Road Trip
Chapter twenty-eight
"Ihave something fun planned for us," Vale said one morning at the breakfast table.
Kienan had just finished making waffles and we were all sitting down to decorate and enjoy them when Vale spoke up.
"What?" I looked at him expectantly. "Family picnic?"
"No, it's too chilly for that right now. I booked us a weekend in the mountains. We'll stay in a cabin and just get to know each other better. It might even snow, so we could go snowshoeing or something."
"That sounds amazing!" I beamed at him and he beamed right back.
"We've never gone snowshoing in our lives," Kienan pointed out.
"Dude, isolated cabin in the woods, it sounds perfect, don't you think?"
"Sounds like a horror movie," Dean commented, shoving the last of his waffles into his mouth. "If there's a creepy guy at a decrepit gas station on the way, I'm out."
"I think it sounds fun," I assured Vale. "Even if these guys don't want to, I'll go."
He brightened at that. "It would be fun with just two of us."
"It would!"
I felt the annoyance throughout the bonds, but this was something nice Vale was trying to do. I sent them all warning feelings and got sheepishness back.
"When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
We all packed that afternoon and were ready to go nice and early in the morning. I climbed into the backseat, tucked between Vale and Dean while Kienan drove and Zephyr navigated.
The trip to the cabin took nearly four hours, most of which were spent dozing off on Vale's shoulder, but I woke up once we started up the winding mountain road.
Trees with flaming foliage surrounded us as we made our way higher and higher.
Fortunately, there was no decrepit gas station, but we'd brought what we needed anyway.
"There, second left!" Zephyr pointed at a drivway that was really more of a trail than anything. "Finally."
"Are we sure there's anything but a cave down there?" Dean asked, sounding worried. We were all tired by now and the odd path didn't fit with our idea of a cabin.
"Guess we find out." Kienan turned down the road and carefully drove, trying to avoid too many branches. "Where did you say you found this place, Vale?"
"On AirBnB."
"Huh."
Suddenly, the trail opened up into a round clearing with a house on one side. The place looked decent, though run down. Peeling yellow paint featured heavily on the outside and at least one window was boarded up.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Kie asked.
"It looked better in the photos," he said disappointedly.
"Hey, let's go check it out," I suggested, nudging Vale. "Even if it's not a five star resort, it would be a shame to come all this way and not go inside."
So, we piled out of the car and walked to the front door, which was equipped with a keypad. From there, we stepped into a narrow hallway with a single lightbulb to light it.
"Interesting, interesting," Dean commented. "Oh, there's the kitchen!"
The kitchen was actually pretty decent. Straight out of the 70's with avocado green appliances and sunny yellow cupboards with orange formica counters, it was bright, but functional. I put some water on to boild for tea while we explored the rest of the place.
Overall, it was clean and tidy, but drastically outdated. The living room had no TV, but featured a massive stone fireplace, several taxidermied animals and some velveteen sofas in gaudy orange flower prints.
Upstairs, there were two bedrooms, including one with bunk beds and another with a king size bed. I grinned at the gold headboard and ran to take a flying leap, twisting midair to fall on my back. The bed made a heavy thudding sound.
"Okay, the bed's a little hard," I grimaced. "But I think we'll have fun here. And there are woods outside to explore."
The view from the upstairs window drew me to it. The entire valley spread out below us. The brilliant foliage of the forest was stunning and I could see the town far across the valley. "This is gorgeous!"
"It sure is." Dean came up behind me, grabbing my hands with one of his and pressing them above my head to the glass. As he ground into my backside, he whispered in my ear. "Think anyone has binoculars if I fuck you against this window?"
"Maybe," I said, playing into his fantasy. "Some serial killer, probably, just waiting for the bad couple to fuck so he can kill them."
"Exactly." He nuzzled my neck and scraped his teeth across his claiming bite.
"Let's get our stuff hauled in, then," Kienan said. "Vale, you go make tea with Olivia since you picked the house and planned all this."
We let the others get out to the car before Vale and I left the window. We went down to the kitchen and made the tea, leaving it to cool a little on the orange table.
"I know the outside looks bad, but this place is perfect," I told him. "I think it's a great way to make some memories."
"Me too." He lifted me onto the counter. "And I know a few I'd like to make with you."
The others piled in and we all got settled before Kienan started dinner. Then we all sat down around the orange table with slices of frozen pizza that had just come out of the oven and some cheap wine.
"There's a reason I wanted to do this," Vale announced.
We all turned our attention to him.
"It's been six months since Olivia joined us and nearly that since Dean and I went into remission thanks to her."
I blew him a kiss.
"I think we need to celebrate."
"Absolutely," I told him.
Zephyr leaned over to kiss me. "Six months. And I have something to celebrate, too."
"You do?" Vale looked surprised.
Zephyr got up and went into the hallway for a moment, then came back with a certificate that he handed to me. "We're officially registered as a pack."
"Wait, how?" I stared at him.
"Well, I had to give you a new identity, but you're Olivia Brown now." He gave me a wink. "I figured for our security, we needed to be recognized as a proper pack."
"Wow. A real pack." I grinned around at them. "This really does call for a celebration."
"But maybe not tonight," Kienan put in. "I'm wiped after all that driving."
"My back is killing me," Dean admitted.
"Wusses, the lot of you!" Vale complained.
I leaned back with smile. This was my family and I wouldn't have it any other way.