Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (3 page)

   “After those two dared you!” he snapped, shooting a censuring look at Willow and Julian. They didn’t look remotely ashamed as they stared
unabashedly
back at him.

   “Forget it Ethan, you’re fighting a losing battle,” Isabelle told him. “Kyle, scoot to the branch below you! It’s a pretty clear drop from there,” she mumbled to Ethan.

   “I’m scared!” Kyle wailed. “I don’t want to let go.”

   “What kind of immortal is scared to fall from a tree?” Julian taunted.

   “The smart kind!” Ethan snapped.

  
Isabelle studied the tree, taking note of the petrified look on Kyle’s young face.
“I think you’re going to have to go get him,”
she told Ethan
.

   “I’m too old for this crap,
”
he muttered as he angrily tugged on his shaggy black hair.

  
Isabelle grinned at him, not at all deterred by his sour expression.
“You’re only twenty five;
just think how you’re going to feel in a hundred years.”

  
He turned away from her and grabbed hold of one of the thick lower branches. Isabelle watched in amusement as he
climbed
swiftly toward Kyle. She shaded her eyes against the sun as he climbed higher, finally reaching
their brother.
Kyle slid his small arms around
Ethan’s
neck and climbed onto his back,
he
cl
u
ng to him for dear life. Isabelle stifled a laugh as Ethan’s choking reached her. She knew he would be angry if he heard her laughing at him, but it took all she had not to. A lot of curses, scratches, and mumbled threats later, he slid safely back
t
o
the ground
. The minute he hit the ground, Kyle hopped off his back and raced over to join his siblings.

   “Not so fast!” Isabelle yelled as they turned to bolt down the path. “There will be no more climbing trees! And if I find out that the two of you dare them to do something stupid again, I’m going to tell mom and dad, and you’ll be grounded for a month! Understand?”

   “Yeah, yeah,” Willow and Julian mumbled.

   “Don’t you yeah, yeah me, or
I’ll go and tell them right now.
”

   “No
don’t
!” they both yelled.
“We’ll be good.”

   “Good, and you two,
” she continued as she turned to her younger siblings.
“
I want your promise that if they do dare you to do something, you w
ill
not
do it.”

   “We promise,” Kyle and Cassidy vowed in unison.

   Isabelle closed her eyes and sighed. It was a useless
promise;
it would only be a matter of time before they were back into some mischief or another. “Go,” she said wearily.

   They turned and bolted down the path, disappearing easily into the woods. “How long do you think it will be before they’re in trouble again?” Ethan asked, absently pulling a twig from his shirt.

   “Befo
re they hit the end of the path,
”
Isabelle answered with a small smile.

   “Most likely. So, what’s going on with mom?”

   Isabelle shot him a look as she started
back d
own the path. “Nothing really, she’s just been awfully quiet since you told her that you ran into her friend Karen last month.”

   “Kathleen,
”
Ethan corrected.

   “Whatever,” she replied absently. “Plus, with Aiden going to college this fall, she’s a little upset.”

   “Starting to get empty nest syndrome?”

  
Isabelle laughed as she pushed lightly against his shoulder.
“I don’t think this nest will ever be empty.”

  
Ethan grinned back at her, his bright eyes twinkling merrily.
“Not with the two of us here. She was that upset about Kathleen?”

   “Yeah, she was,” Isabelle replied sadly. “She’s been talking about her a lot since then, reminiscing and stuff.”

   Ethan frowned thoughtfully as he bit into his bottom lip. “I know Kathleen really seemed to miss her.”

   “Mom feels the same way. Every time she mentions her name she gets this pained, distant look in her eyes. It’s sad.”

   “Well, there’s nothing that we can do about it.”

   “I know,” Isabelle whispered.

   “Hey don’t get all glum on me now!”

   Isabelle grinned at him as she shoved his arm. He smiled as he pushed her playfully back. Out of all of her siblings, Ethan was the most like her, and the one that she was closest too. Neither of them had much use for the human race, other than food, and Isabelle didn’t even bother with them for that. The idea of actually going out in th
e world, and living amongst people
, had never appealed to
either of
them.
Unlike the two of them though,
Ian was already attending the University of Oregon, and
he loved it.
Aiden was thrilled about going away to school
in the fall
, and although Victoria and Abigail were only fifteen, they were already
flipping through
college brochures.

   However, she and Ethan were content to stay here, and simply enjoy themselves. Isabelle rarely went out into the world, rarely even left her yard. Ethan went out more than she did, but
not nearly as often as the stooges
(as they had come to refer to Mike, Doug, Jack, and David),
or Ian, Aiden, Vicky, and Abby. Isabelle
wasn’t particularly fond of humans as it was, and the idea of actually living amongst them was not something that
appealed to her
.

 
She liked her life here, the peace of it, and the security that it offered her. She supposed it was cowardly of her to stay hidden away when there was a huge world that she could easily explore. However, she harbored a secret fear, and the
possibility o
f her fear actually coming true was enough to make her want to never leave.

   She glanced over at Ethan to find him smiling softly, his hands in his pockets, and his black head bowed. She knew that smile, and she knew that look. “What are you thinking about?” she asked lightly.

   Ethan instantly wiped the
grin
from his face. “Nothing.”

   She cocked an elegant
eye
brow as she smiled slyly at him. “Girls?”

  
He snorted in disgust.
“Hardly.”

   She laughed happily as she tossed back her hair. “Don’t lie Ethan, I know you.”

   He scowled at her as they stepped out of the woods. She grinned back, bumping him playfully on the hip. “And what about you?” he demanded.

   She frowned as she looked at him. “What about me?” she
retorted
.

   He grinned at her as he slung his arm around her shoulders. “Boys?” he taunted
.

   Isabelle laughed as she leaned against his side. “I wouldn’t waste my time, or my energy,” she retorted.

   “Speaking of time and energy,” Ethan groaned as a pickup laden with wood pulled into the driveway. Another followed up the hill and parked next to it. Isabelle started to laugh as she slipped free of his arm.

   “It’s for
our
house,” she reminded him.

   “Does that mean you’re going to help?”
he inquired with a bright grin, and a quirked
eye
brow.

   “Yeah, right,
”
she replied laughingly.

   She was still laughing as she skipped away with Ethan muttering miserably behind her. 

CHAPTER 2

   Isabelle handed out bottles of water to Ethan, Aiden, Ian, and Jack. They eagerly accepted them, twisting the tops off as they tossed their tools aside. She looked quickly around the large frame structure they had been working on. The house was going to be two stories, with four bedrooms, a finished basement, dining room, living room, kitchen, three full baths and one half bath
,
but for now it was just an empty skeleton. When completed, it would be mostly hers and Ethan’s, but when Aide
n and Ian came home from school
they would
also
be staying
here
.

   “It’s coming along nicely,” she said softly.

   “If you would help
it would come along even faster,” Ethan said, flashing a
bright
grin
at her
.

   “She’d have us cleaning up the sawdust as we went,” Jack retorted.

   Isabelle made a face at him as she surveyed the mess surrounding her. Power tools, saw horses, and pieces of wood littered the ground. Extension cords ran in a hundred different directions, tarps had been laid out everywhere and slabs of concrete were scattered about. She was standing in what would be the dining room, but at the moment it was completely unrecognizable. The basement was the only thing that was done, but she knew that it wouldn’t take them long to finish everything else.

   A little bubble of happiness rose inside her. She couldn’t wait until it was done and they could move in. For the first time in her life, she would be able to have some semblance of privacy. Plus, her mother had already helped her pick out most of the counters, flooring, rugs, tiles, and paint that would go into it and she couldn’t wait to start decorating her home.

   “Where are David, Mike, and Doug?” she asked, holding up the three water bottles that hadn’t been claimed.

   “They got smart and took off early to get a shower,” Ethan muttered, taking another bottle from her. He dumped most of it over his head before squirting the rest down his throat. Shaking out his wet hair he sent droplets of water cascading over all of them.

   “Gross
,” Isabelle protested.

   He grinned at her and tossed the bottle into the trashcan nearby. “That’s the closest I’m going to get to a shower for at least an hour, so leave me be.”

   She smiled back as Ian and Jack grabbed the remaining bottles. “I guess I get left out again,” Aiden mumbled as he rubbed his arm across his dirt and sawdust streaked face. His black hair was matted to his hard face with sweat and dirt. He looked amazingly like her father, and Ethan, with his dark hair, and bright green eyes, but Aiden was taller and leaner, his nose slightly larger, and his hair curly instead of straight.

   “Move faster next time,” Ian retorted, smiling happily. His golden hair was caked with sawdust, sweat, and dirt. Grime smeared his elegant face, and the goggles covering his blue eyes made them look even bigger. He was the tallest of them all at six four, and the most solidly built.

   “Where did your dad go?” Jack asked.

   “Mom,” they
all
answered in unison.

   Jack shook his head, throwing water everywhere. “I can’t wait to get this done,” he mumbled.

   “Neither can I,” Ethan agreed.

   “Bathrooms,” Aiden said
longingly
.

  
Isabelle grinned as she shook her head at them.
“Well, are you guys coming in, or are you going to stay out here all night?”
she
asked impatiently.

   “I’ll come with you guys, maybe a shower’s open,” Jack said
hopefully
.

   “Doubtful,” Ethan muttered.

   They moved swiftly across the open field, and up the back
steps of the porch. Willow was standing on the porch, s
ilently watching them until
they reached the top. “What are you
doing out here?” Isabelle inquired
.

   “Vicky and Abby are driving me crazy,” she muttered. “And if you’re hoping for a shower, forget it. They’ve been in the bathroom for over an hour bickering over who has better hair.”

   “They’re identical!” Jack
muttered
impatiently
.

   “No, really?”
Willow
re
plied
sarcastically.

   Jack
folded his arms over his chest as he gave her a stern look
. “No need to be a wise
ass.
”