that her commanding nature was important in order to protect him better, she admitted that she enjoyed being in control. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to mind that either, she thought with a smirk. He even seemed to enjoy it at times. Yes, he’s so unlike my previous relationships.
She moved quickly from browsing the Internet, which was undoubtedly one of her favorite pastimes, to reading new emails. She read some jokes that Paige passed along, including viewing a humorous video of someone falling off of a ladder in a buffoonish manner while painting his house. There was another series of emails similar in tone to others she had been receiving for weeks. Most were from vampires with whom she hadn’t previously corresponded. Each congratulated her on killing Chimalma or asked for further details of her exploits in doing so. Frankly, she was happy to leave the entire affair in her past, as those horrific events had nearly brought about her demise, and more importantly, Caleb’s.
Still, she went through the process of responding to each message, as she had nothing more pressing on her agenda. She was merely passing time until Caleb called to inform her about the mysterious plans he had for them that evening. Lately, he had been very creative about their time together, and she approved of his most recent game, Find Caleb. Despite having only played once, she was already looking forward to future activities in that same vein.
* * * *
As agreed the day before, Tanisha waited a little longer at her office than planned that Friday afternoon in order to transport Caleb to the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area. He removed a medium-sized backpack, heavy brown winter coat, and rolled-up sleeping bag from the trunk of his Honda Civic and transferred it into the back of Tanisha’s light brown Cadillac Escalade.
“That’s all you’re bringing?” she asked.
“Yep,” he replied. He glanced overhead at the sunny sky, appreciating the favorable weather conditions.
Once inside, he took a moment to appreciate the regal interior of the vehicle and the comfortable seating. It made his older-model Civic seem like a horse-drawn carriage. He smirked at how odd Katrina’s garage looked with his car parked next to her sleek Audi. Maybe with the money I’ve been saving from sharing expenses with her, I’ll be able to trade in my car on a new one in the next year or so.
“Nice ride,” he said.
She smirked as the Escalade’s engine purred to life. “Thanks. William teased me when he bought it, saying his African Queen had to travel in style.”
Caleb grinned, recalling that he had called Katrina a “Queen of the Vampires” not so long ago.
“Not that I’m complaining, mind you,” Tanisha added with a sober expression. “A little respectful attention is a proper way to treat a woman.”
“Ah, so William calls you his queen, then?” he teased.
She grinned slyly as they pulled out of the parking lot. “Mm-hm. He’s a caring and loving man, my Will. He still courts me even after ten years of marriage. But it probably isn’t like with you and Katrina. We’re a little more…”
“Conventional?” he interrupted with a grin.
“Hey, I’m not judging anybody.”
He shook his head as they made their way to the highway for the short trip to Lithonia.
It was late afternoon when Tanisha pulled up at the side of Klondike Road, adjacent to the preserve. Caleb thanked her and reassured her that Katrina would be joining him very soon. After he removed his sleeping bag and backpack from the Escalade, he waved goodbye and watched her turn around and drive away. He briefly considered how well things were going with him and Tanisha and how he was thoroughly enjoying getting to know her.
He turned and headed towards an area where the forest was growing thicker. His plan was to transfer his scent to a number of surfaces, including large rocks and trees, so he could confuse Katrina from going directly to his location once she arrived.
There weren’t many people around on that cold, late January afternoon, which suited him just fine as he was enjoying the peace and quiet. As he trudged amidst the lush pine trees, he realized it was time to call Katrina to reveal the location of their evening plans.
He was thankful to see he still had two bars of signal strength on his cell phone. Didn’t think about that beforehand. He made a mental note to verify cell phone availability in future Find Caleb locations. Safety was a condition Katrina insisted upon, and