Wings of Boden (5 page)

Vyn chuckled, dropped the subject.

“How’s that for fun?” Angie said as she
walked to me.

“I know, right.”

Jaydenn and Vyn tramped off. Angie put her
shoes on and proceeded to untangle her hair.

“Where are you two going?” I called after Vyn
and Jaydenn.

Vyn gave a silent wave over his shoulder,
continued to the cave mouth. Okay, whatever that meant.

Angie fiddled with her hair, said to me,
“You’ve never been up here?” She finished primping, stood straight.
“I thought you liked the mountains?”

“I do.” I looked down off the cliff. “Down
there, where the flowers are.” Eyes back on Angie. “We’re not going
in that cave are we?”

“Why not, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
She paused, gave me a grin, then strolled off to the cave. I stood
there, looking around. Alone.

“
Fine
,” I said to myself, and shuffled
to catch up to her.

The cave was no surprise: Solid stone tunnel,
frigid scrabble and dirt underfoot. In the distance, well, what
distance; the sunlight stopped at a sharp line, an edge into a
nightmare. The still air was like cold metal to my skin, smells of
mold and dirt lingering. One whiff of this space would keep the
average angel away, but no, not Vyn.

Angie and I approached the boys when I asked,
“Why do we have to be in here again?”

“Hello-lo-lo,” Vyn bounced his voice down the
tunnel, turned to me. “I need to find a few samples.”

Angie said to me, “Just relax. It’s no big
deal.”

Relax? Yeah, right. Scanning the space, I
hugged myself with a quick shiver, hands rubbing my bumpy arms as
my teeth began to click. “It’s freezing in here.”

“This’ll only take a minute,” Vyn said.

“Five minutes, Vyn,” I said. “I mean it. If
you’re not out in five minutes, you’re cut off. Do you understand?
You’ll never be flappin with these wings ever again.”

Vyn’s face cramped into a somewhat terrified
look; I knew he understood.

Jaydenn placed a weighty hand on Vyn’s folded
wing, patted and said to me, “Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure this
little guy’s out in less than five.”

As I gave Jaydenn a smirk, two yellow dots
appeared down in the dark abyss. Narrowing my eyes, I leaned
forward, felt the hairs on my neck rise to attention. “What is
that?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Vyn said.

My gaze locked on the dots for a long
moment.

They blinked.
Okayi’mouttahere
.

In less than a second, I was hopping around
on the rocky landing outside, trying to shake the feeling off my
skin. Laughter echoed behind me, but I didn’t care. Flappin creepy
in there and I was not going back in. Nice and warm in the sun, and
when I walked to the edge I could see the flowers below.

Angie giggled her way out of the cave, so I
wheeled around, hugging myself.

“Sweet, Ellie. You’re so funny.” She wrapped
her arms around me, pinning my arms to my chest while I continued
to hug myself, my chin cradled on her shoulder. She added, “I love
you so much, little sister. It’s all right.” She let out a chuckle.
But the hug was nice.

She drew back, looking at me, waiting for a
smile that I couldn’t manage to give her. I felt so small, on the
edge of tears as I whimpered, “I want to go, now.”

“We will. They’ll be out in a few
minutes.”

Again, I tried to smile, but it felt more
like a scrunched-up crooked face.

Vyn and Jaydenn sauntered out of the cave. I
emptied a sigh while they made their way to us. Vyn was holding a
clear, tube-like thingy about the size of his palm as he said,
“See, I told you I’d be right out.”

“What is it?” I asked, didn’t really care
about the answer but tried to gather myself.

Angie gave Vyn a
don’t-you-dare
look.
Jaydenn was busy brushing dirt off his slacks.

“C’mon, guys,” I said. “I’m not that fragile,
just tell me.”

“Are you sure you wanna know?” Vyn asked.

“Just flappin tell me already before I punch
you in the forehead.”

“Okay,” Vyn said, lifting it up. “This here
is a genuine angel bone.” He smirked.

My hand slapped over my gaping mouth. I lied.
I didn’t want to know. Why would he be— I couldn’t even think
it.

“Are you okay?” Angie asked with concern.

I lowered my hand, said to Vyn, “Why would
you— I mean, where?”

“There’s a bunch in there.”

“How did they get there?”

“You know those eyes?”

The chills came back with a twinge up my
spine as I shook the word out, “Yeah.”

“Well, that might’ve been a hunter.”

“Let’s go, now!” I stomped away, then pulled
my shoes off and tossed them in my bag. Standing near the ledge,
with my wings unfurled, I turned and shot a paralyzing glare at
Vyn, letting him know that his stupid little antics just got him
cut off. A headshake. An exasperated sigh. Then I pushed off the
landing with my bag in hand. I could carry it. The mall would help.
Shopping cures everything and I would go with or without those
idiots.

“How are my girls?” Dad asked in his gruff
voice while Angie and I strolled into his den, more like a library,
but whatever. While we approached over the hardwood floor, Dad
lifted from his desk chair, squinted his smiling green eyes at us,
creases on his stubbled face.

“Well you look nice, Dad,” I said. “I see Mom
gave you a haircut.”

“You like it?” He scrubbed a hand through it.
“She did a good job, didn’t she? I asked her to get rid of the
gray, but she wouldn’t have it.”

“She’s right, you should leave it. It looks
distinguished, all that salt and pepper.”

He stood about the same height as Jaydenn,
though Dad’s frame held about fifty more pounds of muscle under his
polo shirt and tailored slacks. When he pulled me into a Dad hug,
one of my favorite things—a strong, enveloping embrace, full of
feeling—I breathed in the wonderful scent of his familiar
cologne.

After the father-daughter hugs, glancing
around, I couldn’t help but notice this room obviously belongs to a
male. Brown tones saturated the space. Oil paintings hung here and
there; warrior angels in various forms of winged glory.
Ceiling-high bookcases cover the east wall, and the south wall is
all glass, providing a picturesque view of the Rocky Mountain range
outside. A flat screen TV hung on the paneled west wall, a small
couch in a sitting area before it. The den is the only room with a
TV, Mom wouldn’t allow one anywhere else. She finds it annoying. I
tend to agree, except maybe an occasional movie. Or the Angel’s
Closet fashion show—also known to us girls as The Day—our personal
holiday full of cotton, silk, and perfume presents. My favorite
day.

Dad had earned this immaculate home perched
high on Conall Mountain. After retiring from professional sports,
then building his construction firm from the ground up, and selling
it—keeping only his prize investment, the Angelic Inn—he figured it
was time for a little style, time to enjoy the spoils of his labor.
Retirement looks good on Dad, and Mom enjoys his constant presence.
In all my life, I’d never seen them so happy.

Dad ambled over to the bar, stood with his
folded wings covering his back. Angie and I waited at his desk,
watching him. He pulled a rocks-glass and set it on the polished
bar surface. “I assume you girls are going shopping.” Ice cubes
clinked
in his glass. While pouring from a crystal decanter,
he added, “You can stay for a few minutes. Catch me up on the
gossip. Let me know how the boys are treating you. They’ll be along
shortly, I assume?”

“Yeah,” I said, “they’ll be here in a minute.
I think they’re raiding the kitchen.”

Dad turned with glass in hand. “Yeah? Don’t
you mean, yes, Ellie?” He took a sip.

Angie snickered, not the victim this time but
she knew how it felt. Dad always had this thing with formal words,
but I never could figure out why, since he never bothered to
correct himself. Maybe it was an unconscious habit, who knows.

Whatever.

Dad lowered into his desk chair, aimed eyes
on me. “How’s the study going, sweetheart. You’re keeping up the
grades, right?”

And there it was.

Angie gave me a supportive, sister grin. We
set our bags to the floor, and took a seat in the handcrafted
chairs before the desk. I crossed a leg, stacked my palms on my
lap. Angie followed my lead and said, “Dad, you know she’s in
college now, right? She’s all grown up.”

Dad studied us for a moment … He took a sip,
set his glass to the desk and rocked back on his wings, folded his
hands on his lap. “Of course she is. My girls are grown now.
Sometimes I forget. I’m very proud of you both.” As he paused to
consider, his gaze averted to the window wall. He eventually added,
“You know, I still remember your mother bouncing you on her knee.
You two, our angels, don’t you ever forget that.” He directed
apologetic eyes on me. “I’ll make more of an effort to remember
your age, sweetheart.”

His words dropped into my heart. NO, came to
mind as I reflected on my childhood. The times he used to take us
to his favorite wilderness places, or our favorite spot by Quake
Lake. We would go for hikes with me on his shoulders, Angie running
and flying ahead of us with Mom. How could I deny him that feeling?
I missed it, too. And at that simple moment, I understood how
much.

“It’s okay, Dad,” I said. “I don’t mind. We
love you.” When I glanced at Angie, she tucked some hair behind her
ear. Her grin and soft eyes showed agreement with me.

“By the way, where is Mom?” I asked Dad.

“She’s in town. She didn’t take the car so I
imagine she’ll be back soon. There’s only so much she can carry in
flight.”

The solid oak doors to the den swung open.
Jaydenn and Vyn strolled in, each with an ice-filled glass of tea
in hand. Vyn had combed his hair for a presentable appearance. He’d
also shaved his stubble off; a few little bandages dotted his
jawline.

Dad’s dog, a chocolate lab named Bub, padded
into the room and made his way to sniff his greetings. I pet his
head and ears as he wagged his tail and wiggled. “Oh, such a good
boy, Bubby. I missed you too.” He licked my hand, and then went on
his doggy way, over to his usual spot by the windowed wall to
sprawl out in the sun.

“Phil,” Jaydenn announced as he strode to Dad
for one of those official male handshakes.

After the male formalities, Jaydenn paced
over and stood beside the smiling Angie. Vyn walked over to me and
bent a kiss to my forehead. So nice, but the lack of stubble was a
little disappointing. His lips melted all the hard feelings I had
over his stupidity at the cave. As he drew back, I said to him,
“You shaved, huh?”

“Yeah, I tried.” He stood behind me with his
free hand on my shoulder.

Dad lowered to his desk chair. “Well, boys,
you have a nice tour of the house?”

“Yes, sir,” Vyn replied. “Quite a home you
got here.”

“I got here?” One brow cocked up. “Don’t you
mea—”

“
Dad
,” I said, beamed a look. He just
grinned at me.

“So, Vyn,” Dad said, “I see you finally put
some meat on those bones. And looks like you had a go with a razor.
You take care of my Elle, right?”

“Of course.” He cleared his throat. “Only my
best intentions, sir.”

Yeah, what about the cave and the teasing;
the thought jumped in my mind.

Dad smirked, lifted his glass, swirled the
cubes, took a drink and tapped it down. He looked at Vyn. “Well,
I’m sorry to hear that. If she’s anything like her mother, your
intentions better take on a little tarnish if you wanna keep a
smile on her face”—Angie let out some sort of snorted chuckle—“And
please, call me Phil. We’re all family here.”

“
Dad
,” I objected, heat filling my
face as I pushed some hair behind my ear. Vyn’s hand warmed my
shoulder. I wasn’t sure whether it was due to male hormones, or a
nervous reaction over the family comment.

Dad said, “What, you know it’s true, Ellie.
I’m just trying to help.”

Read my mind, Dad, look in my eyes, read my
mind, change the subject.

Dad angled his grin up to Jaydenn. Jaydenn
nodded a crooked smile with some sort of male understanding, and
tipped back a drink. Angie, with a glow on her face, took Jaydenn’s
hand.

Ugh. It did get me thinking about our
relationship, though. Would Vyn ever pop the question? Does he even
want to marry me? He hasn’t even told me he loves me yet. I placed
a hand over Vyn’s on my shoulder. Warm. Lovely.

“What are you boys up to these days?” Dad
asked. “Jay, you join the team yet?”

“No, not much of a football player, just a
fan.”

“Well, you have the strength and size to go
pro if you ever change your mind. The StarWings could use a new
back.”

Dad always had a way to bring up his glory
days. When he started to talk about the football games, I looked up
to the wall behind him and began to peruse his collage of photos.
In one, he stood with a group of massive angels, all scarred and
marred with dirt, a few teeth short of a full smile. They had an
angel trophy held in front of them by Dad and another teammate. In
the trophy case on the right, the crystal-winged angel caught the
light like a faceted diamond, gleaming with muscled history. He’d
been a professional once, famous.

Vyn squeezed my shoulder with a hint of
discomfort. I patted and rubbed his hand to reassure him that I
wasn’t interested in those sport things. Who gave a flap about some
ludicrous game? They’d throw a ball around, try to see who had the
power to break through other egocentric males to cross a line
without dropping it. Then dance some asinine embarrassing wing
dance. They’d hoot, holler and grunt some guttural animal sounds.
The stadium crowd would erupt into cheers, chanting
Yay!
Woo-hoo!
Or something like that. Okay, I guess, whatever
flitters your feathers.