"Next time, you rescue the girl, hand her over to your best friend while somebody else takes the credit and see how that feels," Ashe snapped.
"Ah. I think I'm beginning to see." Winkler huffed out a breath. "Ashe, I'm sorry about that, but I don't see any way out of it now. We all want life to be fair, and it so seldom is."
"What does not destroy me makes me stronger? Is that what you're trying to say?"
"Spoken like a true dead philosopher," Winkler grinned.
"Mr. Winkler, I've been thinking about the vampires who got permission from the Council to have children. I wonder if it's given permission recently. The big drawback in having a vampire father is that I never get to see him during the day. Mom and I go shopping alone most of the time. If Dad goes, it's late at night. If anything happens during the day, he doesn't know until he wakes. Like Principal Billings' challenge. It frustrates him, it frustrates me and it frustrates Mom. She won't ever say it, but there have been times—like when I got shot—that she really needed him and he was asleep."
"Ashe, Tony told me last night that the Council has shut down the experiment with vampire children. That's what it was—an experiment. And those reasons were cited. Children are a huge responsibility, and I can only imagine that the vampires have had a terrible time dealing with kids who could walk in the sun. Mates, too. The Council hasn't given permission for twelve years. I think you were among the last to be born. And Nathan having two children is almost unheard of."
"Yeah. I think you're right. What did you want me to work on today?"
"Actually, I'd like some files cleaned out in my computer system. I'll hand my desk over to you and let you take care of a few things. I have a list of files here that I want deleted." Winkler lifted another paper and waved it at Ashe before setting it on his desk and moving away. "I have some errands to run in Corpus today, so if you need anything, ask Trajan."
"All right." Ashe traded places with Winkler, watching as the werewolf walked out of his office before settling in to delete files.
"I got flowers?" Dori stared at the pink roses Mr. Dawkins dropped off. He'd been manning the guard kiosk located outside the gate and signed for the delivery. Lavonna had shown them to Dori the moment she got home from working in the groves. "Who are they from?" Dori sniffed a delicate pink bloom.
"Read the card," Lavonna smiled. Dori lifted the tiny envelope from the bouquet and opened it.
"It says Happy Monday—Ashe. They're from Ashe. This is so cool! Wynn didn't get flowers!" Dori was hugging the card to her chest and bouncing on her toes with excitement.
"I'm not surprised Ashe sent flowers," Lavonna laughed.
"So we found out who the Lothario was?" Cori walked in from the deck.
"Here, read for yourself," Dori passed over the card and sniffed another pink rose. "They smell so good."
The doorbell rang. Cori went to answer, finding Wynn on the porch. "Come on in, Dori's having a fit about the flowers Ashe sent."
"Dori got flowers?" Wynn was in the kitchen quickly, cooing over the pink roses and reading the card. "He sent you flowers 'cause it's Monday?" Wynn sighed. "That's so romantic."
"Do you think I should call?" Dori looked at her mother.
"It's polite, to let him know you got them," Lavonna said. Dori pulled her cell phone from a pocket in her jeans and dialed Ashe's number. He picked up right away.
"Ashe, I got the flowers. They smell so good. I love them."
"Somebody sent somebody flowers," Marco teased. He, Ashe, Wayne and Wynter were dressed for a run on the beach before dinner. Ashe was standing on the deck dressed in shorts, running shoes and an old T-shirt when Dori called.
"Did you like the color? I saw your pink bikini and earrings and thought you might like pink," Ashe said, coloring a little. Marco stood nearby, listening to the conversation and smirking.
"I love pink, Ashe. These are the first flowers I've ever gotten. Thank you."
"Great. I'm glad you like them," Ashe was now fending off Marco, who was grinning and trying to flip Ashe's ear. "Dori, I have to go. Marco wants to get a run in before dinner. I'll talk to you later, all right?" Dori agreed and hung up. "Dude, I can depants you the next time you're kissing Cori in front of the entire universe," Ashe threatened Marco.
"You think you can? You have to catch me first," Marco grinned and took off, running down the steps to the deck and then out to the beach, Ashe hot on his heels. Wayne and Wynter struggled to keep up. Ashe was keeping up with Marco easily. Running was easier for him now, and the weight lifting with Trajan was showing some results. "Man, now I have to give Cori flowers, just to keep her happy," Marco grumped good-naturedly as they ran.
"Hey, slow down, some of us are out of shape," Wayne jogged up beside Ashe. Wynter was still running gamely behind.
"Trajan can fix that," Marco grinned. He slowed down anyway.
"I'll be in the weight room in the morning, I promise," Wayne sounded out of breath.
"Hey, slow down a little more," Wynter called out. Ashe slowed his stride and soon he was running alongside Wynter, who was very pretty, with black hair and nearly black eyes. Ashe thought the twins favored their father quite a bit.
"So, one more year in college, huh?" Ashe asked conversationally.
"Yeah. One more year of marketing and business. Dad has a PR firm, but he wants me to keep an eye on things for him. I think he's got somebody in mind for me, too, but I keep telling him that I won't marry anybody unless I like them."
"You haven't met him yet? That sounds odd." Ashe watched Wynter as she concentrated on her running, long black hair tied in a ponytail and swinging as she ran.
"It's not odd. He had somebody picked out for Aunt Whitney, too. Only she eloped with Sam Sheridan. I hear there was quite a bit of growling and snarling over that."
"I don't think Winkler would be happy if somebody foiled his plans," Ashe grinned.
"You have no idea," Wynter rolled her eyes in exasperation. "So I promised my dad I'd at least meet the guy and then tell him exactly what I thought of his choice."
"I got grounded the last time I talked back to my dad," Ashe muttered.
"I was seventeen when I told Dad that. I was grounded for a week." Wynter smiled.
"What about your grandparents? Are these your mother's folks or your dad's?"