As Twilight Falls

Sitting up, she clutched the covers to her chest, felt a slow smile chase away the last remnants of her nightmare when she saw the pale pink rose petals scattered across the bedspread. A vase, overflowing with roses, stood in the center of the dresser.

Picking up a handful of petals, she crushed them in her hand, then breathed in the delicate fragrance.

Vampire or not, he knew the way to her heart.

Later, after a shower and a cup of coffee, she called her parents to let them know she was doing well, she was going to England, and she wasn’t sure for how long.

“England!” her mother exclaimed. “That’s a long way from Morro Bay.”

“I know, but . . .”

“Kadie, what’s going on? Have you met someone?”

“I never could fool you, could I?”

“Who is he? What does he do? When will we meet him?”

“Slow down, Mom. His name is Rylan and . . .”

“He’s the reason you got sidetracked, isn’t he?” her mother said, a smile in her voice.

“Well . . .”

“I knew it! I’ve never known you to get lost.”

That was true enough on the road, Kadie thought, but she was in unfamiliar territory where Saintcrow was concerned. “I’ll tell you all about it some other time. How’s Kathy?”

“She seems to be in remission at the moment.”

“Great. Can you put her on the phone?”

“I’m sorry, she’s not here. She’s gone on an overnight camping trip with Susie and her family.”

“That’s wonderful!”

“She’ll be so sorry she missed your call. Hang on. Dad wants to talk to you.”

“All right. Love you, Mom.”

“Kadie, darlin’!” Her dad’s voice boomed over the line. “When are you coming home?”

“I’m not sure. I’m going to England with a friend.”

“What kind of ‘friend’?”

“A guy friend, Dad. How are you?”

“Hey, we’re not changing the subject. When do I get to meet this ‘guy’? What’s his name? Where did you meet him? Do I need my shotgun?”

Kadie laughed. “I’ll bring him home as soon as I can. And no, you don’t need your shotgun. Listen, I’ve got to go,” she said before he could ask any more questions she couldn’t answer. “I’ll call you soon. Give Mom a hug for me.”

“I know what you’re doing,” her father said. “But we’ll talk about this again. Oh, wait, before I forget. Did you get a new phone? I’ve been trying to call you for weeks.”

“Sorry, the battery went dead and I . . . I lost the charger. It took me a while to replace it. Talk to you soon.”

After saying good-bye, Kadie sat there a moment. How could she even think of leaving the country when her sister was so ill? Even though Kathy was doing better now, there was no telling how long it would be before she had a relapse.

Kadie blew out a sigh. Whether she wanted to go or not, she really had no choice. Closing her eyes, she uttered a silent prayer that Kathy would hold on long enough for her father to determine the cause of her illness and find a cure.

She sat back on the sofa, her legs stretched out in front of her. So, her parents wanted to meet Rylan. She found herself grinning as she tried to imagine introducing Saintcrow to her family. Hi, Kathy. Mom, Dad. This is Rylan Saintcrow. I’m his prisoner. Oh, by the way, he’s a vampire. Yeah, that would go over real well.

Too curious to wait until tonight to find out what Rosemary and the others had decided, she drove to Rosemary’s house. When no one answered her knock, she drove to town. She found everyone but Chelsea and Jeremy in the restaurant.

All eyes turned toward her as she stepped inside.

Kadie hesitated. Was she imagining things, or was there a look of hostility in their eyes? “Would you rather I left?” she asked.

“Of course not,” Nancy said. “We can’t afford to make an enemy of you.”

Kadie stared at the other woman. “What does that mean?”

“It’s us against him,” Donna said. “And you’re with him.”

“Guilty by association, is that it? None of this is my doing. If it wasn’t for me . . .” Kadie pressed her lips together. She had promised not to tell anyone about Marti or Carl. Hurt beyond belief, she left the restaurant.

She laid rubber as she peeled out of the parking lot. With no destination in mind, she left the business district behind. She supposed she couldn’t blame them for the way they felt. For the first time, it occurred to her that if and when Saintcrow let her go, he would probably erase all her memories of this place from her mind.

And she would hate him for it.

Kadie was loading her dinner dishes into the dishwasher when Saintcrow appeared in the kitchen.

“Shall we go get this over with?” he asked, coming up behind her.

“I’m not going.”

“Why not?”

“I’m no longer one of them.”

“You never were.”

She whirled around to face him. “I went to see them this afternoon. I felt like . . . like they hated me.”

“I know the feeling. Nevertheless, I think they’ll be more at ease if you’re there.”

“ No.”

“This is not open for discussion. Are you ready?”

There was no point arguing. Wordlessly, she followed him out of the house and into the car. She refused to look at him. Instead, she concentrated on building a wall in her mind so he couldn’t read her thoughts.

“Very good,” he remarked. “With practice, you might be able to keep me out.”

She glared at him, then turned and looked out the window once more. So, it was possible to keep him out of her head. Concentrating, she added height and depth to her mental barrier.

The human residents of Morgan Creek were all gathered at the restaurant again.

Kadie hung back as Saintcrow strode through the door. His gaze swept the room, his power a tangible thing. “I’ve come for your decisions,” he said curtly.

It came as no surprise to Kadie that they all chose to have their memories erased.

Saintcrow nodded. “Next, I need to know where you wish to go. Rosemary?”

“I want to stay here, with Donna and Brittany.” Saintcrow shoved his hands in his pockets, bored with the whole thing. “Okay by me.”

“Me and Jeremy and Frankie want to go to Hawaii,” Claude said.