Ghost Town Page 0,9

Amelie's refuge was their own, their private, sweet, warm heaven where nothing could intrude.

Well, except for Claire's cell phone alarm, which was set for seven a.m.

That sucked.

Morning was hard, partly because neither one of them had slept much, and partly because Claire just didn't want to ever leave the room, but she finally managed to kiss her way free and get down the stairs to the closed door.

It didn't open. "Shane!" she yelled. "I have to go!"

His evil laugh drifted down to her, movie-campy, but he pushed the button and let her out. She beat Eve to the shower, of course; Eve was not voluntarily an early riser, and it was her day off, so Claire could take her time in the hot water, and get herself pulled together without knocks rushing her along. When she opened the bathroom door and stepped out, she found Shane sitting on the floor next to it, blocking the hallway with his legs. He had on his rumpled jeans, but he'd left off the shirt.

So not fair. She loved looking at his chest, and he knew it.

"We have got to get a second bathroom in this monster," he said, and kissed her on his way through the doorway. "You take way too long."

"Do not!" she said, outraged, but the wood had already closed between them. "I take half the time Eve does!"

"Still too long!" he called from inside. "Girls."

She banged on the door, then winced and hoped it wasn't loud enough to wake Eve or Michael, and went down the hall to her room. Shane had been right: she had never made the bed yesterday, but she did it today, putting the pillows right and everything. Then she pulled out old, ratty clothes and her worst high-tops.

There was no sense in wearing good clothes to Myrnin's lab. They were just going to get splashed with icky stuff, or stuff that burned holes, or stuff that never came out, no matter how creative you got with laundry add-ins. Claire gulped a bowl of cereal in the kitchen, standing over the sink, and started to wash the bowl--but it was Shane's kitchen day, and with a grin, she put the dirties down unscrubbed.

Served him right for trying to make her late.

She dumped most of the contents of her backpack, except for the things that were relevant to her project with Myrnin, then added in the slim history book and took off.

It was a beautiful morning. She'd missed sunrise, but it was still a little cool, and the sky was a beautiful clear blue with only a few scrubby clouds on the horizon. At this hour, the sun seemed friendly, not like the scorching monster it would become by noon. Claire skipped down the steps and out the gate, and set off for Common Grounds first. No Oliver, and this time both the baristas were new employees. Her name was spelled wrong again.

Coffees in hand, she headed for Myrnin's lab.

Morganville was busy at this hour, with practically everybody who wasn't a vampire taking advantage of the sunshine and the safety it afforded. Kids walked in groups, even so; most adults didn't go alone, either, but go they did. Claire met several people she knew as she walked along. It felt like home. That was actually a little sad.

A police car pulled up next to her on the street, idling and crawling along, and Claire saw Hannah Moses wave at her. The police chief of Morganville rolled down her window. "You need a ride, Claire?"

Hannah was . . . impressive. She just had this completely competent air about her, and there was a scar on her face that should have looked disfiguring, but on her, it made her seem even more intimidating--until she smiled. Then she looked beautiful. Today, she was wearing her cornrowed hair back in a loose knot, elegant and kind of formal. For Hannah, anyway.

"No, thanks," Claire called back. "I appreciate it, but it's a really nice day. I should walk. And you're probably busy."

"Busy is vampires fighting over the snack supply," Hannah said. "This isn't it, trust me. Okay, then, have a nice day. If you see Myrnin, tell him I said I want my slow cooker back."

"Your--You let him borrow something you put food in?"

Hannah's smile disappeared. "Why?"

"Um, never mind. I'll make sure it gets disinfected before you get it back. But don't lend anything to him again unless you can put it in some kind of sterilizer."

That made even Hannah look nervous.