The Gatekeeper's Sons (The Gatekeeper's Trilogy) (19 page)

He looked up at her with surprise, but he didn’t seem convinced. “I know you liked me before, but now that you know who I am, you still want to be around me?”

Therese gave him a shy nod.

“I was under the impression you despised me, like everyone else.” His face was full of anguish.

“No. I don’t. I was just frightened.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said.

She stopped petting Clifford to take his hand. It felt big and moist and warm in hers.

He gently squeezed her hand and closed his eyes. “That feels so nice.” Then he jumped from the bed. “Your aunt is coming. I better go. Come early tomorrow.”

He vanished into thin air just as Carol knocked on the bedroom door.

“Can I come in?” Carol asked.

Therese was momentarily jarred. “Um, yes. Come in,” she finally said.

Carol poked her head in the room. “Richard and I are going to bed. I just wanted to say goodnight. I had a good time tonight, and I hope you did, too.”

Therese managed a smile for her aunt’s sake. “I did. I really did.”

“Good. I’ll see you in the morning.” Carol closed the door behind her.

Therese sat up on her bed hoping Than would reappear. When a half hour passed and he still hadn’t come, she turned off the television and tried her best to go to sleep.

Early Thursday morning after toast and eggs, Carol and Richard dropped Therese off in front of the Holts’ place.

“Have fun in Durango,” Therese said as s
he climbed from the car. A feeling of guilt for leaving Clifford alone in the house made Therese frown, but she knew he’d find ways to entertain himself.

The sun peeked ove
r the forest behind Jen’s. The road was mostly in shade and the morning air was cool, maybe too cool for swimming, she thought. Instead of heading up the drive to the Holts’, she walked across the dirt road and through the grassy field in search of Than. She wore her bathing suit beneath her shorts and tank top in case she felt brave enough to swim with him.

When she reached the lake, she looked for him. She even called his name. A mother duck and her ducklings scurried away from the bank, but there was no sign of Than. Disappointed, she turned away from the water and headed across the tall grass to Jen’s.

She wondered what Than had meant when he had said there was a way to make her a god. She still couldn’t believe he had come to Earth to seek her out. Maybe he had been changed by her affection, but affection could be found from many sources. She still felt like he was settling when he could have someone better.

When Therese approached the pen, she found it empty of people. Ace came to the fence and stretched his yellow-brown neck out to her. “Where is everybody, Ace?”

“You’re early,” Pete called from the barn. “Than and I are just finishing up in here.” He appeared at the barn door, shirtless. Therese stole a cursory glance over his well-formed chest. “Jen, Bobby, and my mom went inside for a short break.” He gave her a big smile as she moved closer.

“You were awesome last night,” she said. “I’m so excited for you.”

He gave her a sweaty hug that smelled of earth and hay. “You’re a sweetheart for saying that.”

Than appeared at the door, tense, as though Pete’s embrace upset him. He also wore no shirt, and she could immediately see there was no comparison. How c
ould you compare a mere man to a god? “Hey, Therese,” he said with reserve in his voice.

“Hi, Than.” She felt shy. “I looked for you at the lake.”

“I was just about to head over there,” he said, brightening. “I need to cool off after all that barn work.”

“That’s a great idea,” Pete said to Than. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all, Pete.”

Therese could see the disappointment in
Than’s face, and she herself felt let down. She was anxious to find out how she could become a god. “I’ll just come along and watch you guys from the bank. I’m not hot enough to get in that cold water yet.”

“Believe me, you’re hot enough,” Pete teased.

Therese felt her face flush red and could make no reply.

Pete mussed her hair.

She walked between the two tall boys across the dirt road and the field of grass. As they walked, Pete talked about his hopes for his band. It was difficult for her to hear what he said. She wasn’t used to being pinned between two gorgeous guys—one a god, no less. She tried to keep her breath steady as they approached the water and the two boys stripped off their boots and jeans. Pete’s boxers were gray, and Than wore white again.

She laughed when the two boys decided to make a race of it as they jumped out into the deeper part and swam freestyle till they were out in the middle. She smiled with delight as they dunked each other, playing like bear cubs vying for fish.

“Come in!” Than shouted during a reprieve from their game. “It feels great.”

“Maybe later!” she shouted back. “After I work up a sweat!”

They swam back to the shallows and stood up, water dripping down their glistening bodies—the one thick and glowing, the other almost as tall, tan, and well-formed by human standards. Therese looked away. It was just too much to take in.

The boys climbed into their jeans and boots and the three of them headed back to the pen to begin their work on the horses. Thoughts of Dumbo sobered Therese as she took a brush to Sugar.

“Hey pretty girl,” she said to Sugar.

Jen, Bobby, and Mrs. Holt soon joined them from the house.

“Hi Therese!” Jen noticed Than and Pete were both soaked and shirtless. “Go for a swim, guys?” She took a brush to Sassy.

Pete laughed from behind the General. “Yeah. Than here nearly drowned me.” He must have recalled the fact that Therese’s parents’ drowned, because she caught a glimpse of his face behind the horse as he turned red and said no more.

Therese shuddered, but Than was soon there to distract her. “I sure had fun at the Wildhorse Saloon last night. I wouldn’t mind going again sometime.”

Bobby piped up. “Me, too. That was a blast. Hey, Mom. Can we go again tomorrow night?” Bobby held the brush midair, above Chestnut’s back, waiting for his mother’s answer.

“I don’t know, Bobby,” Mrs. Holt replied as she dug something from Rusty’s hoof. “It gets pretty crowded on Friday nights.”

“Oh, come on, Mom,” Jen joined in. “Pete could take us if you don’t want to go. Couldn’t you Pete?”

“Sure. I don’t mind.”

“Maybe so,” Mrs. Holt said without committing to anything. But both Jen and Bobby exchanged smiles. They knew “maybe so” meant “yes.”

When Jen finished with Sassy, she came over to Therese and said in a confidential voice, “Matthew called late last night and invited me to lunch today. I’m a little nervous.”

Therese stood up. “Are you excited? I mean, are you glad he called?”

“Yeah. It was like we hadn’t stopped talking all this time. He said he had pictures to show me. He just got back from Alaska. I’m pissed that he didn’t call before he left, though.” She picked Sassy’s hair from the brush.

“Language,” Mrs. Holt warned.

“Sorry, Mom,” Jen said.

Therese continued their conversation in a whisper. “Maybe he’ll explain why. He wouldn’t have called last night if he weren’t still interested.” Therese patted on Sugar’s leg for the hoof. Therese inspected the shoe while she waited for Jen’s reply.

Jen shrugged. “You really think so?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I’m meeting him at Hondo’s for chicken fried steak. I’m dropping Bobby at Gamestop to get him off my back. He’s been bugging me to take him all week. Matthew offered to come pick me up, but since Bobby wanted to go to town...anyway, that’s why I’m meeting him.” Jen went over to Annie, the red mare, and started brushing her back. “What did you get into, girl?”

Jen and Bobby went inside to wash up after the last horse was saddled and ready for the first trail ride. Pete and Mrs. Holt started helping the riders mount their horses, one at a time. Than and Therese waved their goodbyes and headed home. Than stopped her on the dirt road in front of Jen’s house.

“Are we going swimming?” he asked with a smile.

Therese grinned back. “I’m up for it if you are. But only if you promise to answer a few more questions.”

“I was planning on it anyway. Let’s go.” He took her hand in his and walked with her across the field.

Therese felt giddy with excitement. His big warm hand surrounding hers made her shiver with delight. Their arms brushed every so often, sending tingles of pleasure down her skin. She became even more excited when they reached the bank of the reservoir and Than kicked off his boots and jeans. She pulled off her tank top with shaky arms and stepped out of her shorts. She left her sneakers on so her feet wouldn’t get hurt on the rocks on the bottom of the lake.

She stood there, embarrassed, in her two-piece bathing suit while he looked over her body. She felt good about her flat stomach and curvy hips, but, even though Jen said she was crazy, she didn’t like her blossoming thighs and the lemon halves she had for boobs.

Than walked up to her in his white boxers and, with one finger, pulled up the strap that had fallen from her shoulder. “You’re so beautiful,” he said in a soft voice. Then, without any warning, he took her waist in his hands and carried her into the water.

She screamed with pleasure. “It’s like ice!”

“Nice, isn’t it?” He took her out where she couldn’t stand and then released her waist to tread water.

She treaded beside him. “You said you’d answer my questions first, you cheater!” She splashed water against his face.

“Cheater? You didn’t specify the order!”

He splashed her back, and it felt like a tidal wave had washed over her. She sputtered and gagged on the water that had unexpectedly entered her mouth. Her hair flattened in her face.

“Sorry about that,” he laughed.

She had the feeling he wasn’t sorry at all. She shivered with the cold of the water but managed to stick out her tongue at him in mock anger.

He put his hands on her waist again and towed her to shallower water, where she could stand, the gentle waves clearing her chin. The water came up to his nipples, and she could see from the look of them that he was cold, too.

“I don’t need your help,” she teased. “I’m an awesome swimmer.”

“Is that right?”

“
Wanna race?”

He laughed. “Let me get this straight. You are challenging a god to a race?”

“You raced with Pete.”

“That wasn’t a real race. I wouldn’t dare show my true speed and give myself away.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Show me. I want to see.”

“Others might be watching.”

“Please?”

He laughed. “Who could resist you anything?” He dove under and swam freestyle in a flash of white to the other side of the reservoir and back before she had counted to ten.

She opened her mouth with surprise. “Oh my God!”

“You can call me Than,” he said slyly.

She splashed him again. “Time to pay up. What did your father tell you when you asked him how to make me a god?”

His face grew somber. “Do you have to ruin the fun?”

“You promised.”

“Fine. He said if you personally avenge your parents’ death, if
you
take the life of the one responsible so that he or she can be properly punished in the Underworld, he will make you a god.”

She narrowed her eyes again. “So if I avenge the death of my parents, I can become like you?”

He frowned. “But it’s a bad idea. I thought about it all night. I don’t want you to do it.”

“You’re kidding, right? Who wouldn’t want to be a god?”

“Not just any god, Therese. A god of the Underworld. Even my mother can only handle it six months out of the year. Hades isn’t offering you the same bargain.”

“I don’t care. I told you. I want to be with you.” Then she shivered. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.” Maybe he didn’t want to be with her, now that he had a chance to know her and to see that there are other, more beautiful, fish in the sea.

He put his arms around her waist and put his face inches from hers. She felt light headed and weak kneed. “You’ve got it all wrong,” he said. “Once I thought more about the way you were with nature and the animals, I realized you belonged among the living. Therese, the Underworld would be a dull place for someone like you. There aren’t any animals except the delusions created by the psyches of the dead. You said yourself you couldn’t live without animals. The souls of dead animals are like those of dead humans—without freedom and full of delusions.”

Even though she could barely control her arms because of the trembling, she put them around his neck and pressed her body against his, so warm compared to the ice cold water. “It should be my decision.”

He licked his lips and looked at her mouth. “Then you’ve got a lot to think about.” He gave her a playful smile and then picked her up in his hands and tossed her high across the water.