Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (12 page)

Florence walks around to stand next to the man she has loved for centurie
s.
“
What kind of plan
,
my dear? W
e can
’
t keep hiding him here.
”

“
That is exactly why we won
’
t be here.
”

“
What? We can
’
t move
—
the school
;
the students
;
t
he Cerberus…
”
Danika argues.

“
You
,
too
,
are correct Danika. That is why we are not moving. I
’
m thinking more like a vacation
—just
to get Ben of
f
the radar for a bit.
”

“
Okay
;
and who will run the school while we are away?
”
Caspian asks.

“
I think that Dakota and Skah can handle things for a few weeks, don
’
t you?
”

“
Fair enough Elijah, but where do you suggest we go?
”

“
Back to a place we
all love at this time of year
—
Banff, Alberta.
”

I jump with sheer elation
.
“
Are you kidding? We get to go back
,
so soon?
”

“
It has been a few years, s
o I d
on
’
t think it will be a problem. W
e can dress and do make-up to age us a few years. Now
,
I do think we should depart immediately, so why don
’
t you all get packed
,
and I will discuss the arrangements with the Williams. They will have to take care of m
eal preparations for the school
,
as well as all the training and education. This is a time when everyone needs to pitch in.
”


  

  


Upstairs
,
as everyone is getting prepared, I slip into Alexander and Matilda
’
s room.
“
Hey guys
,
I have an idea I would love to run past you.
”

“
Sure
;
what
’
s up
,
Sis
?
”

“
Well
,
I know we
’
ve been trying to hammer out
details for our double wedding
,
and haven
’
t been able to pick a date yet.
W
ell
,
I
…
I was wondering
…
”

“
Oh my
G
od
,
Sophia
,
that is an amazing idea
!
”
Alexander high jacks my thoughts and blurts out.

“
Okay Alex
, not all of us can read minds
;
so can someone fill me in?
”
Matilda snarls.

“
Sophia wants to have our wedding in Banff, with only our family around.
”

Matilda runs o
ver
,
wrapping her arms around me.
“
That
’
s perfect
!
An intimate
family
-
spring wedding couldn
’
t be more perfect. We can finalize arrangements once we arrive. What does Nate think of this?
”

“
I have
n
’
t mention
ed
it to him yet, but we
’
ll have to have Luke and El
iza come with us
,
or at least come up for a bit. I
’
ll call Luke and get his schedule
,
so we can plan around it.
”

“
And I
’
ll
go talk to your future husband
,
and my soon
-
to
-
be brother. I tell you
,
it is about time we have some more males in the house my age. I am sick of all the
‘
OMG
, what nail polish should I wear?
’”
Alexander teases and Matilda nails him squa
re on
the
head with her pillow.

W
ith a small chuckle
,
he leaves.

“
Alex
was right about one thing
—
OMG, we have so much to do! I have my dress already
,
what about you? We can go on to Con
nie
’
s designer friend
’
s website
and pick a dress you like. I
’
m sure she
’
ll ship it to the Banff Springs Hotel
,
since we are leaving right away.
”

“
Mati, calm down, it
’
s all going to be perfect. I can
just buy a dress from a shop. T
he important thing is I
’
m marrying Nate, and you, Alex. The dress isn
’
t important.
”

“
Are you serious? The dress is very important
,
and I will not marry Alex next to you
,
standing in some frock from a two-bit store
,
”
Matilda huffs as she logs on to her computer.

I chuckle and agree to make her happy. I am just so excited to take Nathanial to the place I love so much
:
the mountains, the mel
ting snow and fresh
,
crisp air
,
and t
he beautiful downtown area that bustles wi
th the town folk and tourists. A
hh
—
I miss Banff. He
’
s going to love it
,
and I can
’
t wait to take him to Lake Louise. It
’
s only a short drive
,
but to stand at the lake
looking up at the mountains
. N
ot to mention
,
it is the time o
f year
when
the there
’
s still snow
, but
the spring melt is starting
,
and the trickle of the water comes through. I can
’
t wait. 

Once I play into Matilda
a
nd pick a dress
,
w
e continue to pack. E
veryone is going to be so surprised when we tell them we
’
re getting married.

“
Ma
ti, I better go pack up for Nik. T
aking a baby on a trip is a lot of extra luggage.
”

“
No prob. F
unny thing is
that
’
s what Alex says about taking me somewhere.
”

I can
’
t help but let out a huge roar as I laugh
from the very pit of my stomach
and nod as I leave her room.

Canada

We arrive in Calgary
,
Al
berta
,
and Elijah ha
s
already arranged for some cars to be waiting for
our
use. Once we collect our luggage, Elijah, Caspian, Alexander, and Isaa
c go to retrieve the vehicles. W
e need several as
there are
fifteen of us.
Along with the Pierce family, we have
our newest a
dditions
in
Eliza, Luke and Ben
,
and of course the two babies.
Luckily, he
reserved a couple of mini vans and sedans for our use while
we
’
re
here. We load up in
to
the vehicles and make the ninety
-
minute
-
plus drive to Banff.
Driving from Calgary to Banff is beautiful,
with
the scenic
mountains for
a horizon to follow.
I
’
ve
never in all my
y
ears seen anything as perfect
as
t
he clear blue sky and snow capped mountains ahead, with snow whiter than an angels wings. I will never get sick of the Rocky Mountains.

The cars begin to slow as we approach the brown wooden tolls, which allow us entry into the National Park. Elijah is in front and pays the toll for each of our four v
ehicles filled with passengers.

Travel
ing down the Trans-Canada highway
,
we are ab
le to spot lots of wild animals. M
aking it a game
,
we keep track of who spots what. Some of our friends and family members are amazed at the sheer beauty of this province. Everywhere we look we
’
re surrounded by tall snow-capped mountains and crisp, full evergreens. The animals are brave
,
wandering so near to the highway, and many onlookers stop alongside the road to take pictures of the magnificent creatures.

We decide to stop and look at
a
small herd of mountain sheep. Getting out of the cars, we all take in the brilliance around us. Luke
gets very
close to the mountain sheep before we can remind hi
m they are still wild animals
—
as one moves closer, and closer.

“
Oh crap!
”
he
shouts
,
while jumping on the roof of the black Lincoln
beside him
and diving over
to
the opposite side.

The rest of us burst out laughing as the sheep
’
s horns just miss nicking Luke in the ass. Caspian reaches out a hand to help him up.
“
Bro
,
you okay?
”

“
Yeah, I should know better. I guess I just figured these animals would be more tame because of all the tourists stopping. My bad
….
”

We get back in
to
the cars and get back on our way
, figuring
we
’
ve had enough excitement for one day. Before long
, we arrive at the castle-
like hotel
,
and I hear those who haven
’
t seen it before gasp from the pure
exquisiteness of the structure.

The brown
,
brick castle with a green roof is nestled in the center of the mountain and surrounded by light
,
snow covered forest. Even in the middle of March
,
there can still be
several
feet of snow on the ground here. Pulling in front of the entrance, the valet assists us with our baggage as Elijah heads to the check-in desk to retrieve our room keys. While we wait
,
we admire the
perfectly polished
marble floors and the amazing reception area of the hotel. Long hallways lead to a variety of high
-
end shops and restaurants. We don
’
t explore too far for the time being as we know Elijah will be ready to hand out
our room keys within minutes.