Bloodbond

Chapter 23

Taking in deep breaths of the pleasantly warm air around me, I felt my body relax. After changing and getting some food and other things together for a hike and time at the lake, the five of us piled into the jeep that Taran had pulled around to the front of the house. I could tell that Taran seemed a bit tense, so I was hoping that I could cure him of that by the end of the day. To be honest, I was surprised that Gabriel had sent Taran with us, considering how uncomfortable our relationship made him. I decided that it was because he trusted Taran, but that he also wanted to show me that he could trust me as well.

The second we arrived, I jumped out of the front seat and stretched my limbs in eager anticipation. I felt giddy at the thought of being out of that house and surrounded by some nature that wasn't fenced in. It was the freedom that I hadn't realized I'd been craving so desperately for the past few days. So much energy had built up inside me over the past few days, that I was practically hopping in place.

While Claire seemed pleased to be out of the house, the others didn't appear to be quite as enthused as we were. Too bad. I wasn't about to let a few mopey guys ruin my fun.

"Since you guys seem dead set on dragging your feet today, Claire and I will go on ahead with the hike and you three can just stay behind," I said with a smile.

Taran's head immediately whipped in my direction. "I don't think so, Cassia. You know we can't do that."

I pursed my lips. "Fine. But you have to at least stay back. I'd like to enjoy my time out and I'm not about to let you three play wet blankets to my fun." Taran rolled his eyes, but I noticed a small smile creep across Andrew's face. Oh, sweet satisfaction.

As soon as the guys had handed Claire and I our packs, I headed towards the treeline, where I knew the trail began. I didn't even care that I could hear the guys calling after me to come back; I just wanted to spread my wings and enjoy every minute of the time I had out here. After walking alone with Claire for a few minutes, I could hear footsteps coming up from behind and I knew our time alone was up.

"That was not funny, Cas," Taran told me in a huff. His tone made me smile, but I didn't respond. Instead, Claire and I ignored all three of them and spent the next hour making up stupid little kid games to pass the time. We both were enjoying ourselves, though the guys remained steadfastly quiet, only exchanging an occasional comment with each other here and there. Hmm, total party poopers.

We kept a leisurely pace, not really intending on working up a sweat or anything. When Claire and I had grown tired of walking, we decided to make our way to the lake. As soon as I spotted it, my face broke out into a huge grin. The water sparkled in the sunlight and the breeze that rustled through the trees carried the scent of the cherry blossoms that had just started growing, signalling the arrival of spring.

As I closed my eyes, inhaling the scent of the blossoms, I heard a splash come from my right. When my eyes shot open, I saw that Claire was swimming out towards the middle of the lake, laughing as Andrew and Jacob, who were sputtering near the shore, began to chase after her. I chuckled under my breath and made my way over to Taran, who was standing by the water, watching the three figures swim away.

"What happened?" I asked when I got to his side.

"Claire thought it would be funny to shove Andrew and Jacob into the water while they were setting the stuff down."

I found myself laughing again. When Taran just gave me one of 'those' looks, I defended myself. "Come on! You know it's pretty amazing to see Claire enjoying herself."

Taran turned back to look at his sister, who was still attempting to out-swim Andrew and Jacob. He sighed heavily. "It is nice to see her happy. I wish that she could always have this." I put my hand on his shoulder. At my touch, his shoulders tensed, but I looked past it.