Authors: Anne Carlisle
The joyous occasion is the second birthday celebration of the twins, and a gala luncheon event is held at Mill's Creek. Members of the immediate family have formed a receiving line. The extended family is all present, including out-of-towners
Coddie Dimmer, Sally Honeywell, and Sally's girlfriend Stretch.
The extended family now includes Dakota Lawless, whom
Marlena sometimes asks to look after the twins (when Faith is not looking). Dakota's residence is a former shepherd's hut on Hatter's Field, or he is welcome to use Chloe's barn whenever he likes. He never complains. Indeed he says very little to anyone, except for Marlena, with whom he has developed a close friendship. She regards him as a kindred spirit.
T
hough initially Dakota was viewed with suspicion in Alta, he is now viewed by the natives as merely an anomaly—an industrious Indian. He is grudgingly admired for his stature and physical strength, which have wreaked havoc with the composure of the young ladies, a trial which he seems not to be aware of.
Coddie
pecks Marlena on the cheek, pinches the twins, and then wanders through the house, seeking Dakota Lawless. He doesn't find him because the young man is raking leaves from the pond.
Dakota is attempting to avoid
Apollo Nelson, the only member of the extended family to have developed an antipathy toward him. Though nothing is said, every time they meet, the vibe is dark. Apollo now has full-time employment with Bryce Scattergood. He is also married to one of the Fairwell girls, who regards herself as the luckiest girl in town to have landed him. A wedding reception for two hundred was held at Mill's Creek. Upon Marlena's strong recommendation, Apollo's ranch-hand duties at Mill's Creek were handed over to Dakota.
“
How was the honeymoon?” Marlena asks Lila, who blushes like a bride, as well she might, having just returned from her wedding trip in Provence after marrying Bryce Scattergood. The receiving line is disbanded and the two friends have settled into Adirondack chairs by the pond.
They are sipping fresh mint juleps; mint grows profusely in Chloe's vegetable garden
. Zaddie is out there now, wandering through the lush mint and talking to herself.
“
My pussy is the same color as your hair,” Lila purrs. “Terminal beard burn.”
Upon spotting Lila,
Coddie makes an abrupt deviation in his aimless wanderings. He offers Lila congratulations on her marriage, followed by an elaborate apology for his abysmal behavior on the night of Harry Drake's death, back in 1977. It appears Coddie is once again drunk on arrival, a habit he got stuck on during the tumultuous events of that memorable Christmas week.
“
No worries, love,” Lila tells Coddie. He shambles away.
Sally
Honeywell and Stretch, having flown in from Key West last evening, are now holding court in the kitchen. Sally dandles Gordie on her lap. He is mesmerized by his gift from Tiffany's, which is a miniature sterling silver tomahawk engraved with his name.
Faith Bellum is hovering nearby, keeping a watchful
eye on her grandson. From her wheelchair in the foyer, Annie Witherspoon is keeping tabs for Chloe on the hotel caterer, the African-American photographer, and the Mexican musicians.
Alta Hotel banquet services announces at noon that lunch is served. The sixty guests are led to a birthday luncheon spread under a white tent in view of Chloe's garden. At its conclusion, the twins entertain
the crowd by delving into two birthday cakes, obligingly smearing their faces and their clothes with blue or pink frosting, and grinning for the camera.
“
I talked to a pretty lady in the garden,” Zaddie says to Grammie Bellum while she is cleaning her face.
“
What did I say about telling fibs, child?” chides Faith. “God knows the truth, and there was no one out there except you.”
At one o'clock
Coddie stands up at his chair, swaying, and taps on a wine glass until there is little sound except the ever-present wind.
He offers
three rambling toasts. The first is to his hostess; the second is to the twins; and the third is to his protégé, Dakota Lawless, whom he declares “will one day be the CFO of Pioneer Architectural Designs. My young friend is an Einstein with numbers.”
He slumps
down in his chair and then lurches back up again.
“
I gotta shay one more thing. I have arranged a fall internship for Dakota at PAD. Been waiting for the right occasion to spring it on 'im. Whaddya say to that, buddy boy?”
The crowd murmurs and claps.
Dakota's face remains impassive, but he feels as though he has just walked over an IED and had it detonate in his face. It was not for an accountancy internship that he washed dishes at the hotel for a year and then worked another year for the sour undertaker, patiently waiting his chance. The position he holds at Mill's Creek is right where he wanted to be, and where he must be in the foreseeable future.
I
ronically, if it were not for Mr. Dimmer, he wouldn't have made it into Mill's Creek and the bosom of the viper's family. Yet all his efforts will be for nothing if he is forced to leave Wyoming because of Dimmer's interference.
After he and
Coddie have shaken hands and awkwardly embraced over the internship surprise, Dakota speaks in his usual taciturn way to his mentor.
“
Got a surprise for you, too.”
“
Really?” Coddie's eyes tear up.
He wonders sometimes
if Dakota would consent to being legally adopted. By taking the last name of Dimmer, Dakota would become the son and heir Coddie could never otherwise have, as the doctors tell him he is shooting blanks. Coddie has not mentioned his fantasy to anyone, not even Dakota. He downs his drink at a gulp, looking as though he might burst into tears. His drinking malady often makes him maudlin. Dakota is the only one who can tolerate being around Coddie when he is in his cups.
“
Remember that motorcycle trip through the mountain you were talking about?”
“
You bet.”
“
Still hot for it, man?”
“
You bet.”
“
There are a sister and brother here who have two killer Harleys. They rent them out for weekends.”
“
No shit.”
“
Yeah, I think your ex-wife went to school with them, the Anderson twins.”
“
Then what are we waiting for? Let's sign up the bikes and get on the road tomorrow. I've got the dime, if you've got the time.”
“
Yeah? Cool. That's what I was hoping you would say.”
“
Make hay while the shun shines, and the shun, if I am not mistaken, is a-shining on us, my lad. See what I mean?”
“
Yup.”
Coddie
smiles, his eyes watering. Reaching one arm over his head, he ruffles the young man's long, black hair until the burnt-red ends glint in the sunshine.
At sunset the next day, Coddie Dimmer's lifeless body is carted off Alta Mountain. The mangled motorcycle is hauled away by Cowgirl Towing, a first responder to the scene of the fatality.
His cheeks wet w
ith tears, Dakota looks the sheriff straight in the eye and describes the gruesome accident.
Coddie
shouted a “wahoo!” as they approached a series of sharp turns, and then Coddie looked backward, grinning at him. Dakota says he shouted to his friend to watch where he was going, but his warning was too late. Five seconds later, Coddie slammed head-on into the face of Alta Mountain. Coddie was dead by the time Dakota got to him. His head was smashed in.
“
Was he drinking?”
“
Not to my knowledge, sir.”
Quinton grunts
. “I'll take that as a yes, son. Go on.”
“
That is all.”
Sheriff Quinton shakes
his head with a cluck of disapproval. “Never look back when you're ridin' through the mountains. Anyone knows that. Who would figure a book- educated man for bein' such a dumb-ass?”
“
Bad luck.”
“
Damn bad,” says Quinton. “You say he was a friend of yours?”
“
Best I ever had,” Dakota says huskily.
Indeed
Coddie was his best friend and the only responsible father figure he has ever known. Yet, he has found it necessary to sacrifice his best friend.
In the future, Dakota's memory will play back in exact detail how it actually went down, how
Coddie turned and looked back at him when he heard Dakota shout his name, how he then transfixed Coddie with a powerful gaze, holding him in the trance until Coddie crashed at full speed into the mountainside, the motorcycle sliding out from under him.
After he closes
Coddie’s lifeless eyes, Dakota dances slowly in a circle to release his friend's spirit.
Then he reviews what has led him to this sad moment.
He had vowed on his father’s grave that Cassandra Vye's family would pay dearly for her abandonment of his father. He had not counted on making this unwanted sacrifice of his good friend’s life. But he had to kill Coddie, because Dakota could not leave the family he had insinuated himself into, nor could he reveal who he was without putting the sirens on their guard. He must stay close by Marlena and her children in order to wreak a full lifetime of revenge. Coddie’s interference, the internship sprung on Dakota as a surprise and the gracious offer of sharing his home, would have meant his leaving Alta for San Francisco. How could he logically turn down such a offer? His only alternative was to kill his friend.
Of course, if it were not for his vow to revenge his father, he could have taken his rightful place within the family and carried on his friendship with
Coddie. But he had made a sacred promise. He reminds himself that an adequate revenge for disrespect is not a simple matter. Rather it is a matter of taking one’s time and keeping the flame burning within. Time is one precious commodity Dakota has plenty of. After all, he has survived three decades of privation.
Based on this latest trial of his willpower, the young demon has a new perspective.
Not being put together like others may be a curse, but it also comes with considerable power. And, he has noticed something else. As is the case with his eight hundred muscles, the more he exercises his demonic power, the stronger it becomes.
THE END
OF BOOK TWO
Anne Carlisle is the author of the
HOME SCHOOLING
Trilogy, erotic-paranormal romance novels featuring a family of sirens in human form. Anne Carlisle holds a doctorate in 19th Century British Literature from Case Western Reserve University. Currently Professor and Course Chair at UMUC, she teaches college writing worldwide to U.S. military students. Formerly she served as a dean for Golden Gate University in San Francisco. While working as a newspaper columnist, magazine editor, and theatre reviewer, she authored a book on writing and hundreds of articles. Her homes are in Key West, Seattle, and Wilmington, NC.