The Vampire's Mail Order Bride

A soft knock broke through her thoughts. “Delaney, we need to talk about this.”

“I’m good, thanks.” She had to get out of here. She opened a window and peered out. It was only a single-story drop, but what was she going to do with Captain? She couldn’t exactly throw him out the window. Maybe if she shimmied over to the ledge, she could climb down the gutter—

“Delaney, please. I know how…surreal this must seem.”

“Not surreal so much as crazy,” she muttered to herself.

“I’m not crazy.”

She froze. How had he heard that? Being crazy didn’t give you superhuman hearing.

“You’re also not in any danger. I swear to you.”

“Okay, good to know.” If he thought swearing to a thing like that was going to solve everything, he really was nuts. She grabbed Cappy’s carrier bag and shoved him into it, which was like stuffing twenty-seven pounds of furry sausage into a two-pound casing, but so be it.

“Please open the door so we can talk.”

“Let’s talk in the morning. I need to sleep on this.” She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, then hefted the strap of the carrier over her head and one arm and settled it cross-body style against her back. “Oof, Cappy, you’re a beast.”

Carefully, she climbed out the window and onto the ledge. Hugh had stopped trying to talk to her through the door. She took that as a good sign. Slowly, she inched her way along the ledge until she came to the gutter. It wasn’t one of those flimsy metal types, but a sturdy column of concrete or stone or whatever it was that wealthy people used to get the rain off their house.

She latched on to the brackets with her fingers, then wiggled the toes of one foot into the set of brackets below those. Captain shifted, almost unbalancing her.

“Settle,” she hissed. “This isn’t fun for either one of us.”

She got her other foot off the ledge and onto the downspout bracket. This was easily the most ridiculous thing she’d ever done. She was kind of out of choices, though. She could either do this and risk the chance that she’d fall and break her neck or she could go back inside and possibly be bitten to death by the very handsome lunatic who owned this house.

The calories in a single chocolate chip produce enough energy to walk one hundred and fifty feet.

If only her brain could come up with something more useful, like how to get out of here without dying. Teeth clenched, she shimmied her way down the gutter, losing her grip about halfway down.

She twisted to protect Cappy and landed in the grass without making too much noise, although he still let out a little yowl. “Hush.”

She tiptoed to the front of the house. Sheriff Merrow’s patrol car was gone. No chance she could sneak off with him. Although, if he actually was a werewolf, that wasn’t exactly a superior option.

She pulled the cat carrier around so the bag was in front and more horizontal than vertical. Then she took off into the woods, hoping she’d hit a highway before anything else bad happened.

Hugh stayed in the shadows as he followed her, a little heartbroken that she was so afraid of him she’d choose to run as opposed to talk to him. He got it, though. Humans were programmed to be afraid of what they didn’t understand.

A vampire in a romance novel was something very different than one standing in front of you.

They traipsed through the woods, her crunching through the underbrush, him following soundless as a breath. She’d be angry if she knew he was there, but he wasn’t going to let her come to harm because of what had happened.

She had enough to deal with already, what with seeing that man shot.

After about half an hour, she came to a stream. It was an off shoot of Wolf Creek, which was one of the main waterways that fed the falls. She sat beside the stream, took the cat carrier off and set it beside her, then put her head onto her knees.

He thought she was going to cry.

She didn’t, proving once again how very different she was from the women he was used to. Instead, she talked to her cat.

“We’re kinda hosed, Cap.” She tipped her head back and sighed. “It’s totally my fault.” She was silent for a moment. “I screwed up our karma by stealing that woman’s file and pretending to be her. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She unzipped the top flap enough to stick her hand in and scratch him. “I’m really sorry.” Captain purred softly. That seemed to make her feel worse. She sniffed.

Maybe she was going to cry after all.

Then she took a deep inhale, blew it out and stared at the water. The moon bathed everything in a silvery light, but he doubted it was enough for her to see him if she turned around.

He crept closer, wishing he could comfort her in some way. Tell her it was going to be okay.

She petted Captain some more. “I’m not sorry I met Hugh. Or at least, I wasn’t until he let his freak flag fly. A vampire. Can you believe that? And the grandmother thinks she’s one too. And the sheriff is a werewolf. Add that Alice woman being a witch, and they make this town seem like a cover story for a whole lot of genuine weirdness.”

He couldn’t stand it anymore. He walked forward, crunching leaves underfoot to give her some warning. “That’s because it is.”

She grabbed the strap of the carrier like she was about to run again, her pulse ratcheting back up. “Don’t come any closer.”

“I’m not going to hurt you, Delaney. I have no desire to do that. All I want to do is help you understand.” And keep her safe. And kiss her some more.