The Gatekeeper's Sons

Chapter 11B

Carol dropped Therese and Clifford at the Holt ranch again the next morning. Carol had been thrilled about Therese's new job, saying it was just what she needed to get her mind off...things. Therese was partly glad that she would be out of Carol's hair this week and keeping herself entertained with her best friend and the horses, but she was also partly annoyed by Than's appearance, especially since the more she thought about it, the more she was sure he looked exactly like the Than in her dreams.

"Come on, boy!" she called to Clifford, as she climbed from the car. Then she said to Carol, "I'll call if I need a ride."

As Therese walked up the gravelly drive with Clifford stopping to pee on every tree, she thought more about her discoveries last night. When she couldn't sleep, she had gone on the Internet and googled "the Furies." One article had this to say: "The Furies are three sisters: Alecto (The Unceasing), Megaera (The Avenger of Jealousy and Hatred), and Tisiphone (The Avenger of Murder). They are the goddesses of revenge, sometimes called the daughters of the Night. They haunt criminals until they go insane and die. The Furies are untiring and persistent in their pursuit. They are impartial and indifferent, merely carrying out their duty. They continue to torment wrongdoers even after death. In some traditions, they are the daughters of Hades and Persephone, rulers of the Underworld, and their brothers are Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death). The Furies are known for tormenting sinners under the command of Hades and for pursuing criminals on Earth until their victims have been rightfully avenged."

In her dream weeks ago, Than had said he was sending the Furies to the waking world of the living to help her solve her parents' murder. Therese now shuddered at the prospect.

Of course, it had only been a silly dream, something her subconscious must have conjured up based on this mythology she must have read a long time ago and had forgotten all about.

As she approached Jen's house, Clifford turned around back down the gravelly drive and took off across the dirt road toward the reservoir. Boulders and short aspens made a kind of barrier between the road and the water until the road reached Jen's house. Across from the Holts' was a big field of tall grass, and out in the middle of the grass this morning was a lone figure. Clifford was running toward it.

"Come back, Clifford!" Therese followed her dog into the grass. She was stunned when she saw Than, soaked from head to toe, walking toward her with his clothes bundled in his hands. All he was wearing were his wet white boxers and boots.

"Good Morning, Therese," he said when he got closer.

She couldn't avoid looking at his golden body—his golden naked body, for the wet boxers didn't leave much to the imagination. His skin wasn't what you would call tan, but it seemed to almost glow.

"How are you today?" Than asked.

She could tell he was amused by her reaction, which she hadn't been able to disguise. Her eyes were about to pop out of her head.

"Fine," she said, turning away. "Come on, Clifford."

"That water felt so good," Than said. "Do you go swimming in the lake often?"

Not often enough, she thought. She'd only been a few times this summer, and that was before...her life had changed. "Not often."

"That's too bad. I'd go every day if I could. I had no idea how beautiful everything is up here, how nice the sunshine feels, the water, the cool mountain air when the wind blows. I love listening to the birds, too. I think I've found seven different species in this forest alone." He caught up to her now and walked beside her.

"They don't have those things down in Texas?"

"What? Oh, well not like this."

Therese noticed that Clifford walked beside Than, putting Than between them. Clifford never took to strangers this quickly. "Come on, Clifford," she said again, a little jealous that he wasn't trotting alongside her instead of him. "Don't you have barn and pen duty this morning?" Therese asked Than with a touch of hostility as they reached the dirt road and headed toward the gravel drive.