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- Herausgeber: Valley Publishing Ltd.
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
The blood farm is gone. Those behind it have either died, been caught, or are on the run.
Time to return to the real world. Only normal life isn't quite what Tessa expected. Good thing, because there is no 'normal' anymore.
She's different. Her family is different. Her friends are different. The world around her is different. Trying to find her place is not easy. She wants nothing more than to be a normal teenager and join Cody and his friends on a Friday night out.
Cody wants the trouble to be over so he can get back to living the life he used to with one major addition – Tessa. Only Ian and Jewel aren't healing well, Rhia is acting out of character, and Jared keeps tripping over dead bodies.
Then there's David, who'll do anything to help Jewel… even something he knows he shouldn't do. Something is wrong, and once again it's up to Tessa to figure out what is happening under the surface of this 'normal' life.The blood farm is gone. Those behind it have either died, been caught, or are on the run.
Time to return to the real world. Only normal life isn't quite what Tessa expected. Good thing, because there is no 'normal' anymore.
She's different. Her family is different. Her friends are different. The world around her is different. Trying to find her place is not easy. She wants nothing more than to be a normal teenager and join Cody and his friends on a Friday night out.
Cody wants the trouble to be over so he can get back to living the life he used to with one major addition – Tessa. Only Ian and Jewel aren't healing well, Rhia is acting out of character, and Jared keeps tripping over dead bodies.
Then there's David, who'll do anything to help Jewel… even something he knows he shouldn't do. Something is wrong, and once again it's up to Tessa to figure out what is happening under the surface of this 'normal' life.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014
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Vampire in Conflict
Book #6 of Family Blood Ties
Dale Mayer
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Complimentary Download
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Sneak Peek from Vampire in Chaos
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
With the blood farm an Old World faction of vampires had been developing to enslave the human race as a perpetual feeding source destroyed and those behind the evil plot either dead, caught or on the run, life returns to normal for teenage vampire Tessa.
After the war she and her family and friends narrowly intercepted, getting back into the groove of daily life proves to be impossible. She’s different, as are all the people around her. Even the world itself feels off to her. If she ever really knew where she fit in, she’s lost that sense of belonging after so much has happened to make existence in this place a little darker, a little colder.
Her only source of light is Cody, a vampire who’s become more than her boyfriend. Cody is her soul-mate and the connection they share makes life – one lived together – more precious than it’s ever been before.
Healing isn’t any easier for the human Jared, who’d fought the war beside Tessa and Cody. Everywhere he goes, he seems to trip over dead bodies and people who can’t seem to recover. Ian and Jewel are a mess, and David wants to help Jewel more than anything…even if it means undertaking something even he knows will violently shatter this newfound peace that’s barely begun to settle.
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Chapter 1
And she thoughtshe’d come home to a hero’s welcome – why? Tessa stared at the clear pathway in front of her. She’d just entered the high school to find students lined up on either side watching, silent, solemn, as she walked down the long hallway to her school locker.
No one said a word. There wasn’t a smile for her… oddly enough, neither was there a frown.
Tension permeated the air.
A sense of watchfulness. A sense of waiting.
Already, she wished today was over. Instead, she’d just walked inside the double doors ahead of the morning bell.
She hadn’t really expected a warm welcome. After all, she’d been more or less ignored when she’d been in class before – except for her circle of friends. She knew most of the kids in her grade, but there were many grades attending the school. She was a stranger to most of them.
Unfortunately, they appeared to know who she was now.
Putting steel into her backbone, she tossed her hair back and walked to her locker. As she opened the lock, the silence was filled in with whispers. She’d walked the gauntlet and survived. Now they could talk about her in their little cliques.
She shrugged. After what she’d been through, what was a little gossip? Many had talked about her before this last week, so this wasn’t new.
Just then a soft voice entered her mind. You don’t need to be there. You have a choice.
Cody.
Miss me? The warmth of his voice had her dropping her head against the locker, a silly smile on her face. So much, she answered. I’d almost rather be fighting in the blood farm than struggling through this day.
And yet you are there by choice. His tone was puzzled, confused. None of her family and friends would understand her need to come back to her human school.
Maybe that was because she couldn’t really explain it herself.
I know. She struggled to come up with an answer that would help. In the end, all she could say helplessly was, I had to come back – even if only to say goodbye.
Then do what you need to do. I’ll talk to you later. His voice took on a humorous tone as he added, And if you need me, just call.
Thanks, she whispered, feeling her world righting itself yet again. So what if these people didn’t want anything to do with her? She had Cody.
Damn right, he said, then he was gone. Like a warm wind blowing through her heart, he’d popped in when her discomfort reached him and now that she was fine, he was gone again. And she was fine. Now.
She pulled her books out and relocked her locker and headed to her first class. She wished she’d had more sleep. But she’d had horrible nightmares about that crazy jump off the mountain. Every time she woke up as she stepped into the abyss.
Sighing, she pulled out her new phone and checked for calls. Still none. Her phone had been suspiciously quiet since she’d returned home from Moltere’s Mountain – or what was left of it.
She’d tried calling her friends several times since, but there’d been no answer. She hadn’t seen Catherine or Jill at the end because once the rescue vehicles had arrived, everyone had disappeared into dozens of different directions. Her friends should be recuperating. Some, like Ian and Jewel, had been taken to the hospital. Of Jared, she had no idea. His testimony was going to be huge against the rogue vampires. Even her parents and brothers were all involved in treatments or heavy meetings. The Councils on both sides were gearing up for talks and if that didn’t work, war.
The Vampire Council had a mess on their hands.
And she was caught in the middle and yet left out. That last part stung.
She was a mere teenager and needed to let the grownups deal with this. At least, that had been her aunt Gittoria’s comment.
As if Tessa hadn’t been through hell this last week and come out a different person. Yet it was like everyone was trying to slot her back into the old insecure meek teenager role. A role that no longer fit.
Once again she felt caught in-between the old Tessa and the new Tessa. It was weird – as if she didn’t fit into her new skin. She needed to adjust to a new normal – whatever that was. Or rather she needed her life to adjust to the new ‘normal’ Tessa. She’d been on a roller coaster of danger and action for so long. A crazy ride where she’d acted and others had followed. Where she’d spoken and others had listened.
She had loved that.
She wanted that back.
Instead, in the aftermath, her parents, friends, and all the new people she’d come to know, like Motre, had specific jobs to do. They’d all headed off, leaving Tessa more or less alone. Even Cody had to deal with the fallout of his brother’s involvement and his subsequent death. Sometime later today, he was supposed to see a specialist about his wing.
She’d have been better off alone actually, but Aunt Gittoria had arrived to look after her. Talk about insulting. Then to make matters worse, that witch of an aunt had been very free in her opinion of Tessa being nothing but a mutant teenager. That had been fun. Not. Gittoria had kept up the jabbering until she’d walked back out the front door leaving Tessa alone.
Taz had arrived soon after and put her through a mess of tests. Then he’d left, too.
She’d been lost. Her family had so much to deal with, they’d been gone all weekend. Leaving her to heal – to recuperate.
How could she do that? She’d been exhausted, true. And sore. And at odds. She’d tried to sleep, had the longest bath possible, and had eaten several times. Then she’d woken up early and realized her family had come and gone while she’d slept and she was once again alone.
That had sent her bad mood to an all-new low.
She’d immediately had a shower, shampooed her hair then with a pair of scissors cut her hair. She’d given herself bangs and lost the tiny streak that was left of her old dye job. Personally she thought it did a lot to shake off the old Tessa look. Dressed in new black jeans, new short boots and a deep blood red t-shirt she felt almost normal.
Seconds later, she’d also realized it was a school day after having missed a full week. Catching up on her homework was going to be nasty. Still, there was no easy way to rejoin the normal world but to show up.
She’d dressed, feeling odd to do such a simple task, and walked the few blocks to the human school. With every step she took, she felt like she was doing the wrong thing. By the time she’d passed the mall, she was wondering about the brilliance of this incredibly stupid idea. But it was late in the school year. How could she switch now without failing her classes and losing the entire term? Besides, she was desperate to reconnect with Catherine and Jill.
She could have gone to the vampire school. At least she thought she could have, but until she tried to change she didn’t know how that would work. Besides, would switching have been better or worse? And that brought her back to her human friends. She knew the girls weren’t likely to be here today as they were still recovering from the drugs. And neither were answering their cell phones. She didn’t know if they no longer had their phones, weren’t conscious, or were ignoring her.
That the last was a definite possibility hurt. Big time.
And Jared? She had no idea. She had no cell number for him and he didn’t have hers. She could only hope he’d be here at school.
Tessa hitched up her jeans for the umpteenth time that morning, realizing she’d dropped so much weight last week that her clothes barely fit. She needed to go shopping.
Or she could just eat more. She patted her pockets, which held several granola bars, and entered the lively classroom. Conversations bustled on around her until slowly people noticed her presence. Conversations died.
Leaving an awkward silence.
Great.
Looks like it was going to be a long day.
Just as she resigned herself to being on the outside and shunned – again – there was a commotion at the door.
She turned to see Jared at the doorway, surrounded by friends slapping him on the shoulder and high-fiving him. She chuckled as he was sent from side to side by his friends’ good-natured jostling. He looked good. Damned good.
I heard that.
And that made her brighten that much more.
Cody, she said, What are you doing here again? I thought you’d be busy doing important Council stuff all day? Not checking in on me all the time.
I should be. He laughed. And I definitely shouldn’t be talking to you during class.
Class hasn’t started, and I’m already wondering what I’m doing here.
Admiring Jared apparently. His voice took on a disgruntled tone, making him sound like an upset two year old. She sighed with happiness.
At that, her world righted itself for the second time that morning. She was here to see if she should continue to go to this school. To find out if this place matched the Tessa who’d returned from Moltere’s Mountain. She would give herself some time to make that determination. She had friends here but if she went to a vampire school, she knew that she would lose them eventually. Maybe not at the beginning, but over time…she would. That made her sad to think about.
Yeah well, I’m pretty sure that Wendy and Jewel are missing you badly, too.
Tessa sat up straighter, then slumped. Nah, they might like me…now, but they have a whole mess of vampire friends. Besides, they are David’s friends, not mine.
Why can’t they be both? Cody questioned. Ian would be insulted to not be considered your friend. Honey, we went through hell this last week. We’re all different. Our values have been shaken, our ideals and ethics questioned. Our sense of right and wrong, what we thought of as our history and what we want for our future…everything has been torn apart. I’m different, you’re different, and so are they. David can be your friend and yourbrother. Jewel and Wendy can be your friends and introduce you to more. You don’t have to feel as if you don’t belong in the vampire world anymore.
It might be different for me in that world, she said, but I don’t know how different.
Time to find out. We’re all doing a get together in a couple of days. I want you to come.
Now she grinned. Really?
Hell yeah. So book it in – no excuses. And he disappeared.
She turned to glance behind her to see that Jared was finally making his way further into the classroom. Now he’d gotten a hero’s welcome. He deserved it. She was happy for him.
He was one of the good guys. And there were few left of them in this world.
She watched as Jared’s gaze swept the classroom, whipped past her, hit the brakes, and ripped back toward her. His face lit up. “Tessa!”
She jumped to her feet and ran toward him.
Instantly she was engulfed in his arms.
*
Jared hugged Tessa tight. He couldn’t stop laughing as he rocked her from side to side. “I can’t believe we made it out alive. All of us. Like freaking all of us. And the way you got off the mountain…after we thought you’d been blown up inside it.” He shook his head in wonder.
There had been cries of horror as rock flew in all directions and part of the mountain toppled sideways. Worse had been the realization that there’d been people standing at the top. He’d died a half dozen times, petrified that Tessa had been one of those people. When he realized she had been – everything had been so much worse. He, like all the rest, had watched in horror as the mountain had blown up after Gloria pushed that damn detonator.
Time had passed in slow motion as everyone waited for news.
When she’d come crashing down at that speed, they’d all figured she was gone. Then she’d done that weird ballet-jumping thing and somehow pulled off the landing of the century. Jared remembered how her parents had cried out in horror then shock and then roared with laughter as she’d made her way toward them in classic Tessa style. But that damn grin of hers had beamed so bright…he knew he hadn’t been the only one affected by her presence.
God, he’d been so proud of her.
He squeezed her again before backing off slightly so he could look her in the eye. “I never got a chance to see you afterwards.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “At least not for long.”
In truth, there’d been a hell of a party of all of about ten minutes before all the ambulances had arrived to pick up the injured and the drugged. He’d been neither, and he and a few other humans had been carted away in separate vehicles. The Councilmen had banded together – drugged and injured vamp and human members alike – and had taken off in a different convoy.
And he hadn’t had a chance to tell her how much he’d admired what she’d done. Or anyone. Well, he could fix that now. He looked around to see everyone who’d cheered his arrival at school today standing and staring at them. Some had doubt on their faces, others cringed at the thought of him touching her, and even more were intrigued that he had her in his arms.
Speaking of which, it was a damn good thing Cody wasn’t here. He’d break Jared’s arms for touching her. And damn if the hairs on the back of his neck didn’t rise. He had to cast a quick glance around to make sure he wasn’t about to get his face punched in.
Well, they were as alone as they could be in a roomful of teenage humans. Just to be sure, he whispered, “Cody isn’t here, is he?”
She shook her head, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
He grinned and turned to the students surrounding them at a distance. “Everyone, I want you to know that Tessa has been going to our school for years. I’ve been lucky enough to be her friend this last year, and I have to tell you, she has saved my life…more than once this week.”
He paused, his voice serious, and added. “I owe her everything. We owe her so much. She rescued the humans that were recently kidnapped. She brought in a large group of vamps to help rescue the others, and she fought so many of her own kind, and…” he winced, “Some of our kind, to bring an end to that blood farm.”
He grinned. “Tessa is gorgeous inside and out. And if you get any ideas about her, Cody, one of the most vicious vamps I’ve ever met, will rip your arms off.”
The guys all stepped back. He laughed. “Just kidding!”
Tessa upped and slugged him gently in the stomach. She smiled at everyone, still that shy lilt of her lips that had caught his attention in the first place. She’d been quiet, studious, and slightly on the outside of everything at school. He’d barely noticed her at the beginning, but once he’d noticed, he’d been unable to stop staring. He’d lost that battle to Cody but he counted himself blessed to call her a friend.
He smiled at everyone. “Seriously, she’s the best friend any one could have, and she stepped forward to save our way of life.” He stepped back slightly and started clapping. There were a few seconds of hesitation, then several others joined in and within minutes the room exploded with applause.
Jared smiled at Tessa as color washed over her face. Good. She deserved this…and so much more.
But this was a start. She could find acceptance here – now. And that meant he could see her on a regular basis. He’d been worried that she’d no longer go to his school and he’d never see her again. That would have been difficult. He knew of no other friend or family that would have done what she’d done for him.
*
Cody sat back and glared at the doctor. “The wing is just fine.”
The doctor, an old friend of his father’s, said, “It isn’t fine. It will be, but it’s not there yet. You did too much too fast.”
Cody rolled his eyes as he turned away. And damn if Goran didn’t cuff him. Cody sighed and settled back. “I didn’t have much choice. People, good people would have died if I hadn’t gone back to help.”
“I heard about that ruckus.” He turned back with a large needle in his hand.
Cody was off that bench and backed against the door before the doctor had a chance to say a word.
“No needles,” Cody said tersely.
“Oh stop. You’re too old to be acting like a kid anymore,” the doctor snapped. “I have to adjust that bone inside the wing.”
“No needles.” Cody didn’t give a damn what he had to do to his wing, he’d never let anyone come close with another needle in his life.
“It’s going to hurt like hell,” the doctor snapped.
Goran stepped in. “I’m on Cody’s side. No needles.”
“Fools, the pair of you.” The doctor shook his head. “I thought you had more sense.”
“I do,” Cody said coldly, his eye on the needle. Damn, was he going to be suspicious of everyone now? Even the doctor he’d seen since birth? He wished he could see energy like Tessa could. Maybe she’d be able to see if the doctor was good or bad – that he couldn’t pissed him off. Since they’d made it back from the mountain, Cody was constantly looking behind him, searching for the location the next attack would come from. He wondered how long it would take for that feeling to pass.
Sleep had been hard to come by. He’d woken up a dozen times in a panic. Usually searching for Tessa.
Wakefulness wasn’t all that great, either.
In the mine, he’d been with Tessa most of the time – unless one or the other had been kidnapped. After the first few days, they’d been together telepathically as well. That had been what had gotten him through the first day home. Knowing that Tessa had been there on the other side. They’d spoken sporadically – enough to stay in touch as their lives split in different directions. That she’d chosen to return to the human school blew him away. And kept their schedules out of sync. Finding time to be together was going to be next to impossible. He should be in classes himself, but his wing had been screaming at him and he figured there was something his body was trying to heal but couldn’t. His own father had suggested he come here.
Thankfully, just then the doctor was called out into the hallway, giving Cody a chance to reassess. Now as he eyed the good doctor leaving, Cody had to wonder – just how good was the doctor?
*
Serus grabbed the hair on the side of his head and pulled. “All right,” he cried. “How was I to do anything? I’m telling you, you had to be there. Then maybe you’d understand.”
Rhia glared at him. “You let that…bad boy hook up with our daughter.” She poked him in the chest. “I like Cody just fine. He’s a good man – or he will be when he grows up – but she’s…” Rhia poked his chest again. “Too…young.”
He threw up his hands. “And I’m saying she’s not as young as she used to be. And Cody didn’t do anything wrong.”
He glared down at the wife of his heart and had no idea how to make her understand. “What I saw happen over those few days between Tessa and Cody was…magical.” He ran his hands over his face. God, he was tired. But this had been brewing since they’d met up safe and sound again after the mountain blew up and Cody had gathered Tessa up into his arms and hugged her close.
Rhia had been brooding ever since. And although he was a warrior and braver than most men he knew, this wasn’t a battle he wanted, and neither was it one he could win. Goran had slapped him on the shoulder and had wished him luck then taken Cody off to herd the injured vamps home.
And had left Serus to deal with Rhia.
Right about now he wanted to run away himself.
“Damn it, Rhia.” He glared at her, and then brightened when he realized what he had to do. “You need to talk to Tessa.” He backed up, his face beaming with relief. “That’s who you need to be talking to.”
“Serus, are you running away from me?” Rhia stalked closer, gearing up for a fight.
“Honey, I love you. But I’m not the one you need to talk to.” And he escaped to another Council chamber.
The surviving members of the Council had been deep in talks since they’d returned home. Their numbers decimated, they were trying to sort out if other Councilmen had been involved or if they’d purged all the assholes.
Councilman Adamson was leading that charge. He had what little was left of the evidence his longtime lover and traitorous bitch Gloria had left behind. Of course she hadn’t intended for anyone to find the stuff, as she’d been planning on setting up shop somewhere else after killing Adamson and everyone else on her list.
But that hadn’t turned out so well for her. A savage grin swept over his face. Although sore and tired and feeling every year of his age, Serus went off in search of Goran.
Serus, where are you? His old friend called.
Coming your way. Where are you? Serus frowned. Suspicious now of everyone and everything, he hated the tone he thought he heard in Goran’s voice. His own voice hardened as he said, What’s up?
We got trouble and could use your help.
Chapter 2
Tessa settled into her class routine by mid-afternoon. She’d been overwhelmed by some of the kids’ overtures and then made decidedly uncomfortable by some kids who obviously wanted to be anywhere but in the same room with her. She realized that for all she’d been through, many of these people had only heard about the blood farm aspect and the vampires who’d done this. They’d associated her as part of the whole vampire group. And she was…but she wasn’t one of those vampires.
Her homework was done in five minutes flat. The rest of the class was struggling with the in-class assignment. She wondered if it was fair to be here. She couldn’t stop the heavy sigh as she considered the problem. The kids needed to know that they were safe from her, and if her being here made them feel unsafe…then that wasn’t good either. And it’s not as if the schooling was hard. Maybe she would get a better education in a vamp school. She’d be more challenged at least. She didn’t know what to do. At least in vamp school she wouldn’t make the others feel bad. She was one of them.
And if that didn’t beat all. She was finally realizing she was a vamp and belonged in a vamp school. Revelations flooded through her. In her old life, she’d been hiding away with the humans. She’d felt safe here. The humans didn’t pose a threat to her. Not the same as her own kind did. But she wasn’t that same person.
Look at the difference a week made.
She’d waged war on her own kind only to feel a greater kinship with them at the end of it.
She hadn’t seen that coming.
She checked her cell phone and smiled. The day was almost over. Good. It had been a very odd day today, and she couldn’t wait for it to be over. She hadn’t seen Jared since this morning’s class. He’d been surrounded at lunch, regaling the others with his adventures. Not wanting to rehash any of it, she’d left him to it. She’d killed many people this last week. That was nothing to gloat about.
Then again, she was female. It was men who loved war stories. She wished Catherine and Jill had been here today. But so far she hadn’t seen them. She had texted them – still no answer. She had to consider they were still in the hospital or at home recovering.
Maybe after school she’d walk by Catherine’s house and see if she was there. She needed to know they were okay.
The afternoon bell rang, and grateful this day was over, she went to her locker, put away her books, and walked out.
No one spoke to her as she left.
It saddened her. Jared had done a wonderful thing this morning, and she appreciated his efforts. People had been friendlier after but that had waned as the day went on. Or maybe as the excitement died down. She didn’t know. School just felt different now.
Tessa changed her direction and headed to Catherine’s house. She lived with both parents and a younger sister. Surely someone would be home to fill Tessa in on her condition. The house was cold and empty looking as she approached. Curtains were closed as if the owners had been gone for several days. Her blood quickened slightly with nerves. Would Catherine’s family know what role she’d played this last week? Would they care? Would they remember her as Catherine’s school friend? Or would they see her as a vampire and hide inside?
When no one answered the doorbell, she had to wonder if the latter wasn’t true. Damn. She walked around to the back of the house. How could she find out if they were home and hiding or if they were gone – and gone a long time if the overgrown yard was any indication? She frowned. Catherine’s family was a closely-knit one. They did a lot of things together. Her father…she paused trying to remember what Catherine’s father did. It had something to do in the medical field. She brightened. He should be able to help his daughter.
Maybe they were all at the hospital – visiting Catherine. She spun around, wondering where the human hospital was. Jared would know. She pulled out her phone and texted him, glad to have his number back on her contact list. It was the first thing he had given her this morning after that little introduction in class.
New phones had been the first order of the day for everyone, as promised by her father. Serus had been happy to hand them all over. Apparently these had nifty GPS trackers, navigational tools, and tracking systems. All kinds of things that she had yet to play with. Jared’s response was immediate. He gave her the address. When she clicked on it, it gave her a map to get there from where she stood. Too cool.
Then she received another text from Jared asking her why.
She texted back, Catherine and Jill.
No answer on that one. She turned around slowly, watching the map shift and change to accommodate her new position, and realized she was only a few blocks away.
As she was in human territory, she didn’t want to jump her way to the hospital. She’d likely raise alarms about another vampire invasion. It was a sunny day, and after the prolonged time in the mine, the warmth and brightness was welcome. For a long moment she tilted her face skyward and smiled up at the sky. Then she started walking.
The hospital parking lot was stuffed with vehicles, and there appeared to be people rushing all over the place. Then again, there were a lot of victims from that last raid. Thankfully, Motre’s group had managed to get them off the mountain before it blew up. She had no idea if anyone had gone back to the mansion or if that area even still stood. She’d like to think the army was dealing with that. And hopefully searching for human survivors from the blood farm.
From what her mother had said earlier, Tessa had understood that the people were better off hanging until they could be helped properly. Not just unhooked from the machines and hope for the best. The mountain blast had taken the decision away from them.
And there’d been hundreds of humans in need – if not thousands. The humans didn’t have the infrastructure or the medical personnel in place to help that many people at once.
She realized as she stood in the parking lot that she was avoiding going inside. Was she obviously a vampire? Her hair might give her away. She pulled it to one side and quickly put in a side braid. Maybe that would help. She was tall, but dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, she should look like she used to at school – and no one had known her as a vampire before.
She straightened her shoulders and walked inside. There were people everywhere. She winced. So many hurt and hurting. Families sobbed in groups. Others stood silent and broken off to one side. In the middle of the melee, she found a familiar face. Taz.
She made a beeline for him. “Taz?”
Harried, he looked up, spotted her, and his face lit up. “Tessa!”
