Somebody was there acting as DJ for the reception and there were a few couples dancing. I remembered a night when Gavin and I had crashed a reception and danced with that crowd. I liked that Gavin. Now he was surly at the best of times and there was no talking to him. He'd been absent during most of the stay in North Dakota, off to who knew where, but he continued to guard at night just like always, sleeping in his corner during the day. He didn’t disturb my sleep, but then nobody could.
"You look lovely." Davis was there, a cup of punch in his hands. Somebody had spiked it a little; I could smell the alcohol from yards away.
"Davis, don't say anything you can't take back tomorrow," I smiled at him.
"Come and dance with me," Winkler walked over and took my arm.
"Winkler, there's been several women ogling you all night, you should dance with them," I said.
"I want to dance with you," he insisted.
"Fine," I sighed. We waited until the current song ended and the DJ started something else. It was Shameless, by Garth Brooks. The thought crossed my mind briefly while we were dancing that Winkler had almost died in a wheat field on the outskirts of Garth Brooks' hometown. It made me wonder if he appreciated the irony of it all. I also wondered where Gavin had gotten off to. He could have danced with just about anyone there. They all looked at him—when he wasn't watching, anyway. He was so tall and handsome (when he wasn't scowling, that is), and his wide shoulders alone would make most women swoon—even werewolf women. Winkler tried to get me to dance with him again, but I begged off so he took Whitney for a round and then Kathy Jo.
Weldon was the one who came and insisted I dance one more time, so I danced with the Grand Master of the werewolves. Held against his warmer than average body while we danced, I wondered how many women had the honor of dancing with Weldon. Probably none of them vampire, that was a safe bet. The party broke up around four and people went off to find beds while I took my shoes off and ran toward the river. There was no ice now, although the water was still freezing. I wondered if I could jump the river if I took a run at it, but wasn't willing to take the risk. Sitting down on the bank instead, I mulled over the last five months of my life and wondered how different it might have been if I'd still been human, or if I'd had a sire who'd taken responsibility for me. I was quite shocked when Gavin came to sit beside me after a bit.
"You missed the dancing," I said. "There were plenty of women looking for you."
"I wasn't looking for them."
"Man, I made you swear off women altogether, didn't I?" I said.
He didn't answer my question, asking one of his own, instead. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.
"Thinking. I was just wondering how my life would have been different," I said. "If I hadn't been turned. I guess I'd be at home after working a full day, having something small for dinner and watching the news before going to bed. And I was wondering how my life might have been different if somebody turned me that gave a damn, instead of betting on the outcome."
"No speculation on that one?" he asked.
"I have nothing to base it on," I told him.
"I will do it for you," he said almost gently. "Your sire would have watched carefully, to make sure you were making the turn instead of dying a final death. He would have a ready supply of blood nearby when you did wake, and he would have fed you the very first time. Then he would fill your nights with the teachings that you needed to learn and take you out and show you how to take blood properly from a donor. Your vampire father would be your shield and protection for several years, until you were ready to stand on your own. He would have seen to your financial well-being, making sure you had a safe place to live. And he would always be available in case you needed help of any kind. You would have been his child, for as long as he lived."
"Well, that's really nice," I said. "You make it sound good instead of horrible. I'll think of that instead of the image I have of being abandoned."
"You should not have been," Gavin said, rising. "You should go back soon." He walked away. As long as I live, I may never figure out that man. I got up, carrying my shoes in my hand and headed to the cabin. Gavin came in behind me, just as I was getting into bed. He climbed into his sleeping bag and I turned out the light.
* * *
The night in Corpus Christi was rainy when we got back, with water standing in little puddles around the tarmac when we got off the plane. I got my own bags off the plane even though Davis offered to take them for me. I wasn't helpless or weak anymore. I was vampire and a lot stronger than I looked. It didn't rain often there on the beach, but Gavin and I made our rounds in the rain that evening. Whitney and Sam spent the night—they were planning on going to Sam's home in the morning. My hair was plastered to my head when Phil and Glen took over and I probably looked like a drowned rat. That's what my mother used to say, anyway. Gavin was completely soaked as well. I went straight to the shower and turned the water as hot as I could stand it. Even I felt chilled after all that cold rain. Gavin must have done the same thing; he was toweling off and wearing dry pajama bottoms when I came out to grab one of my partial bags of blood. I was feeling a little hungry for some reason, so I drank it on the way to my bedroom. Gavin, as usual, didn't even blink as he watched.
The weather turned really hot in June, but the beach was always ten to fifteen degrees cooler on Mustang Island than it was inland. The days were longer, too, so I woke later in the evening. The summer solstice came and I didn't wake until long after eight on that day. That must be a weird day for vampires. A short night and a long sleep.
I cooked for Winkler and the others too, on that night. They wanted pork chops, so I stuffed some for them. Winkler was as happy that night as I'd ever seen for some reason, and he hadn't even gone to find a hooker. Not that I knew of, anyway.
Cleaning up the kitchen afterward wasn't all that bad. It was done quickly, so I made my way out the door to help Gavin. At least he wasn't as surly as he'd been before and I couldn't figure that out—the man was more mercurial than the planet or the god. There are insects that sing almost constantly throughout the summer on the beaches along the Gulf Coast and they were making their noise, now. Sometimes it was nearly deafening to my ears. We occasionally heard the random car drive past on highway 361; vacationers coming home from a bar or teens that had been necking over on the ship channel. Otherwise, our guard duty was peaceful and uninterrupted.