Fate's Intentions (10 page)

Adam glanced at him and then back to the road. "Explain."

Ben drew in a breath and let it out as he continued to stare out the window. "I think that just as you remind her that she is all you need to be happy, you also need to remind her that she is the best thing you've ever known in your entire existence. That without her, you are just a beast with no meaning to life. Because a life without love is not worth living."

Ashlynn and Scarlett sat in silence. They were blown away by Ben and Adam's responses about love. Once again they sat in silence consumed with their thoughts. They stared out the window and watched as they drove past the camp ground and toward the mountain. They turned onto a dirt road and after a few miles came to a small bridge. They went over the bridge, across the river and continued up another dirt road leading up the mountain. They turned onto a narrow dirt road and Scarlett noticed a mailbox as they turned onto it. She assumed it was the driveway but after about five minutes she thought maybe she'd been wrong and it was just another road. But then the house came into view. It wasn't big but it was bigger than she had expected. It was a beautiful log home. Not a new one but it had been maintained well. It was two story with a high peak and a big deck on the front. There were huge windows on the front of the house that looked like mirrors. She was suddenly excited. She couldn't wait to get inside.

As they got out of the car Adam said, "Don't worry about your bags. Ben and I will get them after we give you a tour."

Ashlynn and Scarlett both grinned at each other. They followed Adam and Ben up the steps to the front door. Adam pushed the door open and Ben stepped aside as well letting the girls enter before them. They each had a big smile on their face when they stepped inside and looked around. The first thing they noticed was the balcony. Across from the front door was a set of steps that lead to the upstairs which had a balcony to look down over the living area. To the left was the living room. It was huge with over stuffed leather couches and a big screen TV. There were hardwood floors throughout that looked to be glossed instead of stained. The kitchen was to the right. It wasn't big but it was beautiful. Along the far wall was the refrigerator, cabinets and the stove. There was an island in front of the stove which included the sink and from the sink was a gorgeous view out of the windows over the driveway, down across the hill. There was a high bar on the nearest side with four bar stools under it. To the far right on the other side of the kitchen was a dining room table that seated six. There were windows on the lower end of the house as well with a good view from the table. Ashlynn turned to Scarlett, "I may never leave!" And then to Adam and Ben, "This place is breathtaking!"

Adam and Ben both laughed and Adam started to the stairs. "Come on I'll show you your rooms."

The girls followed Adam up the steps and into the hall. There were four doors, two on each side. Adam pointed to the second one on the right, "That is the bathroom and the two rooms on the left are yours to fight over." He snickered.

"What is the other room?" Scarlett asked.

"The other is Ben's room." Adam said with a smirk.

"Where is your room?" Ashlynn asked.

"When I stay here I sleep in the room down stairs."

"There are more bedrooms down there?" Scarlett asked.

"Yes, there are two more bedrooms, another bathroom and a laundry room down there."

Scarlett twirled and looked all around. The craftsmanship in the house was beautiful. "This place truly is incredible!"

"I second that!" Ashlynn busted in. She turned and opened the door leading into the second bedroom on the left. It took her breath away when she saw what was inside. The focal point was a large four poster bed with a leather padded headboard that almost reached the ceiling. There were two end tables on each side of the bed with lamps sitting on them. The base of the lamp were beautiful gray wolves topped with a simple white shade. The lighting was dim and seemed inviting and elegant. The bed was draped with a thick, white comforter and there were a dozen pillows piled at the top. There were large paintings all around the room of wolves. One painting in particular stood out to Ashlynn and she moved closer to it. It was a picture of wolves along a river running, jumping and playing. She walked to the next painting. It was a picture of a large grey wolf standing on a mountain top looking down as if he was watching over all those beneath him. "These paintings are magnificent!"

She turned to see Adam watching her. Scarlett wasn't in sight. She must have went into the other room. As Adam made his way closer to her she felt butterflies in her stomach. The anxious side of her wanted to step around him and find Scarlett but the other half of her was stuck, her feet wouldn't move and she felt as if she couldn't breath as he stood before her and pushed her hair back away from her face. "I hope it suits you." He said as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"How could it not?" Ashlynn asked completely blown away by Adam and this place.

"I'm going to bring in your things so you can get settled." He grazed his hand across her face again then turned and left the room.

Ashlynn stood dumbfounded for a minute but then shook off the emotions that were covering her like a blanket. She went out into the hall and turned into the next room to find Scarlett laid out on her back across the bed. This room was similar to hers in most ways. The paintings were different, it had a wooden headboard and a dark brown comforter on the bed but in every other way it was the same.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Scarlett asked as she bounced and flopped on the bed. "I feel like a kid. I want to kick and squeal and jump on the bed!"

Ashlynn laughed. "I know the feeling! Come on, I feel like we should do something to thank Adam and Ben for what they are doing for us. Let's unload the food and fix them some lunch."

Scarlett snorted. "You mean you want me to make lunch while you sit and watch?"

"I promise to help in every possible way I can!" Ashlynn grinned.

"And that would mean you sitting a watching!" Scarlett laughed.

They walked out of the room and as they approached the stairs they realized they could see out of the windows and down over the mountain. It was breathtaking. They both paused and glared out the window.

A voice brought them out of their trans, "Wait till you see it at night!" Adam smiled from the front door as he and Ben carried their bags in.

They came down the stairs and gathered the bags which contained the food. "We are going to put this away and make you guys some lunch." Scarlett grinned at the men standing in front of them.

"You don't have to do that. We have invited you here, you are guests." Ben explained.

"I don't want any argument about it. Please let us show a little appreciation." Ashlynn said daring them to object.

Adam and Ben shrugged and picked up the other bags. They carried them up the stairs as Ashlynn and Scarlett began putting the food in the fridge and in the cabinets. "What should we make?" Scarlett asked with a confused look on her face. "What the hell do werewolves eat?"

Ashlynn laughed. "Beats me!"

Scarlett decided on sloppy joe's. It wasn't fancy but they were full of meat and she expected the guys to prefer that to a salad. "Ashlynn, can you chop the onions and peppers for me? It's not an easy task with this damn brace on my wrist."

"Well I guess I can do that much. I can't set anything on fire with this job!" She laughed.

Scarlett laughed sarcastically, "I'm sure if anyone could figure out how, it would be you!" She dug through the cabinets looking for a big skillet. She found a wok. "Perfect!" She sat it on the stove and turned to get the onions and peppers and caught a glimpse of the dirty look Ashlynn was giving her. She added some vegetable oil and set the burner to medium-high, then stirred the vegetables around the pan. When the green peppers started to get soft she added the hamburger, mixing everything evenly. She pulled a bag of brown sugar out of one of the cabinets and tossed a few spoonfuls into the pot then squirted some Worcestershire sauce in and stirred it again. When the hamburger was cooked she opened a can of sloppy joe sauce and dumped it in. She stirred it continuously as she added some salt, pepper and mustard. When the sauce was bubbling pretty good she turned the burner off and slid the wok off of it. "It's finished."

Adam and Ben had been sitting at the bar watching as she cooked and Ashlynn put everything else away. Ben walked to the cabinet next to the fridge and pulled down four plates. He looked over at Scarlett and smiled. "Where did you learn to cook?"

She smiled back. "My mom. She cooks like my gramma and I learned from her. The first rule is to never follow a recipe."

Ben looked curious. "How do you cook and not follow a recipe?"

She made everyone a plate as she talked. "Well I start with the main ingredients and add things I believe may make it taste better. It's pretty much about good guessing. Just like how much of everything I add. I never measure anything." She laughed.

"I can cook well enough but everything I cook is a recipe I have memorized." He snickered.

They all walked over to the dining room table and sat down. Adam and Ben ate, examining their food as Ashlynn and Scarlett sat examining the mountain they could see out the window. "So how long have you guys lived here?" Ashlynn asked.

Adam swallowed the food in his mouth. "Well, I have an apartment in town but I come out here with Ben on the weekends and on the nights of a full moon."

Ben took another bite of his sandwich and after he'd chewed it, he swallowed and looked at Scarlett. "This is really good!"

Adam nodded in agreement as he swallowed hard so he could speak. "Yes. Thank you for making us lunch, it is the best lunch I've had in a long time."

Scarlett smiled at both of them and blushed a little.

Ben looked over to Ashlynn. "To answer your question, we have only lived here a couple years although this property has been in the family for a long time, we must move around a lot so the locals don't get suspicious that we don't age as they do. This is the first we have been back here in about fifty years."

"That must be hard to have to move around so much." Scarlett spoke up.

"Well, when you live as long as we do, it's nice to have a change of scenery." Adam laughed.

"This is the only place we keep coming back to. It has sentimental value." Ben explained.

Adam laughed, "The hard part is obtaining documents with fake birth dates. As technology grows and things change it becomes more and more difficult."

Ashlynn and Scarlett were submerged in thoughts staring out the window as Ben and Adam finished the food on their plates. Ashlynn's mind shifted from the conversation to what she was seeing. "I can't get over how pretty it is up here!"

Adam stood and picked up his plate, "When you're finished eating, let's take a walk and you can see it up close."

Chapter 11

Ashlynn took a deep breath when she stepped outside with Adam. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the snow capped mountains seemed to glisten. It was colder here than it was at their little cottage. Good thing they don't live any further up the mountain, I'd need to break out the winter wardrobe! She thought to herself as she followed Adam around the house.

"There are some paths back here that wrap around through the woods." Adam said as he pointed into the forest.

There was no conversation as they walked. They just watched and listened to the birds flying and the small animals scurrying around. Ashlynn saw a chipmunk run across the ground into a log. "I've never seen such a big chipmunk!" She laughed.

Adam laughed too. "Yea they are a little bigger than the ones east of here."

They walked a little further and Ashlynn jumped into Adam when a deer came bounding out of nowhere. She had almost tripped and fell on him. "I'm so sorry!" Ashlynn blushed.

"Hey if I had known that was all it took to get closer to you, I would've scared you long before now!" He teased.

She slapped his arm and laughed. "Men!" She exasperated.

"In complete seriousness Ashlynn, I have never met anyone that makes me feel like you do."

Ashlynn felt something jolt through her though she tried not to show it. She continued to walk casually, pondering what she should say. It wasn't often that she was unsure as she was at the moment. She decided total honesty was the best route. "I feel the same Adam, but you said it was natural for me to be drawn to you."

Adam stopped and gently grabbed her arm turning her to face him. "I know, I don't understand it. What you're feeling is normal, but what about what I'm feeling?" Adam was tense. "I'm really struggling to keep my distance from you. Everything in me is fighting to be near you, to touch you, to smell you, to kiss you."

Ashlynn laughed. "I'm going to ignore the 'smell me' part. I'm guessing that is a wolf thing."

Adam smiled at her and pulled her against him. "We have no future together if you will not let me smell you! Your scent is intoxicating!"

"You are serious!" She laughed.

"Yes I'm serious! You smell like strawberries and summer rain. I've never smelled anything so good. I can't get enough of it!"