Sara smiled at the waitress. She didn’t smile back.
“Does that mean you’re leaving town?” Sara asked after Winona returned to the kitchen.
“No reason to stay.” Head cocked to one side, he asked, “So, what happened between you and Hewitt, now known as Travis?”
“He asked if we could start over.” Sara shook her head. “I just don’t see how it could work. I mean, we don’t have anything in common.”
“Except the attraction between you.”
She stared at him.
“Hey, a blind man could see it.”
“I don’t deny it, but that’s hardly enough to build a life on.”
“You never know until you try. So, he’s up nights and sleeps days. So do a lot of regular people who hold night jobs. So he needs blood to survive. Think of it as a dietary restriction.”
“What about children?”
Overstreet grunted softly. “Low sperm count?”
Sara laughed in spite of herself.
“I don’t mean to make light of the situation,” Overstreet said. “But love—the real thing—doesn’t come along every day. I’ve certainly never found it. The funny thing is, the vampire who turned Hewitt—I’ll never get used to calling him Travis—seems to have found what the rest of us are still looking for.”
“Really?”
Overstreet nodded. “I’m not sure how Shannah and Ronan met, but they seem very happy together.”
“Is she a vampire, too?”
“She is now. She wasn’t when they met.” Carl finished his coffee and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I hope you and Hewitt can work things out. I don’t know about you, but he’s miserable.” Rising, he picked up his check and Sara’s. “I’ve got this.”
“Thank you. You’ll let me know before you leave town?”
“Sure.” Touching a finger to the brim of his Fedora, he left the café.
Sara stared after him. What if he was right? Maybe she should give Travis a chance. What did she have to lose? Silly question, she thought. What, indeed?
Business picked up when the sun went down. By day’s end, Sara was happy to see that she’d turned a nice profit. Another few days like this and she could stop worrying. For this month, at least.
It was almost nine-thirty when she stepped out the back door and locked it behind her. She let out a shriek when a dark shape materialized out of the shadows. “Travis! You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry. I … the truth is, I was going to follow you home to make sure you got there safely.”
“Oh?” Her heart skipped a beat. “Am I in danger?”
“Not that I know of. I just …”
“Just what?”
“I just wanted to be near you.”
Sara stared at him. In movies, vampires were arrogant, powerful, emotionless creatures with little on their minds but blood and ravaging innocent women. But Travis? He was just a lonely guy forced into a life he didn’t want. Vampire or not, her heart went out to him. “I’d be happy to have the company.”
“Sara …”
She unlocked the door of her new rental car and slid behind the wheel, then looked up at him. “I missed you, too. Get in, I want to go home and take a shower and change into something more comfortable.”
Thirty minutes later, clad in a pair of bright yellow PJ bottoms and a white tee shirt, Sara rummaged around in the refrigerator looking for something to snack on.
Travis stood in the doorway behind her, admiring the view.
Finding nothing, she grabbed her cell phone and ordered a small ham and pineapple pizza. “You must miss eating,” she remarked on her way into the living room.
“You have no idea.” Trailing behind her, he took the chair while she settled on the sofa.
“What was it like, the first time you … you know?”
The question was inevitable, Travis thought. He was only surprised it had taken her so long to ask. “It was horrible. I woke up disoriented. Scared. And in pain.” He shook his head. “You can’t imagine what it’s like. I knew enough about vampires to know what was wrong with me, but I had no idea how to …” There was only one way to say it. “To hunt. I knew vampires mesmerized their prey, but I didn’t really know how. And I was afraid.”
“Afraid? Of what?”
“Afraid that I’d bungle it and kill somebody.”
Sara bit down on her lower lip.
“It took me days to figure out how to mesmerize my … my prey. By then I was almost out of my mind with thirst. And once I had a woman in my arms, the thought of what I was going to do made me sick to my stomach. But the smell of her blood …” He paused a moment. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
She nodded, as fascinated as she was repulsed by what he was telling her.
“My fangs were razor sharp. I’d learned that when I ran my tongue over them. I was worried I’d hurt her because by then I was desperate for relief. It took what little self-control I still had to keep from burying my … my fangs in her throat and drinking her dry.” He shook his head, his eyes tormented. “I don’t know how I stopped. When I released her, she seemed unhurt, so I sent her on her way.”
“And the blood?” She was intrigued in spite of herself.
“I don’t know how to describe it. Taking it, drinking it …” Travis shook his head. “It should have been disgusting, but it was …” He made a vague gesture with his hand. “Once you taste it, you really don’t want anything else. I guess I’ve freaked you out, haven’t I?”
“A little. Maybe you should tell your story to Carl.”
He looked at her as if she had lost her mind. “That’s the last thing in the world I’d ever do. And I mean that literally.”
“Well, it’s one heck
