Cursed

Chapters 10-12

Chapter 10

The next few days passed easily enough. Satine and Quinn went about things normally, neither acknowledging the strange circumstances of their stay. If there was one thing she could say about the man, it was that he sure loved the sound of his own voice. Maybe he was just used to keeping a conversation going, but by the end of the third day, Satine realized they could carry on a conversation without much more than a nod or an encouraging, "Oh is that so?" on her part.

As they rounded the lake on horseback, her mother and father leading the way, Kat and Desmond a few steps behind, Satine only vaguely paid attention to Quinn's scuba diving in the Blue Holes story.

"Unbelievable," he said. "So much unexplored territory. Quite an adventure, wasn't it Des?"

"Quite."

It was said without enthusiasm, and Satine turned to study Quinn's friend. For the time being, he'd been pleasant enough, following Quinn around like a loyal friend, or maybe a bodyguard was a better word. Not that Quinn needed one. One look at them both told you at first glance that both men could take care of themselves without breaking a sweat. Desmond was never in the way, and complimented Satine's mother on her lovely home and the chef on the food he barely touched. Satine had never seen her mother blush quite so much as when Desmond showed a genuine interest in the paintings she'd hung in the sitting room. Satine wondered if someone had tipped him off that Vivian had painted them herself. Still, he seemed sincere in his compliments.

"...if you wanted to, of course." Quinn was suddenly looking at her, and Satine realized he'd asked her a question. Unfortunately she had no idea what it was.

"Oh you don't want to see her at that altitude," Kat, bless her, answered for Satine with a laugh. "The girl can barely breathe simply driving through the Rockies!"

Kat gave her a pointed look, and Satine joined in the laughter. "She's right. Not a pretty sight."

"Ah well, too bad for that. The view alone is worth the trip." Quinn brought his horse to a stop. "This really is a lovely place," he said, moving on from one topic to the next.

Satine shot Kat a silent thank-you and brought her own horse to a stop next to her mother's. As she was stepping out of the saddle, her mom leaned over to whisper, "You could at least pretend to pay attention to him, dear." She said it with a twinkle in her eye though, and Satine fought the urge to grin.

Pay attention. Right. She'd get right on that.

Chapter 11

The sun was just beginning to set by the time they'd finished their picnic supper—mom's idea—and Satine leaned back against a nearby tree. Tonks and Max had come to collect the horses so they wouldn't have to ride back in the dark, much to Kat's relief, and now they were all sitting around the campfire staring out at the lake. It was a perfect temperature out, not too hot, not too cold, and Satine was very thankful for the blessed lack of mosquitos.

Her mother and Kat were discussing the latest in Paris fashion, a subject alien to Satine who preferred comfort to name, and her father and Quinn were discussing an even worse topic—politics. This left only Satine and Desmond to sit awkwardly in silence, staring out at the barely rippling water.

"Enjoying your trip so far?" Satine asked, trying to remember her hostess etiquette.

He turned to look at her for a second, as if vaguely surprised she was speaking to him, then turned back to the lake, answering simply, "Yes."

Okay then.

"How's Dori?" she asked, hoping for a subject she might get more than a one word answer on.