Page 40 of Destined for Dreams
“Takes one to know one.”
Cori spun on her heels and headed back to the kitchen. She found Emily in there grabbing a couple of the vegetable dishes. The teenager balanced them so well that she actually could have passed for a waitress. She smiled at Cori before heading back out to load the tables, whistling an unfamiliar tune. It was amazing how much she’d perked up for this holiday after all she’d been through during the year. Maybe she was truly putting the past behind her.
Cori wished she could do the same, but things were a little more complicated for her.
Micah took hold of both the turkey platters, balancing them easily. “I’ve got these. Do you need me to do anything else?”
A few veggie dishes were the only things left. They’d set the tables a while ago with everything else they’d need other than the main entrées.
“That’s it.”
He headed out, and she took hold of the last items. As soon as she delivered them, she called for Melena and Lucas, who’d been busy entertaining the guests since they’d started arriving an hour before.
“We’re ready.”
“Great,” Melena said, and hugged Cori. “Thanks for everything today.”
Lucas gave her a grateful look. “You can relax for now. We’ll take it from here.”
Cori nodded and moved to take her seat at the main table. Lucas called for the guests to sit as well, having already informed them of their assigned places. He and Melena waited in the foyer where they could easily be seen from the dining room on one side and living room on the other. Cori was impressed with how well they were playing hosts now that they were married and settled down. It was nice to see after all they’d been through.
“We want to thank everyone for coming,” he began.
“Even those of us who invited ourselves?” a werewolf asked, chuckling.
“Yes—even those who we may not like very much.” Lucas gave a pointed look at Kerbasi. “Melena and I have come a long way in the last few years, and while both of us once preferred to live solitary lives, we’ve come to appreciate how much stronger we are by having loyal friends and family to support us. We’ve survived impossible odds not by fighting them alone, but together. On this Thanksgiving Day, we are grateful most for that.”
Cori’s throat swelled. She hadn’t been there for all the trials Melena and Lucas had faced, but she’d seen quite a few. Would she and Bartol manage together that well with their own obstacles? Everything was still so uncertain between them that it was impossible to know, and she wasn’t even sure how she wanted it to turn out yet. The only thing she knew was that watching Lucas pull Melena into his side made her wish to be loved like that. They had the kind of relationship most people only dreamed about, and many didn’t believe could exist.
If only Bartol could have been here today.
He wouldn’t even be calling until tomorrow. Cori should have asked him to make an extra call for the holiday, but she hadn’t been sure if he even celebrated Thanksgiving. For that matter, she didn’t know how much time he’d spent in America before going to Purgatory. Maybe none of this even meant anything to him. It was hard to fathom how an immortal, eighteen-hundred-year-old man might feel about any holidays. He’d probably seen so many come and go in his lifetime, some traditions long gone now, that maybe it was easier not to get attached to them. Sometimes, Cori felt totally out of her depth with how to handle living in the supernatural world. Melena practically made it look effortless. Whether Lucas cared about Thanksgiving or not, at least he pretended he did for the woman he loved.
“Can we eat yet?” Kerbasi asked from somewhere in the living room.
Melena looked in his direction. “Only if you tell us what you’re grateful for today.”
The sensor never missed an opportunity to teach the guardian a lesson even though it wasn’t her responsibility anymore. Oddly, Kerbasi usually did what she wanted. Maybe he’d gotten into the habit of it, or maybe that was one of her conditions for allowing him to continue staying in the shack out back. It wasn’t much, but the guardian seemed to prefer it to finding a larger place where he’d be all alone.
“I’m thankful that Cori is a better cook than you,” Kerbasi replied with a distinct smugness in his voice.
Melena laughed. “So am I.”
“Anyone else?” Lucas asked, glancing between each room.
A chorus of voices sounded.
“I’m glad it’s not snowing today!”
“Cheers to good food and wine,” another added.
“Let’s be grateful there’s finally been peace in Fairbanks after a rough year!”
Eventually, the voices died down. Melena waited for complete silence before announcing, “Let’s eat!”
Everyone pulled in their seats and dug into the meal. Lucas, as usual, headed off to the kitchen where a separate plate waited for him in there. His wife talked and kept the guests in the dining room entertained. Over the din of conversation around Cori, she caught snippets of the others chatting in the living room, including the alpha werewolf, Derrick. He’d brought half a dozen pack members along, so he chose to eat with them rather than take a seat at the main table.
There was one guest who didn’t speak at all and ate quietly—Ariel. She’d come in at the last moment from her RV next to the house. The former archangel didn’t show her face often, but she’d promised Cori she wouldn’t miss this meal. She took each bite of her food slowly, as if unsure whether to enjoy it or not. During her long months in Hell, she hadn’t been given anything to consume. Angels didn’t have to eat, but Ariel had been turned into something else after her wings were stripped and she was cast into Satan’s domain. Her body required sustenance now if she wanted to be at full strength, similar to a nephilim’s dietary requirements. She’d once admitted the hunger she felt while there was almost worse than the torture, though she still found it rather unpleasant to have bodily functions like a human.
