The Comanche Vampire (15 page)

Gary
startled. “Damn, I wish you wouldn’t do that. I didn’t know you were even here …
you scared the crap out of me.
 
Did you
find the doe?”

“Yeah,
I got her.
 
She’s in back. Any luck?”

“
Naw
, they scattered and I hadn’t found any more. I damn
near froze though, waiting for you to come back.
 
I tried to follow but I couldn’t track you or
the deer.”

Ned
laughed.
 
“It shouldn’t have been so
hard, man.”

“It
was for me.
 
Want to take your deer to
the processor?”

He
hesitated.
 
He could do it but it’d take
hours.
 
“Yeah, thanks. Can you drop me at
the house?”

“No
problem, if that’s what you want.
 
I
thought maybe we’d go grab a bite in town, though.”

“Anne’s
probably
cookin
’ something.
 
You’re welcome to eat with us, Gary. She
won’t mind.”

Gary
shrugged. “I don’t know.
 
I don’t want to
intrude or anything.”

“You
won’t be.
 
The deer can wait.”

Both
men laughed. Ned hung it from a tree out back and came in through the back
door, mindful to wipe his feet.
 
Anne
fussed if he didn’t.
 
Anne stood at the
stove, briskly stirring a pot but she turned. “You’re back. Did you get a
deer?”

“Yep,
I took a good-size doe.
 
Something smells
good.”

“It’s
fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and gravy.
 
I decided it was time you tried poultry.”

The
aroma smelled delicious but Ned wrinkled up his nose.
 
Comanches
hadn’t
eaten birds back in his day and he’d never bothered to try any since.
 
He’d never thought he’d like the taste, but
Anne raved about her fried chicken until he’d promised to try it sometime.
 
He hadn’t expected it to be now. “All right, but
if I don’t like it, don’t be offended.”

He
leaned to snitch a kiss but Anne pulled back. “You’re filthy. Is that blood?”

“Yeah,
but it’s not mine.”
 

She
laughed. “I’d hope not.
 
Hi, Gary.”

“Hey,
Anne.”

“Since
you’re clean, I suppose you didn’t kill a deer.”

“No,
I didn’t. Is the coffee fresh?”

“Sure,”
Anne said. “Want some? Ned, do you?”

“No,
I’ll go shower, honey.
 
I’ll drink some
when I come back.”

Modern
plumbing ranked at the top of Ned’s list of favorite conveniences.
 
He could do without most technology, but he
enjoyed a good, hot shower or a long soak in the tub.
 
He scrubbed off the blood and grime.
 
On his way into the kitchen Ned heard some of
the conversation so, shameless and curious, he paused to listen.

“The
coffee’s great, Anne,” Gary said. “I about froze waiting for Ned to come back
with the deer.
 
I tried
followin
’ but I lost him.
 
He’s about the best damn tracker I’ve ever seen.
 
Even for an Indian, he’s better than most.”

“Really?”
Anne sounded interested. “I thought maybe all Native Americans could.”

Gary
snorted. “Most guys today aren’t any better than some city slicker, but Ned,
he’s like a reincarnated Comanche warrior sometimes.”

“I
see the same thing,” Anne said. “He’s got old ways, but I like that. He doesn’t
talk much about his childhood, but I guess he must’ve been raised
different.
 
His family must’ve been very
traditional.
 
You’ve probably never seen
the pictures, but Ned looks enough like
Pea’hocso
,
one of the last free Comanche who surrendered with Quanah Parker, to be his
twin brother.”

“Really?
I’d like to see it sometime.
 
You ought
to see Ned in powwow regalia.
 
He won’t
dress or do it very often but when he does, it’s amazing.
 
He looks more authentic than anything
Hollywood ever dreamed up.”

Ned
shuddered but he wasn’t cold.
 
He’d never
realized the two people closest to him saw through his modern mask.
 
He wondered if they’d start comparing notes
on his usual pallor or other odd habits.
 
Before they could, he strolled into the kitchen.
 
“I’m ready to eat.”

Anne
turned to him. “Kiss the cook and I’ll feed you.”
 

Ned
slid an arm around her waist, the other rested on her shoulder. “You don’t have
to ask twice.” He inhaled her feminine scent, stronger at close range than the
food aromas.
 
God, he’d missed her while
he tracked deer through the snow.
 

He
touched his lips to hers then worked into a kiss.
 
Her hands, encased in oven mitts, went around
his neck as she responded.
 
If Gary
hadn’t been present, Ned figured dinner would’ve been on hold.
 
“Let’s eat, then,” Anne said.

She
put the platter of crisp chicken pieces on the table and brought the other
dishes.
 
Ned filled his plate but leaned
down to sniff the chicken thigh he’d selected.
 
Then he forked the skin free and munched it.
 
The fried fat melted on his tongue,
surprisingly good. “I like it so far,” he told her.

“Try
the meat,” Anne said.
 

Ned
used his fingers to tear off a hunk and put it in his mouth.
 
The succulent chicken didn’t taste as bland
as he’d expected.
 
He liked the
tenderness and the subtle flavor.
 
He
liked the seasonings she’d used, too.
 
“It’s pretty good,” he said.

Her
grin went full wattage. “I knew you’d like it!”

Gary
reached for another piece. “This is damn good if I say so myself.”

“It
is,” Ned said.
 
He took a drumstick and
bit into it with relish. “I never thought I’d eat any bird, but this is good,
Anne.”

“I’ll
introduce you to turkey, next.
 
Or, you
can just come home with me for Thanksgiving and try my mom’s.
 
She’s a better cook than I am.”

A
chunk of chicken went down the wrong way and Ned choked.
 
They’d had the same conversation before and he
had yet to change his mind. A family gathering was no place for an ancient
Comanche vampire.
 
On another level,
though, he wanted to be there.
 
“You know
I’d like to, honey, but I’ve got to work and besides, I’m not sure your bunch is
ready to meet me.”

Anne’s
smile lost most of its sparkle. “I told you they’d welcome you like family.”

“I
know, Anne, I believe it.”

Gary
finished his third piece of chicken and scraped his plate clean.
 
He stood up. “I’m taking off.
 
Need to get your deer to the processor and I’ll
leave you two to talk about the holidays.
 
See you tonight, Ned.”

He
swallowed a mouthful. “Yeah, see you at work.
 
Thanks, Gary.”

“Don’t
mention it and good luck.”

Damned
if he wouldn’t need some.
 
As soon as
Gary exited through the back door, Anne frowned. “I really hoped you’d consider
coming home with me.”

Ned
could stalk a deer, kill it with a single shot, ride bareback and put any rodeo
rider to shame, but dealing with an irate woman daunted him. “Anne, I did and
maybe sometime I can.”

Anne
finished her last bite and put her silverware diagonal across the plate.
“Christmas would be good.
 
You’ve got
plenty of time to ask for a couple of days off work.
 
But if you’re not going with me over
Thanksgiving, I’m not going home.
 
I want
to spend the holiday with you.”

He
stopped eating.
 
Guilt seized him with
sharp fingers.
 
He’d known Anne loved him
and he felt the same, but the depth of her emotion hit hard.
 
If she’d forgo a family visit to be with him,
he ought to tell her the truth.
 

He’d
struggled with the right way to say it for weeks but never could manage to find
a way to get the job done.
 
His battle
must have shown in his face because Anne’s frown deepened as she stared at him.
 
“What’s the matter?”

“There’s
something I really need to tell you.”

He
almost told her, came closer than he ever had but then he didn’t.
  
The genuine concern in her face warned him
off and the fear of ridicule kept him silent.
 
“What is it?”

Ned
blurted out the truth but not the biggest one. “I’m off all this week, after
tonight.
 
Gary and I both are so we can
go hunting.
 
I asked for the time off a
long time back, way before I met you.”

Her
taut shoulders relaxed and she laughed.
 
Her smile came back, too. “Is that all? I thought you had some ugly
secret or something.
 
I’m glad you’re not
working. You can come help me at the blood drive.”

One
word stood out to him but he said, “Blood drive?”

“The
Red Cross is having a blood drive on campus for two days, Thursday and
Friday.
 
I volunteered to help. It’s a
good cause, really.”

He’d
heard of such events but he’d always kept a distance.
 
Too much temptation, he’d thought. “So what
are you going to do?”

“I
don’t know yet, but in the past I’ve taken the information from donors or even
put the bags of blood in the cooler.”

With
an effort, he tried to sound jokey. “I guess you don’t get to stick the needle
in the veins or anything.”

Anne
shook her head as an odd expression flitted across her face, then vanished.
“No, nurses and trained staff will do that.
 
So will you?”

“Will
I what?”

“Come
to campus and hang out with me while I volunteer.
 
You don’t have to do anything but keep me
company.
 
You could meet some of my
colleagues.”

He’d
avoided getting acquainted with her circle of co-workers and friends.
 
The fewer people he interacted with, the
smaller the chance someone might find his manner strange or question his
actions. But Anne wanted it and so, for her sake, despite his misgivings, he
agreed. “Okay, I’ll come for a while, depending on the weather.”

As
soon as he said it, Ned wanted to take it back.
 
He’d been thinking of sunshine and how he’d look on a bright day but
Anne nodded. “Oh, you mean because of hunting.
 
I understand, but you’ll have all week to go out with Gary.”

“Yeah,
I know.
 
I’ll be there, Anne.”

The
way she beamed at him warmed his cold blood, but within Ned still regretted
he’d missed another chance to tell her the truth.

***

Heavy
rain beat against the tin roof of Ned’s house on Thursday.
 
By the time he’d fed the horses and climbed
into the pickup, the wind picked up enough to blow sheets of rain across the
road all the way into Lawton.
 
At the
college, Ned maneuvered into a parking space and slogged through the downpour
to the blood drive.
 
He wasn’t very familiar
with the campus, but Anne sketched him out a crude map. He’d committed it to
memory so he found the place easily.
 
A
lot of people filled the halls and space, some there to donate, others on their
way to classes.
 
Although he encountered
many people nightly at the casino, he met them in a dim, often dark
environment.
 
Fluorescent lights
illuminated every corner, brighter than he liked.
 
Before Ned spotted Anne he caught the
unmistakable scent of fresh blood.
 

He
hadn’t taken any blood for several days and the aroma made him ravenous.
 
He craved it with an awful hunger, as tempted
as a hardcore alcoholic might be if enticed with good bourbon.
 
To combat it, he focused on Anne and when he
saw her, he headed toward her with speed. She welcomed him with a smile and Ned
leaned down to greet her with a kiss. “Hi, honey.”

“I’m
glad you’re here.
 
Come sit down.” Anne
patted the seat of the chair beside her so he sank onto it, more than a little
ill at ease. He glanced around, and saw numerous people giving blood.
 
The bright red liquid flowed into the bags,
but Ned vowed he could hear it.