The Link 2 - The Hunted

Chapter 7 - Teegan

"Grandma's coming around 11," Mom shouted from the kitchen. My breath caught at the thought. Was this lunch or an interrogation? I couldn't remember the last time we all had Saturday lunch together. This wasn't supposed to be a special event. I moved to the kitchen.

"Grandma?"

"She wants to meet him too," Mom said as she continued to toss the salad in a bowl. I didn't know how to stop the boulder running down the hill. It had all gotten blown out of proportion. Mom was making a feast and Dad was cleaning up the yard. It was like they were trying to make a good impression. They never went this far for any of my other friends.

"You're not planning on embarrassing me, are you?" I pleaded.

"He's just joining us for a family lunch," Mom said with a smile, "and we'll act like it happens all the time."

"I'm not dating the guy," I argued. "Why did you call Grandma?"

"This is the price you have to pay," Mom chuckled, "for having a family that loves you." She looked me up and down and added, "Is that what you're planning to wear?" Jeans and a cotton pullover were what I normally wore. I looked down at myself and saw nothing worth changing.

"It's a concert," I insisted, "not a date."

"I just thought you'd want to get more dressed up to go downtown," Mom commented as she covered the salad bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. "You have those nice skirts. The black one you wore to Grandma's birthday looks so cute on you."

"I'm not trying for cute," I sighed. I was suddenly self-conscious of my appearance. Mom had a way of confusing my mind with her suggestions. I pushed the thought away and filled it with my stubbornness. Changing now would be a defeat. I almost blocked the family, then thought better of it. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't make this more than it is," I pleaded. I was worried that Caleb would run for the hills from my insane family. This was becoming the worst favor I had ever done for anyone. I had to stop volunteering for things.

"A friend's coming over for lunch," Mom said as she opened the oven to see how the macaroni casserole was doing. "Nothing more and nothing less." I rolled my eyes. Normally, we're lucky to have cold cuts for lunch. I left her there with her crazed meal plans and moved to the family room and plopped myself on the couch next to Zane.

"Mom overdoing it?" Zane asked. He thought it was funny.

"He's just a friend," I stated strongly.

"They like him," Zane said. I looked at him with some confusion. "Mom and Dad," he clarified. "I heard them talking last night. They think he's son-in-law material."

"They've never even met him," I said with some surprise. Zane shrugged. He wasn't playing with me. I could usually tell when he spoke the truth. Anger leaked from me which raised Zane's eyebrows.

"It won't be that bad," Zane said.

"It's not a date!" I announced as I stood. I moved as both Mom and Dad tried to comfort me from afar. I was out the door and moving directly toward Dad. There were no directions necessary with him. With the bond active, we always knew where each of us was.

"How do you know Caleb?" I demanded as Dad raked some of last year's leaves out of the shrubbery.

"What are you so angry about?" Dad asked, ignoring my question. He kept raking, so I put up my walls, blocking our music from merging. This time, I shut out the world. He stopped raking and turned to me.

"I was concerned," Dad said calmly, "so I checked up on him."

"And now you and Mom think you found me a future husband," I said loud enough for the neighbors to hear. Dad dropped the rake and opened his arms. I stood firm for a few moments, then the stress of it got to me. I opened my mind and entered his arms. Both Mom and Dad filled me with love. I wanted my anger again.