Emerald Eyes (23 page)

“So you think Devin is a werewolf?”

“Actually, werewolves are a lot stronger than we are, but are normal otherwise, except during the full moon. Not only is Devin Knight
very
strong, he moves at the freakin’ speed of light. Werewolves are fast, but not that fast. No. I think it’s a very good possibility that he is a vampire.”

“I
need
a cup of coffee!” Debra Jean stood. “But with a shot of something. Anything!”

Alex grabbed a bottle of vodka off the counter. “Here, babe. You can get me a cup too.”

With their spiked coffees in hand, they returned to the table.

“Okay…” Debra Jean said. “Tell me why you think Devin is a vampire.”

“The fact that you never see him when the sun is out is a real good clue. They can’t walk around in the sunshine. He is known for being a recluse. What’s more, he is a dead ringer for the ‘grandfather’. Don’t believe it was his grandfather. I think he’s just been here all along. Vampires don’t age, Debra Jean.”

“So…What they say in the movies is true?”

“About the aging, anyway.”

“Oh God!” she suddenly said, eyes full of horror. “Madison’s hooked up with a vampire! We’ve got to tell her!”

Alex shook his head. “Debra Jean. If I am right, she already knows.”

“
What?”

“Think about it. Her Aunt Mattie was very close to the Devin Knight that was, supposedly, the grandfather. Madison knew him as a child.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Debra Jean…She has to know. She’s known him since she was a little girl, from what I understand.”

“Yeah…You’re right. She told me about her aunt and Devin Knight’s grandfather. She probably does know. It’s really apparent that she knows him very well.”

“That is what I think.”

“Gawd!” she drank down half her coffee. “Now what?”

“We don’t say anything, Debra Jean. Obviously, the man…vampire…is a good vampire. The only reason he comes out is because of Madison. He doesn’t bother anyone. Unless, under special circumstances, like tonight.”

“Just acts when it is for Madison.”

“Exactly. Regular folks just believe werewolves and vampires are nothing more than myth. And as long as Devin and the werewolf, whoever he or she is, don’t bother anyone, it’s best to leave it alone.”

“But what about the dead and mutilated animals? And the ones drained of their blood?”

“I’d say the ones drained of their blood would be the work of a vampire. The mutilated ones would be the work of a werewolf.”

“But you weren’t working on a reservation as a lumberjack.”

“True. However, we still came across the dead, mutilated and bloodless animals. Guess in the back of my mind, I have wondered about Devin Knight ever since I moved here ten years ago. But never saw much of him until I opened the bar here and Madison moved here and started coming.”

“Wow! This is a lot to assimilate in one evening. Shit!”

Just then there was a knock on the door. Alex replied, “What?”

Fannie yelled they were getting really busy again. Alex said they’d be right out.

Debra Jean took Alex’s empty and hers and placed them in the sink. He said he’d better get back. She said she had to potty and then she’d be out.

Chuck sat forward and banged his head on the steering wheel. It was dark out but the moon lit up his surroundings enough to see he was parked on a dirt road. “What the hell?”

He turned his headlights on and saw he was on one of the back roads that led to the Indian reservation. “What the hell am I doing here? Did I drink that much?” He shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. He had argued with Gloria. She had taken off and he had left Alex’s. Alone! That was the last thing he remembered.

He had blacked out several times lately, but this was the first time he had blacked out when he was in his truck. “Jeeze! What the hell is wrong with me?”

The moon wasn’t full yet. He had a couple of more nights. Still, why had he blacked out?” He fingered down his shirt. It was dirty and torn! “Shit! This was brand new!” Then he realized something else when he looked in his rearview mirror at himself – he had what looked to be a week’s growth of beard. He reached up and felt his beard. “Shit! I know I shaved before I left the cabin. I know I did!”

The keys were still in the ignition. He turned the key and started up his truck. There was only one person he could talk to about this: Indian Joe. But glancing at his watch, it was too late to bother his friend now. It was after two in the morning, which meant he had lost about four hours! “Dammit! This ain’t good! Not good at all!” He backed up and turned his truck around and headed home. Talking to Joe would have to wait until morning.

Madison stayed with Devin at his cabin, and remained awake with him until three, at which time he encouraged her to lie down on his bed; that he would lie with her and read the rest of Moby Dick to her, as they only had a few pages to go.

As he had hoped, she fell asleep right away. He set the book open-faced on his nightstand, got out of bed, covered her gently and went to his bar for a drink. Mixing bourbon and blood half and half, he then sat down in his easy chair where he could see her from across the room. He sat there sipping on his drink and watching her sleep. Something he had done countless times with Mattie. Now, he was doing it with Madison. “Guess I’m a true glutton for punishment,” he said to himself. “But I love her so! Maybe as much as I loved Mattie!” He thought about it a minute. “Yes! I do! Every bit as much!”

His eyes misted over as he thought of the baby she was carrying. How he wished it could be his, but it wasn’t. It never would be. Still, because it was Madison’s he would love the child all the same.

He just wished the child wasn’t Chuck’s. He would rather not know who the father was. Wishing, however, as the old adage went, did not make it so. Chuck was and would always be in the picture, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Well, there was. But he wasn’t going to go there. Madison loved Chuck too. He could not bring himself to kill someone she cared about, regardless. Her cares were too precious to him. He could not do that to her.

When the sun came up, he slipped in beside her, kissed her ever so gently on her cheek, as not to wake her. She would probably sleep until noon, since she had stayed awake so late. He hoped she would for she needed the rest for herself and the child within her. He did not worry about her waking up and leaving without his knowing, for he would awaken the instant she did. He turned over and went to sleep.

Ten

After a beautiful wedding ceremony, which Indian Joe, being the tribal chief, presided, Chuck and Tickling Feather went off to be alone in a remote area of the reservation, not far from the area where his tent used to be set up during the full moon, before it was moved further away. It was a quiet, serene place, next to a small lake, with the mountains looming behind.

Tickling Feather built a fire while Chuck quietly observed from where he sat on the red Indian blanket that had been laid next to their beautifully decorated tent, adorned with bright feathers and beadwork. His new wife was full of smiles and more than anxious to please her husband. He did have feelings for her, but they were more feelings one has for a good friend. He hoped for Tickling Feather’s sake, that those feelings would grow into something more. Although she had really blossomed in the past couple of years, he still had visions of the pretty little girl that used to tag along after him when he came to visit her grandfather.

Fire going, she dashed over and sat down beside him, taking hold of his arm and gazing lovingly into her eyes. “Thank you for marrying me, Chuck!”

“Tickling Feather, you don’t need to thank me. You are a strikingly beautiful young woman. I find you
very
attractive. I am honored to be your husband.”

“Still,” she said, looking a little downcast, “you do not really love me. I know you married me because of grandfather.”

“Shhh…” He cupped her chin in his hand. “I
do
love you! You are my wife now. There is no one else for me from this day forward.” He withdrew his hand and placed his arm around her shoulders. At the same time, for reasons he wondered about, he had a flashing vision of Gloria. He had not seen or spoken with her since they had argued at Alex’s.

Tickling Feather smiled with her eyes. “I know you’re a good man. You mean what you say. But I know you still love the white woman by the name of Madison. She is carrying your child.”

“Tickling Feather, please…This is our honeymoon! I am putting all thoughts of Madison and any baby out of my mind. I hope you will do the same. It is about us, now. Us! Okay?” He put a finger to the tip of her nose. “Shush…” Then he kissed her sweetly, and she anxiously responded. A few minutes later he carried her into their tent to consummate their marriage.

Madison stood in front of the long mirror on the wall opposite of the mural in Devin’s basement. Definitely, she was showing, even in her jeans that she could barely fasten anymore. Devin, observing, walked up and gently wrapped his arms around her, placing his big hands gently on her tummy. “Nice baby bump, my sweet.” He nuzzled his nose in her hair. “Can’t wait until she arrives.”

She turned her face at an angle to see his. “How do you know it’s a she? I haven’t been back to the doctor to find out.”

Looking at her in the mirror, he gave her his self-assured smile. “Trust me, my sweet. It is a girl.”

She turned around and placed her arms around his neck. “I can’t wait until
she
arrives either. Besides wanting to know her, I miss the crazy, awesome sex.”

“I have been making love to you. Have I not satisfied you?” He skewed his head questioningly.

“Of course! You do! But,” she couldn’t contain her grin, “you’ve been holding back. I know it’s because you have to for the baby. Now, it’s like with normal men; still bordering on the fantastic, but not utterly and completely beyond awesome. I miss that.”

“So do I, my sweet. But it won’t be long. A few short months, and then I can turn you. Unless you want to breastfeed for a while. Do you?”

“Shit!”

“Ahhh…Profanities again.”

“Sorry. I know you don’t like me to swear.”

“It is so un-lady like. Only for you, I make an exception.”

“I guess I should breastfeed for a while. But…I so long for you to make love to me the way vampires make love.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t you breastfeed the first month? Then, after that, switch her to a bottle. And we can turn you then.” His expression changed.

“What?” she asked.

He took her by the hand and led her over to their bed. “There is something else too. It has been playing on my mind….” He held up his palm briefly and then took back his hand. “Don’t get me wrong. However, you need to seriously consider this.”

“What?”

“Your baby is going to be human, Madison. We can give her all the love in the world, but we won’t be able to go out with her during the day. Of course, this is looking down the road of time a little bit. When she starts to school, we could possibly take her to school some mornings, depending on the weather conditions. But picking her up would be extremely rare.”

Her mouth gaped. “Gawd! I haven’t even considered those things.”

He held up a finger. “Wait…I do have a solution. I
have
considered these things. But I felt it easier on you to deal with one thing at a time.”

“You don’t mean turning her over to Chuck, do you? Because I refuse to do that…Even if he did marry that Indian girl.”

“That is only a drastic solution, if and when we run out of other options. No…Even if something – God forbid – were to happen to you, I would certainly have second thoughts about that, even though he is her biological father. What I have in mind, my sweet is to hire a nanny. We won’t have to tell her we are vampires. Just tell her we have a rare skin disease and can’t go out in the sunlight. We will be up by late afternoon. When our daughter gets older, the nanny can take her to school and pick her up. Watch her until we get up in the afternoons. She can even live-in, if she wants. No one ever sleeps in the big guest bedroom upstairs.”

“You’re right.”

“It can be hers. We do most of our living down here in the basement. I can pay her handsomely.”

Madison’s face took on a new glow. “You are so awesome! That’s perfect!”

“Of course, we can start looking for a nanny right now. One who will be here when the baby arrives. She can help you take care of the baby from the beginning.”

“I love you!” She grabbed him and kissed him fully.

He kissed her back and, breaking away from the kiss, swept her up in his arms. “You know better than to kiss me like that, young lady.” He carried her off to bed, where he made gentle, but very passionate love to her, as only he was capable. When they were finished, he asked her if that was satisfactory.

She replied, “Oh…most definitely! Only…”

“Only what?” he asked, eyes squint curiously.

“Could we do it again?”

“Ah…my sweet. You are
so
naughty. But I love it! It will be my pleasure!”

“What’s wrong, babe?” Alex asked, coming up behind Debra Jean and kissing the nape of her neck. “You’ve been really quiet all day.” He turned and rinsed out a white cloth in the hot, soapy water in the basin, wrung it out and began wiping the bar down.

She sighed forlornly. “Just worried about Madison. She and that Devin…vampire…whatever he is haven’t been back since the night of the fight.”

“I have noticed. I thought maybe she was staying away because she’s pregnant. Afraid another fight could break out. And seeing how
protective
he is of her, I have a feeling he could easily kill anyone that hurt her. Even if they did it accidentally.”

She sat down on her favorite stool while the barmaids, Fannie and Grace, ran around getting ready for opening and Alex vigorously wiped down the bar.

He was a bit of a neat freak, which came in handy in his chosen profession. “Have to admit,” she said after some time and the barmaids were out of hearing range, “I have wondered about things like that. That is, since you told me what you believe he is. Damn! I’m still having trouble chewing on that one.”