something far away and long ago. 'A couple years ago, Jack and I had some, you know, problems. I mean, it happens right? No relationship's perfect.'
'No,' I agreed grimly.
'Anyway, she helped me work through that. I feel sort of…'
'Obligated?'
Jody fumbled. 'I-I don't know. I guess so. Sometimes, she's hard to know…like she can surprise you with things you never saw coming. Other times…' She shook her head and gave a nervous laugh. 'I don't know what I'm saying. She's wonderful. The most amazing person I've ever met. She does so much good.'
She changed the subject abruptly after that, and I let her. We moved on to happier topics, and I found myself laughing along with her and enjoying her company. At one point, I ran into Bastien's kitchen and made us hot chocolate. We drank it outside as we finished the last of our plants, finally sitting back and admiring our handiwork. Despite my initial misgivings, I kind of liked accomplishing something so tangible.
'Look,' said Jody. 'Dana just came home.'
Sure enough, Dana's Explorer pulled in next door, and a moment later, the woman herself strolled over. She graced us with one of those ice-bitch smiles.
'This looks cozy.'
Jody's earlier bubbly nature seemed somewhat diminished. 'Tabitha needed some gardening help, so I came over.'
'Wasn't that nice of you.'
Dana gave the other woman a look I couldn't interpret, save that disapproval and possibly anger underscored it. Although I had been arguing to the contrary with Bastien, I got the feeling I might truly have pissed off Dana more than I'd suspected, creating the bad impression he kept accusing me of. It looked like Dana may even have voiced her opinions of me to Jody.
I watched Jody's face pass through a range of emotions. I felt pretty confident there was more iron in there than her surface showed, and for a half a second she looked as though she might lash out in defiance. Then, after a moment's eye contact, she looked away, backing down.
Perhaps I should have simpered just then and tried to weasel into Dana's good graces, but mostly I felt angry at what I perceived as her chastisement. She had no right to do that Jody.
'It was incredibly nice,' I said sharply. 'Jody's one of those rare, honestly good people in the world. Not just one who pretends to be. But of course you already know that.'
Jody blushed furiously, and the edges of Dana's smile twitched a little. 'Yes. Yes, she is. How's your ankle doing?'
'Good as new.'
'Glad to hear it.'
We all waited in awkward silence. I decided I would wait out Dana this time, no matter how scary that stare. She, of course, was a master of waiting, so it wasn't a surprise when Jody was the one who cracked. Honestly, I couldn't blame her.
'Well. Jack should be home soon. I should get going.'
I stood up with her and helped her gather the tools. We all exchanged a few more stiff remarks, then parted ways.
'What happened? What happened?' exclaimed Bastien when I came back inside. 'I saw Dana out there.'
'Nothing new. Jody's a saint; Dana's a bitch. I hope you hurry up and get this done with.'
'Damn it, I'm trying! I don't suppose you found out anything useful?'
'Not really…although, I think Jody knows something about Dana. Something juicy enough even for you. She wouldn't tell me exactly what.'
The incubus clung to this piece of information like a dog with a bone. 'You've got to find out what! Call her up tomorrow. Take her to lunch.'
'Jesus, Bastien. I like her, but I'm not doing your work for you. This is
He scowled. 'That's up for debate.'
'Why are you so worked up about this Dana thing anyway? I mean, I'd love to see her fall, but the way you're acting…I don't know. It's totally pushing you over the edge.'
'Why shouldn't I be worked up? Just because you don't play the soul game anymore doesn't mean the rest of us don't have an eye on our careers.'
I knew Bastien too well not to suspect there was some other reason we were fighting all the time. 'And that's all it is, huh? Just good old-fashioned American work ethic?'
'Yes,' he said stiffly. 'There's nothing wrong with that.'
We locked matching Hunter gazes, and I tried to let him know with my eyes that I knew there was more than he was telling me. He stared stonily back, refusing to open up. At last, I shook my head, not wanting to be drawn into any more fighting.
'Mind if I use your hot tub?' I asked instead.
He gestured toward the back patio. 'Sure. Have the run of the house. Use me and go.'
'You're being childish.'
Not answering, he went off to watch TV.
I let myself out through the patio and flipped open the hot tub's lid. Hot steam poured out, and I sighed with pleasure. It felt downright decadent after being out in the cold all day. Glancing around, I took in the vine-covered privacy trellises. There were three of them with a person-sized gap between each one. Dusk was rapidly giving way to darkness, and I felt pretty obscured from the neighbors.
I stripped off my clothes and tentatively put a foot in the tub. Hot. Very hot. I yanked it out, then waited a minute before trying again. Slowly, I eased the rest of me in, bit by bit. When I was finally submerged from the neck down, I exhaled happily and leaned my head back against the edge. Fantastic. I kicked on the bubbles and closed my eyes. Suddenly, I found myself able to forget it all. Doug. The guy from the club. Dana. Seth.
Well, maybe not Seth entirely. But I could forget the bad things, at least.
When my hair had curled from the steam and sweat was rolling down my forehead, I stood up and sat on the tub's edge, letting the air dry me off. A lot of people don't understand outdoor hot tubs, but I preferred them to indoor ones. Nothing can match that temperature change.
Once cooled, I sat back in the water, ready to repeat the process. I could have done this all night and been perfectly happy.
I'd only been back in the water a few minutes when I heard a twig snap from somewhere nearby. It was like a bad-horror-movie cliché, butterrifying nonetheless. I shot out of the water, splashing everywhere, scrambling over the side as I heard a rustle of leaves and brush.
'Bastien!' I yelled, running back into the house.
He tore into the room, face pale and alarmed. 'What's the matter?'
I backed away from the patio, pointing. 'There's someone out there. '
Nothing could really hurt me, of course, but being immortal does not relieve a person of instinctual fear and caution. There'd be time to feel embarrassed about girly behavior later.
His eyes cut to the patio, and he moved outdoors without any hesitation to look around. My knight. I waited in the kitchen, dripping water onto the wood floor, my heart still thumping. He returned a few minutes later and shook his head.
'There's nothing out there. You imagined it.'
'No. It was there. I heard it.'
'Then it was an animal.' He suddenly smirked. 'Or maybe Reese getting a thrill.'
When I didn't laugh at the joke, he approached and pulled me to him, unconcerned about getting his clothes wet. My body trembled against his.
'It's all right,' he murmured. 'You're okay. You're safe.'
He pulled off his blazer and wrapped it around me. It was too big, but it felt wonderful. I huddled against him, still too fazed to shape-shift some more substantial clothing on.
'Come on, Fleur .You know I'm here. You know I won't let anything happen to you.'
