With a sigh, she flopped back on the pillows. Why was she worrying about him? He was a big boy. He’d been taking care of himself for over nine hundred years.
The promise of fresh, hot coffee drew her to the kitchen.
“Good morning, sunshine,” her mother said.
“Hi, Mom. Dad.”
“Mornin’, pumpkin. Good to have you home again,” her father said. “How long are you staying this time?”
“I’m not sure.” Kadie poured herself a cup of coffee, then sat at the table, thinking again how good it felt to be back home.
Minutes later, her mother placed a platter of French toast and bacon on the table.
“Should we wait for your friend?” her mother asked.
“No. Rylan’s gone for the day. Business of some kind.”
Her father nodded. “Right.”
Kadie looked at him sharply, wondering at his skeptical tone. “He’ll be back tonight, probably after dinner.”
Her father grunted thoughtfully.
Kadie frowned. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought her father suspected something.
Later, sitting out on the patio doing her nails, she wondered how Donna, Shirley, and Rosemary were getting along. Had they stayed in Morgan Creek, or had Brittany’s death soured them on the idea? She wondered how Marti was doing, and if Chelsea had found it hard to settle back into life at home, and if Jeremy had stayed with Chelsea, and if Frankie and Claude were having a good time in Hawaii. And then she wondered about the vampires. Had they stayed together? Where were they now? Were they enjoying their freedom, or wishing they had stayed in Morgan Creek, where it was safe?
She looked up, smiling, when her mother pulled a chair up beside her and sat down.
“You seem lost in thought,” Mrs. Andrews remarked. “Anything you want to share?”
“No, I was just thinking about some of the strange stories I heard while I was traveling,” Kadie said, choosing her words carefully.
“What kinds of strange stories?”
“Oh, you know. Tales of ghosts and things that go bump in the night. I guess it’s really not all that unusual, considering where my work takes me. But then I heard someone say vampires were real, and . . .”
Kadie nodded. “I remember reading something about vampires in the paper years ago, but I didn’t pay much attention. I mean, who believes in vampires?”
“Well, there are always stories,” Mrs. Andrews said, her brow furrowing. “But no one’s ever proved they exist. Why, just day before yesterday there was a story on the news about a body being found drained of blood in the alley behind Kitner Road. But your father saw the body and told me the report had been exaggerated.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Yes, indeed. So, tell me about your young man.”
Kadie grinned inwardly, thinking that her “young” man hadn’t been young in centuries. “He’s just a guy I met. We sort of hit it off and when he asked me to go to England with him, I said I would. I’m due for a vacation.”
“He seems very nice, and I know you’ve been making your own decisions for years, but, Kadie, do you think it’s wise to go off with a man you’ve known such a short time?”
“I’ll be fine, Mom,” Kadie said, reaching over to give her mom’s hand a squeeze. “I’ve been with Rylan for several weeks.” And she knew him in ways her mother would surely frown on.
After lunch, Kadie and her mother drove to the hospital to see Kathy. It broke Kadie’s heart to see her little sister looking so thin and pale.
She pasted a smile on her face as she hurried to her sister’s bedside and gave her a hug. “How’s my angel?”
“Kadie! I’m so glad to see you.”
“I missed you, too.” Reaching into her bag, Kadie pulled out a beribboned package. “Here you go,” she said. “A souvenir from Wyoming, as promised.”
“You didn’t forget!” Kathy quickly tore off the wrappings, opened the box, and pulled out a porcelain doll dressed in the garb of a Cheyenne bride. “I love her!” she exclaimed. “Thank you!”
While Kathy admired her new doll, Kadie looked up and met her mother’s tear-filled eyes and knew, in that moment, that Kathy’s days were numbered.
It was near dark when Kadie and her mother headed home from the hospital. Kadie’s father was sitting on the front porch, reading one of his medical journals, when Kadie and her mother arrived.