Page 7 of Vampire Lee

Dillon stared at him, not understanding. “What am I to do with them?” He wasn’t a fan of jalapenos, and Devin knew it. Which most likely was why he was laughing. Dillon narrowed his eyes.

“Plant them.”

They looked planted already.

At Dillon’s blank look, Devin huffed. “In the garden. I want a kitchen garden. I want to be able to walk out there and pick the veggies I need for cooking.”

A sense of horror spread in Dillon’s chest. “What? Why? You order everything online.”

Devin might look put together, and he didn’t cower as soon as someone moved, but he rarely left the house, and if he did, Mars was with him. He might be further along than Dillon ever would be, but he wasn’t living life like a normal human.

“I do now, but I don’t want to. Homegrown is more nutritious, has no pesticides, and with this economy…” He shook his head. “I’ve decided you’re our gardener.”

Dillon stared at him. He’d begged Murrie for a kitchenette so he wouldn’t have to ever interact with people again, and now Devin tried to give him a job. A job he didn’t want.

“You’ve decided?” Dillon’s heart hammered so hard it hurt. Devin wouldn’t hear it, but Murrie most likely would.

Devin grinned. “Yup, I’ve decided. Murrie said I’m in charge of the kitchen but can delegate. I want a kitchen garden, and I’m delegating.” He held the tray out for Dillon, and without knowing why, he took it. “I have a stack of seed packs in the pantry. I want greens, I want tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, and—”

“I don’t know anything about gardening.”

Devin shrugged. “Me either, but we’ll learn.”

We? Was it Dillon’s job or were they doing it together? “Are there any garden beds?” He’d looked out on the patio a couple of times since he got here back in October, but that was all.

“Eh…” Devin glanced at Murrie. “Can we have some garden beds?”

Murrie laughed. “Sure. Make a plan and order what you need. Don’t forget soil.”

“Oh, crap!” Devin sagged a little. “I saw an ad about seeds and got excited, realized I don’t have time to garden, and figured it was something Dillon could do. I didn’t think about needing stuff other than seeds.” He grimaced and turned to Dillon. “We’ll make a plan.”

Dillon glanced at the doorway. This was a new record. He never had long conversations with anyone, and he wanted to escape now, but where should he put the tray?

* * * *

Lee looked out over the bar as he poured a beer. It was a decent crowd, some new faces, but mostly people who’d been here before.

“Vampire Lee!”

Lee allowed himself to close his eyes for a second before turning to Eli. “Here two nights in a row?” It wasn’t unusual.

“Did you find Rei?” He wiggled his eyebrows, and Lee swallowed a sigh.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Eli studied him for a second. “Did he turn you down again?”

“What? No.”

“Then why the glum face? Was it a bad fuck?”

Lee scoffed, then laughed. “Twat. I needed to talk to him, not get my dick wet.”

“One thing doesn’t exclude the other.”

Lee grinned, dropping his fangs a fraction. “True, but it wasn’t my aim.”

The man he’d recognized as Jala’s friend came walking toward the bar, and tension crept into Lee. He did his best not to let it show. He was a shifter, a bear, and while he hoped there were too many scents mingling around the bar to allow him to pick up on any nerves from Lee, bears had the best noses.

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