"My sister is coming over for dinner to tonight." Beth heard Jacob say over the sound of the running faucet. 

"I have to run to the store anyways, I'll pick up her favorite," she said as she gargled mouthwash. 

"Spaghetti?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Does she have another favorite?" She replied sarcastically.  Denise lived back in Hellmaw, Massachusetts.  The same city they had fled for rural life.  The crime rate was through the roof and not subsiding anytime soon.  Denise loved the city life though.  She reveled in the busy lifestyle and made a living as a fitness guru on youtube while owning a large gym in the city center.  She shared Jacob's golden cinnamon colored skin and vibrant emerald eyes.  Where his hair was short cropped and curly, she had silky long ebony waves that she paid good money to have relaxed on a regular basis.

Beth finished giving herself a quick french braid down her back and slipped on her romeos that Jacob had bought her the first day they had spent on the farm.  They had been embroidered with pink and purple hearts intertwined on the toe.  They complimented her pink diamond studs in her ears perfectly.  The only two pops of color in her otherwise dull attire.  A pair of light washed jeans and a black t-shirt that shown beneath a heavy jean jacket seemed to mirror the gray skies and drab weather. 

"Beautiful as always." She turned to see Jacob hovering in the bathroom doorway with a smirk resting on his handsome face.

Beth smiled at him.  "Whatever," she purred, brushing by him and grabbing her purse off the bed.  She could feel his hands snake around her waist as he pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. 

"I mean it," he muttered into her skin.  He trailed a few more kisses down the side of her neck.  She smiled, knowing where he was going with it and pressed back against him.  "I can't even imagine what people think when they see you walk into a room with me." He slid one hand down the front of her jeans, pressing deliciously against her core.

She moaned softly at the indirect contact.  "I'll tell you exactly what they're thinking." She spun around to face him with a hand on his chest to put some distance between them.  "What is that six, who thinks he's a nine, doing with that ten?" She burst into laughter as Jacob frowned playfully.

"I'm a six?" He checked with pursed lips and flexed once into the mirror on their wall.  "I'll remember that," he quipped and took a step back.

"You'll always be a ten to me." She smiled and gave him a peck on the lips.  "I need to hurry though if I'm going to have time to get wine drunk and make a big dinner." 

Jacob chuckled and plopped himself down on the bed.  He looked out the window and sighed.  "It's miserable now, but it's supposed to burn off today and we'll actually get some sunshine," he commented as he gazed at the clouds.  "Supposedly," he added.

"Good. You can build us a fire outside and we can eat on the porch.  That'll be nice," she mused more to herself and swiped some chapstick on her lips.  "I'll be back in a few is there anything you need me to pick up for you?"

Jacob shook his head.  "No, I'm good.  Just get extra wine, you know how my sister is."

"Isn't she driving after?" Beth raised a thin dark brow.

"Has that ever stopped her before?" Jacob answered gruffly.  Denise was notorious for drinking and driving.  It was an absolute mystery to them all how she'd never been caught.

Beth laughed airily and shook her head.  She grabbed the keys by the door and slipped out into the late morning breeze.  "Cerberus!" She called and the lab came bounding over the back field, tongue wagging as he raced to his girl.  Beth smiled widely as he came up the porch.  "You want to go for a ride?" The dog barked and jumped happily.  "Let's go Cer!" She scratched him behind the ears and before she had even stepped off the porch he was already waiting patiently beside the passenger door.

Beth opened the door to her little black pickup truck and let the labrador hop in and settle onto the fur covered seat that he had marked for himself.  Jacob never rode in her truck anymore.  If they went somewhere together, he drove them in his lifted white Chevy long bed.  Cerberus had unknowingly prevented Jacob from ever riding in the little two seater, but Beth didn't mind.  It gave the two of them their own thing and she loved her dog more than anything else in the world.  She had trained him since he was a puppy.  He had been born in a mill and rescued at just three weeks old.  She'd had to feed him from a bottle and comfort him during storms, and it had created a strong bond between the two. 

As she drove down the bumpy dirt driveway, she glanced over at her companion.  His long pink tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth while he stuck his head out of the opened window.  "Good boy," she cooed and patted his head.  Cerberus panted in gratification under her touch and lowered himself to lay across the seat with his head in her lap.  He stayed there until she arrived at the store.

"Hold it down," she told him and he assumed the position, sitting up and facing forward to protect the truck from strangers.  She slid out of the vehicle and slung her brown leather purse over her shoulder.

Barlow & Sons was the only local grocery store for miles. Jim Barlow owned the store with his two boys and always kept the essentials fully stocked.  The next closest one was a hole in the wall grocer that had changed names at least three times and always carried the most random things, yet somehow never what you needed. 

The electronic bell announced her entrance and Dawson Barlow gave her a wave from his register.  "Morning!" She greeted him.

"You're about an hour late to say that don't you think?" He teased and looked up at the wall clock that had just hit noon.

"Oh shut up," she snapped back with a smirk.  She grabbed a cart and headed over to the produce section beside him.  "Denise is coming over tonight and I need to make a bomb spaghetti dinner."

"Denise?" Dawson raised his brows suggestively.  Denise had quite the reputation whenever she'd pop in for visits.  Dawson had slept with her twice, as far as Beth knew, and his brother at least three times that amount.  She was a free spirit, to put it mildly.

"Don't start." Beth grabbed some fresh oregano and basil.

Dawson shrugged nonchalantly.  "Where's she staying?"

"Nowhere.  Its just dinner, so hands off," she ordered sternly.

Dawson put his hands up in mock defense.  "Okay okay, I can take a hint," he laughed lightly.  "You'll probably want to stock up on the alcohol then, huh?" He jested and earned the finger from Beth.

She finished up grabbing some onions and garlic and headed straight for the liquor section.  The wine practically gleamed in the afternoon light, beckoning her closer.  She grabbed her favorite dry red and searched for something that Denise would enjoy.  Something on the sweeter side with less of a bite.  She settled for a bottle of peach riesling and turned to put it in her cart.  She gasped when she collided into something solid and the bottle dropped from her hands. 

"Shit!" She hissed, but a large hand shot out and nimbly snatched up the wine.  She looked up to see Scott smiling down at her.   She could see him clearly now in the daylight.  His hair, that she had mistaken for brown at night, was a straw blond with a subtle, yet full beard.  It stretched across the entirety of his jaw and bottom half of his cheeks all the way across his upper lip, though it was short and appeared to be just a few days growout.  His chin had a slight indentation, giving him a classically handsome face.  A pair of bright blue eyes were staring down at her from his impossible height.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized as he set the bottle in her cart.

Beth shook her head, dismissing the matter.  "Its okay, I should look up when I'm walking," she giggled anxiously.  "How was hunting this morning?" She tried to reach for a topic to keep from enduring an awkward silence.

Scott quirked a brow at her question.  "Do you really want to know?" He checked, knowing her opinion.

Beth let a genuine smile cross her delicate features.  "No, not really," she admitted.

Scott looked into the cart, surveying the collection of vegetables and wine.  "Making something fancy tonight?" He queried.

"Sort of.  Spaghetti and garlic bread.  Jacob's sister is coming over for dinner tonight and its her favorite." She eyed the bottle of whiskey in his hands and grinned.  "I see you took my advice."

Scott held up the bottle and nodded.  "I think its important to heed the locals, especially when it comes to whiskey," he drawled out with a wink.

Beth found herself genuinely laughing at his words.  "Well I'm always glad to help." She shuffled around him to grab her cart.  He stepped aside to give her space while she wheeled it out of the center of the aisle.  "I better get moving, I only have a little while before Denise shows up." She tried to leave gracefully.

Scott scratched the back of his head.  "You got quite a bit of stuff," he commented with a slight nod of his head towards her cart.  "Why don't you let me help you out to your truck." It was more of an order than a request.

"Oh, you don't have to do-" she fumbled, but Scott cut her off with a sharp whistle over her head.  Billy was grabbing a few boxes off a shelf behind her and snapped his head in their direction.  He ambled over to them with a shy grin on his baby face.  Large, soulful, green eyes stared out from two deep set sockets.  High, pronounced cheekbones gave him a mature look despite his childlike features. 

"Afternoon," he greeted quietly.  He was dressed in a white long sleeve shirt and a pair of dirt stained jeans.  His towering height matched his older brother's and made her feel miniscule beside them.

"How are you, Billy?" She asked politely.

"I'm good, thank you," he responded in a hushed voice.  His shoulders held a certain hunch to them, not grotesque, but enough to show that his height was weighing on him.

"Billy," Scott regained his attention, "I'm going to help Beth out, take this with you up there." He passed him the bottle of whiskey to purchase.

"No problem," he mumbled and stuffed the whiskey into his basket.  He gave Scott a look that she couldn't decipher before slowly turning away and wandering down another aisle.

Scott took the opportunity to steer her cart away without another word and headed for the checkout stand towards a skeptical looking Dawson.  "Find everything okay?" He asked suspiciously.

Though his eyes were glued to Scott, Beth leapt in with an answer.  "Yep," she replied with a sort of forced chipper attitude.  Dawson's eyes flitted back to her briefly, ultimately settling back on the tall, blond stranger she was with.

Dawson rang them up silently, keeping the majority of his attention on Scott.  "That'll be sixty-three dollars and twelve cents." He said monotonously, eyes narrowed. 

Beth swiped Jacob's debit card and snatched up the receipt before anymore stare downs could occur.  The cart hardly touched the ground as she wheeled it out the automatic doors.

Cerberus was wagging his shiny black tail in the passenger seat when she approached with Scott on her heels.  "Who's this fella?" He cooed to the dog.

"Cerberus.  My baby." She smiled and gave him a scratch behind the ears while he leaned his head out the window.

"Cerberus huh?" He let the dog sniff his hand before petting him.

Beth shrugged and nodded.  "I'm a bit of a mythology freak.  It was my favorite subject in college.  Cerberus was-"

"The three headed dog that guarded the Underworld." Beth's brows shot up, impressed.  "I watched Hercules as a kid." Scott smirked, much to her surprise.

"Very good," she praised. 

Scott grabbed the bags out of the cart and began to load them into the bed.  "What did you go to college for?" He asked.

"College?" Billy came walking out with a single bag under his arm, the bottle of whiskey poking up noticeably.  "Don't act like you know anything about school."  It was the first time Beth had heard him speak without sounding as though he was being scolded.

Beth laughed as Scott shot him a dirty look.  "Actually I studied nutrition and health.  I just had time, and some of my dad's money, to explore other interests," she stated proudly.

"Like a doctor?" Scott inquired.

"Doctors don't study nutrition," Billy piped up.  His big green eyes gazed out at her and she couldn't figure out what he was thinking behind them.

"Shut up, like you know," Scott snapped and set the last bag down.

"No, he's right.  Doctors who study medicine very rarely learn anything about nutrition, though they're trying to pass a law that makes them take a course on it every few years.  Doctors mainly study the human body. How it works, how to recognize what's wrong when it isn't working, how to diagnose, and what drugs to pump you full of to make you feel better. I studied how to keep yourself healthy in the first place," Beth remarked with confidence.  Billy smiled smugly at his brother.

"Impressive.  And according to all your research and studies you pegged veganism as your diet of choice?"  There was no sarcasm.  She could tell he was genuinely curious.

Beth leaned over Cerberus and started the truck.  "Its more of a lifestyle than a diet, don't you think?  But yes.  With everything I've learned and researched on my own, I've no doubt that plant based is the healthiest diet one could follow."  Scott seemed to mull over what she said.  She glanced back at the grocery bags in the bed and let out a sigh as an idea popped into her head.  "You three should come to dinner tonight." Both men looked taken aback.  "If you aren't busy hunting, that is."

"Can't hunt past sundown," Billy rasped.

Beth held her hands up and grinned.  "I really wouldn't know, would I?" Billy returned her smile.  "If you want a nice home cooked meal and some wine, come on by.  It'll just be Jacob, myself, and his sister.  We really don't mind the company and I'm notorious for making too much food," she offered sincerely. 

Scott clapped Billy on the back.  "Well, that sounds mighty nice of you.  Count us in.  Do you need us to bring anything?"

"No, nope everything is covered.  Just bring yourselves and an empty stomach.  Say around six?" She tucked some dark strands behind her ear as the breeze threatened to loosen her braid.

Billy gave her a half smile.  "Thank you," he muttered.

"Of course.  I'll see you boys there then." She hopped in and gave them one last wave before pulling out and heading home to fix a dinner for six.