Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 107

"It's not too bad. It's just Celeste, and she's... fairly manageable. You... you have twins. That must be quite a handful."

"Not really. They're pretty good kids."

He smiled. "Good, then they won't have to see much of me."

Mom burst out laughing as if he'd said the funniest thing she'd ever heard.

"Oh, h.e.l.l, I'm just kidding. Most of the other kids around here are pretty well-behaved, as well."

"Good, then I can relax when these two start meeting other kids in town and go out at night."

He tilted his head and leaned forward. "I wouldn't go that far. They are still teenagers".

"So very true," she sighed. "Well, thanks for making it out here so quickly. We were all pretty shaken up."

His lips thinned. "I'm sure. What a horrible experience for your first night in Sh.o.r.e Lake, too. I'm sorry you had to go through this."

"So are we," she said, frowning. "It was certainly an eventful evening. Crazy, huh?"

"I'd say." He put his hat on. "I'd better get going. I hope the next time we meet it's under much better circ.u.mstances."

My mom followed him to the door. "Me, too. Goodnight, Sheriff."

"Caleb," he said softly, looking down at her.

Her cheeks turned pink. "Goodnight, Caleb."

It was actually early morning but mom and Caleb didn't seem to notice. They were too busy staring at each other with their lonely middle-aged hormones.

"Goodbye, Sheriff," called Nathan from the couch with a s.h.i.+t-eating grin. Like me, he'd been studying them quietly, and from the look on his face, he also knew they were into each other.

"Yeah, see you," I added with a wave, hoping he'd just leave, already.

Caleb smiled once more with his gleaming white teeth and then finally walked out the front door.

"He's such a nice man," said mom, looking into s.p.a.ce with a stupid grin. "It's so refres.h.i.+ng to know this town has a great guy like him patrolling the streets."

"Oh, you hardly know him," I snapped, getting off of the sofa. "He might not really be that nice. It could be an act."

Both my mom and brother stared at me in surprise.

I raised my chin. "Sorry, but it's true."

She shook her head. "Oh for Heaven's sake, Nikki, don't be so quick to judge other people."

I started walking up the steps to my bedroom, ready to fall into that soft pillow-top. "Whatever, I'm going to bed."

"She's just being a crab-a.s.s," said Nathan.

"I heard that!" I hollered.

I knew it was true, though. It had been a long day and I was ready to sleep for the next two.

Chapter Four.

I slept until almost eleven the next morning. Mom was already up, drinking coffee and working on her computer, when I padded downstairs in my bare feet.

"Morning," I said, pouring some coffee for myself. Normally, I wasn't a coffee drinker, but I really needed something stronger than orange juice to perk me up. Especially after the last few hours.

"Good morning," beamed my mother, who was always a morning person no matter how late she stayed up.

"Where's Nathan?"

"He's outside by the boat. We were thinking about taking it out on the lake within the hour."

I yawned. "I'll eat something and get ready."

"Good."

I took a drink of coffee and walked over to a large window facing the lake. The skies were blue and it looked like a beautiful day. Then I thought about the dead girl from last night.

"Um, did you really actually find her in the lake?" I asked. The idea of swimming in the lake when there'd been a floating body in it the night before was harrowing. I seriously doubted that I could even put my foot in the water.

"Why?"

I could tell from her expression that she knew where this was going.

I shrugged. "It's just kind of gross to think about swimming in it."

My brother entered the kitchen. "Don't worry, Nikki, that lake is so freaken big, I'm sure there are plenty of other bodies lost somewhere beneath the surface. People still swim in it all the time."

I shot him a dirty look. "That's gross."

Mom groaned. "Thanks, Nathan. Listen, people drown and it's just a fact of life. I'm sure every lake has stories of people disappearing in it, including the ones you've swam in the past."

I walked towards the doorway with my coffee. "That doesn't make it sound any more enticing. I think I'll just enjoy the view on the lake and try not to think about what's under it."

"Just make sure you're ready to go in an hour!" hollered Nathan as I stepped out of the kitchen. "Or we're leaving you behind."

An hour-and-a-half later, I'd changed into my new orange and pink bikini, and we were racing across the lake in a twenty-five-foot Stingray. Nathan was grinning from ear to ear, my mom was also smiling and desperately trying to hold her straw sunhat onto her head, but I was still thinking about the girl in the lake. I just couldn't shake the horror of knowing there'd been a body near the cabin we were now staying. I had to admit, the fact that my mother and brother were able to push it aside was a little disconcerting, too. It was almost like they'd forgotten all about it.

"This is great!" yelled Nathan over the motor as his light brown hair whipped in the wind. "There's hardly anyone out here and we have the entire lake to ourselves!"

It was true, but it was also early in the week. From the look of all the boats docked near the sh.o.r.eline, this place was pretty busy on the weekends.

Nathan slowed down after crossing the entire lake and set the anchor. "Okay, I'm going for a swim," he said, smiling eagerly.

"Sounds good," said mom as she pulled out a book from her tote. "You know what I'm going to do read and work on my tan."

I handed her some sunscreen. "Not without this. You'll be a lobster tonight as it is."

She smiled and began rubbing some of the coconut scented lotion into her skin.

"Coming in, twerp?" asked Nathan, removing his bright red T-s.h.i.+rt.

"Quit calling me that," I snarled. "Maybe later I'll come in and drown you."

He dove into the dark water. When he surfaced, he yelled, "Wow, it's really nice! Come on out, Nikki. Don't be such a wimp!"

The sun was s.h.i.+ning, it was already eighty degrees and as I stared at him in the water, I had to admit, it did look very enticing.

I let out a long sigh and stood up. I lifted the white beach dress over my head and dove into the cool water.

"See," said Nathan when I popped my head back out. "It's not so bad."

I wiped some water away from my eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I guess not." It also didn't hurt that we were on the other side of the lake from where the girl had been found. For some reason, that comforted me quite a bit.

A small fis.h.i.+ng boat was trolling towards us and I strained to see who was driving it, half expecting the sheriff who'd been making eyes at my mom earlier. Even today in her bikini, she'd caught the attention of a couple fishermen we'd pa.s.sed by on the lake. Heck, I couldn't deny the fact that she looked pretty fit for someone reaching forty.

"Hey," shouted Nathan at the young man who stopped his boat next to ours. "How's it going?"

The dark-haired guy looked about our age, maybe a little older. He was wearing black sungla.s.ses and blue-and-white striped swim trunks. "Pretty good. Nice boat!" he hollered back.

Nathan smiled. "It's not ours, but thanks."

The stranger removed his sungla.s.ses and returned the smile. "I'm Duncan. You guys vacationing out here?"

"No," answered mom. "We're renting a cabin on the other side of the lake."

He nodded. "There are more than enough cabins available on this lake, that's for sure."

"Really? Why is that?" I asked.

He stared at me for a minute and then said, "I just meant that some of these cabins are only seasonal homes, so many of the owners rent them out during the year when they're not in use."

"Oh," I replied.

"I'm Anne, but the way," said mom. "And those two in the water are Nikki and Nathan."

"Nice meeting you all."

"You too," replied Nathan.

"Do you live on the lake then, Duncan?" she asked.

He nodded. "I live with my dad on the north side of the lake. He owns the boat repair shop over there, and our place is right next to it."

"Cool," said Nathan. "I suppose you get to see a lot of nice boats coming through there."

"Definitely, my dad's is the only repair shop nearby, so he's pretty busy, even with my help. Because the lake is so big and there's money on it, we definitely get some nice little yachts coming in for repairs."

I swam back over to our boat and climbed up the steps while Nathan and Duncan continued talking boats. As mom handed me a towel, I noticed Duncan stealing glances my way. When our eyes suddenly met, he quickly looked away.

"So, what do you guys do for fun here, other than fis.h.i.+ng?" asked Nathan.

Duncan cleared his throat. "Actually, the town is having their annual end of summer barbeque this weekend at Turtle Beach. It's on the northern side of the lake, too. I'm sure they'll have tons of food and games. Then, at night they'll launch the fireworks. They do it every year."

"We'd better not miss that s.h.i.+ndig," smiled my mom.

He nodded. "It's a pretty big deal. Almost everyone in town will be there."

"Will you be there?" I blurted out unexpectedly. I surprised everyone, even myself.

Duncan stared at me for a moment and smiled. "I wasn't planning on it, but it's starting to sound more interesting."

I could feel my face burning and it wasn't from the sun. "I, um... I just think it would be nice for Nathan to have someone to hang out with. He gets so bored, sometimes... "

"She's right," replied Nathan, grinning widely at me, as if he knew I was back-peddling. "I need a friend. I'm just so bored out of my mind now that we're in a new town and I have no friends to raise h.e.l.l with."

He laughed. "I don't know much about raising h.e.l.l, but if you're bored, you should stop by the shop later today. We just took in this mint Bluewater yacht that is incredible. I might even know someone with the keys who could give you a private tour."

"Sweet! I might have to take you up on that," said Nathan, his face brightening.

Just then, a couple flew by us on a pair of jet-skis and Duncan turned to watch them, giving me another opportunity to check him out. I had to admit that he was not only cute, but had nicely-sculpted pecs and arms. It was obvious that he worked his muscles when he wasn't working on boats. Before I had a chance to look away he turned back around and caught me staring. I immediately looked away, hoping my face wasn't as red as Nathan's trunks.

"What's wrong, Nikki?" asked mom, an amused expression on her face. "You feeling a little flushed?"

"No," I answered, a little too sharply.

"Oh. Okay."

"Your face is a little red," said Nathan, pointing to his cheek. He grinned. "Better use some sunscreen."

I shot him an angry look and he turned away, chuckling.

"I suppose I should get back to the marina. By the way, you ladies are invited, too, of course," said Duncan.

I looked up. "Okay."