Tanner

by Kathi S. Barton

  He reached out to Chloe and Joe to tell him what he was doing. And what Rogan had done too. When he was finished neither of them said anything, but he knew they were upset. It wasn’t until he had her in the car and they were on their way back to town that Joe spoke. I can look for her in the missing person reports that are on the computer. There is bound to be something there. There will more than likely be a picture. Do you think she’d remember what she looked like to make an identification? Chloe said that if the other department had done any of the paperwork, then maybe, but there was a good possibility that they’d not. Perhaps we’ll get lucky and one of your relatives remembers someone that came up missing about then. They would have heard about it, no doubt. If there isn’t a report, we’ll go that route. I never thought of asking them. I’m worried about Giyanna. She’s gone through a great deal today, and we haven’t even gone to trial yet. Joe said that they should come to their house for dinner tonight. I don’t know. Last night didn’t go over so well. It’ll just be the four of us. Then she can go to dinner at someone else’s house and so on until she meets us all slowly. I know from when I first met you all in one room, it can be a bit overwhelming to say the least. He liked that idea and told Joe that. Good. Tell her that I’ll have some information on her lady before then, and if I need any more information, I’ll ask her when she gets here. This is going to be so helpful, Tanner. Not just in keeping the man in jail but making it so that he doesn’t get out anytime soon. With what they have on him now, the most he’d do is a few years, probably no more than ten or so. Chloe spoke then, each of them lending support for Giyanna as he knew that they would. And I’ll see what I have here. There are some new files that are being uploaded onto the computers now. The feds aren’t going to give us back the other ones until after everyone has had their trial. That could be a very long time. Tanner asked Chloe if Anastasia might have some information. She might. If we have a name, she can maybe ask the earth to help her find her. That might be all we need for us to look for her. Under the pretense of a water main break or something. Tanner decided that he wasn’t going to hold information from Giyanna, and told her everything that he’d done so far. She nodded but didn’t say much on the way back to where she was staying, and he asked her if she’d join him for dinner at Trent and Joe’s home. “I don’t know. I don’t do well with people in large groups. I have to puke before each trial that I have back home. Like I said before, I didn’t care much for being an attorney, but it paid well, and I was good at it.” He told her he knew that feeling before working for Noah. “It’ll just be them? The four of us?” “Yes, they promised to do this slowly this time. I should have known it would be too much for you. I mean, they’re too much for me sometimes.” She nodded and asked if her brother could come as well. “Of course. We’ll ask him when I take you upstairs.” She was quiet the rest of the drive, but he could tell that she was nervous about something. Instead of talking about it or telling her that he was here, he decided that he really wasn’t going to push things. He would let her come to him. His wolf, surprisingly, seemed to be all right with it as well. As soon as they pulled into the parking lot behind the big house, she turned to him.

  “Your family, they’re not just wolves, are they?” He shook his head. “I was too scared last night to figure it out, but I think that Joe is something more too. And she’s sort of old world, isn’t she? Not just non-human, but she gives you an air that she’s very old and very smart.” “She’s thousands of years old. When she was much younger, Noah, a vampire friend of the family, saved her from being killed. Joe worked for him as his day watcher, doing things for him like investing his money and so on.” She nodded. “All of us, you included, are more than the average wolf or human. As I told you before, you’re an immortal now. But there is more too. Magic is yours for the taking and for you to use whenever you wish.” “And that means what?” He told her that she’d live forever. “There has to be some kind of catch to that. Like, I don’t know, beheading or being stabbed in the heart. How do we die?” “We don’t. And we have the ability to not have our heads removed, and nothing can harm our hearts nor any other part of our body that might kill us. We can be hurt, but we’ll not die from anything.” She nodded, and he laughed. She asked him what was so funny. “You’re taking this surprisingly well for someone that is new to all of it. And for someone that didn’t believe in magic at all. Though I have to wonder what you thought happened when a shifter turned into his other half.” “I’m not freaking out, you mean. And I never really thought about it before today. It was just something that they could do, and that was the end of my thoughts about it.” He nodded at her then. “Yes, well, I’m trying my best to be opened minded about all this. I’m not saying that I’m going to stick around, but I think that I should have a better handle on this before things get out of control. Don’t you? I mean, what if you get funky or whatever and decide to change yourself? I don’t want to stand there screaming like a ninny when there is danger about.” Tanner laughed. He just couldn’t help it. She had gone from someone that seemed to be defeated to this woman—a strong person who had been knocked around and down more than most. And to top that off, it was her own flesh and blood too. He really was growing to admire her for her spirit and her wit. Giyanna went in to get her brother and asked Tanner to wait, telling him that she needed to go back to his house. She didn’t say why, but he was willing to have her go anywhere with him. When she came out with her brother, he let Joe know that Tyrrell was joining them. She told him that was great. The more the merrier. As soon as he pulled into the driveway to his home, he knew that something more had happened. There hadn’t been a third floor to his home, and now there was. Tanner knew that he had to talk to Giyanna about his inability to have children, and having more empty bedrooms hurt him in ways that he couldn’t imagine. To have a little red headed daughter like her mom would be the best thing he could think of. Giyanna told Tyrrell all about the house as they got out of the car. “You should have seen it when I did. It was my place at home. Even the pictures on the wall were the same. And it even smelled like it. I’m telling you right now, I would never have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.”

  “Okay.” Tyrrell was a little disbelieving, but he was going in with an open mind, he thought. More open than he might have been, he supposed. “And you said that it’s the way you want it now? Even the little rugs in the hall?” “Yes. I can hear in your voice that you think I’m off my rocker, but I assure you that it’s right. I know, I saw it happening when I thought of the house like I wanted this one to be. We’ll do the same for you that he did when we got here. Think of your home.” She looked at Tanner. “Will it work for him, you think?” “I don’t know. I suppose you could ask the house to give him this. Then for it to change it back when he’s convinced. I love the way you have it decorated with all the warm colors.” She laughed, and he did as well. Tanner thought that he could get used to having her laugh all the time. Giyanna turned to the house and yelled at it to allow Tyrrell to change the living room to look like what was in his mind. “Okay. Now remember, this is the only time you can do this.” Tyrrell looked at him, skepticism all over his face. But he was being a good guy about it and letting her lead him into the house. As soon as he heard Tyrrell shout, he knew that the house had let him change it. She held onto him and Tanner helped him go to the couch. It was ugly, the couch and the chair, but he didn’t care. In a few minutes, as soon as he was convinced, then it would go back to what Giyanna had liked. The way that he’d liked it as well. “This is my living room.” Giyanna asked him if he was color blind, because that had been his first thought as well when he entered the room. “No, I’m not. I just love color. The office that I have in the firm that I work for, they don’t allow anything but gray in all their decorations. And you can’t have anything hanging on the walls that isn’t business related. So, at home, I have color. It makes me feel good and it’s fun. We never had much fun, and I love this.” “Tyrrell, this sh
it is ugly.” They all laughed, and he said that he knew it was but that wasn’t the point. He just wanted to have something that wasn’t drab. “Yes, I can understand that, but it’s really ugly. Couldn’t you have gone with, I don’t know, colors in different areas of your room? I mean, this is really, really ugly.” “You’ve said that. Several times now. I know that.” They were still laughing as they teased each other about the furniture. Before they were settled with a glass of tea and more scones from Ruben, the room and furnishings were back to the way that Giyanna had wanted it. “This is very nice. And you have pops of color all over the place.” “You should try it. Pops of it, not every color of every pattern all over the place.” Before they got into another argument about the color of his things, Tanner told Tyrrell what had happened at the jail. Not all of it. Giyanna would have to tell Tyrrell herself if she wanted him to know about the story she’d told Tanner in the bathroom. “I’m going to be his lawyer. He’s not going to be able to get to your sister again, not if I can help it. And if you’ll second with me, then I think we can get him a reduced sentence. He thinks that he’s going to get off, but that’s not going to happen.” Tyrrell said he’d do it, but he wasn’t sure how Rogan was going to take it. “Frankly, I hope he fires us. Then he’ll get who he gets and that’ll be the end of it. And that way, we can hope that he gets someone that is very green and has him in prison in no time.” They sat and talked until it was time to go to his brothers’ home. He had spoken to Joe and Chloe twice while they’d been at his house, and they had some pictures that he was going to see if Giyanna could look at. If she could identify the woman, it would add a murder charge onto Rogan’s sentence. And that would take him off the case permanently. He wasn’t a lawyer that dealt in murder cases. Tyrrell said that he wasn’t either. While they were going there, walking this time, he held Giyanna’s hand. Tanner was enjoying the quietness of the evening, and was happy that she didn’t put up a fuss when he took her hand into his. The walk was fun, the night was cool, and Tanner wondered what all his fussing had been about in taking a mate. He was already in love with her. And she had made his house a home. Not only that, but it was something that they had in common, their love of warm colors, soft sturdy furniture, and family pictures on the walls. He would have to make sure that, somehow, he got a few pictures of Tyrrell to hang up as well.

  Chapter 4

  Noelle was just putting the finishing touches on the planter that she’d just gotten in when she felt the tightening of her belly. It was hard to stand up when it hit her, and sitting on the floor, she noticed that she was sitting in liquid. It took her befuddled mind a few minutes to realize that her water had broken, and she knew that it was time. Calling for Marty, she was as calm as she could be when she told her what had happened. “Really? You’re in labor now?” She said that she wasn’t hurting, but her water had broken. “That’s the start. I’ve been reading up on this since I started working here. All right. We have to make some calls. You contact Elijah and I’ll get Sterl. He’s been working upstairs to be close in case we needed him.” When she was alone again, Noelle reached for Elijah and told him that her water had broken. He was as calm as she’d been, and she was glad for it. They’d been planning to go in tomorrow for her to be induced, and he said this was so much better. I’m on my way. She thanked him. I’m letting everyone else know too. So, you be prepared for the invasion. I don’t hurt at all. I mean, I’ve had this backache since I got up, but I did move all that stuff into the babies’ room last night. He had told her then and again now that she should have waited on him. I wanted to surprise you. Well, you did at that. He told her again that he was coming, and she felt better knowing that he was on his way. Sterl came downstairs, lifted her up off the floor, and took her to the office, telling Marty to lock up. As soon as she was in her office, the pain started. It hurt badly now, and she could hardly breathe around it. When she was lifted again, she saw that Elijah had her and she asked him where he was taking her. “To the hospital. You don’t want to have the babies on the floor, do you?” Noelle was hurting too badly now to joke around, and she told him she thought she just might. “Hang on, baby. We’ll be there soon.” They weren’t going to make it. As soon as she was put in the back seat of the car, she felt the urge to push. And it hurt so bad that she screamed with it. Noelle could see that there were others around her, some she could make out and others she didn’t even care. When one of them told her to breathe, she looked around at her and wondered where she’d come from. And for that matter where she was. “It’s Giyanna. I’ve done this before, delivered a baby. And thankfully we’re not on a busy highway in rush hour traffic when I do it this time. You just keep breathing and we’ll be fine.” She told her that she hurt. “I know, honey, and I wish I could give you something for it, but I don’t think your antique shop has morphine in it. We’re going to get through this, you and I, and when it’s all over, you’ll have your baby.” It seemed like forever since this started, but Giyanna kept telling her that she was doing fine, great as a matter of fact. And when the urge to push came over her this time, there was no denying it. Noelle pushed as hard as she could while Giyanna told her to breathe between contractions. “I’m breathing, damn it. This fucking hurts.” Giyanna told her that she could see the head. “Really? It’s coming? I want to hold them. Hurry this along, Giyanna, I need to hold my children, so I can forget all this pain.” “You will. And honey, it’s the baby, not me, that’s taking its time. We’ll get it in your arms. Just one more push like that last one and I’ll have your baby for you.” She heard her father-in-law say there was twins. “Oh. Well, I’ll have baby number one for you in just a minute now.” Noelle could hear sirens. She didn’t know if it was her screaming, really, or the police. They were going to arrest her, she just knew it. Waking the dead with her screams had to be breaking some law, she thought hysterically. Giyanna told her that there wasn’t a person in the world that would arrest her, not so long as she was with her, and Noelle believed her. She was told to push again, and Noelle felt the first baby leave her body. For a few moments she was in heaven. Nothing hurt, but she wasn’t sure that she could do it again. It was then that she noticed that Elijah was behind her, holding her up like the chair did at practice. They’d been to all their classes, and she was glad for it. Then the first baby screamed. It was possibly the best sound that she’d ever heard. But before she could hold her little boy, she had the urge to push again. This time she pushed once and expelled her little girl. Noelle couldn’t help it, she fell unconscious before she could ask if they were both all right. Noelle woke to someone talking. And when she opened one eye she realized that she was in a real bed in the hospital. Elijah was on his cell phone, talking quietly, when she saw where he was standing. There was a large crib in front of him, and he was talking while looking down at it. Noelle said his name. “I have to go, Chris. Yes, I’ll tell her what you said, and we’ll see you tomorrow.” He told her that he was happy, then put his phone away. “How you doing, Momma? You feel like holding one of your children? You fell asleep so quickly after they were born you scared me a little. But my mom told me that you’d done more labor than most and needed it. Which one do you want to hold first?” “Both of them.” He laughed and told her that he’d help her. “Are they all right, Elijah? Do they have all their fingers and toes? Did you make sure that they were healthy and not hurt from me having them at the shop?” “Honey, they couldn’t be more perfect. They have ten of each. I counted them before you were brought here. And they’re very healthy. Our son is full wolf, and our daughter is human. I’m so happy that I have to keep pinching myself to make sure that I’m not dreaming.” She took the first bundle from him and held her son. “We still haven’t picked out a name yet. We don’t have any more time now.” “I know, but it’s so hard. They’ll have it for the rest of their lives.” He said that was the plan. “You know what I mean. They’ll be labeled if the name is too silly or strange. And they’ll be made fun of if it’s easy to shorte
n it into something dirty or even funny to say. I don’t want that for them. They need to have a name that will be perfect for this clan. A name worthy of being a Calhoun.” “All right. Then what would you like to call our son?” She knew what she wanted to call him, but was afraid that he’d think it was too much. “Noelle, just tell me, love, before they all come in demanding names. And you know as well as I do that they’ll start making suggestions, and that will be all she wrote. What were you thinking for our son?” “Elijah James Anthony Calhoun.” He smiled, and she felt like that was the perfect thing to call him. “We can do as your father has done and call him E.J. for short. Then for our daughter? Let me think.” She traded him babies and held their daughter for the first time. She was simply perfect, just as E.J. was. She thought of how she had ended up with them here. How a near stranger yet family had come to save them all. “Christine Jasmine Giyanna Calhoun. For the two people in the world that I think the most of. And the woman who made it so they were brought into the world safely.” He kissed her on the mouth and told her she was wonderful. “You don’t think it’s too much for her? I know what I said about them being made fun of, but she needs a powerful name, don’t you think?” “You couldn’t have picked any names, all three of them, more powerful. I love them both.” With another kiss, he told her to be prepared, they were coming in. And almost as soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and the family crowded in. Noelle loved this family of hers. They were kind and bossy, generous and very nosey. But she loved them as her own. And when Elijah held his son so that they could all see him, she laid her little girl on the bed and unwrapped her. “My goodness, what a pretty little thing.” Noelle looked up at Mom and smiled. “And you, just look at how happy you are. Motherhood suits you. Can I hold her now?” “Absolutely.” Handing her Chrissy, she smiled at her. “We’ve got names for them both. Would you like to know what hers is?” “Oh my, yes, I need to know what to call this precious little bundle.” She told her the name and also what she thought they should call her. “You named her after me? You did that for me?” “Yes. Being that she’s a human, she needed a strong name. Something that would empower her as she got older. I don’t know of any other women that I could have named her after and been happy with it.” Mom wiped at the tears that were on her cheeks. Then when Sterl brought his little boy to them, she held him while the others passed hers and Elijah’s babies around. Life was suddenly very fulfilling for her. And she was as happy as she’d ever been before. Benson, Sterl’s son, was getting so big now. He was a happy little fellow, despite the fact that he’d lost both his parents in such a short time. Sterl and Marty were raising him to know that he was adopted, and hoped that someday he’d want to take over the gallery that his father left for Sterl so that it would be in his family again. This family was forever thinking of the other person when they made plans. Noelle thought that was why she loved them so much. Everyone seemed so pleased with the names that they’d picked out. And each of them liked the idea of calling them E.J. and her daughter Chrissy. It would keep the confusion down as well as help them when they were older. All the Trents in the family got confusing when a stranger would call the house asking for him. She was exhausted again when they were getting ready to leave, but she had to talk to Giyanna and thank her for helping her bring her little babies into the world. Her shyness had Noelle warming to her more, and she held her hand as she spoke to her. “You did something for me that I cannot repay you for.” Giyanna said that it had been her pleasure, but not to make a habit of it. “No, I won’t. I don’t know what I would have done had you not been there for us.” “You would have done just fine. Women have been having babies for a very long time. It was easy really. I mean for me, not you so much.” They both laughed. “I want to thank you for naming your daughter after me. You didn’t have to do that. I’m just as happy as I can be that everyone is safe and sound. You did a great job there, Momma, and you should be very proud of yourself.” “I wanted her to be strong. It’s so hard in this world to be something different. And while she is wholly human, she’ll have magic that will set her apart from the rest. Besides, you’re going to be my sister-in-law, right?” She just looked over at Tanner but didn’t answer. “He’s a good man. All the Calhoun men are. But Tanner has always been someone special to me. Others too. He’s like the big brother that I never had. And he’s a smart, good guy to have around.” “I know that, but I’m not exactly what he would be dating.” She asked her why not. “I don’t know. I have a lot of baggage. More than most, I would imagine. I mean, Rogan alone is enough to make a lesser man run for the hills.” “You have no idea how much baggage we women brought when we joined this family. And a great deal of it was something that our families had brought down on us. Even Joe—she had things in her life that she had settled just the way she wanted. Living her life the way she wanted. But now that she has Trent, they’re as happy, both of them, as I’ve ever seen a couple.” Giyanna said that her brother was causing trouble. “Yes. And we’ll get through it. Like a family. All of us will be at your back, your side, or wherever you need us. That’s the way they do things around here. You’ll see what I mean when things start to fall apart—these people will hold you together.” “You’re very sweet, but I think this is well beyond what they’ve been dealing with.” She told her about Sterl and his she-devil, and the demon that came to get him. Also about the demon Richard. “Tanner mentioned that, and it seems unreal, don’t you think? But now that I think on it, maybe my troubles are not so bad. At least I hope not.” They both laughed, and when Giyanna told her that she was glad they were going to be friends, Noelle thanked her again. It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open. And as she was drifting off, no longer able to fight it, she felt the kiss to her forehead and knew that it was Elijah. She loved that man more than she thought possible. ~~~ Tanner was in his office when Giyanna came to see him. He’d been working on the things for the trial when she sat down across from him. Looking at her, he could tell that she was upset about something, but he let her take the lead. Instead of asking her about it, he told her what he was working on. “There isn’t any way that he’s going to get out of most of this. I’ve tried to explain it to him, but he just doesn’t believe that he’s been doing anything wrong. Not even beating his wife and kids.” She nodded, and he knew that she wasn’t really paying attention to him, so he had some fun with her. “Then there is the fact that he dances naked in his cell nightly, and had rituals that involve him taking little snips of his hair and using them for chewing gum.” “I found out who the woman is.” He told her that was good. “Yes, and now that they know her name, Joe can ask the earth to help her find where he buried her. I’m not at all sure how that works, but I’m guessing that she can do it and do it well.” “Yes, she can, and that’s good, right? Trent has a way to make sure that the prosecuting attorney can figure it out and bring those charges against him as well. He told me that he has a foolproof plan in regard to that.” She nodded. “What else is it? Did someone say something to you?” “The woman that Rogan killed was a nice person with a family. Not a whore at all like I had thought at the time. I think in my mind it was a way for me to deal with what he’d done. Not that she deserved to die like she had, but I was only a teenager and couldn’t deal with it any other way.” Tanner told her that he might have done the same. “No, you wouldn’t have. You’d have been outraged and done something about it. Don’t patronize me.” “I wasn’t. And I’m not nearly as strong as you seem to think I am. I want you to take a deep breath and let it out slowly and tell me why you have a burr up your ass today.” She just stared at him—he could see that she was really pissed now. “Or you could come over here, sit on my desk, and let me have my way with you.” “Do you ever think of anything but sex?” He told her plenty, but he was making a joke. “I’m not in the mood.” “I can tell.” She got up to pace, and he reached for Chloe to find out what happened. She’s tense and upset. Can you tell me what the hell happened? I’ve nev
er seen her like this before. Tanner, we couldn’t have ever found this woman had she not helped us. It was good of her to tell me, and to help us close this for the family. He asked about the woman. Her name was Margaret Penny, and she was a mother of four and married to a very nice man who has been grieving for his wife since she disappeared over ten years ago. The children are nearly grown now, of course, but they still remember her and miss her daily. When Giyanna figured that out, she cried for an hour. I think this has been harder on her than even her brother has been. She’s been holding onto this knowledge about the death, and I think that it’s been eating at her more than even she realized.