Blood Ties

22. Fight

No, alcohol didn’t make a vampire tipsy, but it did relax one who was trying to come to terms with his most recent conversation with his future mate. Adam had known it was something they’d needed to discuss, but he was confused about how to feel after the fact. He supposed it was better than her saying no outright, of course, but he was still impatient and greedy when it came to Quinn.

Quinn, whose bright red hair and dark green eyes had him enraptured like a school boy’s first crush, though the feelings rooted so much deep that he felt they were already ingrained in him and were part of his soul.

He closed his eyes and thought back a couple hours.

“I have to step out for a few. Something for work, okay?” Adam didn’t want Quinn thinking he was trying to get away from her, and he needed the space to make sense of what he knew was best for her. With her scent and presence clouding his judgement, it was a necessity.

“Everything okay?” She looked concernedly up at him, a wrinkle knotting her brow.

“Everything’s fine,” he reassured her. “I just need to go into the office for a bit, and then I might go out for a drink after that.” He paused. “I’d take you with me, but it’s dull paperwork and I’m sure any conversation we had at the pub or office would go over your head. All numbers and grotesquely flagrant elbow-rubbing.” He chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.

He needed out of the house.

Now, he was certain that his parents were gone, though Charlie was staying at his house until the end of the week. She could only do so much of her work from afar, and she was pressing it as it was. She’d be taking the private jet back to New York on Friday.

And he hadn’t lied, because he did need to make a pitstop at the office to grab a few files and fresh scripts, but his main goal was to gather some distance and think through things with an open mind. Adam knew he hadn’t done that as of late, though he was getting better.

Now he was sitting in a tavern downtown, one that had pricey drinks and a more affluent clientele where the term “happy hour” didn’t exist. He was sipping on some Macallan, a 15-year aged scotch that went down as smooth as blood. This was his second glass, ad he was finally feeling a little of the calm he’d been seeking.

His eyes closed after he took another sip. It was even better than the last, so he knew it was working. After another couple of moments just centering himself, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to find he’d received a text message.

Dad: You still out? Your mother texted Quinn while she was on the phone with her parents. She said you went into the office. Everything okay?

Adam almost laughed. Though his father had handed over the reins to him, he still felt like Payne Media Management was his baby, and probably always would be, even when the company eventually changed names, was sold or merged with another business. Eli seemed to find more enjoyment in the stock market now, courtesy of his daughter, and liked dabbling in real estate, but he would always remember the business that started it all way back when.

He started texting his father back. He’d tell the truth to him, because he knew the man would understand.

Adam: I’m good, honestly. Just needed to pick up some paperwork from PMM and then grab a drink. After my talk with Quinn, I needed a little space, though I hate pushing her away like this. Her presence clouds my mind.

Dad: That’s the mate pull, yes. It will only get worse with time. Quinn says that she’s going to be completing her studies first before sealing the bond. How do you feel about that?

Adam: I figured she would, but even if I had said as much, I’m definitely wanting to become one with her sooner. It’s why I’m drinking. My soul wants to envelop her entirely, but I know what she wants is more logical. She will always be there, and the pull toward me will only increase with time.

Dad: Patience is a b***h, Adam. I was eager and willing to find my mate for centuries, never thinking it would take me as long as it did. I’m sure there are other vampires who have expired before me from losing theirs, whether to rejection or death, but as there are only old wives’ tales of it told down the generations, I can only assume those men and women have expired due to heartbreak and no one talks about it. Too real and heartbreaking. The only reason I didn’t die, was because mine was yet to come. I have faith it will happen for you, even if the timing isn’t what you would prefer.

Adam: I know, and I take heart in that, even if my mind rails to press her for an answer now. I will be patient, even if it bloody-well almost kills me.

Dad: It won’t. With the exception of a very, very few, I don’t think it could happen. We are resilient, yet still beholden to our mates. Most of us learn patience quickly, because the other option is too dismal to entertain.

Adam: I believe you. I just wish I had the patience you did.

Dad: Oh, I was never patient. I just held it in check after I realized I wasn’t getting a mate. I kept thinking that next year would be the one where I found your mother, so after a while I was simply resigned with my fate. I could still f**k like no other and get any woman I wanted, even if that wasn’t enough for me. I believe the only reason I lasted as long as I did was because I still had faith. You should too.

Adam: Thank you for that. I’ll do you proud.

Dad: I know, son. Now, drink up and get back to Quinn. Reading between the lines with your mother, I think she was a bit concerned about you.

Adam: I’ll text her now, and again when I’m on my way.

Adam did just that, receiving an immediate response that made him smile. Everything good at the office? It showed her concern, though it wasn’t at all needed. He had to remind himself constantly that she was still human and wasn’t used to a practically invincible man who put her needs first, but that would change in time, he was certain of it.

“Do you mind if I sit here? All the other seats are taken.”

Adam looked up at a man who looked familiar, though with a slightly careworn face. You could tell the man used to be good-looking, and it was one that might have seen the silver screen a lot back twenty years ago, but Adam knew that wasn’t the case. In his business, you knew who was who. Maybe not bit actors, but the big names were second nature to him. Plus, he kept on the up-and-up with new faces.

“Of course. Please, take a seat.” He scooted over a little and took another bracing sip of his drink. “My apologies if I was kind of taking up a bit more space than I needed. I was a bit lost in thought.”

The man sat down, draping his jacket over his left arm and nodding to the bartender. He acted like this was a regular haunt for him. “Macallan 12,” he muttered when Pax, the bartender, asked him what he would like.

That was the thing about Dardanelles Club—it had plenty of staff to make your choice of drink quickly because no one that frequented the establishment was used to waiting—on anything.

“It’s good to think and drink, I say,” the man spoke. He had a pleasantly warm but gravelly voice. His light eyes even lit up as he talked. “It shifts the top layers of s**t away and bares the meat you want to get to. Also makes a man brutally honest, with himself and others. And it certainly allows one to think outside the box when they are working over a problem.”

Adam had to agree, though he didn’t drink liquor often. “Undoubtedly.” He thought for a moment before posing a question. “I’m Adam. What’s your name, good sir?”

The man seemed to think it over before speaking. “Well, I go by my last name these days, which is what I prefer. You can call me Coop, or Cooper. I’ll respond to both, and have for the past 25 years.” He nodded as if satisfied with that answer.

“You live around here, Coop?”

“I do. Wasn’t born here, but back east in a small town in Pennsylvania. Beautiful there. I grew up along the Delaware Water Gap. Gorgeous in the Fall. After I retired, I moved back there for a bit, but it was too quiet. I was used to being in the hustle and bustle of the city, so I sold my place and moved back to the West Coast. Don’t regret it. People’s circumstances change, and so we change along with it, ya know?” Pax placed the man’s drink in front of him, and Coop pressed a large bill into his hand, waving off the offer for change. “Keep it.”

“A lot of logic in that, for sure,” Adam agreed. Something about the man was bothering him, and he wondered what it was. His voice, though older and weathered, was familiar. He changed topic and pointed to his drink, which was nearly empty. “Scotch relaxes me, and that’s what I need right at this moment. I desire time to reflect, to slough off the layers and dig down deep and get honest as hell with myself.””

The man looked over at him. “Got things on your mind? Women troubles? Even for Tinseltown, you’re a handsome kid. What’s got ya blue?”

“Not really women troubles,” Adam spoke slowly. “I have a…I guess you could say she’s my girlfriend, but she’s been taking to our new circumstances slower than I’d like. I’m there, ready to be her everything, and she’s taking baby steps.” He shook his head. “I get it, because she’s fresh out of past relationship, but I still want what I want. I’m greedy for it, and I have very little patience.”

“Yup. You must’ve grown up out here, son. It’s like the disease of impatience. America hasn’t changed much since Burger King and McDonald’s made ‘fast’ desirable. Everyone wants everything now now now, and no one wants to see things through in the long run. This is why liquor is available and well-used. It might alter your mind, but that’s not always a bad thing. If you can see situations from the outside as an objective spectator, you can become more in-tune with what needs to be done, and how to do it. Cheers.” He lifted his glass to Adam, who raised his as well and clinked. They both took a sip, Adam finishing just as Lori, another server, came by and scooped it up, replacing it with another drink.

“Thank you,” he murmured. He went to grab a bill from his wallet, but Coop already had it, handing over a crisp bill and telling Lori to keep the change once again. Adam almost rebuffed him, but the man slanted a look at him. “Don’t insult me by trying to pay me back, young man. I’m old and have enough money to buy this place and a damn sight more too. I can’t take it with me, and I’m not getting any younger, so take the drink and say thank ya.”

Adam mulled that over before nodded and taking a sip. “Thanks, Coop. You’re a good man. Trying to keep my head steady. Third drink should do it.”

“Give your lady some time, Adam. If all she wants is a little space, you give it to her. If you just started seeing her and she’s just coming out of a bad relationship or something, give her the time to become acquainted with you long enough to trust again. I don’t know what her past situation is, and I ain’t about to ask, but I know women. Been married four times, and each one got easier. Last lovely lady was my soulmate, I think. Took her damn long enough to find me, at least. Buried her a couple years back. Cancer. Too sweet and fragile for this world, but for the twenty years we were together, she was my everything. Never had kids with her, but then she was old enough then when we married that she was going through menopause. Still the loveliest woman you could ever meet. After three failed marriages, I took my time wooing her, and I never regretted one single minute unless we were fighting. Then those fights were mostly trivial, ‘cause we knew each other too well.”

He nodded his head again, almost reminiscently.

“Yup. You pick your battles. If it’s big enough to break up over, then you just move right along. If it’s not, you fight with every fiber of your being to make it work. No doubt.”

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