Circling Stars

🌟Chapter 17🌟

    The next few days were a blur of activity. Mom and dad were surveying the damage done to the property, and calculating the cost of repairs and delays to orders as many had been damaged. The cops had caught three of the vandals, all of whom were college age and had been drunk at the time of the break in. Their names were Joshua Evans, Alex Redmen, and Bobby Jessup. They wouldn't give the names of the rest of the group but insisted that this whole thing was just a drunken caper gone wrong with no real malicious intent.

    Alex was my classmate Margie's older brother. He was going to school in California but had come back for the holidays. From what I heard he'd been the leader in this charade. Mom urged dad to press charges but he wanted to see if they could settle this out of court first. The Redmen's owned several buildings in town that were leased out to various businesses. Evans and Jessup didn't come from wealthy families, so dad was mulling over trying to get them a few months of community service rather than an expensive lawsuit.

    I was walking through the damage with Jasper at my side. As this company would be mine someday I had always taken an interest in the goings on here. I knew all the employees by name and could ask a few personal questions of each. A table and chair set that had been waiting to be stained was now in pieces, a rocking chair had been put through a window, and by the smell the nearly finished rocking horse had been pissed on. That was just the the first room, the farther in the shop you went the worse it got. I stopped in the third room and went to back to the car.

    "That's more damage than I thought," I mumbled. "Especially with the alarm and how quickly the cops got here."

    "While I cannot be entirely certain, I believe it was a seven person group." Jasper got behind the wheel. I took the passenger seat and reached back for the box that contained our deliveries.

    "Then it's probably not as bad as it could have been. What makes you unsure? Don't you have a nose better than a bloodhound?"

    "Yes, but that's also part of the problem; in addition to the amount of people that frequent the building. In a home individual scents are easy to distinguish. In schools or businesses it's a bit different because of the mass of people. Individuals who work in such places tend to take on the scent of the building while leaving their own, but with all the visitors it comes together into a massive smell of humanity. But the alcohol makes it a bit easier to distinguish and that is how I got the number. And as I am not an extremely gifted tracker it could be wrong."

    "I'm not sure I totally understand that but I'll take your word for it." I pulled open the lid of the small box in my lap and looked at the address on the first envelope.

    "I am not sure I explained it adequately. It is an experience hard to put into words. Where are we headed first?" Jasper asked as we were stopped by a red light.

    "731 Ponderosa. That's Jenny Hamilton and her two kids. Nice woman. She bakes the best cookies." Dad was caught up with the insurance people and mom was with Sean. I knew that would be a full day for both of them so I volunteered to deliver these checks. It was compensation for the amount of time we would be closed. Most of the employees had gotten theirs via direct deposit but there were a few who still preferred old fashion checking.

    I'd arranged them so we got closer to the airport with each delivery. Shirley had decided to come back early and with post holiday traffic of visiting relatives finally exiting, we would be in the car most of the day. And of course the airport was on the very edge of town. Brandon was working or he would have gotten her. We were going to meet up with him for dinner later.

    "There's something I've been meaning to ask you. You can say no if it makes you uncomfortable." Jasper lifted an eyebrow while he pulled up in front of Jenny's. "I haven't found the right time to mention it to anyone. I've been accepted into the University of Houston. I'm flying out there to check out apartments this weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to go. The forecast is supposed to be cloudy."

    He didn't get a chance to answer because Dillion, the Hamilton's younger son ran up to my window and tapped it.

    "Hiya Theo!"

    "Hi." I smiled at Dillion. I used to babysit him but since Kyle, the oldest son, had gotten older he now took that job. "I have something for your mom. Is she here?"

    "Yeah, come inside." Dillion ran back up to the porch and through the front door.

    "I won't be too long," I told Jasper. Jenny was happy to see me and even happier when I told her why I was there. She sent me off with a bag of fresh oatmeal raisin cookies and told me to thank my father. A light snow had started to fall and Jasper turned up the heat in the car for me.

    "Of course I will go with you," he said as I put my seatbelt on.

    "Are you sure? Texas doesn't hold the best memories for you."

    His fingers tapped the steering wheel rhythmically as he pulled away from the curb. Jasper was, nervous might have been the wrong word, but he certainly wasn't himself. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down a few times before he spoke.

    "I confess that I haven't been back to Texas since I left Maria's coven. And as you say my time there was largely unpleasant. But that is why I should make happier memories of my former home. And as I will be with you, that is exactly how those memories will be." Tears pricked my eyes at his words. While his time as a human was a different story, his vampire years there had been a special kind of hell. I could see on his face how much of a step this was for him. As much as I could with the restriction of the seatbelt and center console, I hugged him. Not advisable if your driver is a human but my vampire boyfriend had much better reflexes and eyesight. I gave him a kiss before getting back in my place.

    "Next delivery is 812 Aspen. Get me there in good time Lieutenant colonel." I tried to put on the voice of a well bred southern lady but my attempt was weak. I sounded less like Scarlett O'Hara and more like a struggling drama student. My face flushed but Jasper shot me a sneaky look.

    "I am only a Major, my lady." He reminded me in his thick accent.

    "Well perhaps I could get you promoted, if your service is pleasing." My voice returned to its natural tone but I was still red with the silliness of my joke.

    "Pleasing you is something I gladly subject myself too." His hand went to my thigh. Higher up than it had ever been. He drew tiny circles into my leg until we reached our next destination. The very cold air felt good after the rush of heat I'd recently experienced. I took a deep a breath and tried to make myself look less flushed as I delivered the next check.

    "Problems, my lady? Are you not pleased with me?" Jasper asked innocently as I got back in the car. A nearly overwhelming current of longing ran through my body. "May I ease this for you?"

    "Yes. Just a bit please," I squeaked. The lust left my body and Jasper kissed the back of my hand with a grin.