by Maria Lima
“Take care of yourself, okay?” With that, Carlton ended the call.
I switched off the receiver and put it back into its cradle on the kitchen counter.
I went back to the living room to curl up in a chair and sip my coffee as I watched Tucker and thought things through. Adam wanted to bring Carlton into our confidence. To out us. Did that make sense? Would that stop Carlton from worrying so much, or would that simply enmesh him in our own tangled dilemma? Bea already knew about us. She’d clued in to my family’s secret early during our teen years. When the adults noticed she spent nearly all her free time at our house, they’d pretty much figured she’d become a de facto daughter and there was no need to hide anything from her. She’d learned about vampires and wer much later, but she’d accepted it. Carlton, however? There was so much baggage between us—our mutual past, the fact that I’d run away from our relationship. Now he was married, had kids… a family that could be endangered. As sheriff, and before that a police officer in San Antonio, he’d always been in a dangerous profession. I know he still cared for me, even though I’d broken his heart. He’d never understood exactly why I’d dumped him; I’d not been able to explain that his being human was the one thing that kept me from being able to be his true partner. Considering all this—maybe telling him was a good thing.
Adam could be right. If we revealed ourselves, maybe Carlton could finally get whatever closure he was missing. I suppose the only question left was: Could he handle the news that there was far more to the world than he imagined—and that the “more” was about as bizarre and weird as it got?
I dozed off as I pondered the various ramifications of coming out to Carlton, my now-empty coffee cup dangling from my fingers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half cracked.”
—Bernard Meltzer
“I would like to try to Summon my father,” Adam said as he exited the bedroom. Tucker had woken, weak, but better. He’d wanted to go to sleep in a real bed, not on the couch, so I’d helped him to the guest room where I’d woken Adam. Adam and I were now both in the living room, its curtains still drawn tight and sealed with duct tape to keep out the sun. I didn’t know the exact time, but it was somewhere around midmorning.
“So you’ve decided to call in the troops?” I teased as I bustled about the kitchen rustling up some food for me.
Adam glared at me in mock anger. “Not the full cohort. Just one soldier. I decided that it won’t hurt,” he said. “My father can handle himself, besides, he may be able to help us.”
“Fight whatever it is that’s ganging up on us?” I asked. I found a few energy bars stashed in an upper cabinet and snagged those. Tearing the wrapper off one, I took a big bite and chewed. “Will he come?” I asked around a mouthful of food.
“That’s disgusting,” Adam said.
“Sorry.” I swallowed. “I’m starving. I didn’t mean to speak with my mouth full.”
“Not that so much as… that’s not really food, is it?” He eyed the packets with distrust as I joined him.
“These? Energy bars. Full of protein.” I tore the wrapper off a second one and practically inhaled it. My belly felt hollow. “No, they’re not exactly tasty, but they are quick energy.”
His brow rose as he watched me devour a third, then a fourth bar. “I’m sure there is more food. Didn’t Tucker buy groceries?”
“He did, but it would take too long to cook something.” I licked the wrapper of the last bar and tossed it into a small trash bin. “So, now, your father?”
Adam settled next to me on the couch, his long limbs sprawled in front of him, arms crossed behind his head. I’d not seen him this relaxed in a long time. “I believe I’ve figured out what I need to do,” he said. “I’ll need some privacy, so must wait until we return to the Wild Moon tonight.”
“That, or we could take the van,” I suggested.
“Tucker’s van? The one with no windows on the sides?” Adam sat up.
“It’s still at the ranch,” I said. “I could go there now and bring it back—”
“Keira, what did I say…”
I patted his arm. “About going alone, yes, yes, I know. I wasn’t planning to. Tucker’s weak, but feeling better. We can swoop in, get the van and swoop right back out again, none the wiser.”
“Magick doesn’t work that way,” Adam protested. “It’s not like a surveillance camera that one can avoid.”
“I can drive fast.”
“And magick is faster. We wait until dark.”
I grumbled and wiggled into a more comfortable position. Once again, I waited. For what? To breach yet another boundary?
“Had you given any more thought to my suggestion? That we take the sheriff into our confidence?” Adam prodded my side. I knew he was teasing me, trying to reconnect in the best way possible. We’d had no real time to ourselves lately, no real time to be alone, to make love, to reconnect. He’d barely fed, only doing so when I’d insisted. Feeding from me shouldn’t be hurried, he’d protested. It was as much an act of love between a bonded pair as was sex. I’d felt the lack as much as he did. Taking blood from me wasn’t a one-way street. I gained energy from him as he took it from me. We needed it to keep ourselves on an even keel. Not that a few days would hurt us, but it sure made things more difficult.
I poked him back. “I did. He called earlier, by the way. He’s been by the ranch. Saw it closed up.”
“Bugger.”
I stared at Adam in shock. I’d never heard him use such a vulgarity. “Wow, that really threw you, didn’t it?”
“I was hoping we could buy ourselves some time,” he said. “Him poking around there is not a good idea. I don’t want him to get hurt due to us. Nor do I wish to have all of our secrets exposed.” Adam tossed me his phone. “Ring him. See if he will stop by.”
“Wow, and you think that’s a good idea?” I asked. “Have him come here?”
“Our territory,” Adam said, “at least temporarily. He’ll be safer here. If we go see him, we’d have to do it after dark, and I’d rather not wait that long.”
He stood in the doorway, all six foot three of him, strong, earnest, steady, clad in the requisite polyester brown uniform that seemed to be painted on his thighs. He wore his Stetson and his Sam Browne belt as if he were born to them—which, perhaps he was. Carlton’s father had been sheriff before him, running the law in Rio Seco as long as I could remember. When he’d died, Carlton returned to town and had been appointed to finish out his father’s term. He’d been officially elected last fall.
Brown eyes met my own gray ones as we both stood at the door. For a moment, his gaze slid down, then up again, as if appraising me. I stood with my hand on the door frame, one foot atop another, flashing back to my youth, the days when I’d stood in a similar doorway, eagerly anticipating his arrival. I almost felt embarrassed to greet him in my cutoffs and tank top, my feet bare, my hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail.
“You going to invite me in?”
“Sorry, yes, please.” I stepped back, allowing him to pass me. I let the door shut behind me as I watched him cross the darkened living room, one hand out. “Walker.” He’d seen Adam sitting there. Keen eyes, our sheriff. When the doorbell had rung, Adam had gone all over vampire, stilling in the way only the dead can. He sat in shadow, having turned off the side table lamps. The only light on in the house was the small light above the stove.
“Sheriff.” Adam rose, a languid move, all predator alert and vampire rolled into one. I rolled my eyes at him. Men. “Thank you for coming so quickly,” Adam continued as he motioned to Carlton to take a seat on the couch.
“Hey, Carlton.” Bea’s weary voice interrupted as she entered the living room. “Is everything okay?” She sat on the couch next to Carlton, her petite body dwarfed by his.
“Yes, fine, Bea. Don’t worry.” Carlton took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You feeling okay?”
>
She hid her yawn behind a hand. “Yeah, got a lot of sleep, thanks to Keira.” She smiled in my direction. I’d taken the seat next to Adam, once again, we sat like rulers on our thrones.
“I’m afraid the building’s pretty much a goner, Bea,” Carlton said, his tone somber. “I’m so sorry.”
Tears glittered in Bea’s eyes as she pulled her hand out of Carlton’s, stood a bit shakily. “I… I have insurance,” she said in a rush and went into the kitchen. I followed.
She stood at the counter, head bowed, hands splayed on the Corian as if the countertop was the only thing holding her up. “I knew it last night,” she said. “When the volunteer fire crew showed up, I knew there wasn’t much left to save. I was just glad we’d gotten out okay.” She sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Today, it just seems worse.”
I hugged her from behind and gave her a quick peck on the back of her head. “Bea, I know. It truly sucks. I’m sorry.”
She nodded. “I don’t think I can go out there for a while, you know. I mean, into the living room. Carlton being here just reminds me.” She turned to the cupboard and pulled out a frying pan. “I’ll make some breakfast, okay?”
I let her be, knowing that she needed the distraction. “Sure, hon.”
“Carlton can stay if he wants.” She busied herself cracking eggs. Oh. She thought he’d come by to give her a status report. Damn. Well, I wasn’t going to bother her with details right now. She needed some space.
“Your priest left early, by the way,” she said. “About an hour ago.”
“He did? I didn’t see him.”
“You were asleep in the chair. I’d come out to see if you wanted breakfast, but both you and Tucker were sound asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
“Where did he go?” This was most certainly not good.
“To the Lakeside Chapel. He wanted to pray, he said. Muttered something about bitter? I wasn’t really paying that much attention, though.” She began to whisk the eggs.
Bitter? “Damn it, is he pissed off that we had to leave the cemetery last night?”
“I don’t really know,” Bea said. “He was speaking in Spanish, said something odd.” Her brow furrowed as she thought. “I think I heard him whisper something along the lines of ‘no me hagas beber este trago amargo.’ It means ‘don’t make me drink this bitter drink.’ I didn’t ask because he seemed rather lost in thought plus, he’d made himself some coffee, so I guess he could’ve been talking about that. Come to think of it, he had his rosary in one hand, not counting down the decades, but just fingering the beads.”
If he didn’t like the coffee, why was he drinking it? I shrugged and leaned back against the counter next to Bea. “I guess he wanted something else, I suppose. How’d he get to the chapel?”
“I told him where it was and gave him the keys to my car.”
“Your car? It wasn’t here when we drove back last night, then Niko picked you up—”
“I made Niko let me drive back on my own.” Her steely gaze met mine. “I had to, Keira. I can’t get stuck here with no transportation. My car was fine. I’d parked it at the outside edge of the lot. Been doing that a lot lately because I want to get some more exercise. Walking is good for me.” Her hand went to her belly.
“It’s not as if you’re not on your feet all day already,” I protested.
“I’m not. Tio and Tia don’t let me,” she said and began to whisk again. “I need to move, to be active, but they think I need to slow down and sit. It’s making me a bit insane. Good thing I parked the car so far from the building, isn’t it?” Tears welled up in her eyes and she stopped talking. Her livelihood gone and here I was bitching at her about her car. Some friend I was.
I hugged her again. “Yeah, good thing.” With a quick kiss to the top of her head, I left the kitchen and joined Adam and Carlton in the living room.
So far, so good. They had neither come to blows nor were they glaring daggers. Instead, they were making small talk of a sort. Carlton was talking about the weather, how hot it was, how the drought was getting a lot worse. Adam sat there with an amused smile. Carlton stopped talking as soon as I entered the room. “Keira,” he nodded.
“So, did Adam tell you why we called?” I asked, plopping myself down in the armchair again.
Carlton eyed me, his face neutral. “No. We were waiting for you. Bea okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she just needs to adjust. She’s making breakfast. Asked if you wanted to stay.”
“She’s…” Carlton took off his Stetson and scratched his head. I noticed his hair, though still cropped short, was beginning to show a lot more gray than brown. “I suppose she feels the need.”
“She does. So, about this…” I waved a hand between Adam and I.
“In light of the recent incidents,” Adam began, “Keira and I felt that it was important to take you into our confidence.”
“Go on.”
Adam glanced over at me. I took up the gauntlet.
“Well, Carlton, it’s like this.” I took a deep breath, sent up a silent plea to whatever gods were listening for courage, strength, and the ability to say this without fucking it up. “I’m not human, and Adam is a vampire.”
The sound of a frying pan clattering to the kitchen tile was the only sound in the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“The Great Oz has spoken.”
—L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz
“You’re…” Carlton slammed his hat back on his head and stood, his lips tight and angry. “You called me over here for a prank?”
I leaped up, putting both hands on his solid arms. “Carlton, please, don’t be stupid. Why on earth would I say these things if they weren’t true?” I looked at him, my face as open and honest as I could make it. He had to believe me.
His brown eyes searched my face, bewilderment in his expression. “How? Keira, this is just—”
“Unbelievable, I know.” Adam rose. “Perhaps this will convince you.” He bared his teeth, fangs sliding out.
Carlton pulled out of my grasp, stepped back, and fell onto the couch. “How. You.” He pointed at Adam, who’d retracted his fangs and returned to his chair. “How’d you do that?”
I smacked Carlton on the back of his head. “You’re a smart man, Carlton Larsen. Think. Use that big brain of yours. We exist. Vampires exist. Neither of us is human.”
He cringed. “Keira, are you the same?”
“As Adam? No,” I said. I went back to my chair, knowing full well I’d hurt him. Not physically, but emotionally. I could see his spirit breaking as his eyes went wide. “My family is a worldwide clan of supernaturals,” I explained. “Simply put, we have various Talents and abilities.”
“Like what?”
“Pretty much anything you’d think of as out of the ordinary,” I said. “Weather affinities, healing, shape-shifting.”
“Shapeshifting.” Carlton rubbed his face, removed his hat again and set it carefully down on the side table. “Are you trying to tell me you can change shape?”
“Well, not all of us can,” I said. “My people only inherit one primary ability at adulthood, but in my case—”
“In her case,” Tucker’s voice continued my explanation. I grinned as my brother and Niko came into the room, each to stand beside us in their usual positions. Tucker looked good, well rested. “She has all our Talents. Keira is heir to our clan chieftain.”
“You. Tucker? I suppose you’re a part of this.”
“Every last inch of me,” he said. “I’m a shapeshifter. And her Protector.” With an extremely amused grin, my brother glanced at me and wagged his eyebrows. I laughed and nodded my head. Without another word, Tucker quickly stripped out of his clothes and shifted into his wolf shape.
Carlton’s eyes widened and his mouth worked, but no sound came out. Tucker, his tail wagging, trotted over to Carlton, put his giant paws on Carlton’s lap, and nuzzled at his face. “Get off! Get off, you…” Car
lton pushed at the wolf, but Tucker stood firm. He nuzzled Carlton’s neck again, then to top off his performance, licked his cheek. With a small yip that sounded suspiciously like a wolf’s version of a laugh, Tucker bounded off Carlton and returned to his clothing and shifted back.
“I…” Carlton wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. “What the—How?”
Bea, who’d been standing in the kitchen doorway, stifled a chuckle. She entered the room with two steaming mugs of coffee and handed me one, then sat next to Carlton on the couch and offered him the other. “Here, drink this. I know it’s a lot to get used to.”
“You knew?” He waved a hand in our direction. “About this?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He took a huge gulp, then focused on Bea. “You know?”
She nodded and tucked her feet under her. “I’ve known for years,” she said. “I practically grew up at the Kelly house. I couldn’t help but know.”
“Are you…?”
“No, I’m just human, like you.” Now it was my turn to stifle a laugh. Human, yes, but carrying a half-were-wolf baby. I didn’t think Carlton was quite ready for absolute full disclosure. Having us be different was plenty for now.
“Bea was the only human friend that I could talk to since we were kids,” I added.
Carlton gave her a slow nod. “I get that. And him? Is he a wolf, too?” Carlton indicated Niko, who stood death-still at his post.
“He is mine,” Tucker said. “And he is vampire.”
“Despite my ‘big brain,’ as you called it, I’m having a devil of a time absorbing all of this.” He looked at each of the three of us. Tucker, now back next to Niko and fully dressed. Adam, sitting like a king, his posture relaxed but regal. Me, with my legs tucked up in a tailor’s squat, in the chair next to Adam.
