Louise Ch. 09

*******

Thorne stood in the same spot for several minutes after Allen left. He was relieved that the vampire was gone; he had begun to overestimate his importance and to see himself as an equal instead of what he really was- nothing. He knew that Allen would take the car and he didn't care, it was a small price to pay to have the vampire gone.

He poured himself a glass of blood, walked out to the patio and sat down. Dawn was about an hour away and he was looking forward to a good days rest. The last thing he did before going to bed was to call the club.

"Luke, how are things?" he asked.

"Fine, I'm just closing up."

Satisfied that all was well, Thorne hung up and went to his suite where he lay down to rest confident that he was done with Barb Yancy Simpson.

*********

By early morning, Barb had eliminated all but four of the dating services and was going through the process of elimination with them. After eliminating one of them, she stood, stretched and headed for the bathroom for a shower. As she waited for the water to reach the right temperature, another wave of anger hit her but none of the anger was at herself. It was at Kevyn whom she still maintained should have introduced her to rich men that she knew were safe. Then there was Louise.

She still couldn't figure out how the little mouse had caught such a big rat. Part of Barb's anger was jealousy. That much she could admit. No man had ever spoken for her in the way that Nathan had spoken for Louise, hell no one had ever looked at her the way that not only Louise, but Kevyn were looked at.

For a very brief moment, Barb wondered if she was looking for the wrong things. The question lingered in her mind for seconds and then was gone the second she laid eyes on the expensive bottle of bath oil that sat on the sink. In her mind, that's what it was all about, being able to buy things. Not the oil specifically but being able to afford it and anything else that she wanted.

The experience with Thorne was rapidly becoming a bad memory with the exception of a lesson learned- she wasn't going anywhere with a strange man no matter how nice they seemed. Thorne had shaken her confidence in her ability to judge people, men in particular.

She finished her shower, used some of the oil that was more than half-gone and decided to buy another bottle or two. She put on a clean set of lounge clothes, ordered something to eat and continued her research as she waited for her meal to arrive.

*******

Louise walked around the kitchen in Nathan's now her house. She touched the counters and opened the cabinets while Nathan watched.

"If we're missing anything that you want or need make a list and we'll get it." he told her.

"I can't imagine what it would be." Louise replied as she closed the door to the spice cabinet. "This is such a huge house, didn't you get lonely here?" she asked as Nathan led her from the kitchen to continue the tour of the house.

"To be honest with you, I never really noticed." Nathan replied. "It was a place to sleep and to relax. But it has a different feel to it now, it feels like home."

Louise nodded and then stopped.

"Nathan, about this family thing, we should invite Barb. I know that you don't like her but it's not going to help if we keep her at a distance. She needs us whether she knows it or not."

Nathan hesitated and then agreed. Louise was right and his feelings about Barb were unimportant, she was now a member of the Sinclaire family.

"What would you like to make for the party?" Louise asked.

"We don't have to make anything and neither do Kevyn and Patrick. We're the guests of honor." Nathan replied.

"But we could make something if we wanted to right?" Louise asked.

Nathan understood what was happening; she was nervous and needed an outlet.

"Of course we could, what were you thinking of making?"

"I don't know... how many people are we expecting?" she asked already calming with the prospect of cooking.

"A lot and all of the males eat like me and Uncle Patrick so there is no such thing as too much food. I was looking through your notebook and found a recipe for hot wings that looks good, how about making those? We can go grocery shopping this evening."

"That's a lot of chicken." Louise commented already calculating how much of each ingredient they would need. "I wonder if I could get Kevyn to make her potato salad." she mused.

"Sounds good, why don't you call her while I make a phone call or two." Nathan said.

He had just thought about an issue that he hadn't thought of when Louise mentioned Barb's coming to the cookout. She didn't know what they were and she would wonder why all of them looked no older than their late thirties. He dialed Patrick's number and waited.

"Hey, this is Nathan."

"Is everything alright?" Patrick asked.

"It's fine. I wanted to talk to you about Barb, Louise wants to invite her and as much as I don't want her here, I agreed. Like it or not, she's a member of the family."

"I know." Patrick replied. "Kevyn and I were just having the same discussion. I don't care that she comes, everyone will recognize her for what she is but my concern is that she'll have questions that she doesn't need the answers to right now."

"What are you thinking?" Nathan asked wondering if they were on the same page.

"We erase any specific memories about us- like how we all look close to the same age. I'll leave the memory about the gathering and things like that."

"What does Kevyn have to say about this?" Nathan asked.

"She understands and agrees. I think she's on the phone with Louise as we speak."

"Yes, I know, I told her to call while I talked to you." Nathan replied. "I think that your idea is a good one. We're making hot wings for the cookout and Lou is trying to convince Kevyn to make potato salad. I have an idea, why don't you and Kevyn come over here and make it? That way you won't have to lug it over on Friday."

"That sounds good." Patrick said, "We can order in and make an evening of it."

"Great, I'll tell Louise. We'll see you tomorrow night."

When Nathan got back to the kitchen, Louise was on the phone with Barb.

"Yes... Friday night... six. No, you don't have to bring anything but Barb; this isn't an invitation for you to shop for a man. It's an invitation for you to meet our new family and I expect you to behave yourself."

Nathan chuckled as he imagined Louise using the same tone with one of their children.

Children.

He had never given it serious thought. Not because he didn't want children, he wasn't sure if he would ever find his mate. Nathan looked at Louise and knew that she would make an excellent mother but he wanted her all to himself for as long as possible.

"Well, I invited her." Louise said distracting him from his thoughts.

"I heard and I assume she's coming?" Nathan asked already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, she's coming; she wants us to send a car for her. I told her that we would make sure that she got here."

"That's fine." Nathan said. "We'll send someone after her but Lou, when she leaves; we have to erase part of her memory. She can't know about us now and possibly ever. She'll remember meeting everyone but she won't remember that some of us don't look as we should look. We'll also have someone keeping an eye on her, I don't trust her."

"Neither do I." Louise guiltily admitted.

********

Barb danced around the room like a woman possessed. Finally, she was going to be in close contact with the family that could make her wants and dreams come true. She was so thrilled that she ignored Louise's admonishments to behave. She looked through her clothes looking for something that was eye catching but not so over the top that Louise or Kevyn would object.

Finding nothing, she decided that a shopping trip was in order. She called a cab, changed her clothes and got ready to go shopping. As much as she wanted to shop at the higher end stores, she couldn't. She needed to conserve her money and she was going to splurge on the bath oil.

She barely glanced at who was behind the front desk as she walked by. She didn't care. By the weekend, she would be moving into Kevyn's small apartment. She thought about taking all of her things with her to the cookout and then whoever took her home could just take her to Kevyn's afterwards. It was a good plan she decided, it would save her cab fare.

She made a mental note to call Juliette to see how the packing up was going when she got back and added her realtor to the list. Her 401k money would be in the bank by the end of the following week but if her house sold, she would be in good shape and wouldn't have to be so tight with her money.

"Where to?" The cabbie asked her when she got into the car.

"Wal-Mart." Barb replied grimacing inwardly as she said it.

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

The Gathering

Louise rested poorly the day of the gathering. Nothing Nathan did calmed her. Finally, she got out of bed, went to the kitchen and began making bread. Kevyn knowing that Louise was in knots joined her in the kitchen.

"You don't have to be here with me." Louise replied as she took several loaves of bread from the oven.

"I know that I don't but I want to be and besides, who can sleep when the house smells like a bakery?" Kevyn asked.

"Kev, aren't you scared?" Louise asked as she cut off a chunk of hot bread and handed it to Kevyn.

"No but then I've been to this rodeo before." She replied as she took a bite of the bread. She closed her eyes savoring the taste of the cheddar cheese that was baked into the bed. "Damn this is good!" she exclaimed after she swallowed the bread.

"What if they don't think that I'm good enough?" Louise asked.

Kevyn sat the bread down on the counter, walked over to Louise and hugged her.

"Lou, what's not to love? You're beautiful, kind, one hell of a cook and most importantly, Nathan loves you. That in and of itself will make them love you so stop worrying and just be who you are." Kevyn advised.

"I know, Nathan says the same thing but I'm worried about Barb too." Louise replied.

"Me too and we'll have to keep an eye on her. Do you think I made enough potato salad? Kevyn asked changing the subject.

"Honestly? No." Louise replied with a laugh, "but it will have to do. I'm sure that there won't be enough of the hot wings either. I think that Patrick and Nathan ate at least a third of them."

Nathan stood outside of the kitchen listening to Louise as the tension in her voice slowly ebbed away. She was going to be fine. He walked into the kitchen and kissed Louise noticing that she blushed.

"Good afternoon." He said to Kevyn.

"Hi... as you can see Lou has been a busy bee." Kevyn replied as she stood to leave.

"I know. It's what woke me." Nathan said as he reached for a slice of hot bread.

After Kevyn left, Nathan hugged Louise.

"It's going to be fine; they're going to love you simply because I do. Let me help you with the rest of the bread and then we can get ready."

*******

Barb took extra care with her hygiene that afternoon. She splurged on a morning at the spa taking full advantage of the services offered and the additional discount. She took her time in fixing her hair in a bun that was simple but looked like it took a long time to do. She applied her make up last just finishing as her phone rang.

"The car is here for you." Hans said in a crisp tone.

She hung up without acknowledging him. She was glad that after tonight she wouldn't have to deal with him or any of the other imbeciles at the hotel. She grabbed her purse and her suitcase, gave the room one last look and left the hotel without speaking to Hans or any of the other people who had taken care of her during her stay.

She was pleased to see that the car while not a limo was a 2012 Mercedes Benz.

"This is more like it." she muttered as she remembered Ollie's older model Hyundai.

The driver met her at the door, took her luggage and helped her in. For just a second, Barb thought that she was going to get a kiss on the temple or cheek but the driver gave her a curt nod as he held the door open for her and closed it after she was in.

An hour later, the car was pulling up to a gate. Barb's eyes widened as she watched the massive gates open as if by magic. Her mouth dropped open as the house loomed before her. Jealousy raged that Kevyn and now Louise were living the life that she craved and felt that she deserved.

The driver made a call just as he pulled up to the front of the house. Louise and Kevyn met her at the car.

"So this is where you live." Barb said not bothering to give them a chance to greet her.

"Hello to you too." Kevyn said not missing the greed and envy in Barb's eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." Barb replied as she looked around.

Louise took hold of Barb's hand to get her attention. She wanted to reiterate her warnings.

"What?" Barb snapped and then looked around for Nathan.

"He's in the back but don't worry about him. Just behave yourself and everything will be just fine." Louise said giving just a little mental push without realizing it.

"I got it!" Barb snapped.

"Ok, let's go in." Louise said not at all confident that Barb really got it.

******

Barb looked around as she followed Louise through the house to the back yard. "This isn't fair!" she grumbled under her breath. Not many people had arrived yet, which gave her a chance to look around relatively unwatched. When Kevyn asked her to help in the kitchen Barb gave her a scathing look.

"Fine but stay out of trouble."

When everyone was busy, Barb went through the house her envy growing with each ornately decorated room.

"Hi, are you lost?" a small voice said from behind her.

Barb turned around and to see who had spoken to her.

"I... I was looking for a bathroom." Barb lied.

"I'll take you. My name is Victoria. This is my cousin Nathan and his mate's house."

"Mate?"

"Wife." Victoria corrected. "You must be related to her and Kevyn; you're pretty like they are."

"They're my sisters." Barb replied coolly not liking that she was being compared to them. And she definitely didn't like the way that Victoria was looking at her. She felt as if the little girl could see the inside of her. "The bathroom?"

She asked.

"This way." Victoria replied in a tone as cool as Barb's.

She watched as Barb closed the door and decided that she didn't like her. She knew what Barb was doing when she found her; she was snooping. She felt the envy and anger that she had toward her sisters and for that reason alone, she didn't like her.

Victoria decided to wait for her in case she got "lost" again and planned to spend the evening keeping an eye on her.

********

"Nathan Sinclaire where are you?" Maryanne called out as she walked through the house.

Louise tensed at the sound of her voice.

"That would be my grandmother." Nathan replied. "She's going to love you." he said kissing Louise's temple.

Eventually, Maryanne found them in the kitchen.

"There you are!" she exclaimed hugging and kissing him when she got to the kitchen.

"Hello grandmother." Nathan greeted returning the hug and kiss. "I'm sure that you remember Louise Yancy, my mate. Louise, this is my grandmother Maryanne Sinclaire Feldman."

Maryanne took Louise's hands in hers and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"I am so pleased to finally meet you and to thank you for your part in saving Veronica."

"It's nice to meet you too." Louise replied nervously.

Maryanne gave her an understanding smile.

"Welcome to our family... have you set a date for the wedding?"

"W...wedding?" Louise stammered.

"We haven't talked about that yet." Nathan said taking control of the conversation. "Where's George?"

"He's coming with the truck... I'm sorry if I misspoke." Maryanne said seeing that Louise was trembling with nerves.

"It's fine," Nathan replied, "Could I have a moment?"

"Of course!" Maryanne said as she hurried away cursing herself and her big mouth.

"Lou sweetheart, it's alright." Nathan soothed as he hugged her.

"Wedding? I thought that we were already married." Louise said in a shaky voice.

"We are but some of the mates like to have a human ceremony. She just assumed that we would have one but it's not a requirement. I didn't ask about it because I got the feeling that you wouldn't want one."

Louise calmed down and blushed.

'I'm sorry, I'm just nervous." she said. "And you're right; I don't want or need a wedding."

"Fine by me but you can always change your mind later." Nathan said knowing that she wouldn't.

Slowly the kitchen began to fill up with people bringing in food or wondering where to put things. Oddly, this activity put Louise at ease. The questions about a wedding date no longer shook her. By the time everyone had arrived, she was much more relaxed. Nathan knew and accepted that she would never be a social butterfly but then neither was he.

As the evening wore on, he kept an eye out for Barb, he just didn't trust her and when he saw Victoria watching her, he knew that he was right. He looked over at Louise who was talking with one of his cousins and then back at Barb who was doing little to hide her jealousy.

Kevyn and Patrick were talking to Ethan and Katrina but he noticed that either Kevyn or Patrick had an eye on Barb as well. He allowed himself to relax and watched Louise exchange recipes with his grandmother. His heart melted when Louise looked up at him and smiled without covering her mouth.

"You are so beautiful." he thought to her and smiled when she blushed.

The evening was filled with laughter, music and dancing and soon everyone forgot about Barb with the exception of Victoria. She didn't mind watching Barb; it allowed Patrick and Nathan to enjoy the evening introducing their mates and she wanted to know why the woman was so hateful and jealous. She wouldn't peek, that would be rude but she could watch.

*******

Barb found a quiet spot from which she could observe everyone. Her hope was that eventually Kevyn and Louise would forget that she was there. She had been one of the first to fix herself a plate of food after Kevyn, Patrick, Louise and Nathan making sure that she took plenty so that she wouldn't have to go back up to get more. She noticed Victoria watching her and decided that she didn't like the little girl who seemed older than her ten years of age.

It wasn't until sometime after ten when the music and dancing started. Barb looked around and not for the first time that evening wondered how all of them could look so young. She looked at Maryann who had taken an instant dislike to her but was polite and wondered how she managed to look no older than forty when she had sons in their thirties. After awhile she decided that it was one of the many benefits of having money and wondered if Maryanne would give her the name of the plastic surgeon she used.

She watched enviously as Nathan and Patrick doted on Louise and Kevyn but it wasn't just them. All of the women who came with someone were being treated as though they were royalty. When she thought no one was watching, she left her spot and wandered away from the party. She had seen enough and it appeared that every male was spoken for. In her mind aside from the food, the night had been a bust.

She followed a little path that led to a gazebo and decided to sit there for a few minutes while she planned her next move. She didn't see him until she was inside of the gazebo and when she saw him, her breath caught. Not only was he gorgeous but she could smell the money in the form of the cologne he wore. Barb looked around and didn't see anyone else. Since he was alone, she assumed that he was unspoken for and began to make her move.

"Hello." she said softly.

He looked up at her and gave her a polite smile as he stood up.