Just as Sofia was finishing her dinner, the front door opened and several people came inside, bringing the strong scent of cow and hay with them.
Sofia glanced at Doc. He just clenched his jaw and shrugged. Here was hoping the werewolf didn't know what a vampire smelled like. Or that Doc's scent was sufficiently disguised by only being half vampire, and constantly around werewolves that the werewolf couldn't figure out what he was.
"Oh, they're back. Let's go introduce everyone."
Doc trailed along behind Sofia, and mentally crossed his fingers.
A pair of young boys who looked very similar in features saw Sofia and ran forward to hug her. She smiled and returned their hugs, though Doc could imagine the demon was annoyed with the physical contact. A younger boy hung back and smiled shyly. Sofia hugged him, too.
Dan had returned with them. The living room was very crowded with everyone standing around.
"Doc, this is Rick, Donna, and their kids, Matt, Eric, and Bobby. And this is George. Everyone, this is Sofia's boyfriend. George and Rick work with me on the oil fields and they live a few houses down."
"Howdy," Doc drawled. He had always found the country boy charm usually distracted people enough that they thought more about it than anything else they might think unusual about him.
The kids all gave him uncertain looks, but Donna smiled brightly and shook his hand. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, with short brown hair, brown eyes, and a friendly expression. Her grip was strong, and she probably spent as much time outside with the animals as she did inside. She carried the faint scent of horse and he suspected she used to rodeo, if she didn't still ride.
Rick, predictably, tried to crush his hand. He was a big guy, dark eyes, dark hair, and a heavy tan from hours in the sun. Doc thought this was one of the people Sofia had mentioned had native blood, and he could see some of it in the man's high cheekbones and darker skin.
He ignored the hand crushing, returning just enough pressure to keep the grip even.
"Nice to meet you," Rick offered cautiously.
Doc nodded.
George was the werewolf. His nostrils flared when he tried to crush Doc's hand. He returned the same amount of pressure, like he had with Rick. George's eyes widened as he had exerted considerably more force than Rick would have been able to.
It was probably not smart, but Doc had bigger things to worry about at the moment and didn't care. He could have crushed the other man's hand. Especially with as well fed as he was recently. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.
George didn't say anything, just released Doc's hand and continued to study Doc curiously. At least no one looked openly hostile.
Though he had never really been in a situation like this before, he had some expectations and was pretty shocked when they didn't immediately ask him about himself. They all went into the living room, and instead, started asking Sofia about college.
That was just fine with Doc.
Chapter 25
Sofia
It was so freaking amazing to be back in my body. Even the demon acted a little more comfortable. Instead of having me as a small itch in the back of her mind, it was more of a melding and more harmonious. Of course, soon we would be literally inseparable. That wasn't so exciting.
I watched the others react to Doc and noticed the extra attention George paid him. Now that I knew what to look for, the barely domesticated look in his eyes and the way he scented the air when he shook Doc's hand screamed werewolf.
Doc's fixed attention on him just confirmed what I expected. If he wasn't a wolf, he was something else supernatural.
We all found places to sit in the living room. I grabbed an armchair, and Doc sank down onto the floor next to me. My parents claimed a loveseat, and Rick and Donna grabbed the couch, with their younger son, Bobby, sitting between them.
Matt and Eric, twins, headed off to their room, and George grabbed a chair out of the kitchen.
The wind chose that moment to pick up in front of the storm coming in. Doc and George both tilted their heads, listening, before bringing their attention back to everyone in the room. I wasn't even sure they noticed they did it.
Between the awkwardness of the situation and the demon's presence, I was hyper aware of things going on around me. I was also pretty sure my senses were heightened, because my parents didn't notice the wind until a few minutes later when it started gusting.
"Is everything secure?" Mom asked Dad.
"Yeah, I checked a few things after the last storm, and the tarps over the hay are still secure. The barn is shut up, and I don't think there's anything left to blow around after the wind storm a few weeks ago," Dad answered.
The wind picked up fast, and we all fell silent, listening.
I thought I smelled snow and got up to look outside. The snow wasn't supposed to start until much later, according to the last forecast I heard on the radio.
"It's already snowing. So much for the forecast." I went back to my seat.
"George, do you want to stay a few more days?" Mom offered. "It'll be the couch, but you have a bit of a drive ahead of you."
He stared at Doc. "Sure, thanks, Beth. As long as you don't mind me staying for the holiday. Not sure anyone will be going anywhere tomorrow or the next day."
"We almost told you to stay home," Mom said to me into the silence that followed. "But then it looked like the storm would hold off. If I had known how close it was going to be, I'd have made you stay in Colorado."
I glanced at Doc, and he sighed quietly. We both wished we were back in Colorado. Or maybe not. He smiled at me and winked, probably meaning
