In Plain Sight (A Hunted Rose)

Chapter Twenty-One

River had left and gone home after I had issued my challenge.  I had grinned at him and waved goodbye, happy to let him go and figure things out. 

“Liam!” I called out to the semi-empty house.  He was somewhere close; I just didn’t want to have to search for him.

“What?” he called back, sounding exasperated.

“Where are my shoes?”

“I don’t know,” Liam yelled back to me.  We really didn’t need to yell – we would be able to hear each other perfectly even if we were whispering, but yelling was more fun.  “Wherever you last left them.”

God, he sounded like a mother.  “They aren’t the-” I pulled one of my heels out from underneath my bed.  “Never mind.  I found them.”

“I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he mocked me.  “Act that way.”

He was silent for a minute, and I continued digging under my bed for my other shoe.

“I have an idea,” he said suddenly, walking into my room.  “How about we go and get me a Halloween costume?”

“I have an even better idea,” I replied, “you stay here – out of trouble, while I go to work.”

“That’s no fun,” he whined.  “I could always go with you to work.”

“No,” I told him.  “First of all, do you even have the slightest idea how to bake anything? And, second, Ryder and River’s dad could be there.  Actually, any of the hunters could be there.  You are very easily recognizable as a vampire, much more so than me.  They would know within ten seconds, if not less.”

“I could always learn how to bake,” Liam said suddenly.

“What about the other part?  About the hunters?”

“Eh,” Liam said.  “I could handle them.”

“You don’t know any of the abilities they have,” I argued.  “Even you are not that good.”

He wrinkled his nose at me, but stayed silent.

“Think what you want,” I finally sighed out, “but I’m going into work.  And you are not allowed.”

¥¥¥¥

“How are you, Rose?” Mrs. Anderson asked me. 

“I’m fine,” I replied.  “I’ve been hanging out with Ryder, River and the other guys – they seem to be monopolizing my time now.  I’ve also been talking with my brother and I have fun with that.”

“You mentioned him once before, but haven’t really said anything else about him,” she smiled warmly and then asked softly, “I take it that you know then?”

“What?” I asked, confused by her sudden change in topic. 

“There aren’t any secrets in my family,” Mrs. A said, “as much as my boys would like to believe that there are.  I know all about River practicing his powers on me to get out of his chores.  I don’t like it, but I feel like I should let him keep the idea that he’s getting away with something.  They have not hid your knowledge of everything well.”

“You know they’re hunters?”

“Well of course I do, sweetheart.  I’m married to one, aren’t I?  Trevor told me everything right before he proposed to me.”

“And you just accepted it?” I asked in disbelief.

“Of course,” she said.  “I love him.”

I smiled and continued kneading the dough that we were using to make cinnamon sugar cookies.  There was a swooshing sound as the door to the kitchen swung open, and in walked a tall man – at least six-foot-three – with pitch black hair, blue eyes, and lightly tanned skin.  He brought with him a peachy scent, mixing in the air with Mrs. Anderson’s lilac scent.  The fact that he was the now infamous Trevor was obvious both from how much he looked like his sons, and the way he looked at Isabelle with pure adoration in his eyes.

“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear,” Mrs. A said on a laugh as she walked to meet her husband and greet him with a light kiss.

“I don’t think I’m the devil, Izzy,” he said as he hugged her close to him.

“No,” I decided to pipe in.  “That would be my brother.”

“Siblings normally think that of each other,” Mr. Anderson told me.

“Well, we aren’t actually related, so…”

Both of the present Andersons laughed.  I smiled and continued making the cookies while Mr. and Mrs. Anderson started making something else, talking in quiet tones as they did.  I could have easily heard what they were saying, but I did not want to intrude on their tender moment.

“Mom!” Suddenly came from the front of the store.  Isabelle let out an exasperated sigh, pulled away from her husband and walked to the door.

“Yes?” she asked, doing a good job of disguising her frustration at her son. 

“You’re out of zucchini cupcakes!  I thought I should let you know.”

“Why thank you for letting me know, River.  Do you or your brother want to come back here and help me make some more of them?”

 There was a pause, and then “Um…” drifted into the kitchen from outside the door.  Finally, River stood up to the challenge and answered his mother. 

“I know the right answer here,” River said, “but I have to go to the training center.”

Mrs. Anderson sighed.  “River, I raised you; which means I know when you’re lying.”

I coughed to smother my laugh, and then cut the cookies into pumpkin shapes with the cookie cutter that I had set nearby.  Mr. Anderson looked slyly in my direction and gave me a smile, thinking the same thing I was; there was no way that River would be able to answer his mom in the right way. 

“Is Rose in there?” he asked, changing the topic.  “I thought I heard her.”

His dad let out a chuckle, and muttered out, “Good call.”  It was low enough that Isabelle couldn’t hear, but I knew that River would be able to.  I didn’t react, because I obviously wasn’t supposed to be able to hear it. 

“She’s working,” Mrs. A replied to him.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that she’s working,” Isabelle said to him, “and that you need to go to the training center, don’t you?”  I loved Isabelle; she was a force to be reckoned with.

“But,” he tried, “I wanted her to come with me.”

 “Why?”

 “I thought it would be fun,” River told her.  “And I thought I would teach her some self-defense.”

 It was as if a switch flipped.  Isabelle perked up and looked back into the room at me with a gleam in her eyes, probably proud of her son for offering to help me.  Trevor on the other hand stiffened the littlest bit, and tilted his head to the side, as if contemplating all the possible outcomes of the idea.  Before Trevor could say anything though, Isabelle rushed toward me, gently took my arm, and all but threw me out of the kitchen and into River’s arms.

 “Be careful,” she called as she glided back into the kitchen, “but have fun.”

Author's Note:

I'm not really one to comment on any of the comments people make, but I thought I should say a quick thank you to all of those who read, vote and comment.  I really appreciate knowing that you like what I am writing.  Thank you!  Don't forget to vote and comment.  Zucchini Cupcakes!  Yum...