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Chapter 61
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Fire and Water Chapter 62
First, he took the lighter of the two boxes, slit the tape open, and extracted a metal tin from the large amount of packing paper. The tin box was maybe two feet wide, two feet long, and two feet deep; it was covered in paintings of Raggedy Ann memorabilia. The tin box had been very hard to find, but he’d eventually found this one on eBay and made a move to buy it flat out so that there would be no chance of his not being able to get it.But that wasn’t what had taken so long, nor was anything else he had wrapped so far been what Karen had referenced to as being beautiful.Because Eliza’s real present was what he now extracted from the final box. He lifted the wooden box out as carefully as if he was handling nuclear materials and slowly set it on the bed to study. It was maybe a foot in length on all sides and eight or nine inches deep, the New Mexico desert landscape had been carved into the stained red oak on all four walls, and a large iron key had been crafted to fit into the lo
Fire and Water Chapter 63
The announcement of the imminent arrival of Tres’s family was greeted with a flurry of activity. It seemed no sooner had Brian—the Secret Service agent—told Eliza’s mother that they had just driven onto the property that Liz began to bustle around checking and rechecking the placement and positioning of several decorations. James was helping Cathy finish up with the groceries as Eliza went upstairs to corral Tres and Matt from their rooms. A few minutes later, the beam of a pair of headlights invaded the foyer and Liz called for James to come greet them. He handed Cathy the last of the bags, then swept through the revolving door into the sitting room and over to where Liz was waiting at the foot of the staircases. Eliza’s mother always seemed to want to inspire a good impression, no doubt due to her upbringing, and because Esmeralda and Charlie had never been to the manor before, she looked especially nervous. James sat on the bottom step to wait. A moment later, Allan opened the fron
Fire and Water Chapter 64
“Whoa…” James whispered. “Pretty cool room, huh?” Tres commented from the bedside. It would seem that Eliza’s mother had decorated each bedroom in a completely different style. This one, for example, was all opposites in modernity. The walls were a stark, bright white, the jet-black furniture and fireplace was at odds with the snowy-white, lush carpet, and various pieces of abstract art in solid black and white hues decorated the place. It was… interesting to say the least.With a shake of the head, he placed the bag inside the room, then made his way back down the hall and to the bottom floor. Now that he thought about it, it made sense that every bedroom would have its own fireplace. As the house was built around the turn-of-the-century, heating and air conditioning had not yet been very efficient, which would go a long way in explanation of the copious amounts of fireplaces. James swung around the base of the stairs, searching for the group, and found them in the formal living r
Fire and Water Chapter 65
He was there again. Nothing but white for as far as the eye could see. Snow was drifting lazily everywhere around him. He looked down and even though there was nothing but an absolute, blinding white to take in, he knew that he was suspended in the air. With the difficulty he was experiencing in getting enough oxygen in his lungs, he must be very high up. He breathed deeply, the icy air burning some feeling back into his body. Thankfully, the flakes of snow were neither acid-like nor pounding painfully against his skin. Actually, when he thought truthfully about it, apart from the ability to see nothing at all, he found that this experience was somewhat pleasant. It was peaceful. In spite of the freezing temperature, he could almost force his imagination to conjure up feelings of fluffy clouds and soft, snowy mounds. He had always enjoyed lying out in the snow as a kid, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. Hmm, I think I’ll try that.James closed his eyes, the backs of his eye
Fire and Water Chapter 66
“Oompf!” the breath whooshed from his lungs in a single huff of air as a heavy weight slammed against his body. James opened his eyes in a hurry, then squinted against the overhead light.“Good morning, sweetie!” a voice to his left intoned with a high-pitched cheeriness. He swiveled his head, his jaw clenched, and eyes narrowed. “What do you want, Christian?” Christian took on an air of mock outrage. “I couldn’t just miss my bestest buddy?” His voice still carried the earlier tone. James sighed in annoyance. “Did you have to jump on me?” He nodded vigorously as he pursed his lips causing his long, blonde bangs to fall into his eyes. Christian flicked his head and whipped them back off his face. “I was just following orders to wake you up, bro, so chill.” He rolled off the bed to his feet. “We just got here a little bit ago in case you were going to ask. Oh, Eliza said not to worry about showering cause we’re all gonna ride horses or… whatever.” Christian shrugge
Fire and Water Chapter 67
After everyone had had their fill, they all headed out to the horse barn in order to give the horses a little exercise before the massive storm hit. The weather channel was claiming it was to be on a par with the freak snow storms that swept the country during the winter of 2014. Most of the horses that were currently there would be taken out as they had such a large party. Even Heather, the tall blonde who helped take care of the horses, was there making last minute preparations before the holiday. She helped everyone get saddled up and settled—James was paired up with Shadow, of course—and they set off at a slow pace. Bundled up against the cold, they explored the wooded trails, the lakeside, and more of the grounds than he had ever seen. Originally, what he had taken for being a few hundred acres of the estate, really turned out to be more than a thousand. It was massive and beautiful in an odd, winter wonderland sort of way. The oaks, willows, and dogwood were all stripped of the
Fire and Water Chapter 68
“I would like to thank each of you,” Bill began, “for sharing this Christmas in our home. You are all most welcome.” A warm smile filled his face as a testament to the truth in his words. “Now more than ever, it is of the upmost importance to acknowledge our blood lines, to come together in our time of need, because our true strength lies in our numbers. I look around at each of you,” Bill continued, eyeing each one of them in turn, “and see a family of loved ones. One of my closest friends and advisors, who also happens to be old,” —he winked at Robert as all around chuckled at the joke— “Robert teaches and guides all of our children and uniquely prepares them for life beyond school. My father and mother,” Bill beamed at the older couple, “who I love and from whom have come to cherish every nugget of wisdom shared. My newest friends, Rebekah, Charlie, Esmeralda, and Arkady Igorevitch… I am confident that many great years of friendship are ahead of us. To the young ones here,” he now
Fire and Water Chapter 69
James woke up early on Christmas morning. Knowing that Tres’s little sister would be bursting at the seams with excitement to open presents— come to think of it, Tres probably would be too—he had set the alarm clock on the nightstand to wake him shortly after dawn. He climbed out of bed, stretched away the stiffness from a restful and uneventful sleep, then crossed to the bathroom to shower and refresh himself. When he was finished, he threw on a pair of cotton athletic pants, a t-shirt, some socks, and a hoodie; the temperature had noticeably dropped through the night. “Come to think of it…” he said aloud, then strode towards the window. He threw back the thick curtains and a child-like glee came over him. Wide-eyed and excited, he stared out at the winter wonderland before him. The pearly pinks and creamsicle-oranges reflected off a beautiful sight: a hefty covering of snow had been dumped on the ground through the night. From where he stood gazing out of the window, he could see t
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