I examined her face for truth and suddenly realized how much I had missed her. Before she could react, my arms were around her again and my lips pressed hard against hers. She responded without hesitation, pulled my head down with both hands, and deepened the kiss. This kiss had all the passion that I remembered and I was reluctant to break it, but there was work to do. When we separated once more, I gave a slight twist of my head and said, “Damn, I’ve missed that.”
“Me, too, Jesse. I’ve missed you.”
I turned and picked up the shovel Gail had left by the mound of displaced earth. “Regardless of what happens, I’m glad you called me.”
“Likewise. Are you sure, you’re up to shoveling that much dirt? You need to be careful of those staples.”
“Don’t worry; if they start to pull loose, I’ll let you shovel.
She chuckled. “Always the gentleman, it’s good to see you haven’t changed.”
I threw a shovelful of dirt into the hole. It hit the back of the naked man and scattered. “You want to catch me up while I do the work?”
“What? You want the Monster Hunter 101 class?”
I chuckled. “I guess I missed that one during freshman orientation.”
Gail made herself comfortable on the ground, sitting crossed legged far enough from the grave to avoid any stray cast of dirt. “Okay, I guess I should start by saying that my family have been hunters as far back as anyone knows. As Daddy said it, our ancestors came over shortly after the first colony in Virginia failed. Apparently, Granddaddy Morgan—I’m not sure how many greats he was, thought the disappearance of the settlers sounded like monster trouble. He hired on to the Jamestown colony as a mercenary, not because he had plans to become a colonist, but to determine what happened to the earlier colony.
“Anyway, Mom and Dad were hunters. We moved around a lot, usually staying long enough to wrap up a particular problem, or until another problem popped up on his radar. He didn’t really explain why we stayed in Greenbow for nearly a year.”
I stopped to stretch and wipe sweat from my brow. “So your Dad goes around killing these monsters?”
“Did, Daddy fought one too many beastie. He was killed in a fight about two years ago. Then it was just Mom and me, but she was getting slow and I worried that she’d end up the way Daddy did. I helped her get settled, down south, on the Florida panhandle, and picked up where Daddy left off.”
“Isn’t there anyone else who does the same thing? I mean, you handled yourself respectably tonight—”
“Thanks for the compliment,” Gail snapped.
“I mean it as a compliment, you were good, but geez, Gail, you need help.”
She was quiet for a moment and then, softly, she said, “Are you offering?”
I stopped shoveling, straightened, and looked at her. She met my gaze and calmly waited. “I’m not sure. I did my service. I had two tours in Afghanistan in the last three years. I’ve done my share for the good ol’ U. S. of A.”
She jerked her head down and then back up in a sharp nod. “Then shut up and listen if you still want to know.”
“Sorry,” I said and moved another shovel load of earth.
Gail sighed. “Anyway, to make this a short story, I heard of a were down this way. I caught up with him outside Chattanooga and thought I had him, but there were two of them. While I was taking out the younger one, the older one snuck up on me and managed to disarm me. He knew what I was, I’m sure of that, but after nearly breaking my arm in his jaws; he backed off.”
The grave was nearly filled and I stopped again to wipe sweat from my eyes. “So, why’d he let you go?”
“I don’t know, but I knew he’d be tracking me. I figured I could take him out before I turned, but he sent that young one after me instead. I really can’t figure out why he let me live.”
I stopped shoveling and looked carefully at Gail. She really didn’t get it? “Excuse me, but are you dense?”
“What do you mean?” Gail asked.
“Haven’t you ever looked in the mirror? I mean, damn woman, you are fine. No man in his right mind would kill you if they could convert you.”
Gail seemed at a lost and after a second, looked away. “Maybe. But I’m a hunter, what creature wouldn’t want to take out one of us?”
“Anyone that thought they could turn you into one of them. That’s two reasons to bite you and not kill you.” I threw the last of the dirt onto the small heap over the grave and stretched my stiffening back. The stretching pulled my staples tight.
“Okay, maybe you’re right.” Gail stood and took the shovel from me. “Let’s get going, I’m dying to find out how you’re going to handle this.”
We walked back to the church, side by side, not touching, but close, close enough for me to savor her scent and feel her warmth next to me. We stopped next to her van. The first-aid kit was still by the open door and I extracted a roll of gauze and ripped open the package. “Hold out your arm.”
Gail did and I quickly wrapped her forearm and fastened the gauze down with a bit of tape. “There, now we’re both bandaged up.”
I frowned and then glanced toward the driver’s seat of her van.
“What’s the matter,” Gail asked.
“I’m not sure about you driving,” I said. “Maybe we should leave my truck here and come back for it later.”
“What are you talking about? I drive fine.”
“Yeah, but you’re suicidal. What if you have a relapse while driving?”
I didn’t see her fist coming until it popped my head back.
“You want more of that?” she snarled.
I blinked the stars out of my eyes, rubbed my jaw, and noticed
