Chapter Thirty Seven
Natala opened the door a crack to stare at the two girls.
"Natala? Hey, open up," Aralyn said cheerfully.
"Come on in," she said shyly.
Natala again noticed the way their auras blended and hummed together. These two were closer than sisters, they were best friends, and had grown up together. They could have been twins, had they not had different parents. Oh Mama, why'd you lie all those years? I missed out on everything!
"You ready?” Tiffany asked eagerly.
"Ready for what?" Natala asked suspiciously. was there some sort of family hazing?
Aralyn wrinkled her nose. “Shopping is not my forte,” she told Natala. “I just let Tiffany pick out my clothes.”
"Shopping?" Natala echoed.
"We leave next week again, but Mom is tied up with Sean and Honey, Di and Daisy are swamped at the company. So we have been armed with a credit card, and deemed dangerous, as we are hereby under orders to buy you a new wardrobe," Aralyn announced.
Natala shook her head. "But—my presents really are enough! I got plenty of clothes!"
"No buts. Mom talked to Brian last night and he okayed it."
"The DNA test isn't back. I mean—" Natala flushed red. “This may be all be a big waste on your part.”
"Look, as far we're concerned, we're family. And in the Belden-Duke Clan, we take care of each other,” Aralyn said firmly.
"The what? I thought you two were Dukes. But you mentioned that the other day- the Belden Duke Clan? What is that?"
"Go dress, we'll explain in the car," Tiffany laughed.
Ten minutes later they trudged outside and piled into the girl’s SUV.
"I tried to get the General, but Dad said no," Aralyn grinned.
"The General?" Natala asked.
"Dad used to race in NASCAR, back in the day. Before that, he and Luke, Tiff’s father, had a racing car they named the General Lee. He still has it but I think the only original part left in it is the steering wheel," Aralyn laughed as she backed out of the driveway. “I only get to drive the General on occasion. And no way in the middle of winter.”
Tiffany began to explain in more detail the Duke-Belden Clan to Natala. Natala had studied the family tree but not being able to read made it very difficult. All she knew was that each branch seemed to have multiple children, except for two. Brian and the other uncle, in the jungles of Peru. Bob, she thought.
"Wow," Natala, sat back against her seat, "It’s a really big family."
"It keeps growing too," Aralyn dryly. "If anyone ever says ‘we have big news’ at the dinner table, someone’s pregnant.”
Natala laughed. She liked her cousins. And she wished desperately she had been able to grow up with them instead of panhandling in the streets for her dinner and using her body for currency. Resentment toward her mother was reaching a full boil inside of her.
Tiffany continued. “Well, there’s actually more. Di has four siblings that don’t live around here, and they have families—our grandparents Lynch are retired and they just travel around visiting them all year. Our uncle Bobby is in Peru, so there’s no telling when you’ll meet him. Jim has a cousin in Holland and they have a couple of kids and grandkids, Hallie has two brothers, both still in Idaho, one of which is married and has a kid. So trust me, there are a ton of us. And not just the Beldens. We’re Wheelers, Mangans, Regan, Lynches, Fraynes and Dukes. We just call it the Belden-Duke Clan because we have the most last names.”
“Wow,” Natala murmured.
"Riley has a really complex record of all of it on his computer, I’ll have him get you a copy. It’s more in depth than the one the twins scribbled out for you. Now, first thing you need is a coat. You can't traipse around New York in the winter in that denim jacket you were wearing," Tiffany whipped out her notepad. "What are favorite colors?"
Tiffany took notes as Aralyn drove, marveling at Daisy’s accuracy for sizing clothing. She was right on the mark with everything. Tiffany agreed with her designer cousin on styles as well, and Natala’s overall look. She already had a list Daisy had drawn up of what she felt would flatter the girl style wise.
"Definitely some dark blues," Aralyn glanced in the review mirror. "Bring out the eyes."
Natala couldn't believe these were her cousins. And they would be leaving soon to continue their trek cross-country!
"Ok, coat first, not to mention shoes. You need at least two pair of good hiking boots for the snow, sneakers, and some dress shoes."
"That's going to cost an awful lot of money," Natala protested.
"Don't worry about it. It's a gift from everyone. I guess you could say they're trying to make up for all the years we didn't know you were around," Tiffany smiled at her. “Lots of birthdays and Christmases we want to make up for.”
“Actually, first thing we need is Starbucks and some pumpkin lattes,” Aralyn flipped on her blinker to turn in. “Got to get fortified.”
Natala felt tears well up in her eyes again. No one had ever been so kind. And these girls were acting like it was no big deal. They had no idea what she had been through.
"All sorts of warm things, and some pretty dresses," Aralyn added. "Then come spring, we get to buy you summer stuff."
Natala couldn't believe it. They expected her to be here in the spring. Even without DNA results, they just welcomed her right in! How could they be so trusting? Natala had run plenty of scams in her lifetime; it was a means of survival. Natala hoped and prayed with every fiber of her being that her mother had been telling the truth, and this was her family. If the DNA test came back negative, it would look like she had scammed them. She didn’t want to thurt them. They were so nice, so welcoming, so…family-ish. Natala couldn’t bear the thought of losing all of them.
They hit the mall, and Natala was amazed by the fact that for once, she was here to shop, not shoplift. She could walk into any store and actually buy something. She had never had the money to shop at the mall, they were always on the move and never had enough money, or at least, they were never given any. He had kept everything, as part of his control over them all. The mall experience Natala was familiar with involved mostly pickpocketing during the big sales of school, and holidays.
Natala had to restrain herself from slipping into old habits and reaching for wallets. Her cousins hadn’t noticed. The place was packed, with careless shoppers hunting for after Christmas bargains. Natala noted dozens of open purses, wallets jammed in at angles easy to pluck out. She restrained herself, and made sure her cousins kept their wallets secure. More than once she found herself eying a purse or back pocket and her hand would automatically start to reach for it.
Since it was two days after Christmas there were lots of sales, and the girls were good bargain hunters. They found a long, black leather coat that was fitted, and deemed it perfect for Natala. Then they made her pick out a shorter coat, so she'd always have options. She chose a cherry red wool with double buttons, that came down to her thighs. Tiffany nodded approvingly at the color. Her cousin was entirely too pale and needed color against her face.
Then came shoes. Natala had never been inside a store with so many shoes. They were almost impossible to shoplift and the bigger department stores had always watched the gypsies with suspicion.
Her cousins insisted on several pairs of black shoes in different heel heights, good sturdy boots for tromping through the snow, and sneakers for running around. Aralyn even talked her into a pair of bunny slippers for the house and Tiffany insisted on some funky heels in bright colors.
Then came undergarments. Natala wasn't about to admit other cousins that even her underclothes came from thrift stores or were stolen, gabbed off of rack and hastily shoved in a pocket or up a pant leg. The girls giggled and laughed, picking out bright colors of every style, lace, cotton, and a couple of thongs for fun. Pretty bras followed, then socks, and onto clothes. Natala’s head was spinning but she went along with it. At some point they stopped for another latte. Natala could see why they loved the pumpkin lattes. It was like eating pumpkin pie and drinking coffee together!
Natala was exhausted as they began to look at pants and jeans. Their packages had been sent to a special area of Crimpers where they could just drive up and be loaded into the car, so they wouldn’t have to haul everything around. Natala had noticed they carried a lot of Daisy’s designs, and of the course the girls perused that section first.
Sweaters, tank tops, and blouses quickly piled up as they determined Natala's style. She had no idea what her style was so her cousins had her hold up and try on outfit after outfit. She favored simple peasant blouse styles and bright colors, and Tiffany was quickly pulling together funky ensembles for her.
"That's why I brought her," Aralyn laughed. "All the women are stakeholders but it’s really Daisy’s company. Tiffany helps out at Daisy Duke Designs as do Honey and Diana. Trust me, if they can dress me to look decent, you’ll be a piece of cake.”
Skirts were next, then dresses, of which Tiffany insisted Natala must have at least two little black dress and some fun dresses in pretty colors and patterns.
"Why, for parties of course," Tiffany answered, surprised, when Natala questioned her. Natala gulped at the thought of parties.
Finally they dragged themselves to the food court, carrying bags from the book and music and movie stores.
Natala and Tiffany had chosen gyros and just sat down when Aralyn joined them, her tray loaded with a slice of pizza and a huge multi-flavored sundae. Natala simply ordered the same thing Tiffany did, to hide the fact she couldn’t read.
"Hungry, cuz?" Tiff laughed.
Aralyn grinned.
"Mom'll have something nutritious for dinner, better stock up on the good stuff now," she laughed.
The three cousins devoured the sundae before their meal and Aralyn informed Natala that she and Brian would be joining them for dinner.
"We're going to break you into the families one by one, so you don't have nightmares," Aralyn laughed. “Mom-that’s our grandmother- wants you guys over tomorrow or the next night. She’s chomping at the bit to get her hands on you-in a good way!” Aralyns aid quickly, when Natala suddenly looked panicked. "Here we always thought of Uncle Brian as kind of boring and it turns out he had this hot relationship with your mom.”
Natala just nodded, unsure of how to answer.
As they tossed their trash away, Aralyn suddenly whipped her head around. Her cousins turned and saw a tall, broad shouldered, very handsome young man with bright blue eyes staring at her, looking stunned. He was only six feet away, but looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“Aralyn?” he asked.
“Hi, Kent,” she gave him a small smile and he moved towards her quickly, hugging her tightly.
Aralyn held her tears back. She hadn’t wanted to run into him while she was home, and she hadn’t thought about the possibility when they headed out today.
Slowly she pulled back, forcing a smile. She would not let him see her cry. She would not let him see how good it felt to have his arms around her, and inhale his still-familiar cologne. She wouldn’t let on how much she had missed him, and the way he held her.
“I didn’t know you were back,” he said, confused.
“Part of the agreement with Mom and Dad. Home for Christmas. We’re leaving again next week.”
“I see,” his disappointment was obvious. “Hi, Tiff.”
“Hi, Cam. This is our cousin, Natala,” she introduced them.
“I don’t recognize you. Hello,” he smiled.
“Well, we didn’t know about her until two days ago,” Tiffany grinned, throwing one arm around the slender girl and grinning.
“Ah. Which branch? Duke or Belden?”
“Belden. Uncle Brian,” Aralyn smiled.
Cam’s blue eyes almost popped out of his head.
“Wow. Uh, welcome to the family,” Cam held out his hand and shook Natala’s hand.
Smiling shyly, she shook his hand, unable to take her eyes off the handsome young man. There was definitely a past here, she thought, studying them. And a future, she could sense it. But Aralyn was holding back, her aura was pulsating with indecision and confusion. Her cousin was terrified of something. Not the man himself, his aura was solid and gold, with thin outline of blue, and reaching for hers. When he had hugged her, Natala couldn’t even distinguish whose was which. True soulmates, she thought. She had thought it a rarity, but it was all over her family. Amazing.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“Oh, look, Nat, fresh cookies being put out. Let’s grab some!” Tiffany steered her cousin toward the cookie booth to leave Aralyn and Cam alone.
Natala couldn’t help but glance back at them. The pair was kind of clueless, she thought.
“How have you been?” Cam asked softly.
“Good,” Aralyn nodded, “we crossed all of Canada. Next week we’re heading out again, this time we’ll head south, go see Dad’s old farm, make our way west to California, probably.”
“Sounds like you’re having a blast,” he said, his eyes drinking her in. Her cheeks were flushing from an afternoon of giggling, her eyes still sapphire blue, the hair still golden though now to her shoulders and curlier than ever with blue streaks. She looked a little older, Cam thought, and stunning in her light blue sweater that clung to her still curvy figure.
Aralyn nodded. “It’s been great.”
There was an awkward moment and Aralyn finally decided it was time to go.
“I need to get back to the girls. We’re buying my cousin new clothes and all. She didn’t have much,” Aralyn explained.
Cam nodded. “Don’t let me keep you. Oh, and Duke?”
She stopped and turned back to look at him.
“If you have time, I’d like to see you before you leave. Call me, please,” he said softly.
“If I have time,” she answered with a small smile and joined her cousins, who held out a bag of cookies and soda. “Thanks,” she said gratefully.
“No prob. You all right? You look a little pale,” Tiffany said.
“I just wasn’t expecting to see him,” she sighed, gulping her soda. “It was harder than I thought.”
Natala stopped walking and studied her cousin for a moment. “Don’t worry. It’s going to take a while but I think you two will find your way back to each other. First loves are hard to forget, even years later.”
Aralyn raised one eyebrow. “And you know this how?”
“You traveled with carnivals and such,” Tiffany said suddenly. “Did you do fortune telling?”
Natala half smiled. “Yes and no. I read tarot cards, and I do pretty well at it. But Mama was the real chaneller. I only get bits and pieces. But if you’d like,” she smiled at them, “I’ll read your cards sometime.”
“That’d be awesome!” Aralyn exclaimed.
“But I do ask that you not tell the other girls yet. I need to get used to everyone and everything here before they all start asking.”
The cousins agreed.
“Dad and Luke once helped bust a theft ring that was using charlatan fortune tellers,” Aralyn’s eyes sparkled as she began to tell the story.
***
They finally returned to Brian’s and unloaded their numerous boxes and bags, carrying them to the room Natala had stayed in the previous night. Brian watched them with amusement and carried the heavier bags.
“You seriously need to redecorate,” Aralyn said, looking around the room.
“And I wish we could help but we’re due to leave in a couple of days,” Tiffany added.
“Where are you going next?”
Aralyn snorted. “We’ve been traveling the country, and Canada. We just came home for Christmas. We’d love to take you with us but since you just got here…”
“I’ve traveled plenty,” she sighed, “I’m kind of glad to have one place.”
“We’ll be back in a few months, and then we’ll have all sorts of fun!” Aralyn’s blue eyes sparkled. “We only have a few months of freedom left and then it’s school time, per our agreement with the parentals.” She made a face.
Natala smiled. “Would you like me to read your cards now?”
“Yeah!” the cousins enthused.
Sitting opposite Aralyn, Natala shuffled the cards, closed her eyes for a minute, then had Aralyn do the same and hold the cards.
"Focus on something you want to know about, even if it’s general,” she instructed.
“You’ve got a lot of adventure coming up,” she mused, “no doubt from the trip. There’s a golden haired man in the very near future, and you need to guard your heart. He’s trouble. Don’t get sucked into his game because he could lead to a lot of danger. And I do mean a lot.”
Aralyn raised one eyebrow.
“There’s a lot of men in your future,” Natala murmured. “Very near future too.”
“Goody,” Aralyn giggled.
Natala shook her head. “No. You need to be aware of brown haired men. In several months, there will be one who wants to hurt you,” Natala looked up, her blue eyes worried, “Please, be very, very careful.”
“I will,” Aralyn promised, amused.
“There’s another man here, also dark haired and I think this may be your friend from earlier. I’m seeing him very prominent in your future, in about six months. Very prominent but it ebbs and flows. I think you have a very long path ahead with him.”
Aralyn ‘hmmmed’.
“There’s a lot of shadows,” Natala said finally, “and I don’t like it. If I thought I could talk you out of this trip, I would. I don’t have a good feeling at all.”
Aralyn laughed. “Don’t worry, we’re careful. We also carry guns, with permits, and plenty of training.”
Natala bit her lip, unsatisfied.
“But we’ll be careful,” Aralyn promised.
Tiffany was up next, and Natala smiled a bit this time.
“The next six months are going to be pretty good to you, but I see some drama in about four months, which somehow is going to tie in to what I saw for Aralyn,” she said, “Again, you need to be very, very careful. However, I see a blond man coming forth sometime in the next year or so, and entering your life. You’ll be a little uncertain, but if you’re patient, time will reward you.”
“I like blond men,” Tiffany grinned.
Natala frowned. “Right around four months, it’s back to tragedy. I don’t know what, but you need to be careful. I don’t like all the danger I see around you two.”
“We’re Dukes, danger is kind of a given,” Aralyn said lightly.
Tiffany studied her new cousin. “We’ll be careful,” she promised.
Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!
Author’s Notes
- I'd like to thank alll of my readers, my fellow Moderators and Admins and everyone at Jix for giving me a place to let my imagination run rampant and take everyone out of the box for
Trixie fanfic. I can't believe it's been 5 years since I became an Author! here's to another 5!
- A huge yee-haa to the fabulous and lovely Ronda, for editing this and her suggestions which made it much better!
- There was an episode of the Dukes with charlatan fortune tellers in season 3 called “
- Will Natala’s prediction of danger come true for her cousins? You’ll find out soon(ish)!
- Word Count, 3,276
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