Bonfire by Irene Preston

Author:Irene Preston [Rancourt, Irene Preston and Liv]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prescourt Books
Published: 2016-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

They managed to get the tree loaded in Thad’s pirogue without as much trouble as Sara had expected. Sometimes living in a home with no easy access by land could be challenging. The boat glided through the water, and he let the smooth motion and the sounds of the swamp soothe him. Weird how he took it all for granted now. Four months ago, the same journey had scared him half out of his mind. He kept an eye out for lights, despite the fact that he was apparently the one person who wouldn’t be able to see them. And he thought about what had just happened in Pinky’s.

Back home, they hauled the tree up to the house. “Let’s just get it in the stand tonight,” Sara said. “We can let it fall out on the porch, and we’ll decorate it tomorrow.”

They spent the next few minutes trimming the lower branches, leveling the base, and arguing over what minute adjustment would make the tree stand absolutely straight. The muscles in Sara’s neck slowly unbunched as he and Thad worked. The night had taken an unpleasant turn. As they worked on the tree together, the evening felt back on course.

In the house, Thaddeus insisted on warming up the remains of the gumbo and watching him eat. “I apologize for the scene earlier.”

“Don’t apologize. We didn’t do anything wrong.” He didn’t want to think about how nasty Chase had gotten, or the fact that he hadn’t been alone. He had been the only one bold enough, or drunk enough, to get in their faces, but there’d been a little circle of locals over at the bar watching avidly and egging him on.

Thaddeus picked at a nonexistent spot on the table, obviously not willing to let it go. “This is why I keep to myself.”

“Because your neighbors are assholes?” Trust Thad to blame himself.

“In a small community like this, sometimes it only takes a spark to ignite a conflagration. My unnatural nature must arouse…”

“No,” Sara interrupted. “Didn’t you hear him? This has nothing to do with you being a vampire or”—he shot a look at the man across the table—“anything else you might be thinking. He’s got a grudge against city people. Bren said his family had to sell off some land to make ends meet. I understand not being happy about the sale, but it’s not the fault of whoever bought the property.

“Anyway,” he added, “you were the one who defused the situation.”

Thaddeus stared at him moodily. “It is a good time for you to visit your family. Everyone will have forgotten the incident by the time you return.”

Now Sara felt as moody as Thad looked. He wanted to argue, but the stubborn frown on the vampire’s face warned it wouldn’t be a good time. They needed to discuss Thad’s “keep to himself” policy, too. Sara wasn’t a vampire, but he was an openly gay man. Even in Seattle, he hadn’t been universally accepted. In his experience, you changed people’s minds by letting them know you, not by isolating yourself and ignoring nasty rumors.

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