Page 24 of Valley of the Shadow
“It’s not…” Makeda glanced at the artist. “It’s not the same. You’ll need both of them. I would have been lost without Kato, and even with him, I still missed Baojia terribly. Plus I want to be there for Sarah and Jake. I’ll have to go back to California periodically, but as long as I can manage, I’ll be here with you.”
Natalie’s buzz was turning melancholy just as the artist was wrapping up Dez’s poppy.
“I love you guys so much.” She sniffed and took another long drink of beer. “I just can’t imagine doing this alone.”
Beatrice took care of paying the tattoo artist while the rest of them made their way out to the street and to one of the many hitching posts in town. Since roads were hit and miss, they weren’t the only people riding. Though they’d seen quad bikes a few places, horses seemed to be far more popular with the locals.
They mounted up—Dez needing the most help between the new tattoo and half a dozen beers—and headed back toward the end of the road and the forest path that would lead them back to the ranch.
Natalie was starting to get more and more comfortable on the horse. She nudged her mare up to Beatrice and bumped her shoulder. “Howdy, partner.”
“Howdy yourself.” Beatrice grinned. “How you feeling?”
“I am going to have the queen bitch of headaches tomorrow, and I don’t even care.”
Beatrice laughed. “Good. Make sure you take aspirin before you go to bed.”
“Baojia is pissed at me,” Natalie said. “And I don’t get why. I mean… he wanted this. For years he’s worried about me every”—she let out a little burp—“every time I even left the house, you know? I would have done it years ago, but he wanted to wait. And now… Do you think he doesn’t really want to be with me forever? I mean… that’s a really lucking… fong time. You know what I mean.”
Beatrice put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. “Don’t even think that way. He’s just not a man who likes change. You know this.”
“I changed the comforter on the bed last spring,” Natalie said. “We’d had the same damn blanket on the bed for like five years. It was all stained. So I got this really pretty one, and you know what he said?”
“He wanted the old one back?”
“Yes!” She shook her head and immediately regretted it. “Wow. There are a lot of lights in the forest now.”
“Nope. Still just the one path with solar lamps.”
“Really?” Natalie squinted. “Nooooo. There’s more.”
Beatrice was laughing again. “To sum up, Baojia is a totally normal vampire who doesn’t like change. He’s probably worried you’re feeling pressured into this. He’s probably worried you’re going to change—”
“Am I?” She blinked hard, trying to rid the sleep from her eyes. “I mean… am I still gonna be me?”
“Change is inevitable.” The voice came from behind her. Makeda rode up on the other side of Natalie’s mount. “Of course you’re going to change.”
“Know what else would have made you change?” Beatrice said. “Time. Fear. Chemo. Living through cancer treatment. Exposing your kids to the fear of losing you permanently.”
“Life changes you,” Makeda said. “In good ways and bad. Baojia will change you. You will change him. Your children will change you. Your work will change you.”
“But you’re never going to forget who you are,” Beatrice said. “I promise. We’re your friends. We won’t let you.”
Natalie sniffed; her nose was running. “I love you girls so much.”
And that was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep.
Chapter Seven
Natalie woke to the feeling of soft lips kissing along her bare shoulder. Her head hurt. Her body hurt. And her shoulder really hurt.
Whaaa?
Oh. Right.
It was still dark out, but just barely. A golden lamp shined a half light on the room. She looked over her shoulder to see a pair of deliciously bare shoulders and a familiar dark head.
“George?”
