Blood of the Rainbow (51 page)

He sat at the bottom of the stairs. Sara sat beside him. “Well, Seth might try something underhanded. If he can get enough members of the Council on his side….”

“Then we’ve got to go back Jared,” Sara urged.

“I will not go back until the gig is over, and we’ve settled some things here Sara. This is too important. But we’ll go back, soon. I know how much you love it there, and I want to be there for my parents, but
we’ve
got a life of our own to attend to first.”

Jared stood and sighed. “Do you mind if we don’t practice? I don’t feel like singing, right now. I think I’d rather go for a ride on the bike instead.”

“No, I don’t mind. Let me run back upstairs and put my hair up, so it doesn’t get tangled,” Sara said, heading back up the stairs.

“You don’t have to go with me,” Jared called out.

Sara stopped dead in her tracks, her hand resting on the rail. “You don’t want me to go with you?” Sara countered, afraid of how he might answer.

Jared walked over to her and held her. “Don’t be silly. I always want you with me. I’m afraid I won’t be very good company though.”

“I’m not just here for the good times Jared,” Sara smiled, touching his cheek.

Jared half smiled. “In that case,” he said swatting Sara’s butt. “Get up there and get your hair done Squaw!” he said, joking.

Sara gave him a dirty look and hurried up the stairs. Using the mirror, she quickly French braided her hair, making sure it had plenty of hairpins holding the shorter pieces in place. She checked her appearance and dashed down stairs, excited now. Sara actually
enjoyed
riding with Jared.

The wind felt good in her face as they flew down the narrowly winding blacktop. Sara didn’t recognize where they were, nor did she know where he was taking her. It really didn’t matter.

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

The ride seemed to be doing both of them some good. When Sara first crawled on the bike and wrapped her arms around Jared’s waist, it felt as if she were hugging a tree. His muscles were so tense and anxious. Now, she could feel him starting to relax. Sara felt better too. For the moment, she’d pushed the whole episode they’d had earlier to the back of her mind. Instead, of focusing her attention on future events, she probably couldn’t control anyway; Sara concentrated on here and now. That was all that truly mattered anyway – wasn’t it?

Jared started down another untraveled route. He began meandering through tall bushes and small trees. Sara wondered how many of these off-road hideaways Jared knew, and how much time he’d devoted to finding them. Was it because of her, or was it because deep down, Jared enjoyed his solitude. He’d spent most of his life, living in a dream. Had it become a habit for him? Maybe she shouldn’t have come with him. Maybe Jared was too polite to say that he
wanted
to be alone.

They’d been twisting and turning and bouncing around for so long, Sara was starting to suffer from mild motion sickness. At last, there was a break in the thicket, and they stopped on the banks of an obscured lake with tall reeds and cattails all around the edge of the water. The whole place was shaded with giant cypress trees adorned with long trails of Spanish moss. Mingled among the moss were spackles of yellow jasmine, and honeysuckle. The breeze was tranquil and filled with a sweet fragrance.

Jared stopped the bike, pulled off his helmet and hung it on the handlebar. Then he held out his hand to Sara. She took off her helmet and hung it over the other handlebar. Jared opened his side saddlebag and took out another elaborately hand-woven blanket, his sketchpad and pastels. He spread the blanket on the ground under one of the huge trees.

Sara watched him as he went back to the bike, opening the other saddlebag, and produced a medium-sized, ice chest. He brought it back and sat it on the ground next to the blanket.

Sara motioned to the blanket. “When did you do this?” She expected him to take his art supplies.  They seemed to be his natural alternative to a digital camera. Sara didn’t need a digital camera when she was with Jared. His talent spoke for itself. He didn’t need a camera to record memories. He could create them with his own hands – better than photos. “I was only gone a few minutes. When did you find time to pack all this?”

Jared chuckled. “I only packed the food and grabbed my pastels Angel. The blanket stays in my saddlebag.”

“So you do this often? Ride off like this?”

Jared smiled. “Yes.” He took Sara’s hand and led her to the edge of the water. He put his arms around her shoulders, and pressed his cheek next to hers, his lips close to her ear. “If you lean out just a little bit, and look back there,” he said, pointing. “There’s a wolf’s den.”

Sara’s eyes widened. Her throat went dry with fear. “What?” she gasped.

Jared chuckled again. “Easy,” he whispered in his deep soothing voice. “You’ll scare her. Don’t worry, she won’t bother us. She’s as afraid of you as you are of her.”

“And she won’t come around the lake?”

Jared smiled again. “No, Sara. She doesn’t seem to mind my being here as long as I keep my distance. If I try to approach her, she takes her cubs and runs off, but she always comes back. I think she’s a loner, maybe a reject, or past Alpha female.”

“That’s so sad,” Sara whispered.”

“She probably wasn’t alone to begin with. Normally, wolves run in packs or pairs, if they’re looking for their own territory, but on rare occasions, older wolves have been known to break away from the pack, when threatened by the younger more dominate pack members. Probably, what’s happened is her mate has died, or been killed, and she’s been left to care for the pups on her own.”

“How did you find her?”

He softly laughed, “By accident. I was riding around looking for new scenes to sketch, when I found this site. I didn’t realize it had tenants. We kind of had a common fright experience. I don’t know who was more afraid, me of her, or her of me. Whatever the case may have been, we both ran in opposite directions. I got on my bike and left immediately. This place was so picturesque, and I wanted to sketch it so bad, I decided I wasn’t going to have a single wolf keep me away. So, the next time I came back, I brought my pistol, which stays in my saddlebag, just in case. Knowing a little about wolf behavior, I wasn’t expecting her to be here, but she was, and this time she was more aggressive. She challenged me.”

Sara’s eyes widened. “So what happened then?”

Jared closed his eyes, to get a clearer memory. “When she heard me, she came out and stood at the mouth of her den, braced for conflict, growling and baring her teeth at me. Fearing she might decide to charge, I very slowly removed my pistol and took a dead-aim. I most certainly would have killed her if I’d fired. She turned her head back toward the den, and that’s when I’d realized why she’d been behaving aggressively. She wasn’t a lone wolf. She was a mother. A mother protecting her young. I started trying to talk to her, putting my gun away, showing her I meant her no harm. Oddly enough, she seemed to understand, and went back in her den with her cubs.”

 “How long ago did you find her?”

“A couple of months. Her pups will be… judging by their size, and how long I’ve been coming here, about two, maybe three months old now.”

“And you’ve been sketching them all this time?”

Jared smiled. “Yeah. I didn’t show you the sketches with the other ones?” He acted as though it had slipped his mind.

“No,” Sara replied.
Should I ask
? “I’d like to see them. If you still have them.”

“Oh, I’ve still got them all right. They’re among my favorites. I kept them close to the ones of you. I honestly thought I had shown them to you. They must be in the other portfolio with the other….” Jared stopped midsentence and quickly changed his mind. “Older ones I have in the attic. Cassie is always moving things around without telling me,” he smiled, trying to complete the distraction, hoping Sara hadn’t caught on – but she had. Jared
was
keeping something from her. A secret so guarded, and maybe so crucial that he felt he
had
to lie to her. What, she wondered. Sara didn’t like secrets. They usually led to tears, and some even to goodbye.

“Jared?” she said, making his name a question as she carefully approached the subject. “All these, secret little hideaways you’ve found,” she said, turning to face him, so she could see his eyes. Jared might say one thing, but if she happened to be looking at him, he couldn’t lie to her, he’d look away. He waited for Sara to finish. “Have you always come here,
alone
?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve never brought another girl to any of these hideaways?”

He studied her eyes, afraid that she might wander through his closet of secrets. “No – just you….”

“Why?”

“These places are secret, special,
mine
. I’ve never had anyone I wanted to share them with – till you,” he smiled and ran his finger along the side of her neck. Sara softly laughed. “You’ve walked where angels fear to tread. You know me –
all
of me. You’ve seen in the dark abyss of my worst parts. I’ve hidden nothing from you Sara.”

Sara stared into his eyes for a few seconds, trying to judge what he was saying. Either he was telling her the truth, or he was getting better at lying. He seemed sincere. “
Nothing
?” Then Jared failed the test. He shut his eyes for a split second, breaking Sara’s gaze before opening them and looking back at her.

Jared lifted her chin and moved his face closer. “Nothing,” he breathed against her lips and kissed her. His plan had worked. He’d successfully managed to confound Sara’s head. He’d made her forget how to breathe. No matter how many times he kissed her, Sara knew she would never get past this effect he had on her.

Chapter 22

Sara paced the room like a caged animal. Sat in the big armchair, Jared watched her with wary eyes. He had tolerated Sara’s behavior, but after an hour or so, it became unbearable. As she walked past him, he reached out with the speed of a rattlesnake, grabbed her, and pulled her to his lap. He was getting exasperated. “Stop! Honey,
Angel
, it’s your parents, not a lynching party. Calm down.” He laid his ear against her chest. “Your heart is racing Sara. If you don’t settle down, I’m going to give you a tranquilizer!”

“I’m sorry. I’m just so keyed up. I’m not sure I can do this Jared. It feels like I’ve got ants crawling through my veins.”

“You’re just nervous, and afraid your parents aren’t going to accept me.”

Sara laughed sarcastically and got back up. “That’s an understatement. It’s hard enough, knowing I’ve got to get up in front of all those strangers tonight. Now, thanks to your
casual
invite, my parents are going to be staying with my
Navajo
fiancé and me, for the entire weekend. I’m a nervous wreck!”

Jared got up, grabbed her again, and kissed her passionately. Sara fought him for a few seconds, knowing what he was trying to do. But Jared was relentless. He knew she couldn’t resist him long – he was right. After another few seconds, and then four little words breathed in her ear, Sara’s head was fuzzy. He could have done anything to her he wanted to.

Jared pulled away and studied Sara’s eyes, smiling as he stroked the side of her head. “Better?” Sara nodded, and he pulled her into another embrace. “Sara, Angel, you’re getting all upset for nothing. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re family accepts me or not. There’s nothing on
this
Earth that will
ever
make me give you up. Ok?”

The doorbell rang, and Sara jumped, tensed again and ready to run. Jared held her as she automatically started for the door. “Gerald will get that. Come on,” he said, leading her by the hand. “Sit with me on the couch and wait.”

“Your guests have arrived, Sir.” Gerald quickly disappeared.

Jared and Sara stood. Sara hugged Kaye. “Hi Mom.”

“Hi Honey. I’m so glad to see you. I’ve been so worried,” she said, glancing at Jared.

James held out his arms and wrapped Sara in them like a warm blanket. “Hi Precious,” he said and kissed her cheek.

“I love you Dad,” she whispered. Sara stood between her parents, resting her arm on their shoulders. “Jared, this is my mother, Kaye, and my father, James. Mom, Dad, this is Jared.”

Jared shook Kaye’s hand and smiled. “Pleased to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Foster.”

Kaye acknowledged him curtly, scrutinizing him with her suspicious glare. “Jared….” It didn’t seem to bother Jared.

James gave Jared a firm handshake. “Jared, it’s nice to meet you at last.”

“Likewise Sir. Please,” he motioned with his hand, “have a seat. I’ll have Gerald get you something to drink. What would you like?”

James glanced at Kaye. “Coffee would be nice.”

“Mrs. Foster?”

“No thank you,” she answered in her most polite,
rude
tone.

Sara drew in a deep breath. At least, it appeared James accepted Jared. It was obvious, Kaye wanted Jared to disappear. Jared had assured Sara that would never happen. He and Sara were together now,
forever
. Kaye would have to get used to the idea.

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

The rest of the morning passed quickly. Jared and James talked about sports, the weather, politics and even religion while Sara was grilled by Kaye out in the back yard. “Sara, does this man plan on marrying you? Is that blue thing on your finger – an engagement ring?”

Sara’s eyes widened. She’d forgotten all about Mikah’s ring. “Oh, mother, please,” Sara said, rolling her eyes toward the sky. “Yes Mother – it’s an engagement ring, and yes, he’s going to marry me.”

“When?”

“I don’t know! We’re not in a rush!”

“Oh, I see… so you think because you’re engaged you can just sleep with him now? Sara… the way you’re living is not
right.
It was not the way I raised you; shacking up with a perfect stranger like this, running off to Arizona – what’s wrong with you?”

“Mother, can’t we just have a nice weekend without all this? Can’t you just, for once, realize I’m not a little girl anymore, and trust that I know what I want, and I know what I’m doing?” Sara’s tone was harsher than she’d intended it to be, but Kaye was getting on Sara’s nerves. She did most of the time.