Called to Order (25 page)

He kissed her neck. “I love you,
ainsicht
.”

Annalise forced her eyes closed and pressed her lips firmly together. No matter how much she wanted to return the words, she begged herself to remain silent.

Chapter 19

That night as the sun set, they all met in the kitchen to say good-bye. Anna was self-conscious of everyone eyeing the mark Adam had left on her neck and was irritated to see that the hickey she’d left on his neck had already healed and faded.

“You take good care of Anna now and come back soon,” Abilene said to her son.

“I will, Mother. I promise.”

Abilene turned to her and pulled her close. Anna was overcome by how much emotion she heard in the other woman’s voice. “You take care of my son. Don’t let him slip away from us.”

“I will do my best,” Anna said.

Gracie sat unusually quiet at the table. She watched Adam walk over to his sister and kneel in front of her. When he tipped her chin up to look in her eyes, she was crying. “What’s this, Grace?”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

“We will be back in a day or two.”

“And then what? You two love each other. Just complete the bond and be done with it.”

Adam looked in Anna’s direction, and she busied herself with adjusting her apron. Looking back at his sister, he said, “Listen to my mind.” The two stared at each other for a minute and then she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Anna wondered what it was she’d read in his thoughts.

When Adam stood, Jonas said, “And what of the preparations for the house? We are ready to start building.”

“Build the house,” Adam said. “If things do not work out it will be a nice home for Gracie some day.”

Once they had all said good-bye, Adam carried an old suitcase to the truck and tied it into the bed. He helped Anna into the cab and a second later climbed behind the wheel. “Shall we?”

Once they were on the road for about twenty minutes, Anna began to see signs of modern-day life. They drove through a small town and she was amazed at how foreign the modern amenities seemed to her. Everything seemed so much louder there. A sense of being hurried overwhelmed her. She noticed how much litter there was along the road and how unhappy people generally looked.

Sighing, she turned away from the window and plucked at her skirt. “Can we stop at a store?”

“Do you need something?”

“Well, I can’t very well show up at home dressed like this.”

“I think you look fine.”

“Adam.”

He sighed. “Okay, where would you like to stop?”

“Is there a Target around here?”

“I’m not sure. We are close to a Walmart though.”

“That will work.”

An hour later they were checking out. Adam looked overwhelmed by how much she’d bought. She told him she would pay him back with her tip money when she got home, but that only seemed to frustrate him. She had picked out some decent street clothes for Adam and a cute yellow tank top for herself. Ironically, she ended up picking out a willowy, white eyelet skirt that fell below the knees for herself. She had never worn skirts much since she was a little girl, but Adam liked her to look modest and girlie and she liked when he looked at her as if he wanted to strip her down to nothing.

While he was looking through various men’s shirts, she snuck over to the intimates section and grabbed some normal underwear. She also snagged a sexy matching bra that was more of a corset to surprise Adam with later. She couldn’t wait to be alone with him again. When he bit her, although he was the one drinking, it was her that became drunk with lust. If she had her way, she would have him take a sip at every mile marker from here to Bensalem.

She reached for some of the bags, and he shooed her hands away. “There are the restrooms.”

He frowned. “Do you need to use them?”

“I wanted to change.” When he looked as if he wasn’t expecting her to change inside the store, she said, “Adam, I can’t go home like this. People know me. They’ll think I’m crazy.”

“I will wait for you at the door.”

“Aren’t you going to change?”

“I can wait until we get there.”

She tilted her head to the side. He was acting weird. “You think I’m gonna bolt.”

He pressed his lips together.

“I don’t believe this. Adam, if I left you would only follow me. Besides, I told you I was fine with you taking me home. I’m not a coward. I’m not afraid to go through with what we agreed. How about a little trust?”

“I do trust you.”

“Then go wait in the truck.” A slight growl purred from his throat. “Go. You can be all old-fashion and pull the truck around. You know how you like doing things like that.”

He looked around as if looking for danger then kissed her and headed toward the store’s exit. Anna took her bags into the ladies room and began to change. She undid her hair from her bonnet and stuffed the cap in her plastic bag with the rest of her Amish stuff. A woman washing her hands eyed her curiously. She guessed seeing an Amish girl suddenly change into English clothing in a Walmart bathroom would be a little bit of an odd sight.

When she left the bathroom, she thought she saw Adam watching her from a clothing aisle and turned to yell at him for not trusting her, but when she turned he wasn’t there. Fine, let him spy on her. She would prove he wasn’t the only one capable of keeping their word. As she walked out the doors and back into the heat, she felt an irritating tickle at the back of her neck. Her frown disappeared when she saw Adam standing at the truck with her door open. Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“You look lovely,” he said as he helped her into the truck.

“Thank you, kind sir.” She smiled cheekily.

He entered the truck and stared at her, his eyes drawn to the low cut neckline of her shirt. “I love it when your hair is down.”

“Then why are you staring at my breasts?”

His head jerked up, and he blushed. “My apologies. We better get on our way,” he mumbled.

They drove in silence for a while. The turnpike was not too congested being that it was almost 10:00 p.m. Anna leaned forward in her seat and turned on the radio. She fiddled with the knob, dragging the needle back and forth along the track until she found a song she recognized. She bopped along with the oldie but goodie until they moved around a bend and the channel fizzled out. She moved the needle back and forth, searching for another song, but found nothing but static. She finally huffed and shut it off. Crossing her arms over her chest she sat back and frowned at the black road ahead of them.

“Adam, the speed limit is sixty-five. You can speed it up.”

“I am already going fast.”

She peered over at the speedometer. “You’re going forty.”

“That is fast.”

“Not for the Turnpike.”

He looked at her quickly then turned his head back to the road. “Why are you so
rootshish?”

“What is rooksheesh?”

“Squirmy.”

She took a deep breath and deflated. “I don’t know. I’m anxious and nervous.”

“What has you feeling so?” he asked as he reached for her hand.

She placed her hand in his and slid closer to his side. “Can you explain the bonding ceremony to me?” When she didn’t think he would answer, she said, “Or sing to me or something so I can relax. I’m bringing my radio with me when we come back. I don’t care what you say. I need music.”

It was quiet for a moment. Finally Adam said, “The bonding ceremony begins at dusk. The entire Order is asked to bear witness to the first and second part of the ceremony. The female will wear a new dress. It will be blue and white. In most Amish families the woman then only wears that white dress again on the day she is buried. Our people only wear it once.

“There will be a regular service, and the couple stands before the community at the end and vows to honor and cherish each other for eternity. They then kiss, and it becomes a contract bound before God.”

“That sounds like a wedding.”

“It is. Bonded couples are married. After the service, there is a feast. The mothers make napkins for the couple with their names embroidered in the linen. An elder will make a toast, and the couple will prick the finger of their mate and drip a single drop of blood into a chalice of wine. The couple then touches their blood to the embroidered napkins and drinks the wine.”

“Is that how the transformation starts?”

“Not quite. There is a long celebration that goes on well past the couple’s stay. When the groom is ready to take his bride, he carries her to his room. When they are there they…”

“Make love,” she supplied.

“Yes, make love, and that is when the third part of the ceremony is completed.”

“Which is…?”

“The male will take the female from behind. He will open his wrist and press it to her mouth. She will drink, and he will take from her throat.”

“Sounds…intense.”

“I imagine it is.”

“What if the vampire is a woman and the human mate is a man?”

“I am sure there is a way that the females are taught when they are of proper age. I am not privy to that information. I only know what my father taught me.”

“But your father isn’t bonded with your mother.”

“They have bonded. There is just the chance that one of them or both may someday be called to their true mate.”

“Oh my God, what would happen then?”

“Language,
ainsicht.
And I do not know. It is a risk they chose to take and one that holds a consequence I would rather not imagine.”

Anna shut her eyes and rested her head on Adam’s shoulder. The bonding did not seem that crazy. She could imagine doing most of that without a hitch. It was only the idea of drinking his blood that had her a little nervous. Well, that and the whole dying thing that followed. “How much blood will I have to drink?”

“I believe at least a swallow. I am told that when a couple bonds for the first time, it is not an issue. Even when the mate is human, they tend to drink more than enough.”

“Ew! I can’t even eat my stake rare.”

“It will be different.”

“How?”

“Do you remember how I reacted today while drinking your blood?”

Like she could ever forget. “Yes.”

“It will do the same to you.”

“But I’m not a vampire.”

“But God made you to be. It will be natural. Trust me on this,
ainsicht.
”

They rode in silence for the rest of the way. Annalise expected her town to appear different, but everything looked the same. Had it really only been a few days since she’d left? She supposed it was the sense that
she
had changed that made her feel like everything else should have as well.

Adam pulled into the parking space next to the Steaming Turd. He opened her door and helped her out of the truck. She ran an affectionate finger through the green dusting of pollen coating her car’s windshield and sighed, “Hi, Turd.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing, just talking to my car.” Adam looked at her as if she were crazy then back to the car. “Don’t judge me! You drink blood.” She turned and walked toward her apartment building.