The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [100]
"Fine," he snapped. "Just be ready to move out at midnight." He then turned to leave.
Tori didn't stop holding her breath until the door had slammed shut behind Drake.
CHAPTER 15
"This place is just as I remembered, beautiful," Tori said as she glanced at the vast land and the high, rough mountains surrounding her. Although this wasn't her first time to Warren Mountains, the view still left her utterly breathless. As far as her eyes could see the blue sky dipped rhythmically around mountains, plains, and valleys that seemed to have no end.
"Thanks," Drake said, pulling her one piece of luggage out of the car. "I want to get you settled then I'll put the security system in place."
Tori turned and looked at him. "You have a security system here?" she asked in surprise. That was one thing she didn't recall him having before.
"Yes. It became necessary when I discovered people were trespassing on my property. They were camping out and hunting down the animals that consider this home," he said, anger lacing his voice. "I set up security cameras in strategic locations to put a stop to it and to make sure violators are dealt with to the full extent of the law," he continued. "I have no control over what happens while I'm 8°ne, but whenever I'm here I make sure it's kept under control."
Tori nodded. Drake's love of nature hadn't changed. He would spend hours telling her about all the wild animals that roamed Warren Mountains and found refuge in the five thousand acres that he owned. He had also once told her that since he was the last of the Warrens, he would deed Warren Mountains to the Tennessee Wildlife Preservation Society to assure that his land remained in its natural state after his death.
She glanced around again, as she climbed the steps to the huge shady porch that wrapped around the ranch-style structure, a mixture of stone and wood that provided an overwhelming view of Warren Mountains in all directions. She remembered standing on the porch one night and seeing a deer and before dusk had claimed the evening, she had seen a fox, rabbits, and what looked like a huge wolf as well.
Drake had told her what she'd seen was not a full-blooded wolf, but a half-wolf he called Tender Two. The dog's mother had been a full-blood wolf and the father had been the Warren's family dog, Tender. After the pup's mother had been killed by a trespasser's bullet, Tender had roamed the mountains to claim his son and had returned with him to the ranch. However, Tender Two never fully appreciated the tight reins of domestic life and after Tender's death, he spent more time out in the wilds than he did in Drake's home. But Drake said they understood each other since they both were loners. Before she'd left, she and Tender Two had become good friends.
She looked up at Drake. "Tender Two? Is he still alive?"
Drake smiled, surprised she had remembered his dog. "Yes. The last few times I was home he stayed here, close by my side, as if he knew I needed the company. He might show up while you're here, but don't be shocked when you see him. Now he looks more like a wolf than a dog."
Tori nodded as she followed Drake into the house. The inside of his home was just as she remembered. As soon as she stepped through the doors she entered a huge foyer made of beautiful tile and whose wall was lined with portraits of deceased Warrens.
Once you stepped out of the foyer into the massive living room the rest of the house connected to halls that went in three directions, each containing bedrooms and baths. There were six bedrooms and four bathrooms in all. Instead of going upward the house had been built spread out to encompass the land. The large eat-in kitchen was on the left and connected to a spacious family room. The house was a huge, rambling single-story structure with a basement.
Drake had once told her that the house had been built to hold a lot of Warrens, but due to health reasons Drake's grandmother had had only one child, Drake's father, Deke. Deke Warren had given his