“Somedays it still is.”
The house was a half mile back from the main road. The first part of the driveway was lined on both sides with trees. It gave way to open land on both sides. White fences shone in the early morning light. It looked as if they had been freshly cleaned.
Harley had placed a self-cleaning spell on the fences. It had been her dream as a child to own a horse ranch. The white fences had been part of that dream.
With 3500 acres of fencing, it would have been impossible to keep them looking new. Magic, on the other hand, did the job and the ranch hands greatly appreciated not having to deal with fence maintenance.
The house was a combination of stone and wood with some gothic architecture. It sounded like an amalgamation, yet it came together very nicely.
She glanced at Aiden’s face while they were driving down the lane. He looked rather impressed; many people were. She had to admit that she had been lucky in life in some ways.
This was nothing to the opulence of her in-law’s place. Her husband’s family was from old money. She was sure they could trace their roots back to the founding of the country and before that, rich Europeans.
David rarely let her forget that his family was rich and cultured and she was just a small-town country girl. His family, on the other hand, was always warm and welcoming to Harley. She kept in touch with them.
She loved his parents. They were like a second family to her. At least once a year her birth family and her in-laws all got together for a week’s vacation. Last year they had all come out to the ranch. It was one of the happiest times of her life.
Mrs. Reyes, her housekeeper, was standing on the front porch. Harley parked the vehicle and got out. The older woman smiled and engulfed Harley in a warm hug when she reached the porch.
“Chula, I was so worried about you. You didn’t call and say you would be gone this long.”
“I’m sorry, mamita. I was on a case and lost track of the night.”
“Is everything ok? Who is this boy you brought home?”
Harley’s cheeks turned pink. She had forgotten about Aiden. She knew Mrs. Reyes would be upset at her being out all night. Not that she needed to check in, but the couple cared about her as if she were their own family.
Mrs. Reyes husband, Hector was her ranch manager and rock. She didn’t know what she would do without the couple and she did everything she could to treat them well.
“This is a friend of mine, Aiden. He might be staying with us a few days.”
“Welcome, Aiden. Both of you come in. I will get you something to eat.”
Harley saw that Aiden was about to decline. She shook her head at him. Once Mrs. Reyes went inside.
“There is no use saying no to her. Once she offers to feed you, you better eat.”
Aiden looked at her for a minute and then cracked a lopsided grin.
“At least you called me friend, instead of telling her I was some maniac foisted off on you by a vampire.”
“If I told her that she would be coming back out here with a shotgun and you would be dead.”
Aiden laughed until he realized that Harley was serious. He just shook his head and followed her inside.
“Chula, go change while I fix something to eat. I’ll show Mr. Aiden to a guestroom while you take a bath.”
Mrs. Reyes was a mind reader. Harley wanted nothing more than a hot bath, some fresh clothes, and a meal. Sleep would have been good, but she had too much on her mind to sleep.
She had some serious research on vampires to catch up on. She would also need to find something for Aiden to do, so he wouldn’t find out what she was doing.
Harley walked straight to her bathroom, turning on the faucet for the large tub. She liberally added bath salts, essential oils, and an enormous amount of bubble bath. She wanted to sink to her nose in bubbles and forget the last twenty-four hours.
Peeling off her clothes, she put them in the trash, rather than in the dirty clothes. They needed to be gone. The clothes were tattered from the fight with the gargoyle.
Slipping into the hot bath, she closed her eyes thinking of last night’s dream. The sex was amazing. She had wanted Luc from the moment she met him. Meeting him under different circumstances would have been better. It was what it was.
At the time she had sex with Luc, she hadn’t known it was a dream. She didn’t hesitate or say no at any point. She really hadn’t even thought to say no. While she didn’t appreciate him slipping into her dreams, he hadn’t done anything she didn’t want to happen.
After soaking in the tub for twenty minutes, she dried off and quickly got dressed in comfortable jeans, boots, and a long sleeve shirt. She intended to head out to the barn after breakfast for some horse therapy.
First, she had better call her date from last night. She dialed the number, but it went to voicemail after the second ring. Most likely he sent it to voicemail. Harley left a message saying she was sorry work called her away and she looked forward to hearing from him. Not much else she could do.
Quickly descending the stairs, she headed to the dining room. The large kitchen table was laden with food and would be served family style. The ranch hands always joined them for meals. Harley often helped in the kitchen. She loved to cook.
Aiden was carrying food in. He looked freshly showered as well. If anyone thought his green hair was out of place
