Louise Ch. 02

The days after they decided to take their mother off life support flew by. Louise knew that Gene was still angry at Kevyn's decisions but there was something else bothering him. What it was she couldn't quite figure out but what she did know was that Clay Robinson was involved. She saw the way that Clay looked at him and how nervous Gene had acted. She pushed the thought aside, there was a funeral to plan and she still hadn't asked Kevyn about going back to California with her and her significant other as Kevyn called him.

Her hand still ached from the cut that she had gotten when she and Gene had gotten into a disagreement about the house. She meant it when she told him that he could have it and once again, that family meeting had turned ugly. Clay being there hadn't helped at all. His presence only contributed to the already tense atmosphere and his posturing was almost funny.

Louise watched Patrick as he interacted with Kevyn and the way that he disregarded Gene and found herself calmed by his calm and easy mannerism. When he bandaged her hand, his touch was a gentle as any doctor's and when he told her that he understood why she didn't want to go to the hospital, she believed him. The fact that he cared for her as a brother would a sister confused her. He knew nothing about her at least no more than Kevyn had told him. The connection that she felt toward him was startling.

**********

Now here they were at the funeral home preparing to say their final goodbyes. She sat off by herself watching her siblings and wondering where Patrick was and wondering whom the man obviously watching Kevyn was. Gene sat next to her and asked her how she was and she recoiled as the smell of alcohol hit her nose. She knew that Gene drank and that was the big reason why his wife Dana left him but he had never showed up at a family function already half drunk. She was about to say something to him about it when a commotion in the front took her attention away from Gene.

Clay Robinson was standing behind Kevyn with his arms around her very unaware that Patrick was standing behind him.

"What is going on tonight?" Louise wondered as she watched and listened to Patrick make his presence known and Clay slink away like the dog he was. After everyone had said their goodbyes, she went up to the casket; she had to know that their mother was really at peace.

Leon saw her approaching the casket and met her partway.

"How you holding up?" he asked as he put an arm around her.

"As well as can be expected... it's so hard to believe that she's gone." Louise replied.

Leon didn't reply but walked with her to the casket and silently waited for Louise to say good-bye.

She took her mother's hand in hers and closed her eyes listening for any sign that her mother was in any distress. No one knew that she could feel things for as long as she could remember. That's why she was able to deal with difficult people, she knew what they needed sometimes before they did and once she said "it's going to be alright" they calmed and life was good.

She held the small cold hand tightly, listened, and heard.... Nothing. She bit back a sob of relief. She could now leave the awful city of Pittsburg guilt free.

When it was time for the services to start, she like Kevyn was amazed by the turnout. People who they hadn't seen in years were there and crying over Wanda Yancy. An uncharacteristic surge of anger fill Louise as these people stopped at her seat, kissed her on the cheek and told her what a saint her mother had been and how she was in a much better place.

Like Kevyn, she realized why there was such a big turn out. Their mother's funeral was being used as a free night out and that angered her. Kevyn gave her hand a gentle squeeze telling her that she understood and that she was as angry about it as she was.

In many ways the service seemed to drag on an in other ways it sped by. Suddenly they were at the cemetery and then just as quickly they were sitting at a table preparing to eat the repast meal. Louise watched in disgust as people filled their plates with more food than they could possibly eat only to return for more a few minutes later. As people began to leave, she noticed that some of their bags were bulging where earlier they had been flat.

Toward the end of the meal, she saw Gene leave but didn't think too much of it. He had never been one for crowds and she figured that he had gone out for fresh air. Finally, it was over. Kevyn and Patrick wanted her to stay at the hotel with them. She had agreed after a little coaxing and hearing Patrick say that he had already reserved a room for her and the best part was, she was going back to California with them. She couldn't wait! She had already started packing her clothes with the exception of her winter things. The only personal items she packed were the things that her mother had given her over the years and her laptop, which hadn't seen internet access since their father Victor Yancy, died three years prior.

They only had to get through the repast and go through the house and she was free. Finally, all that was left of the guests was family and Clay. Louise didn't understand why he couldn't or wouldn't understand that Kevyn wanted nothing to do with him. She was the last one out following Kevyn and Patrick out into the night and suddenly she heard Patrick shout and she was on the ground as was everyone else.

The end result was that Clay Robinson was dead, shot by an unknown gunman. After being questioned, they were free to go. As much as she hated to admit it, Louise was glad that he was gone, he had been a threat to Kevyn for years and maybe now Kevyn would tell someone what he did to her.

The hotel was beautiful! Louise had never stayed in a hotel of any kind and now she was in one similar to the ones that she had seen on the travel channel. Kevyn and Patrick had settled her in had gone to their room which adjoined hers. She almost died when she saw the bathtub and all of the bath oils and soaps that lined the counter. She touched everything including the towels, washcloths and the fluffy robe that hung on the bathroom door.

She shuddered as she imagined how much a room like this must have costs certain that one night was more than she made in two weeks at work. She looked at the clock and realized that she wouldn't be able to call to resign until morning and then there was Miss. Gina. She would have to make arrangements for her or the old woman would starve to death.

Suddenly the events of the past several days caught up with her, she was exhausted but she had to take a soak in that bathtub. She turned the water on, added rose scented bath oil and got ready for her bath. While the tub filled, she turned on her computer to see if there was anything on Yahoo about Clay. It didn't occur to her to turn on the television because at home, it was turned off early because Wanda had been a light sleeper.

By the time she looked at Yahoo and played a few games, her bath was ready. Louise sighed in pleasure, relief as the hot rose scented water covered her shoulders, and the stresses of the past week seemed to fade away. When she felt herself falling asleep, she climbed out, almost slipping in the process, quickly dried off and staggered to the bed for the first peaceful sleep that she had had in months.

Hours later, she heard the door separating her room from Patrick and Kevyn's room open and then softly close. She had intended to get up but she fell back to sleep waking up late morning. Hearing nothing from next door, she decided to order room service almost choking when she saw the prices.

She ordered the cheapest thing on the menu and turned on the cooking channel to wait for it to be delivered to the room. When it came, she tried to tip the delivery person.

"No thank you ma'am but it's been taken care of." the man said.

"But ....."

"Mr. Sinclaire took care of it, is there anything else that you need?"

*********

That had been yesterday. The house was no longer hers; Patrick had an attorney draw up the papers that legally made the house Gene's to do with as he wished. Other than family, it was her last tie to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She grinned as she wondered how Gene was faring with the fighting over who got what.

Louise looked out of the window of the jet nervous, excited and scared all at the same time and then she looked over at Kevyn and Patrick. He was concerned about something and she hoped that he wasn't regretting the decision to let her go back with them but Kevyn was concerned too.

"Are you alright?" Patrick asked her.

"I... I've never flown before so I guess I'm a little scared."

"Don't be, it's safer than driving and a hell of a lot faster." he said with a smile, "can we get you anything?"

"No thank you and thank you for letting me come with you."

"Louise, you're family so no thanks are needed. You're welcome to stay with us for as long as you like." Patrick said easing her worries that she would be an imposition.

"Hey Lou, have you thought about what you want to do first?" Kevyn asked.

"No, I'll let you decide since I don't know where anything is." Louise replied.

It wasn't until the jet had taken off that it hit her that she was really leaving, it wasn't until the jet landed in Los Angeles that she fully understood that she really left and that her life had just changed.

************

Louise stared out of the window of the car that was waiting for them. She felt like a child on a field trip trying to see everything although it was dark. She could hardly wait until daylight so that she could get her first up close and personal look at a palm tree.

"Do you have an orange tree?" she asked Patrick her reticence disappearing in her excitement.

"Yes we do as well as lemon and grapefruit trees." Patrick replied smiling at her enthusiasm, "and you can pick to your hearts content." he added.

"And the ocean, is it far away?"

"Not terribly." Patrick replied, "I would like to make a suggestion if I could."

"Sure." Louise said leaning forward in the seat.

"Make a list of everything that you want to do and we'll make it happen. If Kev or I can't go with you, we'll arrange for someone who can." Patrick said.

"So what do you think of California so far?" Kevyn asked.

"I love it even though I can't see much." Louise replied, "How come the windows are tinted so dark?"

There was an awkward silence but it was Kevyn who responded.

"Patrick has an allergy to the sun so all of the cars are like this, right Patrick?" Kevyn asked.

"That's right so I guess I'd better tell you about the house. The drapes are kept closed during the day because of my allergy but are opened in the evening. Of course you can have the drapes open in your room as much as you want since I won't be going in there."

"So you never go out during the day?"

"Very rarely." Patrick replied.

It wasn't long before they pulled up to a gated house.

"Who lives here?" Kevyn and Louise asked in stereo.

"We do." Patrick replied, "And I have another request, I don't want either of you to leave the property alone especially at night. If you should leave during the day, be sure to let someone know. Louise, do you have a cell phone?"

"Yes one of those prepaid ones." she replied.

"That will do for now but tomorrow evening we'll go cell phone shopping for the both of you." Patrick said as he pulled up to the house. "Wait here."

Kevyn and Louise looked at each other and shrugged but the feeling that something was wrong was nagging at Louise again.

"Kev, are you sure that it's alright that I'm here?" Louise asked.

"Of course it is, why?"

"I don't know it just seems like something is bothering Patrick and I hope that it isn't me." Louise replied.

"Trust me, it isn't you." Kevyn assured her. "There are some things going on with his family." she added.

"Are they as crazy as our family is?"

Kevyn didn't know how to respond to that so she changed the subject.

"We're going to have to help each other; I've never been here before."

That struck Louise as odd but she didn't say anything about it, "It looks huge."

"Here he comes." Kevyn said as she turned to face forward in her seat.

Patrick opened her door, offered her his hand and kissed her temple when she was standing.

"Welcome home sweetheart." he said before helping Louise out welcoming her but with a kiss on the cheek instead of the temple.

"Just remember that this is your home so please make yourself comfortable. Louise, I have two suites that you can choose from, both of them are upstairs or if you prefer you can have one of the single rooms. Our rooms are down at the lowest level of the house. There is wireless internet throughout the house and a desktop in the library. Tomorrow I'll give you a complete tour of the house"

Patrick stopped them at the front door, turned to them and asked them each if they were entering freely. Kevyn immediately answered yes as did Louise but she thought the question an odd one but chalked it up to being a "California thing."

The sisters held hands as Patrick gave them a quick tour before taking Louise upstairs to choose her rooms. The problem was that she liked both of them and ended up choosing the one furthest away from them. After they left, Louise unpacked her bags and was getting ready to take advantage of the bathtub with the jets and get ready for bed when Kevyn and Patrick were back at her door.

Patrick gave her a quick run down of the situation and told her that she could stay at home.

"I'm coming too." she said as she grabbed her purse. While she trusted Patrick, she didn't know anything about the people that worked for him.

She was as awestruck at Ethan's house as she had been at Patrick's home. The feeling of awe was quickly replaced by feeling of anxiety and not hers. She looked around what she thought was the living room and saw where the source of the anxiety was, it was centered around a little girl who couldn't have been more than eleven. She could hear the girl trying to convince the adults of something and saw a man who had to be Patrick's brother talking to her. And there was a young man sitting next to her obviously protecting her but from what? She took in the faces of the other people and felt anxiety mixed with intense anger coming from them. She felt sorry for whoever took Patrick's niece.

Beneath the anger and fear, she sensed something else. Love. She could see and feel that these people loved each other and would kill to protect one of their own. She and Kevyn were a part of that even though these people didn't know them, it was enough that they belonged with Patrick.

Introductions were quickly made and she sensed their regret that their first meeting occurred during such a horrible time. Kevyn and Patrick had wandered off to talk with Ethan and the little girl leaving her alone.

"Hello." a deep masculine voice said from beside her.

"Oh, hi." she replied in her usual shy way.

"My name is Nathan Sinclaire, Patrick is my uncle."

"I'm Louise Yancy and Kevyn is my sister. I just moved here."

"So I've heard." Nathan replied. "I'm sorry that we're meeting under such tense circumstances. Why don't we move out of the way? I would like to hear about Pittsburg."

"How did you.... never mind." Louise said answering her own question.

Nathan led her to a corner where he could keep an ear out for any new information and talk with Louise in relative privacy. He looked down at her and smiled hoping to put her at ease.

"So Louise Yancy, what did you do for a living?"

Louise looked up into impossibly blue eyes, blushed and then looked away.

Nathan's eyes glittered as he looked down at her. He knew who she was as soon as she stepped into the room and had to resist the urge to sweep her off her feet. In just the few minutes that he had spent with her, he learned several things, one, she was innately shy but strong even if she didn't realize it, two, she was an empath and a strong one, he would have to watch what he was feeling for her at least initially. He doubted that she knew it and probably chalked it up to being intuitive and three, she had never been with a man. He could tell by the way she blushed when he looked at her. She also didn't know that the family was vampire and because of that, she wouldn't know the family history.

He took in her profile and liked what he saw. He agreed that Kevyn was beautiful but Louise was beyond that, she was gorgeous and her innate shyness accentuated that beauty. She was nervous but not afraid and that pleased him and she was beginning to wonder about his family. That also pleased him; her curiosity would be to his benefit when the time came for him to explain what they were.

He thanked god that he had never raped and therefore wouldn't have to confess to her but he still had to tell her the family history. That was the price that he had to pay for being a Sinclaire male. He still remembered the day that his father told him about the rape of his mother, it sickened him and because of it, he always made sure that the woman was consenting often times stopping several times during the act to make sure that he still had her consent.

"I didn't do anything too exciting... I worked at a grocery store and took care of our mother until she died last week."

"I heard about that, you and your family have my deepest condolences." Nathan said. "I wish that I could have been there to help you." Nathan said.

"Umm thank you but ... thank you." Louise said stammering. She wasn't sure of what to make of the vibes that were coming from Nathan.

"I'm sorry about your cousin; I hope that they find her." Louise said.

"They will of that I am sure." Nathan replied sticking his hands in his pockets so that he wouldn't touch her.

"What will happen to the person who took her?" Louise asked.

"He will be dealt with." Nathan replied wishing that she would look at him. "Louise." He said.

The use of her name had the desired effect, on refle; she looked up at him. Nathan felt himself being drawn to her as if she was a bright light and he was an insect. Her dark eyes looked at him questioningly, wondering why he called her name.

"May I get you something to drink?" he asked.

"No thank you." Louise replied as she wondered about the peculiar tingling in her nether region. Like Kevyn, she had never touched herself or explored her body and this new sensation while pleasant was startling to say the least.

Nathan heard Louise's name mentioned and tensed, "Let's go see what's happening." he said taking her by the arm and leading her over to the group surrounding the little girl.

Louise felt him standing so close behind her that she felt the warmth of his body. The tingling increased to the point where she was uncomfortable. She didn't have a chance to wonder about it because Nathan was speaking and it was for her, he didn't want her to go with Kevyn and the others. After several minutes of discussion, she trumped him, she was going wherever it was Kevyn and Patrick was going.

It didn't really surprise her when Nathan said that he was going with them, by this time, his hands were on her shoulders and he had actually pulled her back into him so that her back was against his chest. No man had ever touched her like that and the tingling was now a dull throb.

The decision made, Nathan pulled her aside. "I want your word that you won't leave my side."

Louise stared at him, "Why would I promise that?" she asked. "I don't know you."

"I don't want anything to happen to you." He replied. "Your sister has Patrick and everyone else is going to be concentrating on looking for Veronica and it is up to me to keep you safe."

There was something that he wasn't telling her but there wasn't time to ask. The car was being pulled up and so she agreed even though she was sure that she really didn't have a choice. Kevyn sat up front with Martin, Nathan's father and she sat in the back with Nathan. Initially the drive was quiet but tense, something had transpired between Kevyn, Martin and Nathan. Louise did the only thing that she knew to do; she said the five words that had never failed to calm whoever she spoke them, "It's going to be alright." As always, the tension decreased although the drive remained quiet.