Winter Wolf, (C)1998 Anne Fraser and Sara Weber ___________________________________________________________ Lady Jeanne slouched gratefully into a chair against the west wall of the airport's lobby. While she ~could~ function before the sun was completely down, she still found it somewhat draining. Glancing at the clock, she saw that she was at least half an hour early, assuming the plane was on time. Reaching into her purse she pulled out a book and relaxed into her latest Regency romance. Several chapters later the PA system scratchily announced the approach of private flight 1438, from Maine. The clock showed 7:05 as Lady J watched the little plane touch down on the barely snow cleared strip. A few minutes later the stairs were pulled down from its side and the occupants descended into the bitter Northern cold. The Baron and Joshua look good, she thought as they walked toward terminal's only door off the runway. The young man who was trying to carry a suitcase simultaneously with a squirming dog must be Mitch. The largish cat must be Smoke, though she'd certainly grown since the Baron and Joshua's wedding. Before the airport attendant at the door had a chance to make any arguments about the animals entering the terminal, Lady Jeanne flashed him a dazzling smile and walked up to greet her guests. When questioned later why he had allowed the animals to pass through the terminal, he quite honestly had no idea what his superior was talking about. "Welcome!" Lady Jeanne reached out her hand to clasp the Baron's, having decided that a hug would be too familiar. She smiled to the others as she led them to the luggage claim area. "Why don't we get everything in the car right away, and then we can talk on the drive home? The sooner we're home, the sooner we can get out of this cold for the night." "Sounds good to me!" Mitch said. "Lead on, lady." A few minutes later everything was stashed behind the Grand Cherokee's back seat and they were headed west. Mitch sat in the front passenger seat, holding Pumpkin on his lap, while Gideon and Joshua shared the back with Smoke. After a few miles the panther curled up and went to sleep, and not too far later Joshua did the same against his husband's shoulder. Lady J smiled to her awake passengers. "It's not the most exciting drive, I'm afraid. Beth stayed at home with Chessie, and is preparing a light supper for you. Your flight went well?" "As well as they ever go," Gideon replied, smiling ruefully. He had never learned to like that particular mode of travel, though it certainly was convenient. Just then the wind picked up, causing small swirls of snow to dance across the road. The only lights were those of the car, but Mitch thought he saw something off to his left, in the woods. He looked harder but there was nothing there. I'm more tired than I realized, he thought. "If you'll forgive me," Jeanne said suddenly, "I'm going to skip the tour monologue. There really isn't much to point out, and between the icy road surface and the wind, I really need to concentrate on driving." Gideon murmured his agreement, and the rest of the drive was spent in silence. The roads became progressively less well-maintained as they went, enough so that when they turned off onto the farm's private road Gideon wondered if they weren't going to end up stuck in some snow drift. They had only gone a couple dozen feet in on the private road though when it became as clear as he could wish. Lady Jeanne relaxed visibly. "Only a few more minutes," she said, waking Mitch who had dozed off against the window. "There, you can see the house now." Mitch and Gideon peered out the windows, and saw a cheerful two-story house of shingle on a stone foundation, with a large roofed porch of the same stone. Lights shone in many of the windows, giving a cheerful welcoming appearance against the cold Michigan night. "We're here," Gideon said, nudging his sleeping spouse. "Mmm?" Joshua blinked as Pumpkin began making whoofing noises in the front seat that meant "I want out!". "Oh, I'm sorry, I fell asleep," he said, embarrassed. "It's quite all right," Lady Jeanne assured him with a smile. "It's not really that interesting a drive." "It's a lovely house," said Gideon, taking in the relatively recently refurbished exterior view of Birch Fields. "Not as grand as Oakwoods, perhaps," Lady Jeanne said, "but it's home." "That's what counts," Joshua told her around a yawn. Lady Jeanne parked the car in the garage, and all her passengers emerged, making a great show of stretching and shaking themselves awake again. Pumpkin dashed for the nearest tree, with evident signs of relief. As they walked the short distance from the garage to the house, the door was opened by a generously built young woman who would have been dressed quite prettily if it weren't for the apron she still had on. She had long, dark brown hair, tan skin and dark blue eyes. Her skirt was a wide spaced, smallish calico on a dark brown background, and her shirt was a simple off-white blouse. The apron, however, was something strait out of the 60's. A large flower print in orange, teal, and purple was set against a lime green background. It had faded slightly with time, but whether or not this was an improvement was hard to say. It had a high square neck and short sleeves, and it clashed horridly with the calico skirt. There was powdered sugar on one sleeve, and in her hair. "Oh," she said, blushing enough to be seen even with her dark skin, "You're earlier than I expected! Forgive my appearance, please. I was helping Chessie bake cookies. Come in, please, can I help carry anything?" "Calm down, Beth," Lady Jeanne laughed as she gently scolded her flustered housemate. "I think if you just get out the way we can get everything inside pretty quickly." The animals had already scooted in past the people, and Smoke was looking about determinedly for her friend, Chessie. She found the little girl standing in the kitchen, peeping around the counter at the strangers in her house.Smoke thought at her friend. Chessie looked down at the star panther she had met almost two years ago and replied, "I'm not very good at switching, not yet. But I can show you around the house anyway. Come on!" Before her Mama J could make her talk to the strangers, she scooted out of the kitchen and up the stairs, Smoke close on her heals. Meanwhile, Lady Jeanne introduced Beth to their guests. "It's nice to meet you," Beth said, smiling and holding out a hand wiped carefully clean of sugar. "Jeanne's told me lots about you. She had a great time at your reception, though I'm not quite sure I believe everything she's told me about it." The last was said with the puzzled grin that stories of CotN parties often produced. "How soon till the food's ready?" Lady Jeanne asked, seeing how both Mitch and Joshua's eyes kept straying towards the kitchen. "Give me another 15 minutes," Beth replied. "That ought to give you just enough time to get settled in your rooms and freshen up a little before we sit down." Lady Jeanne took the hint and showed her guests to their rooms and the facilities. She left them to their own devices, since a good hostess knows when to make herself scarce. ___________________________________________________________ "Look," Joshua grinned, pointing to the stenciling on the guest bedroom walls, "oak leaves." Gideon smiled. "I'm sure she didn't have the bedroom painted just for us," he said. "Nice sleigh bed, too," Josh approved. "Though on the whole the house is furnished a bit modern for my tastes." "Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Gideon rejoined. "The house itself seems rather old, actually. I wonder what it's history is?" They both made their way down to the bathroom to freshen up. They spotted Mitch heading for the stairs. "Nice place," the young man called out with a typical grin. "I hope there's something good for dinner -- smells good." "We'll be down shortly," Josh told him. "Now behave yourself around Beth." A wave of Mitch's hand answered him as the werewolf loped down the stairs two at a time. Beth looked up from her preparations as a tall, lean young man hurtled himself into the kitchen. He was rather attractive, with his thick brown hair and gentle blue eyes. He'd changed into a clean blue shirt and gray slacks, and looked quite nice. "Can I help you set the table or something?" he inquired. She nodded, showed him where the plates and things were, and put him to work. They traded glances a couple of times, and Mitch and Beth both blushed the second time, but nothing further happened. At dinner, Chessie was obviously shy of the strangers and talked almost exclusively to Smoke and Pumpkin. She was disappointed that the spaniel couldn't communicate with her. Lady Jeanne and Gideon watched the others eat and partook of their own nourishment needs discreetly. The Baron traveled with his own private stock in wine bottles, and sipped it like wine. Joshua and Mitch both tucked into the Cornish pasties and cabbage salad like starving men, to Beth's delight. The meal was over with and the washing-up was done. Lady Jeanne, Josh and Gideon retired to the living room to talk, while Beth put Chessie bed over her protests (which somewhat quieted when she was allowed to have Smoke and Pumpkin come with her). Once Chessie's lights were out, Beth decided to go up to the studio and do some work. Mitch, a bit at odds' ends, wandered around downstairs for a bit, poked his head out the door but decided against a stroll, and went upstairs to fetch a book from his bag. Mitch sat down on the bed, with his book, and ended up staring out the window. He really didn't feeling like reading, he was just wasn't up to making polite conversation. He wondered why he was feeling so distracted. Idly, he watched the shadows in the field the across the road from the house. It was the music that drew him out of his thoughts. Someone, somewhere, was listening to Ashley MacIsaac. Getting up from the bed, he wandered down the hall to see where it was coming from. Beth was standing in the middle of the studio, with her back to the door. She had switched out of the good clothes that she had worn for supper, and was now wearing jeans and a flannel shirt that had both seen better days. Her long hair was loosely held in a knot by a paint brush stuck through it. The bright light in the room outlined her form under the worn cloth, and Mitch suddenly wondered why Lady Jeanne kept her house so warm. The easel stood between Beth and the windows facing east, and Mitch could see most of the image she was working on. It was a scene from the farm's property, he realized, showing the woods in the winter. The small figure of Chessie frolicked with two cats in a snowy field that was surrounded by the bare, white trees. Beth was just putting the final touches on a strand of birches, and Mitch kept quiet till she stepped back from the painting. "I like it," Mitch said quietly, and then felt guilty when Beth jumped slightly and turned to face him. He went on quickly, trying to explain. "I didn't mean to intrude, but I heard the music, and just wondered... Then I saw you painting, and.." He trailed off, shrugging helplessly. "I'll leave if you want me to." "No!" Beth spoke quickly and then blushed. "I... I.." She stammered and then got hold of herself. "I just didn't hear you come in -- you sort of startled me." "Sorry." Mitch spoiled his apology by grinning. "You, um... You have paint on your nose." "Oh!" Beth's hand flew to her nose, still holding the paintbrush she had been using moments ago. The brush left a streak of white across her cheek, up into her hair, before falling from her hand. Mitch tried not to laugh, but failed miserably. A moment later Beth joined in. When they had both stopped laughing, Beth smiled at Mitch and flopped down onto a futon, waving a hand for him to join her. "Forgive me, Mitch," she said, "Living with Jeanne and Ches, and the other gals when they're here, I seem to have forgotten how to socialize with guys." "Hey, it's okay." Mitch stretched his legs out as he settled in on the other end of the futon. "I mean, I live with Gideon and Josh and Evan. There are plenty of females in the neighbor hood, but..." He trailed off with a shrug. "And you folks are the first guests we've had since I moved in here." Beth sighed, and noticing Mitch's surprised look, explained further. "Jeanne... Well, she's had a lot to deal with as far as her fellow CotN go. For her to be able to invite the Baron, a fellow vampire, here is a really good sign, actually." "You sound like a shrink," Mitch said without thinking, and then blushed as he remembered that she worked in counseling. Beth just laughed. "You're right, I'm talking shop," she said, smiling at Mitch and then looking away quickly. "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Laughing, she added, "Oh, that didn't sound at all right! But maybe I'll feel less shy around you if you're less of a stranger?" This sounded agreeable to Mitch, especially as it gave him an excuse to continue to learn more about this attractive young woman. Between one thing and another, they talked quite a while. Looking up what _seemed_ like only a little while later, Mitch was surprised to see light growing on the eastern horizon. Reaching out to touch her shoulder, Mitch turned Beth towards the window. She turned back to him, smiling, and the rising sun lined the edge of her face with gold. It seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. Slowly, giving her time to back away if she wanted, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.