Page 12 of Twilight Destiny

She should say no, she thought. She didn’t want to put his life in danger.

“Rosa?”

“All right.”

“Where should I pick you up?”

Good question, she thought. Then, with an inward shrug, she said, “I’ll meet you outside the Italian restaurant on Main Street at seven.”

“Great. See you then.”

She had second thoughts as soon as the call ended. What would Saintcrow say when he found out? What would he do?

With a whole day stretching out in front of her, Rosa put her hair up in a ponytail and spent the late morning and afternoon cleaning the house. Not that it was all that dirty. Saintcrow was surprisingly tidy and while she tended to be a little sloppy about picking up after herself at home, she was a guest here and on her best behavior.

She hummed as she dusted everything, mopped the kitchen floor, scrubbed the sink, and put the clean dishes away. She changed the sheets on her bed and tossed the dirty ones in the washer. While adding soap to the machine, she found herself wondering what Saintcrow’s lair looked like. With Kadie away, did he make the bed every day when he got up? Did he sleep in a bed, or a coffin? Was he doing his own laundry? If so, he must be doing it while she was out, or after she went to bed. He didn’t leave any dirty dishes in the sink, she thought, with a grin.

When she finished in the house, she went for a long walk. She saw a few of the tourists, who smiled and nodded as she passed by. What would they think, she wondered, if they knew the town was owned by a vampire?

She was returning to Saintcrow’s when it occurred to her that she hadn’t seen him all day, which was odd. He usually spent part of it with her.

At 5:30, she went up to her room to get ready, thinking she would have plenty of time to eat before Kincaid showed up. She showered and dressed, grabbed her phone, her keys, and her handbag, and drove into town.

The sidewalks were crowded with people. Street lamps came on as the sun slipped behind the mountains. The lights in the park were also on and she saw a couple of families picnicking on the grass. There was a line in front of the movie theater. The tavern was crowded, as were the stores that sold souvenirs. It was amazing, she thought, all these people laughing and talking, never knowing that Morgan Creek had once housed a coven of vampires, or that a vampire owned the town and most, if not all, of the businesses in it.

After parking her car, Rosa walked to the restaurant. She felt a little self-conscious as the hostess showed her to a table for two. She ordered a ham-and-pineapple pizza and a glass of iced tea, and wished she had eaten at the house. She was the only one there without a friend or family.

She had no sooner finished eating than Saintcrow slid into the chair across from hers.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Fine. Where have you been all day?”

He shrugged. “I went to see Kadie.”

Rosa stared at him. “You went to Italy?”

“Yeah.”

He had been to Italy and back in a day, a trip that took almost twelve hours one way by plane. It was beyond belief. And then she frowned. “You didn’t tell my family I’m here, did you?”

“Of course not.”

Her relief was palpable.

“Just like you didn’t tell me you have a date with Kincaid.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“He’s waiting outside.”

“Oh.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“What do you mean?”

Saintcrow shrugged. “Like I told you, he’s an old vampire. Set in his ways. He’s never settled down or shown any sign of wanting to do so.”

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