Kadie braked her rental car at the bridge. Though she had been away from Morgan Creek for only a short time, it was like returning to another world. Once she had hoped to leave this accursed place and never see it again, but she'd had to come back. She was certain Saintcrow was here.
Taking a deep breath, Kadie drove across the bridge; then, curious, she put the car in reverse. She breathed a sigh of relief when the car crossed to the other side, and then she frowned.
Maybe he wasn't here.
Maybe he had gone to England without her.
As long as she was here, she decided to check on Rosemary and Shirley and Donna and see how they were getting along. And if Lilith was here? She thrust the troubling thought from her mind as she crossed the bridge a second time.
It hadn't been easy, leaving her sister. Kathy looked more frail every day even though she insisted she felt fine. Kadie knew her mother was worrying herself sick. As for her father . . . Kadie shook her head. In the last few weeks, he had rarely been home and when he was, he was surly and withdrawn.
Kadie was about to turn up Oak Avenue toward the residential section when she noticed a car parked in front of the restaurant. Pulling in behind it, she smiled when she saw Shirley and Donna sitting at one of the tables near the window.
Shirley noticed her at the same time.
Kadie waved and then she was inside and they were all hugging each other and talking at once.
". . . glad to see you."
". . . never thought we'd see you again, Kadie."
"Why on earth did you come back here?" Rosemary asked when the first wave of excitement passed.
Kadie sat down. The other women resumed their seats. "Are you hungry?" Shirley asked. "We had an early dinner. There's some ham and mashed potatoes left."
"No, thanks, I ate on the road. As for why I came back . . ." Kadie lifted her shoulders and let them fall. "I was hoping Saintcrow was here."
The women exchanged glances.
"He's here," Rosemary said curtly.
"We've been thinking that maybe since he's come back, we should leave," Shirley remarked.
"He's here?" Kadie asked. "You're sure?"
Donna nodded. "Rosemary saw him outside her house late last night."
Kadie blew out a sigh of relief. This morning, she had waited until her father left the house and her mother went to her yoga class, then booked a flight to Cody. She had rented a car at the airport and driven here, so tense she had stopped only to grab a bite to eat.
"I can't believe you're still with him." Rosemary's voice carried a familiar bitterness.
"Why did he come back without you?" Donna asked.
Kadie shook her head. "It's a long story."
Shirley leaned back in her chair. "Well, let's hear it."
"When we left here, he took me home. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my father is a vampire hunter."
"What?" Donna's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're kidding," Shirley said, and burst out laughing.
"It's not funny, and I'm not kidding. Anyway, two of my dad's acquaintances, who are also hunters, attacked Saintcrow. He killed one of them, which naturally didn't sit well with my dad. Rylan and I made plans to go away together, but he left without me." She paused, swallowing hard. "He didn't even tell me good-bye."
"You're better off without him," Shirley said, "even if you don't think so."
"You're in love with him," Rosemary said, disbelief evident in her voice.
Kadie nodded. "I know you all think he's a monster, but he isn't, not with me. He's kind and thoughtful and"-she bit down on her lower lip-"I don't want to live without him."
"Is he in love with you?" Shirley asked.
"I don't know. He's never said so, but then, I never told him how I feel, either. If he doesn't love me, I'll have to live with it. But, one way or another, I have to know." She glanced out the window. One of the mansion's turrets was barely visible in the distance. "I have to know."
The conversation turned to other things, and Kadie learned that tourists had wandered into town on several occasions, hoping to find something to eat. She was even more surprised to learn that her friends had actually made a few dollars serving food and that on a couple of occasions they had rented vacant houses to travelers looking for a place to spend the night.
"We're thinking of painting the inside of the restaurant white or beige, and making new curtains and tablecloths," Shirley said with a grin. "I was thinking a red-and-white check would look nice."
Kadie nodded, remembering the red-and-white checkered tablecloths at the Italian restaurant where she and Saintcrow had gone to dinner.
"Of course, Donna likes yellow, and Rosemary wants blue. Who knows, if we can decide on the decor, we might just make this place a success."
"I was thinking we could turn the old hotel into a bed and breakfast," Donna said. "I went in there the other day. It's full of dust and cobwebs, but a little paint would go a long way to making it presentable. With a little work, we could make a nice living here."
Ever the pessimist, Rosemary said, "Of course, all these plans will come to naught if the vampires decide to come back."
The sun was setting when Kadie took her leave, promising Rosemary and the other two women that she would see them again tomorrow.
Eager as she was to see Saintcrow, Kadie drove slowly up the narrow road that led to the big gray stone mansion. She had no idea what she would do if he didn't want her there. If he didn't, she would just have to live with it. But one way or another, she wanted to know why he had left without a word.
She parked the car, then sat there, drumming her fingertips on the steering wheel as she realized she had no way to get into the house if he was still at rest. One thing was for certain: if any of the other vampires were here, Kadie didn't want to be caught out in the open after dark, alone.
Grabbing her handbag, she got out of the car and hurried up to the front door. She was about to knock when it opened.
Saintcrow stood there clad in a pair of faded jeans and nothing else.
"Kadie, when I caught your scent, I thought I was dreaming, but of course, that's impossible, since vampires don't dream. What are you doing here?"
"Since you don't seem very happy to see me, I guess I'm making a big mistake."
"Not happy?" He shook his head. "Happy doesn't begin to describe it." Taking her by the hand, he pulled her gently into the house and closed the door. "How did you find me?"
"I just knew you'd be here." She gazed up into his eyes. "Aren't you going to kiss me?"
"Of course." Drawing her into his arms, he kissed her as if it had been years since he'd last held her instead of only weeks.
When he broke the kiss, he led her to the sofa and drew her down beside him. "I never thought you'd come back here of your own free will."
"I never thought you'd leave me without so much as a good-bye."
"All things considered, I thought it was for the best."
"Oh? Best for who?"
"For you, of course. You once told me I had no right to keep you or the others here against their will. After spending time with you and your family, I realized that you were right. I thoughtlessly ruined lives, broke up families, deprived children of their parents. And if my conscience ever bothered me, I excused myself because I'm a vampire, a hunter, and humans are my prey." He held up his hand when she started to speak. "Then I watched you with your family. I've been a vampire for so long, I'd forgotten what it was like to be a part of one. You love them. They love you. I can't give you a normal life. I can't give you children. And your father will never accept me."
"I don't care about all that." She took a deep breath. "All that matters is that I love you. And if you love me . . ."
"If ? Kadie, you must know how I feel."
"You never said it."
"Neither have you. I love you, Kadie. All I want is for you to be happy."
"You make me happy."
"Do your parents know where you are?"
"No! I left them a note saying I was going back to work and that I'd call them in a few weeks."
"So, where do we go from here?"
"I guess that's up to you. If you want me to stay, I will. If you don't . . ." She clenched her hands in her lap, her eyes searching his as she waited for his answer.
"Kadie." He pulled her gently into his arms. "Stay as long as you wish."
Her eyelids fluttered down as he lowered his head to claim her lips with his. His kiss, velvety soft and featherlight, put all her doubts to flight.
They talked far into the night, making plans, dreaming dreams. He made love to her tenderly, vowing he would always love her, never leave her again.
She fell asleep in his arms.
It was after three A.M. when Saintcrow left the house, drawn outside by Lilith's scent. She had been anxious to leave this place, so why did she keep returning?
A thought took him to Blair House. He found her on the sofa in the front parlor, her head bent over the neck of a burly young man with coffee-colored skin and long black hair. If she was surprised to see Saintcrow, she hid it well.
He stood in the doorway while she finished feeding. When she was done, she delicately wiped her mouth on the young man's shirt.
"What are you doing here, Lilith? Besides satisfying your rapacious thirst?"
She shrugged.
"I met a fledgling of yours. Ravenwood?"
"How is he?" She eased the man out of her arms and he fell limply to the floor.
"Lucky to be alive." As was the man she had just preyed upon, Saintcrow thought. "Next time you turn someone, you might stick around long enough to show him the ropes, you know, tell him what to expect, how to survive."
"He made me angry."
"How long are you planning to stay here?"
She shrugged again. "Does it matter?"
"Not if you behave yourself."
She rose in a long, sinuous movement that reminded him of a snake uncoiling.
Saintcrow lifted one brow when she swayed toward him. "Did you ever think about what it would be like if we got together?"
He snorted. "I'd as soon bed a pit viper."
Her eyes blazed red. "I can't believe that puny mortal is more to your liking," she retorted, her voice thick with scorn. "But then, I never understood why you protected the humans that came here. They're nothing. Less than nothing."
"I don't want any more deaths in my town." He jerked his chin toward the man on the floor. "And that includes him."
She glared at Saintcrow, mute.
"I mean it, Lilith. The mortals have a saying. It's my way or the highway. Don't forget it."
Kadie woke in bed, alone, late the next morning, with no memory of how she had gotten there. She knew a moment of disappointment because Saintcrow had left before dawn, then shrugged it off. It was, she thought, something she would have to get used to if she intended to spend the rest of her life with a vampire.
The ringing of her phone brought her back to the present. Glancing at the display, she hesitated to answer it, but there was no point in worrying her mother any more than she had to.
Forcing a note of cheerfulness into her voice, she said, "Hi, Mom."
"Kadie. Where are you?"
"Dad. Is Mom okay?"
"She's fine."
"Why are you using her phone?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't answer if you thought it was me. Where are you?"
"Daddy, please just leave us alone."
"So, you're with him."
"I love him, and nothing you say will change that. Please accept it. He's not a monster. He doesn't kill people when he . . . when he drinks from them. He's treated me with nothing but kindness."
"He's got you under his spell, Kadie. Can't you see that? You've got to listen to me and come home, if not for your sake, then for your mother's. She's worried about you."
"You told her about Rylan?"
"Of course not."
Kadie drummed her fingertips on the edge of the night table. "You didn't have to tell her, did you? She already knew."
"Kadie, I'm asking you one last time to come home. I can't be responsible for what happens if you don't."
With that ominous declaration, her father ended the call.
Feeling sick to her stomach, Kadie dressed and drove into town. She was surprised to see a black van parked up on the hill in front of Blair House. Had Lilith returned without Saintcrow knowing?
That seemed doubtful.
Another car she didn't recognize was parked in front of the restaurant. A good sign, she thought, remembering Donna's hopes of finding a way to make a living in Morgan Creek. It was a pretty place, what with the mountains and the trees. But, as Rosemary said, the future hinged on whether the vampires returned. She wondered if Saintcrow could cast some kind of spell that would keep the vampires out, the way he had once kept the humans in.
Kadie parked the car and went into the restaurant.
Rosemary smiled at her from behind the counter.
Three men stood at the cash register, waiting for Donna to ring up their bill. They all wore long, dark coats and shuttered expressions.
Shirley was in the kitchen.
Kadie took a seat at the counter.
"What'll you have?" Rosemary asked. "Shirley made an apple pie last night."
"Sounds good," Kadie said.
"Coffee?"
"Please."
Kadie glanced at the three men. They didn't look like tourists. She felt a shiver run down her spine when one of them looked up and caught her staring. She quickly looked away.
"What's wrong, Kadie?" Rosemary asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Nothing. I . . . I . . ." She bit down on her lower lip. She was just being paranoid, she thought. But she couldn't shake the feeling that the three men were hunters, and that they had come to Morgan Creek to destroy Saintcrow.
In the back of her mind, she heard her father saying he wouldn't be responsible for what happened if she didn't come home. Had he sent those men here? If so, how had he found her? And even as she asked the question, she knew the answer. He had traced her cell phone to this location.
Was her father here, too? Maybe up at Blair House, looking for vampires to kill?
"Rosemary," she said quietly, "are there any other vampires in town?"
"Not right now. Lilith's been here a couple of times, but she hasn't come near any of us. Why?"
"I think those men who just left are hunters."
