Later, lying in bed, I stared up at the ceiling, wondering how things had gotten so complicated. I had come here looking for a quiet place to live and ended up in a hotbed of Supernatural activity.
I considered moving to another town, but where would I go? And how could I leave Rafe? Even as I asked myself that question, I knew that leaving now, before our relationship went any further, would be the smart thing to do. Just as I knew that I wouldn’t go. No matter how things played out between us, I had to stay until the end.
I didn’t feel like having cold cereal for breakfast Saturday morning, and I didn’t feel like cooking, so I headed over to Carrie’s Café. I wasn’t the greatest cook in the world, and Carrie’s buttermilk hotcakes were the best I had ever tasted. Besides, it was no fun cooking for one…something I would be doing for the rest of my life if I married Rafe.
Rafe. How had he managed to get under my skin so deep and so fast? Sooner or later, he would grow tired of me. I pushed the thought aside. He had said he loved me. I loved him. For now, that would have to be enough. But even as I tried to convince myself that the present was all that mattered, I couldn’t help wondering what the future held for us. When we were together, I was certain that we could make it work. I loved the way he made me feel. I had never been happier, never felt more beautiful, more desirable, or more cherished. And when he kissed me…Lord have mercy, when he kissed me it took every ounce of restraint I possessed to keep from dragging him into my bed and having my wicked way with him, although, never having slept with a man, I didn’t know exactly what my wicked way would be. But one thing I knew for sure. Making love to Rafe would be wonderful.
But now, with the sun shining high in the sky, I couldn’t ignore the doubts that beset me. We were so different, how could we ever hope to make a life together?
I shook my head. Today had its own problems. Tomorrow would take care of itself.
I was wondering if I had enough time to run over and visit Susie and still open the store on time when Pearl and Edna breezed into the café. They spotted me immediately and came over to say hello.
This morning, they wore long-sleeved, frilly white blouses, broomstick skirts, white sneakers, and ribbons in their hair. I wondered if they called each other to confer about their wardrobe choices.
“Good morning, ladies,” I said. “What brings you out so early?”
Pearl held up a sheaf of papers. “We’re posting flyers for the Halloween Haunt, dear,” she said. “Is it okay if we drop one off at your store later?”
“Sure. Or you can give it to me now and I’ll put it in the window.”
Pearl beamed at me. “Thank you, dear. You’re going to come, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
“You must come,” Edna said. “And you must wear a costume.”
“It’s the day before Halloween, dear,” Pearl said. “You don’t want to miss it. It’s
the
highlight of the year.”
“I’ll do my best to be there.” Halloween had never been my favorite holiday. One Halloween, when I was about five, the son of our next-door neighbor had come over wearing a hideous mask and a fright wig and scared the living daylights out of me. I could still remember how terrified I’d been. Even after John took off the mask, I had refused to go near him. I’d had nightmares about him and that horrid mask for weeks after that. Even now, when I knew, rationally, that it had just been a rubber mask, the memory of that night still gave me chills.
“Well, enjoy your breakfast, dear,” Pearl said as the waitress arrived with my order.
“We have a lot of stops to make.”
I watched Pearl and Edna as they moved toward the door. They stopped to chat with several of the diners before leaving the café. They were a strange pair. On the outside, they looked pretty much like any other women their age, although their clothing was sometimes a bit on the flamboyant side. But there was something just the slightest bit off about them, something I could never quite put my finger on.
I was drinking the last of my juice when Travis Jackson slid into the chair across from mine.
“Morning,” he said, smiling affably. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all. I was just leaving.”
“Aw, come on, sit with me while I have something to eat.”
I didn’t want to sit with him, but then, what the heck, maybe I’d learn something that could be useful to Rafe. “Maybe just for a minute. I have to open the store.”
“You’re the boss, aren’t you?”
“Yes. So?”
“So, who’s to complain if you open at ten-thirty instead of ten?”
As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. Still, it gave me a good excuse to leave if I was of a mind to. Besides, I was hoping to squeeze in a visit with Susie.
Travis ordered a stack of hotcakes, bacon, and coffee. I asked the waitress to bring me a cup of tea.
“So,” I said, “why aren’t you out doing whatever it is Vampire hunters do?”
“Plenty of time for that,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “It’s hours until dark.”
“How do you find them?”
“Hey, I can’t divulge the tricks of the trade.”
“Took a blood oath, did you?” I was kidding, but the sudden wary look in his eyes told me I had touched a nerve. “You didn’t really? Tell me you didn’t.”
“I can’t tell you anything, so don’t ask.” For someone who’d been so eager to talk the other day, he’d become suddenly taciturn.
My imagination immediately kicked into overdrive as I pictured Travis Jackson and his cronies huddling around a fire, swearing an oath of allegiance that they would never reveal their secrets or their meeting place, and sealing it with blood.
I was glad when the waitress arrived with Jackson’s order. I drank my tea as quickly as I could, burning my tongue in the process, said a quick good-bye to Travis, and grabbed my check. After paying the bill and giving Carrie a couple of dollars to give to the waitress, I hurried out of the café.
Outside, I took a deep breath of the cool, crisp air, and then frowned. Something was different. Not wrong, exactly, just different. I glanced up and down the street and then, not knowing why, I walked toward the end of the block. The whole atmosphere of the town had changed. At the corner, I turned around and headed back toward my car. Why did everything feel so different? And then it hit me. On Mara’s orders, most of the Vampires had left Oak Hollow. I was certain that most of the Werewolves had also moved on. The latent weight of preternatural power no longer hung over the town. The very air felt lighter, less oppressive. I wondered if Travis Jackson had also noticed the difference.
I got into my car and drove down Main Street. Funny, I hadn’t noticed how oppressive all that Supernatural power had been until it was gone.
I glanced at my watch. It was almost ten. I tapped my fingertips on the steering wheel, debating whether to open the store or look in on Susie, and then I decided that Travis was right. I was the boss. If I decided to open the store late, or not at all, it was nobody’s business but mine. Of course, with that cavalier attitude, I would soon lose the few customers I had. But today Susie had to come first.
A few minutes later, I pulled up in front of her house. It was a nice place, with a wide front porch. A couple of pink hydrangeas grew on either side of the porch steps, a hummingbird feeder hung from a tree in the side yard. Bicycles and baseball bats littered the front yard. A late-model silver Caddy was parked in the driveway.
When I rang the bell, a taller, older version of Susie opened the door. “Yes?” she asked in a cultured voice. “May I help you?”
“I’m here to see Susie.”
The woman smoothed a hand over her ice-blue, tailored silk skirt. It had probably cost more than my whole outfit, including my shoes. “I’m afraid she’s not having visitors just now.”
“I think she’ll want to see me. If you could just tell her that Kathy is here.”
“Kathy!” The woman’s cool demeanor evaporated like morning dew. “Please, do come in. I’m so glad to meet you! I’m Myrna Lancaster, Susie’s mother.”
She ushered me into the living room, then took my hand in hers. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.” Tears filled her eyes. “Susie’s my only child…I…her father and I…how can we ever repay you?”
“That’s not necessary. Susie’s a friend of mine. Is she all right?”
The woman’s face sort of crumpled. Her shoulders slumped, and she sank down on the sofa. The tears she had been holding back trickled down her cheeks.
“All right? How can she ever be all right again? Her life’s ruined. And Rick…I told her not to marry him.” Myrna Lancaster shook her head and squared her shoulders. “I’m sorry, forgive me. Of course she’ll be all right.”
“Of course,” I said.
“Her father is, at this minute, discussing her case with our family doctor. We’ll do whatever has to be done, no matter what it costs.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. If Susie’s parents thought they could buy a cure for their daughter, they were sadly mistaken. As far as I knew, there was no cure for being a Werewolf. I hoped I was wrong. “Can I see her now?”
Myrna Lancaster led me down a narrow hallway lined with pictures of Susie and her family. We passed a couple of small bedrooms. A peek inside one of them showed neatly made twin beds and a Spiderman toy box overflowing with cars, trucks, and dinosaurs.
Susie’s room was at the end of the hall.
Myrna knocked on the door. “Susie, are you awake? You have company.”
“I don’t want to see anyone.”
“It’s your friend, Kathy. She’s anxious to see you.”
“Oh, come in.”
Myrna Lancaster opened the door, and I followed her into the room. She smiled at Susie, who was sitting up in bed. “Can I get you anything, sweetie?”
“No, thanks, Mom.”
Myrna Lancaster nodded and then looked over at me. “Well, I’ll just leave you two alone to visit,” she said, and closed the door behind her.
Susie didn’t look much better than she had the last time I had seen her. There were hollows in her cheeks, dark shadows under her eyes. She was still unusually pale and seemed thinner than I remembered. But it was the expression in her eyes that tore at my soul. She looked forlorn, haunted, but worse than that, she looked like she had lost the will to live.
I sat in the rocking chair beside the bed and conjured a smile. “So,” I asked with forced cheerfulness, “how are you feeling this morning?”
“How do you think I feel? Rick’s taken my boys to his mother’s house. My mother is afraid of me, and next month, when the moon is full, I’ll turn into some kind of furry monster.” She waved her hand in the air, then let it fall back into her lap. “Other than that, everything’s just fine.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No, please.” She reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry. This is just so hard for me. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
“I wish I knew what to say, some magic words that would make it all better, but…but maybe it won’t be so bad. I’ve met a couple of Werewolves, and they don’t seem any different from anyone else, at least most of the time. I don’t know what they’re like when the moon is full, but maybe you could just think of this as another kind of monthly curse,” I said, remembering my conversation with Rafe. “You know, like your period and cramps, and maybe you could, I don’t know, just make the best of it.”
Susie stared at me, blinked twice, and then, to my astonishment, she burst out laughing. “I sure hope I don’t get both curses at the same time of the month! Can you imagine a Werewolf with PMS?”
I looked at Susie, and then I laughed with her, because I knew she was going to be all right.
It was a little before eleven when I made it to the store that morning. Surprisingly, I was busy all day. And I was glad of it. I didn’t want time to think about Susie’s future as a Werewolf, or what my future with Rafe might be.
Even though most of the Vampires and Werewolves had left town, at least for the moment, I decided it would still be a good idea to close at dusk from now on so I could be safely home by dark.
With that thought in mind, I turned off the lights, set the alarm, and headed for my car just before sunset. I was punching in the code to unlock the door when a hand closed over my forearm.
I shrieked and jerked away.
“Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Travis!” I pressed a hand over my pounding heart. “Are you out of your mind? What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?”
I wanted to smack him when he laughed.
“Sorry,” he said again. “I was hoping we could go out for a drink.”
“Didn’t we already cover this?”
“Come on,” he coaxed. “One drink. What can it hurt?”
“Oh, all right. I’ll meet you at Sugar Babe’s.”
“Great.”
With a shake of my head, I got into my car. I sat there for a minute, waiting for my heart to stop pounding, and then I drove the six blocks to Sugar Babe’s Tavern. It was the only place within the city limits where you could legally buy mixed drinks. Even though it was still early, the place was crowded. I paused just inside the door to wait for Travis. A three-piece band occupied the small stage at the far end of the room. Saturday night was open mic night at Sugar Babe’s, and anyone who had a mind to could step up on stage and entertain the customers. I winced as the lanky singer making love to the microphone hit three sour notes in a row. Several boos and catcalls filled the air, but the man kept on singing, his gaze focused on a skinny redhead who was looking at him as if he might be the next Elvis.
When Travis arrived, we threaded our way through the crowd looking for an empty table. Luck was with us. A couple vacated a table for two near the back wall as we approached. I sat down, and Travis dropped into the chair across from mine.
“What’ll you have?” he asked.
“Just a Coke with a couple of cherries.”
“That’s it?”
“I don’t drink.”
“All right. Looks like there’s only one waitress working. Might be faster if I go over to the bar and get our drinks. Don’t let anyone else have my seat,” he said with a wink.
I made a face at him, then blew out a sigh. It felt good to sit down. A couple of women in their early twenties were on stage now. They wore white off-the-shoulder blouses, full skirts, and cowboy boots. I listened as they broke into their rendition of the latest country hit, but my mind wasn’t on the music. Instead, I was thinking about Rafe, wondering where he was, what he was doing, and if he would come by my place later.