by Alice Brown
“Yes, I am!” Mary answered Erica enthusiastically.
“Well, I have one of the best cooks in town in my kitchen right now. Come on,” Erica laughed.
The girls followed Erica down the stairs and into the dining room. Just before then arrived at the table, Stephanie whispered over for Mary’s ears only. “You can have my share of breakfast also.”
George and Tim were already waiting at the table. Sissy had done a great job with reporting “updates” to George, so he was calm and excited to see his daughter’s progress. What he didn’t know was that she should make a one hundred percent recovery by being turned.
The one bit of information no one knew was how Betty was accepting having been turned into a vampire. Erica could never get Sissy alone on the phone long enough for details, so everyone was left in the dark. If all had gone well and she was accepting the new “her,” then they should be back sometime the next day.
Later that evening Erica quietly announced she was going underground to check on Betty and Sissy. Marshall arrived shortly after Erica left, and Mary, Stephanie, and Marshall all sat in Erica’s office so they could talk openly without human ears hearing their conversation.
Erica arrived home about two hours later. “So how’s our newest family member?” Stephanie inquired.
“Both ladies are doing fine, and you wouldn’t believe the change in Betty. She has healed up so nicely,” Erica gushed.
“Is she okay with being changed over?” Mary asked.
“You know, I actually anticipated showing up tonight and finding Sissy up to her elbows trying to persuade Betty that the right thing was done. But I walked in, and the two sisters were just sitting there chatting like two old friends. Betty is fine with what has been done, she realizes she would never have recovered any other way, and at this point is extremely thankful to have another chance at life. They will be here tomorrow afternoon, by the way. I think you are going to be amazed at what you see.”
Erica looked over to Stephanie. “I suggested that Betty stay over at Charles and Rosetta’s house and not here with George and Tim. I just thought with Betty being a new vampire it would be easier on her not to be around a house full of humans.”
Marshall nodded his head in agreement. “That makes sense, and they certainly have the room.”
Marshall and Stephanie excused themselves and headed outside for the swing. As soon as they were cuddled up with each other, Marshall spoke, “I can’t believe the change in Mary. Are you sure she didn’t hit her head when she was attacked?”
Stephanie giggled. “No, I think it has made her do some soul searching, though. She says she is finished with men for the time being and would really like to pursue opening a shelter for women and children in need.”
“You know, I think she would be great at that. I’ll keep my eyes open for any empty building or a house that would serve well,” Marshall said.
She placed her head on his shoulder as he gently swayed the swing back and forth. It was a soothing and relaxing motion, and she soon found her eyes becoming heavy.
“It’s getting late, why don’t you go on inside, and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Marshall said.
They said goodnight to each other, and Stephanie went upstairs to her room. Mary was already in bed, so she quietly readied herself and climbed into bed. Her cat, Wild-man, was sleeping on her pillow. He lifted his head as she climbed into bed, and gave her a low growl. Stephanie huffed back at him. “Yes, I know, you smell Marshall.” This war between the two of them was getting old. She scooped the cat up and plopped him down at the foot of the bed. As he resettled, curling up to her legs, she stroked his silky fur. “Look at it this way. You are the one spending the night with me. That should account for something, right?” She didn’t bother going into detail that since she had agreed to marry Marshall, they would soon be sharing a bed. No, she would leave that one for another day.
Chapter Twenty
The next morning the children were going strong. Ramona should have been in school, but it was the last week before summer vacation, and since Tim’s mother was coming home today, Inez gave her permission to stay home. Inez had announced at breakfast that morning that she had found an apartment, and she and Ramona would be moving out in about a week. She had done a lot of emotional healing on her own since joining the O’Rourke household. It was easy to see her excitement as she described her new little apartment. She was also excited to have the chance to run her own household, something that she probably had never had the chance to do before.
Inez had left for work, and the children were in the backyard playing when the doorbell rang. Stephanie went to answer it, completely unprepared for the shock when she opened the door. If it weren’t for Sissy standing in front of her, she would never have recognized the other woman as Betty. She looked great. All signs of prior injuries were now completely erased. Finally finding her brain, Stephanie apologized for standing in front of them, staring with her mouth hung open. She asked them to sit in the living room while she went to gather everyone.
The next hour was a wonderful family reunion. Charles and Walter came over from next door, so Betty had her entire family surrounding her. George just kept shaking his head and stating that God had truly performed a miracle; that he never anticipated such drastic healing. Tim was glued to Betty’s leg, not about to let go.
Walter informed Betty that her and Tim’s belongings had been removed from the house and were now sitting in storage. “I don’t know how much you remember, but the night of the attack this young lady was walking in the neighborhood and heard Tim crying out in pain. She went to investigate, and then called for help. Her grandfather here, Charles O’Rourke, founded a private company that helps the local, state, and even federal government with crime solving. A couple of the men from the unit were kind enough to go back to the house and pack your belongings for storage. I went with them to help sort through what was there,” he finished.
“Thank you, Walter,” Betty said, and gave him a hug. She looked around the room. “It seems I have a lot of thanking to do. I do thank each and every one of you for all that you have done. Sissy told me how Stephanie and Erica have taken George and Tim in while I was recuperating. It means the world to me to know there are people out there who will still help a stranger in need.”
Betty looked down to Tim. “Baby, I owe you a huge apology. I should have left a long time ago, and I am so sorry you were hurt. I know you were just trying to help me, but every time I think of what he did to you, I want to scream.” Tim walked over to his mother for a hug. Tears were streaming down his face as he said, “I was just trying to protect you, Mom. But I wasn’t able to. I am so glad you are okay now, though,” he finished, a little choked up.
“Well, the past is behind us. And it will never happen again,” Betty replied, and then asked, “so, have you been having fun with your grandpa?”
“Yes, Mom, Grandpa is so cool! He has taken me out for dinner and a movie and even played ball with me!” Tim said enthusiastically.
“Good, I knew you two would hit it off well,” Betty replied with a smile for her son.
“Betty, I don’t know how much your medical bills are going to be, but you are not to worry about a thing. I will gladly take care of all of them. After this unbelievable transformation in just three days, I think that burn specialist is a genius,” George exclaimed.
“Dad, Kevin told you that Dr. Carlson was the best. He wasn’t exaggerating,” Walter told George.
“No, he wasn’t, and I am so happy that Kevin stayed involved with the case and got Dr. Carlson involved. I still don’t believe what I am seeing, but I guess when you have a miracle land in your lap, you don’t question it too much,” he said, smiling at Betty.
“Betty, I’ve been thinking. How about you and Tim come spend the summer with me in Georgia?” George asked. “I’ve got plenty of room, and would love to spend more time with my grandson.”
“Dad, I would love to, but I really wan
t to spend some time with Sissy. We have been able to catch up a little in the last few days, and I realize how badly I miss her. But, if Tim wants to spend the summer with you, I don’t have a problem with that. I think I would like to try to settle down in Texas with Walter and Sissy, but we can always make arrangements to have you come out for Christmas, and I can send Tim to you for the summer,” Betty replied.
“I think I can live with that. You two girls have always been close. I don’t want to come between that,” George answered.
The Sutton family spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with one another. Everyone watched Betty carefully, surprised that she did so well for a newly-turned vampire. Evidently, Sissy had given her some pointers so she wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb. She seemed to be handling everything very well, even remembering to do some of the normal human things like blink her eyes and excuse herself to go to the restroom at one point.
Erica and Stephanie let the family have their family reunion for the afternoon, and, by evening, Charles was taking Walter, Sissy, and Betty back home with him. Tim was perfectly fine staying with his grandfather at Stephanie’s house, so he could play with Ramona.
The next morning George stated at breakfast that he needed to make travel arrangements for him and Timmy to go home. They planned to leave at the end of the week, and Inez and Ramona were scheduled to move into their apartment by the weekend. Stephanie sighed; it had been so long since it was just her immediate family in the house, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Her friend, Mary, would be staying a few more days, but her parents had called earlier to inform her they should be home by the middle of the following week.
By that weekend, all of the human guests had left the O’Rourke households. Inez and Ramona had settled into their new apartment, and George and Tim had left the day before to go back to Georgia. Before George left he took Kevin off to the side and tried to hand him a large stack of cash. “This is just a token of my appreciation for everything you have done for my family,” the elderly man stated.
Kevin held his hand up to refuse. “I couldn’t possibly take that from you, sir.”
“Kevin, you have managed to bring my family back together again, and you helped lead us in the right direction for Betty’s recovery. I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done,” George stated. “Please take this or I will feel guilty otherwise.”
Kevin looked down at the stack of money George was trying to hand him, an idea hitting him. “Well, I will accept it on one condition. We have another female victim who was attacked, and now wants to set up a shelter for women and children in need. If you will agree to let me use the money to accomplish this, then I will accept it.”
“Very well, you can do with it as you like. I like the idea of re-investing to help others out, though. Tell your victim that I wish her much success,” George smiled.
Goodbyes were made shortly after that, with Ramona and Tim promising to keep in touch by writing and through email. They had formed a bond Stephanie felt would stand true through the test of time and long distance. They had bonded when both were hurting, related their stories to one another, and realized they had a common bond because Stephanie had rescued both of them. A solid friendship had been built, and time and distance would have little effect.
With all four humans out of the house, the blood was brought back out into the kitchen, and Stephanie felt safe enough to bring out her raw steak and dill pickle. Just as she was sitting down to enjoy her feast, Marshall walked in. “I had a feeling this is what I would walk into finding you doing,” he remarked, smiling at her.
“As soon as you are finished eating, I need both you and Mary to come with me,” he said.
“Okay, where are we going?” Stephanie asked curiously, biting a chunk off the top of her pickle. Marshall winced as he watched her.
“I have found a couple of spots where I think Mary’s shelter can be set up. I want you two to come take a look and see what you think,” he replied.
*****
A perfect location had been found for Mary’s shelter for women and children in need. How in the world Marshall had accomplished this, Stephanie would never know, but the shelter ended up only a block away from Inez and Ramona’s new apartment.
He had found a large Victorian house that had been converted into a bed and breakfast at one time. Evidently, the owners let it go, or something happened to them, because the bank repossessed it. They were looking to get out from under it; the house had been empty for quite some time, so they were willing to negotiate on the price. The final price was well below market value. The whole place needed a general spruce-up, painting, repairs, and the like, and Mary and Stephanie were happy to have Sissy and Betty’s help for several days before the two ladies headed to Texas.
Kevin had the VCTF donate several security cameras and monitors; Walter and Marshall helped install and set them up. Kevin also brought in a team of vampire landscapers to build a five-foot-high brick wall surrounding the back yard. They also made a playground area for children, as well as a boxed flower garden just outside the back door.
It was decided that Ramona could spend the summer with Mary at the shelter while her mother worked. She would be supervised by an adult, but would also be able to help Mary when clients started arriving, looking for help.
In just over two weeks, Mary’s shelter was open. With the money that George Sutton had given Kevin, they were able to buy the building and land, and had enough left over to pay for all of the repairs and redecorating. When everything was finished, Mary still had a good nest egg set up to cover food expenses and anything else that might be needed. Mary’s parents also chipped in some money for this project; they were glad their daughter had decided to do something meaningful with her life.
Kevin and Charles made sure the local police chief knew about Mary’s shelter; they knew the chief dealt a lot more with abusive relationships than the VCTF did.
*****
“You know, we never did get around to discussing where you want to live,” Marshall remarked as he gently rocked the front porch swing. Things had seemed to slow down now that everyone had cleared out of the O’Rourke house, and Marshall enjoyed being able to snuggle with Stephanie on the front porch again.
“Well, I don’t know how you are going to feel about this,” Stephanie replied as she bit into her bottom lip. Uh-oh …the only time she bit into her bottom lip was when she was embarrassed or didn’t feel comfortable. “Remember when Dad said that I should work from here so Mom can hook me up when I need to project?” she asked.
“Yes, I remember,” Marshall replied smoothly. He had a good idea of where this conversation was going now, and he already had it covered. She just didn’t know it yet.
“Well, I still want to work with the team. If we move far away, that might be difficult. I mean…I could get up every morning and drive over, but what happens when the team is working weird hours? Or what happens when I hear a child call in the middle of the night and project out to go help? How are you going to get my body over here? And what happens if you are not home?”
Marshall had to grin. She was certainly worked up over this. “I think I have an answer to your questions,” he stated softly.
Kevin walked out the front door and sat down on the top step. Both Stephanie and Marshall knew he had heard every word of their conversation so far.
“Stephanie, there is no reason to worry. I offered several acres of land right behind the house for you two to build on. That way you can be near enough to work with your mom, but you two still have your privacy, which is important in a new marriage.”
He sighed as he continued. “There is approximately twenty acres of woods back behind ours and Charles’s property lines. Marshall, you should well remember these woods; Gary hid in them back when Stephanie was a baby, and he tried to kidnap her. We would like to see the two of you clear out a section and build a house on the land.”
“You are giving us the land?” Steph
anie verified.
“Well, yes, I am giving you the land, but with one little stipulation,” he replied.
And here it comes, Stephanie thought. What would he require of them in order to stay near and continue to work with the team?
Marshall was evidently feeling much bolder than she was. “Okay, I’ll bite, what is the stipulation?”
Kevin grinned. “That when the two of you move into your new house, that damn cat of Stephanie’s goes with you.”
Stephanie gasped. She knew her parents really didn’t care for her cat; they simply tolerated it like Marshall had all these years. But then again, her cat wasn’t exactly the friendliest feline in the world.
Her father was still grinning. “Consider him our wedding present to the two of you.” He chuckled at his own joke. “I am sure Wild-man and Marshall will get along great.” And with that, he stood and walked back into the house, still chuckling.
“Damn, they know that cat can’t stand me,” Marshall grumbled with a frown.
“I know, but don’t take it personally. I don’t think he really cares for anyone other than me,” Stephanie replied, trying to lighten things up. She could just imagine her cat and Marshall trying to live in the same house.
She glanced over just in time to catch Marshall rolling his eyes. “You do know that little demon of a cat and I will need to come to an understanding, don’t you?”
Erica poked her head out the door, interrupting before Stephanie could answer. “Yes, Marshall, I am sure you and Wild-man are going to have to come to an understanding. His understanding will be that you have taken his girl, and I am positive he will let you know how he feels about that.” Erica was laughing, and they heard Kevin’s deep chuckle from somewhere inside the house. They were obviously very amused about this situation. It had been no big secret they did not get along very well with the cat, only tolerating him for Stephanie’s benefit. She could only hope her fiancé would be as understanding as her parents had been over the years.
