Southern Secrets (The Southern Series Book 2)

by Shelley Stringer

  “So, do I get to see what’s under that robe?” he changed the subject quickly, grinning at me.

  “Well, I did have the hot-tub in mind, but now,” I glanced out the back windows at the well-lit back deck. I could still see car-lights on the road up the mountain.

  “There are patrols all over the mountain, and the sheriff’s department is out in full force. I can turn the deck lights off, and leave the yard lights on. The water’s nice; I checked it before I came in just now.” His smile broadened when I dropped my robe around my ankles.

  “Mmmm…Wow. Um, I’ll just be a minute.” He bounded up the stairs, and returned about five minutes later with his swim-trunks on. I’d rummaged around in the kitchen and found some wine, pouring a large glass for him. I grabbed another bottle of Perrier water for myself, and then stacked a couple of towels by the back door.

  “Ready?” he asked, slowly looking my swimsuit over, or rather lack thereof.

  “You’re such a guy!” I exclaimed.

  He grinned, flashing me the dimple. “Yes, let’s go.”

  I opened the back door, and picked our glasses up as he grabbed the towels. I hurried in the chilly darkness over to the steam rising from the hot tub. He held my waist to steady me while I stepped down into the water, and then let me go as I settled down onto a seat. He climbed in beside me, letting the water cover his chest.

  “Mmm. This is great. We might have to get one of these when we get back home.” He sounded relaxed, but watching him I realized he was constantly scanning the tree line around the deck. There would be no relaxing on this honeymoon.

  “Yeah, it will feel great in all that Louisiana humidity.” I leaned over to float closer to him. He took me into his arms and pulled me up onto his lap.

  “It will feel good in the wintertime. I’m getting a hot tub, and you get the fur rug for the living room floor.” His grin spread slowly across his face, crinkling around his eyes as it reached them. He lowered his lips to mine and tugged my lower lip with his teeth.

  “Mmm. I’ll go for buying anything that keeps me this close to you,” I muttered against his lips.

  “We can’t stay too long, I don’t want you to overdo.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, pulling back to look at him.

  “The warning label on the back says pregnant women shouldn’t stay in too long. I turned the heat down a little so it wouldn’t be too much,” he said as he kissed my nose.

  “I’m not that pregnant, Banton, I don’t think we have to worry about my blood pressure yet.”

  “Still, I’m not taking any chances,” he insisted, his lips covering mine. His breath tasted sweet and earthy from the wine he was drinking. He reached behind me, and in one swift motion my top was floating on top of the bubbles.

  “Hey…” I objected, his hands sliding around my hips, tugging the bottoms of my bikini down my thighs.

  “Two can play that game.” I worked my thumbs down inside the band at the top of his trunks, sliding them down as well. He placed his hands around my waist, and then grasped my thigh and pulled my leg over him so I sat facing him in his lap.

  “Mmm…this is new,” I mumbled as he began to move slowly, drawing me close against his chest.

  * * *

  An hour later Banton had me tucked into the massive four-poster bed in the master bedroom. I watched him as he knelt down in front of the fireplace to light the kindling under the logs. Soon the flames licked up over the logs, filling the room with flickering light. He turned and looked at me from across the room.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered. I pulled the covers back and he slid in beside me, pulling me into his warm, bare chest.

  “I wasn’t sure if I was welcome. I’m sorry I lost my temper downstairs, before. I thought I might have to see if there was a doghouse out back.”

  “Only if you don’t fess up. You still haven’t told me about the deer,” I reminded him, watching his expression change. “Tell me about it.”

  He tucked the blankets in around us, and we settled in once again to watch the fire. Sliding the back of his hand lightly up and down my bare back, he finally spoke.

  “I examined the deer, best I could in the dark. I do want to go back in the morning, but other animals will surely get to it by then. It was as I suspected, I didn’t find any blood. It looked as if something had fed on it, but it could have been anything up here.”

  But if anything else had killed it, there would be blood,” I reasoned.

  He didn’t answer, just pulled me close. I turned so he could fit his body against the back of mine. I was so relaxed I was instantly drowsy.

  “Banton?” I yawned.

  “Yes?”

  “Please relax, and sleep tonight. I’ll be fine, and you can wake me if I get restless. Promise me.”

  “I promise.” He yawned too, and before I could count to ten, he was snoring, his breath soft and warm against my neck.

  Chapter Five

  Bright sunlight streamed through the massive window in the master suite. I stretched and then turned over to find an empty warm spot beside me. We’d made it through the night without any bad dreams. I threw the covers back, and then ran over to the closet to find some warm pajamas…my negligee I’d worn to bed was in a heap at the foot of the bed somewhere. I located a warm thermal top and flannel pants, and then opened the bedroom door and bounded down the stairs. The smell of bacon frying greeted me when I rounded the corner.

  “Good morning, beautiful. Are you hungry?” Banton asked, flipping some bacon in the skillet.

  “Starving. There is just something about this mountain air and physical activity…” I smiled lovingly at him as he set a plate down on the table in front of me.

  “You cooked grits?”

  He placed a steaming bowl down beside my plate.

  “Yeah. My stomach’s a little homesick.” He placed the butter and the sugar bowl down beside me and then leaned in to give me a quick kiss.

  “So, what are we going to do today?” I asked.

  “Let’s hit the bunny slopes. Are you up for it?” he asked, spooning some butter into his grits.

  “You bet. I’ve been feeling so good, and I’m dying to do something just a little athletic. All the lying around and the bed rest thing was hard to take with the transformation. You of all people should know how that is.

  “Yeah. If I couldn’t go work out hard every day, I had all this nervous energy pent-up inside. I’m sorry, I never thought of it with you, though.” He leaned over and kissed me. “You just have to promise me to be careful, and take it easy. Remember, Dr. Renault said don’t overdo,” he cautioned me, a crease formed between his brows. I could tell he had reservations.

  “I promise!” I was so excited to be doing something, I could hardly contain myself.

  After breakfast, we showered and then pulled the ski gear out of the closet. Soon we were zipped and bundled and headed back down the mountain the quarter mile to the entrance to the ski resort. We unloaded our skis at the lifts, and then snapped them into our boots and took our poles.

  As we rode the lift chair to the top of the first slope I took in the view. It was breathtaking. The top of the other slope was visible, a more treacherous way down the mountain some daring, experienced skiers were already maneuvering even this early in the day.

  Nearing the top, our ascent leveled off as we gained the ramp to get off the lift.

  “Ready? Stand up when your skis make contact with the ramp, don’t fall and embarrass me, now,” Banton prompted as we began to stand. I slid down the ramp gracefully. Banton got a pole caught on the lift, and then wobbled down the ramp behind me, barely getting out of the way of the next set of skiers. I giggled, turning fully to see the pained look on his face. We made our way over to the top of the slope, watching kids no more than six or seven wiz past us on skis with no poles.

  “How do they do that?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Their center of gravity is lower. They do
n’t need the poles for balance.”

  “Show-offs,” I retorted, readying myself to push off.

  “Okay, show me your stuff, hotshot.” He beamed at me teasingly.

  I glanced back at him, and then pulled my goggles down over my eyes and pushed off. I was a little wobbly at first, but soon found my balance, sort of like riding a bicycle, you never forget I thought. I made wide turns back and forth, wedging to slow myself, until I began to get the hang of it. I could sense Banton behind me, and as a sudden rebellious streak hit me, I took off down the mountain.

  “Chandler Ann, wait…slow down!” I could hear him yelling at me. The air felt so crisp, and the sun was dazzlingly bright, bouncing off the snow and sparkling on the ice in the trees resembling a million lights. It was as if the energy of the morning was just flowing through me. I’d been on restricted activity for so long, I felt as if I was stretching my legs after a long ride. I whizzed back and forth working my way around the small moguls on the slope, and then took one, taking a small jump before landing in some powdery snow. I turned my skis into a sharp wedge and slid to a stop in a shower of snow. I turned back to look over my shoulder, and Banton was bearing down on me, coming to a stop beside me. Flipping his goggles back on top of his head, he glared at me.

  “What the hell happened to slow and easy? One fall, and you could do some real damage! That’s it, no more skiing today!” He was truly furious, and I smiled meekly at him.

  “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. It was as if I’d been let out of a cage. I promise I’ll be good from now on. I have it all out of my system, I swear.” I reached to brush some snow off of his shoulder, and he continued to frown at me. “I’m sorry, it was reckless…”

  His gaze softened, and re-adjusting his grip on his poles, he gave in. “All right, if you can control yourself, let’s finish this run. SLOW AND EASY.”

  We continued down the mountain at a snail’s pace. Coming to a stop at the bottom, we both pulled our goggles back on top of our heads, and Banton grinned at me.

  “That was better. Do you want to go again?”

  “Sure.” I smiled back. “Am I forgiven?”

  He leaned over and kissed me. “Always. I can’t stay mad at that face. Come on.” He led the way back to the lift and we boarded again. On the way up I noticed a trail through the trees, and several skiers had cut through from the slope where we’d just been, making their way over to another slope.

  “Where does it lead?” I asked, pointing to them.

  “Another beginner’s slope farther over. We used to take that trail when we were kids – it felt like we were exploring.” He smirked at the childhood memory.

  “Can we take it?”

  “Sure. There is a spot, though, which kind of levels out. You will have to track some, and push with your poles. Then it slopes back off to a coast till you get to the other slope. Are you up for it?”

  “Yep.” I grinned at him, feeling a bit like a kid myself. We got off the lift again and skied down to the break in the trees where I’d seen the other skiers take the wide path through. Banton was ahead, stopping at the break until I caught up with him.

  “Follow behind me closely, and keep your poles tucked in to your sides, the trees are close to the path in spots,” he instructed as I nodded.

  Once we were on the solitary path, the trees seemed to envelop us in another silent world. All of the noise from the slope was lost, and it was as if we were the only two on the mountain. It was easy going at first, and then when the path began to level out, we had to use our poles and track. I’m not in as good a shape as I led him to believe, I thought, feeling the burn in the muscles in my thighs and shoulders. The sun was up higher, and I was beginning to break a sweat under the layers of clothes I had donned this morning.

  “Are you doing okay back there?” He yelled back. I struggled to stay up with him.

  “Coming, hang on.” I caught my breath, pausing on the trail.

  “Come on Baby, just a little farther--it will slope down and then we can coast again,” he encouraged as I pushed forward.

  Startled, I heard a noise in the trees to my right, and I turned and strained to see in the shadows. I caught a glimpse of something running toward me, and adrenalin rushed to every muscle in my body. I felt I was being chased. I picked up speed, catching up to Banton quickly as he was alerted to the same noises I’d heard. He looked over my head behind me and exclaimed, “Go Chandler, go!” He moved to the side to let me pass and take the lead.

  “What is it?” I yelled back over my shoulder at him.

  “Just move! Don’t look back – get to the clearing and the other slope!”

  The trail began to grow steeper, and as I picked up speed, I almost wanted to slow myself, but I could feel Banton right behind me. I looked over my shoulder once, and I panicked, focused on a man in a ski mask. He was running through the trees at breakneck speed. No one could run that fast, I thought, but a half-breed, or Orco…

  We continued the high speed race through the trees, and as I broke into the clear path of the next slope, I almost collided with another skier. I steadied myself and skied on down about a hundred yards before I slowed to turn. Sliding to a halt next to the edge of the slope, I glanced back up behind me – Banton was nowhere in sight. I panicked. I wasn’t afraid for myself anymore, there were skiers everywhere, and I knew the Orco I’d seen in the trees wouldn’t attack us in front of other humans. But Banton was still hidden in the trees. I decided Orco or man; I needed to report it as soon as possible to the ski patrol. Right on cue, two skiers appeared down the middle of the slope, their armbands and jackets bright with the orange-red logos I’d seen earlier in the day. I waved my poles at them and they skied down across the slope where I stood.

  “My husband is still on the cut-off trail, something was chasing us through the trees! When I got to the slope I waited, but he hasn’t appeared. I’m afraid something might have happened!” I explained breathlessly. One of them pulled his radio off his shoulder harness and pulled it to his mouth to speak.

  “Team six, are you still at the top of the north slope? Take the trail back across, I have a woman here who is separated from her husband. He hasn’t surfaced from the cross trail.”

  The other man’s radio crackled as several voices spoke in the background. “Two bodies found, the sheriff’s department is up there now, they have a crew coming in to remove the bodies.”

  “What is going on?” I asked, noticing several emergency vehicles arriving at the base of the slope by the lifts.

  “Some kids just discovered the bodies of two missing skiers in some trees farther up the mountain,” the first patrolman informed me, pulling his radio back around to speak again.

  “Bodies?” I asked, a sense of anxiety enveloping me. If I’d had any doubts before, I was sure now it had been an Orco following us, and he was probably responsible for more than just alarming us.

  “Paul, take her down to the bottom, they are going to close the lifts and clear the area,” the first patrolman spoke to the other man.

  “Come with me, Miss. They’ll locate him and bring him down shortly, I’m sure.” He tried to reassure me as we skied down the rest of the way, but the last thing I wanted to do was put any more distance between me and wherever Banton was. When we reached the bottom, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “Can you radio them and ask them if they’ve found him?” I asked him nervously.

  “Team six, have you found anything yet?” He released the button on the mike, and then waited as the silence hung in the air. Skiers were gathering in groups around us while the slope emptied of people.

  “Team six, come in.” He waited again, and caught my anxious gaze.

  “We’re here, Paul. We’ve skied to the clearing on the next slope, but we didn’t see any sign of anyone.”

  “Copy that. We’ll search down here, maybe he passed her and she just didn’t see him.”

  “There is no way he passed me. I’m telling y
ou he’s still up there somewhere!” I had reached my hysterical point, and I no longer cared what the ski patrol thought.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  Dropping my poles, I then unzipped my jacket, ripping it off as if my body were on fire. Leaning over, I put my head between my knees, my whole world spinning at a dizzying angle.

  “Miss, are you all right? You look pale; do you need to sit down?”

  I took a deep breath to steady myself. A thousand doubts ran through my mind. I was here with strangers; there was no team of Navy SEALs who knew what was going on, no doctors with special genetic knowledge, and no Aldon protectors. The only other person who had any knowledge of the supernatural on the mountain was lost somewhere up in the tree line, possibly having been attacked, and I couldn’t enlist anyone’s help other than a mere human who wouldn’t believe half of my story. I took another deep breath. Get a grip, Andie; tell them what they need to know only. Treat this as if it were just an assailant loose on the mountain, chasing your husband.

  “I just need to sit down, I think,” I answered him, the tears spilled down my cheeks. “You need to get a patrol up there. Someone was chasing us through the trees, down that path. My husband pulled to the side so I could go on ahead of him, protecting me. He was right behind me until I broke into the open, and then about a hundred yards down the slope I turned, and he never came off the trail. He’s up there, I’m telling you! Someone was after us!” I noticed there were several skiers within earshot, listening to my tirade.

  “Mrs. Gastaneau?” a voice called from behind me. I turned, and I recognized the deputy who had been to our house the night before.

  “Yes! Officer Davis…” I felt relief at just hearing my name.

  “I overheard part of what you said. How long since you left him on the trail?” He placed his hands on my forearms to steady me.

  “About twenty minutes. You have to help him!” I sobbed, leaning my head into his jacket. “Please!”

  “Ok, calm down. They have a patrol up there, and another one is on the way up. They are searching the entire area because of the bodies just found. They are aware there is another skier missing, and I’m sure they’ll find him.”