"Why, are you seeing someone else that I don't know about?"
She could tell he was teasing, like he didn't think it was so.. but the kiss with Norris was really bugging her now. So she said, "No, not seeing someone. Not exactly. But, someone from my past showed up last night. He came without going through the right channels and Abbot sent him back home, but he'll be back in a few months, once he smooths everything over. He was there when I got home from your boat last night and we mostly talked until dawn. He kissed me before we said goodbye, but it's not like we had sex or anything. And I wouldn't have kissed him if you hadn't been so clear about us not being exclusive, but... I guess I just need to know a little bit more about where you and I stand."
"If Abbot hadn't sent him away, what would have happened between the two of you?"
"I don't know, Eric. Norris and I haven't seen each other in over a thousand years. We were about to get married when he was.. when I thought he was killed. He said it took him hundreds of years to heal before he awakened, and then he wandered around Europe before coming to the U.S. He's been in New York a few months and finally heard news of me. I'm not using the same name now that I used back then, so he had to find someone who knew me then and now, it's not so easy to do sometimes. But, in that thousand years I've changed a great deal, and I'm sure he has, too. We likely have nothing in common anymore. Anyway, it will probably be at least two or three months before he will be able to come back. So it's a mute point right now, I guess."
"I can't stand the thoughts of you with someone else Kendra. I don't want to lose you. We're close to the marina now, let's talk about it tomorrow night when we can talk about it properly, okay?"
"Okay."
When they got out of the vehicles the three of them walked to the yacht together. Ranger was looking at Kendra like she was a circus freak and it was starting to tick her off just a bit. She waited until they got into the yacht and said, "Ranger, whatever you are thinking, just say it and get it out in the open so we can talk it through."
"I don't think I can with Eric here. I guess I know stuff he doesn't know and he knows stuff I don't know, and the only thing the two of us can talk about is that there are things out there that aren't human and you apparently are one of them."
"Yes. Would you like to talk to me without Eric around for a minute so you can ask me something?"
"Yeah, but I doubt you'll tell me more than Aaron would, sounds like you aren't the head honcho, and whoever is has forbidden you from telling me what you are."
"Right. When you move back here permanently I'm about ninety-nine percent sure we'll be able to tell you what I am within a few weeks of you moving here. Hopefully in the interim I'll figure out a way to get the information you have to Eric so he'll know what you know. Until then, I've advised Eric it is probably best if the two of you just don't talk about it. The penalty for telling a secret that isn't yours to tell can be death. This is pretty serious, Ranger."
"How strong are you?"
"I don't know exactly. I know I can bench press twelve hundred pounds without straining, but I've never had an opportunity to try for more than that to get an official weight."
"How old are you?"
"Sorry, you got one question and I've answered it, we aren't going to play twenty questions until you figure it out. I give you my word that I will do my best to get the information to you as soon as possible once you move here for good. Okay?"
"Why are you with my nephew?"
"Because I like him. He's so full of life. He grabs life by the ears and rides it with all of his being." She shrugged, not sure what else to say, but finally coming up with, "He's special."
Ranger turned to Eric, "How long did you know her before she told you what she is? That she isn't... human?"
"About twenty-four hours, give or take a few hours."
"So, she didn't rope you in as a human and then tell you what she was?"
Kendra wanted to answer that one. "No Ranger, I was honest with him as soon as I could be. I'd have told him six hours after we met if I could have, but I needed to get permission first."
"One more question Kendra, and I want you to be honest with me. Will having you in his life put Eric's life in danger?"
"That's a tough one to answer. I may not be the head honcho, as you put it earlier, but I'm pretty close to the top of the ladder. Eric is under my protection, which means a lot more than it probably sounds to you. It's almost a legal thing in our world. If anyone were to mess with him it would be the same as messing with me. To simplify things, it means if anyone hurts Eric I can legally kill them. Not legally in the human world, of course, but in our world I would not get in trouble for bringing about someone's death if that someone hurt Eric while he was under my protection. And I've acted in the past in ways so that everyone in our world knows I'm capable of doing it. And, they also know there are things worse than death, and that I'm capable of those things as well. Our world is different from the human world, but I have a feeling you would understand it, Ranger. In our world you survive by having respect. Those in my world know that if they are my friend that I would do just about anything for them. And they know that if they make an enemy of me I am capable of doing just about anything to them. The current head honcho is a great leader and he's managed to cull this territory of most of the bad apples, so there hasn't really been any major trouble in decades. But in past centuries I've lived through a lot of trouble and made a bit of a name for myself. So, the answer is that Eric is probably safer from the supernaturals by being in my life than he was before he was in my life. But, if someone who was weak wanted to make a point then it is always possible they might attack the humans in our lives because they were too chicken to attack us directly. If that happened, then yes, being special to me could put him in danger. But I don't foresee that happening."