Chapter 1

Carrying the two wine glasses, Mike walked over to the couch where his partner, Susan, sat. Handing her a glass, he sat down beside her. "A toast," he said. "To a job well done."

Susan held up her glass and replied, "Here, here." As she tilted the glass back, Mike noticed her shoulder holster. Girls with guns were such a turn on for him.

David stared at the computer screen in horror at what he had just written. Girls with guns were a turn on? How cheesy was that?

David deleted the last line of his story, and paused. Then he paused some more. "Son of a," he growled in frustration. He had just written the entire book, and the ending just wasn't there. "All I need to do is have them have sex, have him change into a werewolf, and the story is done," he thought. "But how do I start that damn sex scene?"

David's latest book was about a serial killer that killed his victims during sex. The catch was that the killer was a werewolf. The werewolf was trying to reproduce, and when it failed to impregnate a woman, it would change and gorge on them instead. Mike and Susan were the detectives tracking him down. They eventually find, and kill, the werewolf. What Susan was about to find out was that there were in fact two werewolves; Mike was the second.

"Now if I can only get this last scene down," David thought to himself, as he slouched down in his chair and glanced around his office, looking for inspiration.

His oak desk was set up against the side wall. He had set it there so he could look out the window into his backyard. Looking out across his yard, and across the neighboring field, he could just make out the sun coming up over the mountains. The sky seemed afire, as the golden orb crested the mountain range. He woke early each morning just for that view.

After a few minutes of sightseeing, he turned around in his chair to survey the rest of the room. Two bookshelves spanned the length of another wall. Most of the books on those shelves were favorites of his and his daughters'. Then there were several research books. One shelf held books he had written. There were 22 at the moment.

Against the next wall was another desk. This one was metal, and looked like it belonged to a teacher in a classroom. The family's second computer, humming happily, sat atop it. That one was supposed to be shared by David's daughters, but more often then not, they used both computers. David didn't let that bother him though. He loved his girls to the point of distraction, and he could always write on his laptop.

Beside the second desk was a printer, scanner, and fax machine. David only used the printer, but his girls used the scanner and printer often. No one used the fax.

The final wall, where the door to the rest of the house was, held nothing of note, only a painting hanging from it. The painting displayed a charging elephant.

David returned his eyes to the screen. He made a few more attempts, and finally decided to take a break. As he pushed his chair back, his eyes fell upon a picture that sat on his desk. The picture showed a pretty woman of about twenty. She had long, raven black hair, and an impish smile. Her name was Lori.

David reached out, and took the picture. He stared into those beautiful brown eyes, and gave it a half smile. "I miss you, Love," he said quietly. Sighing, he set the picture back in its proper place. "Maybe that's my problem with this scene," he mused to himself. Lori had died while giving birth to David's daughter, Jessie. After that, he had thrown himself completely into raising Jessie and his writing. He hadn't dated anyone. "Guess it's hard to write about something you don't know anything about," he chuckled.

David left the room, and walked toward the kitchen. As he walked past the stairs he heard someone moving about upstairs. He knew that it was Jessie. Kat wouldn't be getting up until after Jess left.

As David walked into the kitchen, he considered making breakfast, but decided not to. Today neither Jess, nor Kat, would want any. David instead poured himself some coffee, grabbed a bagel, and headed to the living room.

Sitting down in his favorite chair, David took a bite from his bagel, and turned on the TV. Flipping through the channels, he finally settled on a soap opera. He had no idea which one it was, but then he didn't really care. All soaps were the same to David. He figured that the thinly stretched plot line would bore him enough to get his own creative juices flowing again.

Hearing someone descending the stairs, David looked over his shoulder, and saw Jess. She was wearing blue shorts, a blue top, and white sneakers. She worked part time at the marina, washing the boats docked there. Today was her last day.

"Good morning, Honey," He said to her as he settled back into his chair, and returned his attention to the television.

"Morning, Dad," she replied as she bent to give him a kiss on the cheek. Continuing the move, she then took a bite out of his bagel. She then headed into the kitchen. David didn't have to look to know that the rest of her breakfast would be a glass of orange juice.

"Kat getting up?" he asked, though he knew the answer already.

"Guess not," Jess replied as she walked back into the room carrying a glass. She had a disgusted look on her face. "I tried to get her up, but she just pulled the covers over her head. Then she shooed me! Can you believe that?"

"Oh? Well I guess she's tired, Hun," David replied, while hiding a grin with his bagel. "She was up late last night."

"So was I, and I got up. She can be so lazy sometimes."

David kept his voice neutral when he said, "Let her sleep, Jess. It's her first day as a graduate after all." David knew why Kat had stayed in bed, just as he knew that she would be up just as soon as Jess left.

"If she hadn't promised to drive me to work, I wouldn't mind so much. She was going to be my moral support."

David found that humorous. Jessica looked like a street thug, but was afraid of her own shadow. She had her mother's black hair, and wore it cut in a short, choppy manner. While nowhere near husky, most people who saw her thought, "Now there's a girl who can take care of herself." They were wrong, but that's what they thought. She couldn't throw a punch to save her life.

"Don't worry, you'll do just fine. When are you going to tell them?"

"About lunch time, I guess," Jess replied as she sat on the arm of her father's chair. Glancing at the television she said, "That must be some writer's block."

David chuckled at that. Jess knew him real well. "Just having a bit of trouble with the final chapter. I'll get it eventually."

"Well, tell me. What's got the great writer so flustered?"

David, who had just taken a sip of coffee, choked a little on that. The word flustered hit a little to close to home. "It's nothing, nothing at all. I should have it finished tonight."

Jess gave him a long look. "Don't give me that. What's the problem?"

"Don't you have to go to work?" David asked.

"Oh no, you don't. You aren't changing the subject that easy. What's the deal?"

Sighing, David told her about writing the whole story until the final chapter where there was to be a sex scene.

"So?" Jess shrugged, "Just write it and be done."

"I will just as soon as I find the words."

"It's sex, Dad. Not the bill of rights. Just write anything," Jess replied. She didn't seem the least bit embarrassed by the topic.

David was just a tad bit embarrassed by the topic. "Look, I never wrote a sex scene before. What I tried to write sounded pretty lame."

Jess gave her father a long look, and then narrowed her eyes as a thought came to her. "Just how long has it been since you've had sex, Dad?"

"That's none of your business, young lady," David said.

"Oh, the hell with that. Answer me."

David considered arguing, but gave in. Jess usually got what she wanted in the end anyway. "A few months before you were born, okay."

"What?" Jess exclaimed. She was so startled by that answer that she about fell off the chair arm. As she stood up, she asked, "What the hell have you been doing all this time?"

"Jess, come on. Between you and my writing, I haven't even thought about it."

"Dad, that's bull. Why haven't you been dating? You know mom wouldn't want you to be alone."

David laughed. "It's not like I've got ladies lining up."

"Are you blind?" Jessie asked her father, "I can name a dozen women right now who would jump for the chance to be with you." Jess then got a sly gleam in her eyes. "Even our very own Kat has a crush on you."

That comment about floored David. While Katrina wasn't his real daughter, he had basically adopted her years ago. David had been a family friend to Katrina's parents, and her godfather. Her father, who was a cop, had gotten shot and killed in the line of duty. Her mother had retreated into herself soon after, and had to be put into a home to be looked after. Kat, having no other relatives, had lived with them ever since.

"That's not funny, Jess," David scolded her.

Jess just shrugged. "I'm not the one with the crush on you, Daddy." Then with a smile she added, "But don't get any ideas about her. She's still your daughter." Then with a laugh, she headed to the door, leaving David sputtering.

Still chuckling, Jess stopped by the table that was placed by the front door for mail and keys. She reached for her father's set of keys, and then paused. With an evil grin on her face, she grabbed the set with the pink miniature flip-flop hanging from it.

She glanced up to the ceiling to where Kat was still in bed, and said aloud, "If you're going to sleep all day, then you won't need you car Kitty-cat."

She ran her hand up the back of her head, fluffed her hair, and then shook her head, causing her short hair to fly about. With a grin, she was out the door.

Walking to the driveway, she avoided the walkway in favor of walking through the still damp grass. She inhaled the wet morning fragrance. "God, I love this time of day."

She walked past her father's red Jeep Wrangler, and climbed into Kat's black Mustang GT. Quickly she adjusted the mirrors, and started the car up. "It's all inside of me, it's all inside of my head," blared from the speakers.

Jess leaned her head back for a second, allowing the sound of the radio to flow over her. She could feel the power of the car, as if it wanted to drive itself. She loved this feeling.

Finally, Jess backed out of the drive, and went to work.

Katrina was out of bed and at the window in an instant. She recognized the sound of her car's engine. "That little tramp," she said aloud, as she watched her car working its way down the long driveway. As the car disappeared behind the trees that engulfed their front yard, she smiled at the irony of this. Jess had just driven off in her car, and Kat would soon return the favor.

A knock at her door pulled her away from the window. "She's gone, Kat. Get dressed, and let's go. Tom said that everything is ready," said David through the door.

"And a good morning to you too, Professor. Don't worry, Dad. Tom would wait till midnight for us," Kat laughed. "I'll be down in a minute. Just need to get dressed."

"Okay, but please hurry. I want to get this done before Jess gets back," came the muffled reply. "I'll be downstairs. Oh, and good morning."

Kat laughed at her father. He could be the coolest man in the world, but sometimes when he had a lot on his mind, he could be so out there. He reminded her of that absent-minded professor. Both Kat and Jess called him Professor to tease him, but they both loved him for it as well. That characteristic made him seem way younger then his forty-six years.

Kat smiled as she thought, "I get to spend the whole morning with him." Since her father had died, David has filled the male role of her life. At first her feeling toward him had been gratitude. That had developed into affection, then into love. She also developed a bit of a crush on him. She often found herself comparing others to David, and finding them lacking.

She opened the door of her closet, exposing the door length mirror on the inside. She quickly stripped off the gray sweat shorts, and thin top she wore to bed. She picked up the red underwear from the chair where she had arranged the clothes she was going to wear today.

After she was fully dressed, she studied herself in the mirror. Her strawberry blond hair hung just below her shoulders. The black blouse, with a red heart in the middle, hung from her shoulders by thin straps, leaving her arms bare. The shirt reached the top of her skirt. The skirt was black with red trim, and reached just above her knees. On her feet were white pumps.

As she stared into the blue eyes of her reflection, she knew the outfit needed something. Then she snapped her fingers. Quickly she went to the door that separated her room from Jessie's. No one knew why that door was there, but the girls have always left it open. After a small search on Jessie's dresser, she found it, a black lace choker with a cross. After placing that around her neck she was ready.

She gave her image another quick look, and frowned at her chest. She hated her breasts. They were too small for her taste. She then wondered if David ever noticed them.

Shaking her head clear of such thoughts, she went downstairs. As she neared the bottom of the staircase, David came into view. Standing at 6'2, David seemed to tower over Kat's 5'8. Despite his age, David still had dark brown hair with only a few gray hairs. He had green eyes with flecks of gold.

Today he was wearing blue jeans with a black belt, and a green t-shirt tucked into them. The shirt was stretched taut across his thick chest and broad shoulders. David had discovered that he thought better when his body was busy doing repetitious tasks. He had installed a workout gym in the basement so that, while his body lifted weights, his mind worked on his current story. The result was an impressive body.

His mouth was turned down in the frown he wore when he was doing some serious thinking, but that changed into a broad grin when he saw her. "Ready, baby girl?" he asked her.

"Let's do this," was her reply.

David worked the gears of the Jeep as they made their way through downtown Summerdale. David kept finding his eyes drifting to the passenger. Kat was sitting with one leg under her, and staring out the passenger side window. "Did this girl really have a crush on me, or was Jess just pulling my leg?" David thought to himself.

"Hey, you're about to miss the exit," Kat yelled.

David quickly looked forward, and realized she was right. Quickly he hit the brakes, and made a sharp left. As the Jeep skidded onto the side road, David threw his arm across Kat to hold her in place. The move is an instinctive move that all parents possessed. He never even realized that he had cupped her breast in doing so.

As he got the Jeep back under control, and both hands back on the wheel, he apologized, "Sorry about that. I guess my mind's still on my story."

With a laugh, Kat teased, "Oh yeah? I figured the problem was due to old age."

With mock outrage, David reached over and gave Kat a playful punch to her shoulder. "I may be old, but I can still whoop your skinny ass," he shot back.

"Anytime you're feeling froggie, just jump, Pal," she challenged. They both shared a laugh at that. Kat had years of martial arts training from her father before his death. David and Kat have had matches before. She's won most of them.

"So then, what's the problem that almost got us killed?" she inquired.

Not wanting to have a repeat with Kat, of what had happened that morning with Jess, David looked for a way to change the subject. He was saved by reaching their designation. "Isn't that the lot?" he asked.

Kat forgot her earlier question, and focused on the car lot. Jessica's eighteenth birthday was tomorrow, and they were here for her gift. As David pulled into the lot, Kat scanned the cars, looking for a red one. "There it is, Dad," she smiled.

David looked to where Kat was pointing. A small two-seater, cherry red, Mazda convertible sat there. David pulled into the space next to the car, and Kat was out the door almost before he had stopped.

As Kat checked the car out, David went to meet with Tom. The salesman, who had seen them, was a short, chubby, bald man. "Ah, David, nice to see you again," Tom said as he held out his hand.

David shook Tom's hand, and replied, "Same here, Tom. The car looks great. Thanks for helping us out."

"No problem at all. She's a beauty all right. Leather seats, chrome rims,..."

Tom went on explaining what the car had in it, but David just let his mind wander. He didn't really care how good the car was. The final say would come from Kat. She knew what Jess liked better than anyone. David felt himself wince as loud rock came blaring from the speakers.