by Regina Duke
Kevin gathered the remnants of their feast and stuffed it into bags. “We’d better get down to Reno and find a room for the night.”
“You didn’t do that already?” Megan hiccupped.
“No, sorry. But it’s Reno. The place is full of hotels. We’ll find something.”
Megan stretched out on the sand. “We can’t stay here and sleep under the stars?”
“Believe me, it will get very cool as soon as the sun sets.” He eyed her carefully. “You never drink alcohol, do you?”
“No. How can you tell?” Megan held one finger aloft and began tracing the outlines of puffy white clouds.
Kevin rolled his eyes, but couldn’t keep from smiling. “Okay. Here we go. Up and at’em.”
“My capris!”
“I’ll get them. Can you stand up?”
Megan looked miffed. “I’m fine. It was just a little champagne.”
“That’s all it takes when you aren’t used to it.” He reached for the capris.
Megan pointed at a large outcropping of rock that jutted into the water. “Why is that man looking at us through binoculars?”
Kevin whirled around.
The man with binoculars dropped out of sight.
“Did you see him?” asked Megan, with just the hint of a slur.
“Yes,” said Kevin coldly. “I did.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
SAFELY BACK IN THE rental car, Megan felt her buzz fading fast. She glanced over at Kevin. He looked completely sober and super focused.
“You win,” she said.
“Excuse me?” He kept his eyes on traffic.
“You win the father competition. Your dad sent that spy, didn’t he?
“I think so, yes. He has employees all over the country.” He snapped his fingers as a sudden realization hit him. “He must have traced activity on my credit card! Mother said she was worried about his ability to track her financial activity, too.”
Megan sighed. “My dad would never do that.” Then she shrugged and added lightly, “Probably because he’d consider it too much trouble. But you still win.”
Kevin snorted. “That’s a win? Great. Lucky me.”
“How did this father/son rift start, anyway?”
“He was trying to run my life all the way through high school. Telling me who I could be friends with. Forcing me into private schools. I wanted to see the real world, not the sheltered universe for the children of the mega rich. So I decided to go away to college. Far away. University of Washington.”
Megan waved her fingers in the air. “Ooooo, big rebel. Went to an out-of-state university. Skipped Harvard and Yale.”
Kevin snapped, “I thought you wanted to hear this story?”
“Sorry. For people in my bracket, a rebel joins a motorcycle gang or becomes a Buddhist monk in Nepal. Going to a school your father doesn’t approve of hardly counts.”
“It counted in my father’s circles. I was turning my back on all the contacts I should be meeting and elbow-rubbing I should be doing at Harvard.”
“I get it. Different standard for different classes.” She frowned. “Hey, Kevin, do you think your father’s spy saw us get married in Reno?”
“No.” His reply was immediate.
“That was fast. How can you be so sure?”
“Because we’re still in one piece and we actually came out of the building man and wife.”
“Yikes. How did his man know we were in Tahoe?”
“Who knows? He probably bribed someone. But we didn’t tell anyone we were going to the Lake. That was spur of the moment. And I haven’t used my phone.” He slapped the steering wheel. “I bet there’s a GPS locator on this rental car. If you’re not afraid to bend the rules, there are ways to track people.”
“No offense, but I don’t think I like your father very much.”
“It’s a big club. Lots of room for new members.”
Megan laughed. “That’s funny. At least you have a sense of humor about it. Are you club president?”
“Nope. That would be my mother.”
Megan didn’t know what to say about that, so they rode on silence.
Kevin found them a room at the Sparks Nugget.
Once they reached the room, Megan began to wonder what Kevin would expect of her on their so-called wedding night. She could feel the butterflies starting deep inside, but didn’t know if they were caused by nervousness or excitement. After all, he was very handsome. Much more handsome than any of the boys she’d met in college. She didn’t run with the popular crowd. She always wound up in the library at a table filled with engineering majors or chemistry study groups. Kevin was only a year older than she was, but he seemed so much more mature than her college acquaintances. It had to be the lumberjack muscles that made the difference. The thought of pressing herself against his bare chest sent the butterflies into a frenzy.
But Kevin did not seem ready to call it a night.
“If you’ve never been to Reno or Vegas or an Indian casino, you’re probably not a gambler, right?”
“Bingo,” said Megan. A moment later, “I mean, you’re correct. And I don’t play Bingo either.”
Kevin grinned. He waved her close. “Tonight, you get it all out of your system.”
“I don’t have it in my system.”
“Think of it as a kiddie arcade.”
Megan’s face lit up. “Do they have one of those?”
After an hour at the kiddie arcade, Kevin was impressed by Megan’s prowess with the shooting games.
“Where did you learn to do that?”
“One of the jobs I did to work my way through college was at an arcade. I used to be good at the dancing games, too,” she said. “But I don’t think I’m ready for those yet.” Her hand once again dropped to her thigh.
“Ready for the grownup games?”
Megan tensed. The butterflies made another appearance. She could imagine them waiting in the wings with her heart as the stage. But way too many of them were downstairs in her stomach wreaking havoc.
Kevin said, “I mean the slot machines.”
“Oh, those! Sure, why not.” Megan smiled nervously, and scooted ahead of Kevin so he couldn’t see the expression of relief on her face.
The slot machines were entertaining. Megan enjoyed the musical ones the most. Still, she couldn’t help but flinch every time Kevin slipped another twenty into the slot. At last she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Let’s not waste our money here,” she said. “We could have bought wedding bands with what we’ve stuffed into these machines.”
“Good point. Besides, it’s getting late and we’ve got an early flight.”
Back in the room, Megan brushed her teeth, put on her pink pajamas, picked one of the beds and crawled under the covers. Kevin disappeared into the bathroom.
Megan leaned back on the pillows and reminded herself that she had walked into this situation with her eyes open and her goal clearly in mind. Part of her had felt nothing but relief since she and Kevin signed the papers at the Courthouse. But another part of her had become increasingly nervous about their first night together.
And there was still the question of where her mother had moved to. And her father as well, of course. Then she felt guilty for not being equally concerned about both of them. She rolled her eyes at herself. Lying here in bed, waiting for her husband, she had other things to think about besides her parents!
Maybe she should just close her eyes and rest for a moment. It had been an eventful day.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KEVIN SHOWERED to get the casino smell off. He dried off and slipped into his pajama bottoms. He wondered if Megan was expecting something romantic this evening. After all, they were married.
But Kevin couldn’t shake the feeling that having his way with her would be no better than harassing an employee. After all, Megan considered this whole arrangement a job. And how could he make advances on her when she was worried sick about her mother?
He could tell she was worried, because she didn’t talk his ear off all day. There were far too many long silences during their drive to Tahoe and back.
As he brushed his teeth, he couldn’t believe he was concerned about not being talked to death. The brief hours they had spent together at the Pike Place Market had shown him a side of Megan that he found genuinely attractive. He wanted his fun-loving tourist back. She had been nervous ever since they got to the hotel.
Or maybe it was because of the man with the binoculars. Maybe she was already regretting what she’d gotten into. He hoped fervently that his father wasn’t up to anything violent. Would he go that far?
Yes.
The word came unbidden to his mind. He had suspected for quite some time that his father was more than capable of getting rid of competition or stomping on it so violently that at least one man had committed suicide.
He rifled through his clothes for his cell phone. He opened the bathroom door for a moment, heard the TV droning, and softly closed the door. He could talk safely inside the bath. With the TV on, Megan wouldn’t hear anything. He dialed the number of the ranch foreman.
“Zach? Any news?”
“All good. Found the information and made the arrangements. Any other chores for me?”
“No, thanks. That was the one I was worried about.”
“I can’t wait to meet your fiancée. Am I going to like her?”
Kevin thought for a moment. “Actually, I think you will. Is Karla around?”
“At this hour?”
Kevin realized it was almost one a.m. “Sorry, Zach. My timing stinks.”
“No matter. I was still awake. But the main house is dark.”
“It will have to wait, then. We fly into Denver at noon, so we should get to the ranch by two.”
Zach was silent for a moment. Then, “You? Flying?”
Kevin perched on the edge of the sink. “Yes, me, flying. I finally tried the medicated route, and it helps a lot.”
“Want me to pick you up at the airport?”
“Not necessary. I know you must be super busy with mother and the kids there.”
Zach grunted into the phone. “You might say that. By the way, I got to warn you. Your sister Karla is plenty upset about this wedding. She said you were her only friend and now you’ll shut her out because you’ll have a wife.”
“She’s talking?”
“Only to me.”
“As usual,” said Kevin. “The poor kid. Try to reassure her, okay? I’m doing this for her.”
“Anything else I can help you with?”
“Not at the moment. Any sign of the old man?”
“No, but there’s a lot of tension in the main house. And I had to drive into town and refill your mother’s prescription.”
Kevin made a face. “Not a good sign. How’s Keegan?”
“Growing like a weed. Krystal sent him outside to play today, and he sat on a hay bale in the shade with his electronic game. Never looked up. He’s angry because he’s missing computer camp in the city.”
“Terrific. What a lovely mess to drag Megan into.”
“Her name is Megan, eh?”
Kevin smiled.
“Well, it’s late,” said Zach. “I better get to bed. See you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” Kevin hung up. He would find a way to reassure Karla. He just wasn’t sure how yet.
He emerged from the bath and turned off the light. The TV continued to drone on. He stopped for a moment by Megan’s bed. She looked like an angel, with her golden hair spread out over the pillow. Their hours at Tahoe had put some pink in her cheeks. Her eyes were closed. She was sound asleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Tuesday, June 26
THE FLIGHT FROM Reno to Denver was uneventful. Megan wondered if she could find other excuses to fly first class as Kevin’s wife. The price of their tickets made her cringe, but she never wanted to fly tourist again.
Kevin was so relaxed, he snoozed most of the way to Denver. None of their luggage was lost, and Kevin stood for a moment by the carousel, looking around for the sign that would point to the rental car desk.
Megan was thinking that things were going very well when Kevin’s cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
Megan pulled the handle up on her rolling luggage and stacked the smaller bag on top. The tiny overnight case perched on top of that one.
Kevin’s tone alarmed her.
“What?! When?… How?… Oh, for…! Yes, we just landed. We’ll pick up our rental car and drive straight there. Bye.”
Megan turned to asked him what was wrong, then yelped with surprise.
A vampire dripping blood from the corner of her mouth stood menacingly behind Kevin. It’s yellow eyes glared hatred at Megan.
Kevin looked around when Megan yelped. When he saw the vampire vision, he cried out, “Thank God!” He wrapped his arms around the vampire girl. “Karla! Your mother is frantic!”
Megan marveled at the realism of the girl’s costume. She was dressed all in black, and wore a lightweight cape that dangled around her knees. The hem of the cape was uneven and tattered. Her face was painted white except for black eye makeup and black lipstick. Bright red makeup ran in fat drops of blood from one corner of her mouth down her chin. Several of the other passengers in the terminal examined her costume from a safe distance. She was making quite a splash.
Kevin released her from his hug. “How did you get here?” He was already dialing his phone.
“Took the bus.” Her voice was schooled in a deep far away tone. “Interesting mode of transportation.”
Kevin paused, then spoke into his phone. “Mother? I found her. She came to greet us at the airport…. No, no, call them off. Everything is fine. She’s with me. Okay, bye.” He put the phone away.
Karla the vampire raised one hand and pointed a finger at Megan. Her nails were two inches long and painted black. Her hands were white, like her face.
“This be your love slave?” Her voice was full of contempt.
Kevin ignored her tone. Instead, he said pleasantly, “Karla, this is Megan. Megan, this is my sister Karla.”
Karla hissed at Megan.
Megan thought fast. She could see the love in Kevin’s eyes when he looked at his sister. Love and concern. Karla was very important to him, and he was obviously accustomed to her role playing.
In an instant, Megan made her decision. She bowed deeply. “I am unworthy,” she said. “I hope to earn your respect over time, Mistress Karla.” She maintained her pose, even though she was dying to see Karla’s reaction.
Surprise and a hint of pleasure modified Karla’s practiced tone, but only slightly. “You may rise, One Called Megan.”
Megan straightened up.
Nearby passengers applauded.
Megan fought to keep a straight face.
Karla never broke character, but she waved an arm to acknowledge the crowd. Then she asked Kevin, “Be there a carriage?”
“Yes,” said Kevin. “We were just on our way to the rental car desk.”
“You may lead the way.” She turned her face in Megan’s direction without making eye contact. “The One Called Megan may accompany us.”
Megan walked with her head down and smiled at the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
KEVIN MARVELED AT Megan’s intuition. He watched her play into his sister’s delusion and wondered if his mother was going to throw a fit. Krystal preferred that everyone ignore Karla’s vampire act. But Megan seemed to be enjoying it. When they got to the rental SUV, Kevin used the remote to unlock it and began loading luggage.
Megan gave Karla another mini-bow and asked, “Would Mistress Karla prefer the front seat?”
Karla demurred. “My skin protection formula works well, but I have been out in the daylight far too long. Granted, the tinted windows of the public conveyance shielded me somewhat. However, I would feel much safer ensconced in the middle of the rear seating area.”
“If you would be so kind as to open the rear door for me. My skin protectant can rub off on other surfaces.”
“But of course.” Megan opened the rear door and Karla climbed inside. Megan closed the door and caught Kevin’s eye. She winked at him, then climbed into the front passenger seat.
Kevin smiled with a shake of his head. This was going to be entertaining. He was delighted that Megan had foiled Karla’s attempt to hate her. It had been one of his biggest worries. He couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
As they pulled out of the rental lot, Kevin glanced in the rearview mirror. “Karla, are you enjoying the ranch?”
Karla grumbled, but did not respond.
Megan said softly, “Perhaps Mistress Karla needs time to gather her strength. I would think a morning outside the safety of her nest would be exhausting.”
Kevin nodded. “Oh. Of course.” He glanced sideways at Megan, then turned his face to the window to hide his smile.
Megan faced forward but addressed Karla. “I am honored that you made such a perilous journey to greet us at the airport. I hope to be worthy of your expectations.”
In the rearview mirror, Kevin saw Karla nod graciously in response to Megan’s words.
Megan continued. “With your permission, Mistress Karla, may we pause in our journey long enough to buy hamburgers and fries?”
Karla leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. A moment later, she growled, “You may.”
Once they provisioned themselves, Kevin wondered how Karla would handle eating in front of Megan.
Karla proceeded hesitantly, holding individual fries to her nose to sniff them.
Megan said, “I admire you greatly, Mistress Karla, for adapting to life among humans. You must have spent months adjusting your digestive tract to handle our food.”
Karla liked that explanation. “It was a lengthy process,” she intoned, then popped a fry into her mouth.
The rest of the trip to the ranch went quickly.
