Blood of the Rainbow (3 page)

After a while, Sara started to feel uncomfortable. Each time their eyes met, she blushed and quickly glanced away. She stared at the lake. “Why do you keep doing that?”

Jared furrowed his brow. “Doing what?”

“You keep staring at me, and smiling.”

For a moment, Jared was caught off guard. “Oh - I’m sorry! I didn’t realize I - I’m just making sure. I’m afraid you’re going to vanish into thin air, like you do in my dreams.”

Sara furrowed her brow and cocked her head, surprised and shocked. “You’ve seen me in your dreams?”
We’re strangers! Maybe it’s just a pickup line.

“Yes… I have. That’s what made me cross the street when I saw you with Lucy.” He lowered his head as if
he
was blushing now. “I know it’s stupid, but I had to know if you were real.”

Sara was breathless. Her voice quivered slightly. “I’m flattered, to say the least, but why do you suppose you would dream about a total stranger?”

Jared laughed and skipped a stone across the water. “That would depend on who you’re talking to.”

Without thinking, Sara picked up a stone and skipped it all the way to the opposite bank. “I don’t understand.”

Jared’s mouth gaped. He tried to change the subject. “You’re good at that!”

Sara grinned and scoffed. “And you’re good at avoiding questions.” She raised an eyebrow.

Jared grinned slightly. He sighed. “I wasn’t avoiding your questions. I didn’t want to scare you.”

“How could you scare me?”

Jared stalled. “Well… if you asked my grandfather, he would say you were my destiny.”

Sara’s eyes widened. Her heart started pounding.
Me – his destiny?
She half laughed to diffuse the mood. She didn’t want Jared to see how much he’d piqued her interest. “Destiny?”

Jared sighed deeply.
OK – here goes.
“A Tribal leader - which is something like royal blood for us - has a heavy responsibility to look out for the welfare of our people. As Navajo, we have a responsibility to look out for
all
people. We don’t see relationships the same way others do. We don’t divorce – we don’t need to. Our perfect match - if you want to believe the legend - finds us. We’re drawn to each other by some invisible force.”

Jared studied her eyes.
She doesn’t look freaked out - yet.
He smiled, and then continued. “It starts in our dreams, and when we find this other person – this perfect match - in the waking world… well, nothing else matters to us but them. Our one goal in life – our duty – becomes to secure that relationship and pass it on. According to my grandfather, neither of the pair ever wants or
needs
anybody else.
Oh God Jared – you’re pushing this.
They ah – they never want to be apart again. We’re like wolves. We mate for life, or until our mate dies. Then, sometimes, we might find somebody, but it seldom comes close to our perfect match.”

Sara blinked away threatening tears. She fought to keep her voice steady. “You think
I’m
your perfect match because you saw me in your dreams?”

Easy Jared.
He chuckled, afraid if she thought he believed what he was saying, that it would scare her off. But Sara’s eyes weren’t wide with fear. They were wide with wonder and awe. He continued.

“Well, if you believe Granddad’s stories,” he scoffed. “You see, in the spirit world, we’re all the same - made up of two parts - one male and one female. When we enter the world of the waking – which is what we call this world - those parts split and go their separate ways. But… neither person ever feels quite the same, until they find each other. Only then, do we feel whole again. We may have short-term relationships with different people before them, but it never lasts.”

Sara started to tremble. She wouldn’t make eye contact with him – she couldn’t. She didn’t dare. Jared felt her hand, moist and slightly shaking in his.

Either ask him or drop the subject.
She spoke quickly – blurting her question. “Do
you
… believe the stories?”

Jared gazed at her for a long while, and then smiled. His voice trailed off. “I didn’t….”

Sara had to blink to break away from his penetrating eyes.

Jared squeezed her hand. “Come on. We better go. Lucy is going to think I’ve run off with you.”

------------

On the way back to Lucy’s, Jared and Sara talked continuously. Jared told her stories about his people, and some more about ‘Raging Storm’. He shared his dreams of eventually going on the road, professionally, but said he was torn between the band and his medical practice.

Lucy smiled as they walked in the door. “It’s about time. I was getting ready to send out a search party.”

Sara frowned.
Oh God, she’s turning into my mother. That’s all I need now.

Lucy smiled. “Just kidding. Your mother wanted to talk to you, but I told her you were out walking with a friend of mine.”

“What did she say?”

Lucy sighed. “Oh, you know your Mom Sara. She still thinks of you as a little girl. It’s going to take her a while to get used to the idea of you being an adult.” She glanced at Sara and Jared’s hands. “I’m finding it a little hard myself, but you are most definitely growing up.”

Jared stood. “Well, I need to run and get the studio setup. I’ve got people to do it for me, but I like to do some things by myself. Besides, I don’t trust anyone with my equipment.”

Jared glanced at Sara. Her face so full of disappointment; she looked like she might burst into tears any second. She wasn’t willing to let him go, and he wasn’t ready to let her go either. He smiled at her. “Why don’t you and Sara ride up with me, instead of Laurel and Hardy across the street?”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “Now? Jared I can’t. I’m waiting on a phone call.”

Sara gave Lucy a pleading look.
Oh no – her puppy dog eyes. Oh… Kaye is going to kill me for this!
“Sara you can go, if you want to.”

Sara stood, and tried to look indifferent. “Are you sure?”

Lucy sighed and smiled again. “Yes I’m sure. I’ll ride over with Curly and Moe.”

Sara was curious. “Don’t you drive your car?”

“Not to go to band practice. Why should I do that, when two of the members live right across the street from me? Seems a little silly to waste gas like that when I don’t have to.”

“We could always take my….”

Lucy grinned. “Sara – go!” she groaned.
I know you’re just being noble. If I was in your place, I would have already been in his car.

 Sara hugged Lucy and whispered in her ear. “You’re the best Luce.”

Lucy smiled as they walked out the door.
Yeah, the best that always settles for the second best for you Kid.

------------

Jared led Sara across the street to where his car was parked. “Come inside for a minute. I’ll introduce you to two of the Three Stooges – my buddies in crime.” He led her to the kitchen. Both men had their back turned. Jared whistled, and they whirled. “I’m gonna cut out now, and get things setup for band practice.” He turned to Sara. “Sara, this is Steve, and the ugly guy by the sink with the goatee is Carl. This is Sara Foster, Lucy’s niece, and
my
newest female vocalist.”

Steve and Carl nearly tumbled into each other, trying to be the first to shake Sara’s hand. With an elbow to Carl’s side, Steve succeeded, holding her hand a little longer than necessary. “Very pleased to meet you Sara. Will you be spending the whole summer in Shreveport?”

Sara smiled. “I just moved in with Lucy, so I guess I’ll be hanging around for a while.”

Steve smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Jared glanced at Sara’s hand and gave Steve a look of warning.

Steve cowered, let go of Sara’s hand, and spoke in a more plutonic tone. He swallowed hard. “Welcome to Shreveport Sara.”

 Sara shyly smiled. “Thank you.”

Carl briefly shook Sara’s hand. “Nice to meet you Sara. Welcome to the neighborhood and the band. Now I’ll just go see if I can find a mop to clean up Steve’s drool.”

Sara laughed.

Steve punched Carl in the arm, hard. “You moron!”

Jared rolled his eyes.
Morons
, he sighed. “As you might have guessed. Steve and Carl are brothers. The way they trip on their feet, they could easily pass for two of The Three Stooges, but Carl can make a lead guitar talk, and Steve is one hell of a drummer.”

Jared put his arm around Sara’s shoulder, reaffirming his claim on her. “How long will it be before you three come over? Lucy said she was waiting on a phone call.”

Steve sighed. “Bonehead here needs to stop by the music store, and get some new strings for his lead. Maybe an hour or hour and a half at most. Depends on, when Lucy gets here.”

Damn! So soon!
Jared sighed and tried to sound enthusiastic. He certainly didn’t look the part. “I guess we’ll see you then. There’s ah - there’s no big rush. We’re having dinner first. I’ve got the cooks grilling steaks and the works.”

Steve followed them to the door. “Ok – cool – sweet!”

Jared led Sara to his convertible. He held the door open for her, and hopped behind the wheel. “Don’t forget to put your seatbelt on.” He started the car, revved the engine a couple of times, and backed out onto the street.

Chapter 2

Jared pulled onto a narrow dirt road. Off in the distance sat a large colonial style mansion. It was easy to understand how it earned its name. About fifteen feet on either side of the road, were giant, ancient oak trees thickly laden with green wisteria vines. Neither the trees nor the vines had been pruned to be that way.

Over the years, they had been growing and twisting, and wildly winding their way across the road to each other. Their vast cascading purple blossoms, swaying gently in the breeze, filled the air with a sweet, familiar fragrance.

Together, the trees and the vines had created a natural green and purple tunnel all the way up to the large two-story house. Wisteria grew and hung from the balcony on the second floor, adding the finishing touches to how the house gained its name.

Sara’s mouth gaped. “Wow! I see why it’s called
Wisteria
Hall now.”

Jared glanced at her and smiled. “I thought you would.”

He followed the drive around to the back of the house where he parked in a huge garage. Spaced in other parts of the garage were several other vehicles, and a couple of motorcycles. The inside of the garage was well lit, with a staircase leading up to the first floor.

Jared held the door open and waited for Sara. As she entered the house, it was a bit overwhelming. The house was enormous from the outside, but nowhere near as massive, as it was from the inside.

Jared took her hand and led her to the kitchen. “Let’s get something cool to drink, and then I’ll show you around.”

They walked through the kitchen into the conservatory - a room made of individual panes of glass. The conservatory led out onto a raised deck.  Gerald, Jared’s butler, was busy cooking steaks, baked potatoes, and a variety of fruits and vegetables on a huge grill. Jared grabbed a fruit kebob and shared it with Sara.

Juice ran from the corners of her mouth. “This is delicious!”

Jared grinned as he watched her lick the juice off with the tip of her tongue, and take another bite of the grilled pineapple.

Sara blushed as she realized juice was running out the corner of her mouth again. “It’s very juicy. I’ve never tasted grilled fruit before.” Jared was staring into her eyes, and making her nervous. She tried to distract him. “What spices did your cook use on it?”

Jared snapped out of his trance and shrugged. He held out his hands. “Sara, I have
no
idea. You would have to ask Gerald. He and Cassie do the cooking. I just eat it, but they’re very good at what they do.”

Sara smiled. “They certainly are.”

------------

Jared led Sara around a large rectangular pool. Spaced alongside it were several patio tables covered with colorful cloth umbrellas. Jared pointed to a wide manicured lawn. “That’s usually where we play touch football and volleyball. If it doesn’t rain, we’ll probably get a game started later on.”

In another part of the grounds, was a magnificent rose garden. Past the house, over a grassy knoll, was a gigantic natural shaped fowl pond. Out of the center, rising to a height of about twenty-feet above the surface, shot a single jet of water, making the pond look like an enormous fountain. If you were sitting on the nearby bench, it was possible to enjoy a full view of the entire pond at once. Jared might have referred to it as a pond, but to Sara, it looked more like a smaller version of the nearby lake. They sat for a while, by the pond. Jared held Sara’s hand again.

“Sara?” He made her name a question, speaking barely above a whisper. Sara turned, staring into his near black eyes, her breath felt like ice in her lungs. Jared spoke even softer than before. “I don’t want to scare you, but….”

Sara was forced to lean closer. “But what?” She was eager to hear his answer.

Jared turned and studied her eyes. “The more I’m with you… the more I believe.”

Sara lowered her head and smiled. She understood how Jared felt, but she wasn’t brave enough to admit it to him. Again, she changed the subject, trying to escape his penetrating stare. “What’s that building on the other side of the pool?”

Jared helped Sara to her feet. “A full-blown recording studio. That’s where we practice. It has a dance hall and staged area. We have sound and lighting equipment for special effects to make our own music videos. “Come on, you can help me.”

“I thought you said you didn’t trust
anybody
with your equipment….”

Jared studied her eyes and smiled. “You’re not just
anybody
Sara, and I
do
trust you.”

------------

Jared flipped on the lights, and Sara’s mouth gaped. Inside the studio, at one end was a control room filled with mixing consoles, monitor speakers, and other audio equipment. Through some sound proof glass doors, was what Jared had referred to as the stage. The place they would be practicing.  Once on the raised platform, it gave the impression of being on stage during a live show.