as a kid...misfit and out of place as she. "You really rough up any kids in school?"

Uncle Alexander smiled slyly. Deep laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his mouth and eyes. He ran his hand over his stubbly jaw, perhaps in contemplation or maybe, Fallon suspected, actually counting the number of fights he'd been in at her age. "Maybe, a few," he said. His smile faded into a mock frown and his expression was so utterly incapable of being as harsh as he tried to sound. "But, don't you do it, young lady."

Fallon yanked the frayed ball cap off his head, unleashing a tangle of unkempt red waves faded blond with time. The cap was stained with the yellow tint of sweat and smelled of hay, horses, and summertime. The faded ball cap was too big for her head and slid forward to cover her eyes. She supposed she should be grossed out at the sharp, pungent smell of the cap. But, in a way the smell of sweat and horses, hay, and engine oil was comforting and just so much Uncle Alexander. Grinning, she pushed the bill back on her forehead and gave her uncle a peck on the cheek. "I'll try hard not to."

"That's my girl," Alexander said as he snatched his cap off her head and slid it over his brow. The old porch swing groaned as he swung it back and forth with his heel. He'd spent all day putting in the barn. Nothing was broken until he declared it broken and he was not about to give up on that old lawnmower yet. He'd turn Jack loose in the front yard before he called it quits and parted with the cash for a shiny new mower from the Super Center. Damn things were made in China now, of all places...China. What he had in the barn was good old-fashioned American craftsmanship, solid steel and not that aluminum alloy crap that was all spit and shine and no horsepower.

Leigh would be on him to fix the swing before summertime came in earnest. All it needed was a fresh coat of paint, maybe some nails hammered back into place, and a little WD-40 on the springs. Unlike the mower he'd been patching together for years, and much like this little girl's mood, an easy fix. "Go play till dinner, just don't get dirty."

"Ok." Fallon trotted over to the stairs and gathered up her backpack and jacket. Her feet made loud echoing clomping sounds as she skipped across the front porch. She loved that clippity-clop sound she made. It was sort of like the noise of Jack's hooves on the gravel road. Jack was great, but they weren't tight...not like she and her wolf. She threw her things on her bed and fished the half eaten sandwich out of her backpack. The day was forgotten for the time being in preference of the idea of spending time with her wolf before her mom got home. Maybe her friend would smell the food and come out to play.

"Don't wander too far off!" Leigh called after the ball of energy bouncing out the backdoor. She lost sight of Fallon somewhere between flouring the pork chops and around the corner of the barn. Unlike her mother, Leigh didn't worry about what was in the woods or in the spring grass of the meadow. Sometimes, when Alexander wasn't around, she herself went for a short run barefoot in the meadow or hiking through the woods like some great explorer. Maybe, Erica had forgotten what it was like to be a kid Fallon's age and how quickly the fragile time between child and adult actually passed. Leigh certainly never had. There was more to life than being an adult and sometimes, you just had to cut loose and be a kid, even if you weren't.

"I won't, Aunt Leigh!" Fallon replied. The screen door slammed shut behind her with a loud bang. The kitchen was filled with the glorious smells of supper cooking and her surprise cooling on the counter. Not even the lure of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies was enough to keep her in the house. She bounded off the back porch and across the wide rolling yard. The new grass was springy under the soles of her sneakers. She paused at the border of the woods and held out the sandwich in her fingers, patiently waiting as she whistled under her breath.

"There you are." Fallon smiled as the dog timidly emerged from under a cover of thick spring foliage. "I was worried my mom had scared you off," she whispered. Gently stroking the thick fur along the wolf's neck as he took the sandwich from her hand and swallowed it in one big, eager gulp. She wrapped her arms around his thick, furry neck and pressed her face into the softness, inhaling his musky scent. The dog made a contented sound, almost like a purr, that vibrated against her cheek. "I didn't think you'd ever come back. Please, promise me you'll never leave me."

Chapter 4

Erica's car bumped and shimmied along the narrow gravel lane leading to the ranch. The meeting with Torr had left her unnerved, but hopeful. She was relieved that he hadn't pulled any of that macho crap and demanded to see Fallon today. There had been no mention of custody or visitation rights. And he hadn't said a word to deny that Fallon was his. Torr made no demand for paternity tests. If he had, she would have walked out the door and never tried to contact him again. He seemed eager to accept the fact that he had a daughter. And he was willing to give her time.

The unnerving part of their meeting had been that he seemed eager to pick up things where they'd left off years ago. But, exactly, where was that? She was not into the one night stand thing, and that's all they had been to each other, just a means to an end. There wasn't anything else to it. At least she'd spent the last ten years convincing herself that there wasn't. She didn't expect any spark of interest again. Somewhere in her mind she'd filed him neatly away with all the other guys she'd ever dated. Not that there had been many. It was flattering to know that Torr was still interested. Unnerving as hell though to realize that he could still affect her the same way he had years ago.

She slid the car into park and climbed out. Her life was quickly falling apart at the seams. No calls, again, today for a job. Living with her aunt and uncle after years of independence, bit at what was left of her ego. Her shop had failed and she'd packed up and hauled her daughter and everything they owned half way across the country and she was still essentially, no better off. No worse, but no better.

The cool country air brushed over her skin and ruffled the ends of her hair as Erica leaned against the dusty fender to collect her thoughts. She needed a minute to put on her happy, hopeful face for her daughter and her aunt and uncle. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd made a mistake in coming here. No, there weren't any mistakes, only situations and challenges to deal with. Nobody said starting over would be easy. Except for raising Fallon on her own and placing that call to Torr. Starting over was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

"Penny for your thoughts."

"Don't do that!" Erica jumped and pressed her hand to her heart in shock. Her cousin wasn't there one minute and was there the next. As if she'd just materialized out of thin air next to her.

"Sorry, it's a vampire thing." Alex grinned, flashing a row of perfectly white teeth and no hint of fang. Erica was rattled. Not exactly the effect Alex was going for. It was six in the evening and she could smell her mother getting supper on the table. Alex was only trying to be sociable. She much preferred staying in the shadows until after dark. But, for the benefit of her cousin, she was trying not to do the whole Creature of the Night kind of thing.

Erica rubbed her neck self-consciously and scowled at Alex. "You're not hungry are you?" She studied Alex intently. Alex...was still so much Alex and yet so different. Her cousin was a head shorter and about ten pounds lighter than she. Her unruly crimson waves were cut blunt and fell in line with her jaw opposed to Erica's blonder, coppery tinted hair pulled tightly back into a chignon. Alex wore dark sunglasses glasses over her brown eyes and her skin was pale, perfect, and flawless, almost translucent in the afternoon light without a hint of imperfection. Erica had to scrub her face at least three times a day to keep from becoming a resident of zit city. Even without makeup, Alex was beautiful in a way that Erica doubted she could ever pull off sans lipstick, blusher, foundation, and eye shadow. In a word, it wasn't fair, but there were trade offs for Alex's kind of eternal, effortless beauty. And Erica didn't want to think about that. "I'm still not used to the whole vampire thing," Erica mumbled.

"Neither am I. It's been two years and I'd still kill for a cup of coffee." Alex licked her lips and smiled at the fond memory of the way a hot mug of coffee warmed her fingers and rolled over her tongue. Her father always kept a pot at the ready. Nothing put things in their proper perspective like a hot cup of stout, black coffee. Erica looked like she could use a cup herself. "So, what had you in such deep thought?"

Erica groaned and rubbed the tight muscles in her neck. Alex was her best friend, or had been back in the day before everything that happened, primarily life, happened. They were rebuilding and coming to a fragile friendship the way women with very different lives often did. "Nothing. Everything. I met with Torr today."

"And?" Alex waved her fingers at Erica in a gesture that asked for all the details. Back in the day Erica would have told her anything and everything without a moment's of hesitation. These days, Erica was reserved and hesitant to confess to anything and Alex suspected it had nothing to do with her fangs.

"The meeting went well. I guess."

Alex frowned at Erica's scowl. "That's a good thing isn't it?" Alex moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with her cousin and childhood best friend. Casually, leaning against her so that their shoulders brushed as they walked to the house. She matched her pace to Erica's slower gait. The spring grass was thick around their feet. Obviously, her dad hadn't gotten the mower fixed yet otherwise the grass wouldn't have been so overgrown. Her dad kept the grass at precisely two inches, always had. Last summer, his grass had stopped growing at the required two inch mark. Thanks to a little middle of the night magic from her and Chance's speedy passes with a lawnmower that actually worked. Her dad hadn't figured it out and had fertilized the hell out of the yard to get it to grow.

Erica loved the soft brush of the grass against the tips of her toes. She'd worn her gently used peep toed sling back pumps today because they matched her skirt and looked a bit more feminine than her ballet flats. "I suppose. Torr didn't even try to deny that Fallon was his. He was...well, congenial and understanding to a fault about the whole thing. He didn't demand visitation or argue about child support. He didn't do any of the things I expected him to do. I thought he might be angry, accuse me of keeping her from him. But, he wasn't. In fact, he apologized for leaving me on my own to raise her all these years."

"Promising."

Erica slid her shoulder away from Alex's. They could walk circles across this lush lawn and debate Torr for hours and still not come up with a suitable conclusion. She stopped mid stride and pinned Alex with a meaningful look. "Torr wants to see her."

"Naturally he would. You have to give him credit for that."

"I do," Erica agreed.

"Why do I hear this big but?" Alex turned her back toward the sun. At five thirty in the evening the big ball of orange fire had yet to set. The days were beginning to get longer. She missed the warmth of the sunlight on her face almost as much as she missed a hot mug of coffee clutched in her hands. Erica was so perfect in her imperfections. She fumbled through life, or at least thought she did. Alex, with her gift of visions, endured each day as if she were watching a movie she'd already seen over and over again. Alex missed the closeness she'd once had with her cousin. But, things changed whether she did or not.

"Alex, I get the impression that he wants more than just to see Fallon. He wants us to pick up where we left off." Erica smoothed a windswept tendril away from her face. "We were only together one night. There is no picking up where we left off."

"Could there be? Maybe not picking up where you left off, but a new start? Starting over seems to be your theme for this year." Alex walked beside Erica as her cousin started yet another trek around the front yard. She caught Erica staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Erica's sensible shoes clattered noisily in the grass while she stepped in that silent way vampires did and didn't make a whisper of sound.

"Could you at least make some noise when you walk? It's very unnerving. I feel like a Clydesdale tromping next to you."

"Are you picking on me?" Alex asked with overdone offence in her voice.

Erica shook her head and snickered. "Deflecting, I guess. I really don't want to think about Torr and what is or isn't between us or what could be between us. There's something about him...you know in ten years, he doesn't look like he's aged a bit. Maybe I'd feel better about the whole thing if he had a few gray hairs or a paunchy belly. Hell, I'd settle for a wrinkle or two. He just looks so damned...perfect. Life isn't fair."

Alex nudged Erica gently in the ribs with her elbow in a playful gesture. Ah, here it was the true crux of the problem. Erica felt deficient and conflicted by her past. She marked her imperfections, counted each and every one of them until they were bigger and more pronounced than they actually were. She made them larger than life.

Erica was pretty with a perky nose and curling strawberry blonde hair that reached to the tops of her narrow shoulders. She had curves and hips softened by time and bringing Fallon into the world. Her tummy was rounded with just the slightest hint of pudge. Her face was gentle and not harsh or unkind. With her pale skin and trademark sprinkling of freckles over the tops of her cheeks and bridge of her nose, the two of them looked enough alike to be sisters. Most people who didn't know them assumed they were.

Erica had a rounded woman's figure earned by birthing a child and sacrificing 'me' time in the gym to care for her daughter. Alex was curvy, but her body lacked Erica's rounded, womanly shape. Erica was a head taller and a bit stockier than she, but Erica was by no means fat. The two of them had been trading clothes back and forth since they were kids. Her size tens were a little baggy on Erica and Erica's size eights a little too snug for Alex. But, growing up, they shared almost everything but bras and underwear.

Erica had her beat in the bra department. Alex had her mother's flat chest and wore a B cup while Erica was fuller in the bust and topped out at a solid 36 D. Erica complained that it was difficult to find sexy bras in her size. Alex would have been happy to find a bra that looked good on her without the added benefit of padding and underwires to give her what her mama hadn't. Erica had no confidence in herself and could not see beyond her flaws to look at the bigger picture. Torr's interest was a good thing. Erica could do far worse than a pushy wolf with a big heart and an even bigger ego. "So, you are interested."

"I didn't say that. I've got bigger things to think about than a romp in the sheets with an old flame." Erica grabbed onto the handrail and began dragging her weary body up the front porch steps.

"Could be fun."

"Could be a disaster too." Erica stopped on the top step and looked over her shoulder at Alex. "Alex, what is he? A normal person shows signs of a bit of wear and tear after ten years. He isn't normal is he?"

"Maybe he's just big into plastic surgery." Alex shrugged off Erica's suspicions nonchalantly. She knew Torr's secret, but she couldn't tell Erica, not even to warn her. Torr's burden was his alone to carry and when he was ready to share it, he would. "Not all wear and tear is visible on the outside of a person, you know. Time takes bites out of us all, even if you don't see them."

"I guess so." The suspicion in Erica's eyes softened. Alex had that far off look on her face that she got when she was thinking about the past, about Lucian. And happy as Alex was with Chance there was still a piece of her that was missing. Erica let the subject of her love life drop. "Let's just see how things go with Fallon first, ok."

"Sure." Alex smiled and followed Erica into the house. The aroma of cooking food filled the living room. Her dad was snoozing in his beat up Lazy Boy lounger with the remote in his lap like he did every afternoon. He snorted and smacked his lips as she and Erica came through the front door. She caught a glimpse of her mom from the hallway that led to the kitchen, worrying over a pan of fried pork chops. The house smelled of home and family. She missed that smell and the familiarity of home. Someday, sooner than she ever wanted to admit, her parents would be gone and so would the wonderful smells and comfort of home.

"Hey girls. Just watching a little afternoon boob tube." Alexander yawned and stretched. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing, dad," Alex said. She snatched the remote out of his lap and flopped on the couch. Talk about time standing still. The living room looked the way it always had. Nothing ever changed here. The furniture was a mix of a shabby 1980's blue upholstered couch and matching loveseat, her dad's beat up recliner, and her mom's well worn rocker.

Her parents didn't have a flat screen TV. Her dad still snored in front of the same old console TV, worn and scratched with age, that they'd gathered round for as long as she could remember. The carpet was a bit threadbare in places and hopelessly stained in others. Some of the worst stains and signs of wear strategically covered with brilliantly colored throw rugs her mom had made from scraps of yarn. The paint on the walls had been the same color since she was a little girl. Her whole family history could be told from the little groupings and single snapshots scattered across the yellowed paint.

Alexander shook his head and turned his attention from the drone of the TV. The girls looked like two peas in a pod. Curled up into a collective ball in the middle of the couch and their attention focused on a commercial for something or other. But, wasn't that the way it always had been for the two of them? Thick as thieves and planning their next shopping trip to the Super Center.

"Uncle Alexander, have you ever heard any reports of wolf sightings around here?" Erica asked.

There were lots of wolves in the woods. Not the kind of wolves that were on the Discovery Channel, but wolves nonetheless. "Nah. There aren't any wolves around here," he prattled dismissively.

Erica scooted to the edge of the couch and glared at her uncle. He didn't believe her. "I saw one. Fallon was playing with it."

Alexander stiffened in his chair and hid his worry behind a casual shrug. "Probably the neighbor's dog." Maybe, Erica would buy it. "Thing looks like a wolf from a distance. Friendly pooch though." As a human in the know he knew a hell of a lot about things Erica didn't.

"Uncle Alexander, that thing wasn't any dog. I know the difference between a dog and a wolf. I think we should call Animal Control or something."