Enchant the Night - Amanda Ashley Page 0,44

sense a human presence in one of the bedrooms. Sooner or later, the vampire would return.

He glanced over his shoulder, every muscle taut, knowing that if he was caught here, the punishment he had received before would be doubled.

But it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t rest until Quill was dead.

Or he was.

Chapter 18

Callie woke slowly, reluctantly. Last night, Quill had asked her to dream of him, and boy, had she! Smiling, she stretched her arms over her head. Then, remembering where she was, she bounded out of bed and pulled back the curtains. It had rained in the night and the world looked fresh and new. Raindrops glistened like diamonds on the leaves of the trees; the air was fragrant with the scent of rain-washed earth and pine.

Pulling on her robe, she headed for the kitchen, only then remembering there was no food in the house. Changing direction, she went back to the bedroom with its adjoining bath, where she took a quick shower, then pulled on her jeans, a sweater, and her new boots. She paused at the front door. If she locked it, she had no way to get back in. Well, there was no help for it, she’d just have to leave it unlocked. She was too hungry to wait for Quill to wake up.

Settling her handbag on her shoulder, she struck out for town.

It wasn’t the best day for a walk. Dark clouds hovered in the west, threatening more rain to come, but the sky above was clear and blue. As she neared the town, Callie saw several women out and about. They eyed her speculatively as she passed by. Were they ordinary people, vampires, or women married to vampires? There was no way for her to tell, since the Hungarian vamps could be out during the day.

As she walked along, Callie realized none of the houses had mailboxes. Odd, she thought, unless people picked up their mail at the post office.

For a small town, it supported a variety of shops, as well as a bank, a gas station, a small drugstore, a movie theater, and a medical building.

The grocery store was located at the end of the block. Finding a cart, Callie walked the aisles, plucking basic items from the shelf. In the produce aisle, she bought a variety of fruits and vegetables, wondering, as she did so, what Quill liked to eat, and how often he ate regular food. In the meat department, she bought chicken and steaks and Italian meatballs.

She was leaving the frozen food aisle when she saw a woman pushing a cart coming toward her. Callie pulled over to let her pass, but the woman stopped, a friendly smile on her face. She was quite pretty, perhaps in her mid-thirties, with short, curly dark hair and brown eyes.

“You’re new in town, aren’t you?” the woman said.

Callie nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“I thought so. I’m Wendy Yates.”

“Callie Hathaway.”

“Are you staying long?”

“I don’t know.”

Wendy nodded. “I guess we never know how long we’re going to stay in any one place, do we?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know,” Wendy said with an airy wave of her hand. And then she frowned. “Or maybe you don’t.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

Wendy took a step back, her smile fading. “I’m sorry, I thought you were one of us. Have a nice day.”

Callie frowned at her. “We are here to stay. At least for a while. My friend’s people live here.”

“So, you are one of us.”

Callie stared at her, momentarily perplexed by the whole conversation, and then she understood. “I’m new at all this,” she admitted, “and I still have a lot to learn about vampires.”

Wendy’s smile returned. “Welcome to town. I’m sure you’ll like it here. It’s nice, not having to be careful about what you say all the time. The majority of people you see during the day will be mortal, since most of the vampires prefer the night. But everyone who lives here is either a vampire or married to one.”

Callie nodded, deciding not to mention that she and Quill weren’t married.

“You may have noticed we don’t have mailboxes and there’s no post office, so if you’re expecting any bills or correspondence, you’ll have to go to Wendover, which is about ten miles east of here.”

“How do the people who run the shops get supplies?”

“They order them in Wendover and pick them up. Some of our older kids go to school there, although most of them are home-schooled. As far as the rest of the country knows, this place doesn’t