Kiss of Death (The Briar Creek Vampires, #1) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse by Jayme Morse

reuniting with her father one day; the same
dream that other people abandoned by their parents during childhood
were bound to have, but she never thought that she would act on it.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to remember what he looked like.
She didn’t even have a picture of him.
    To find her dad, she needed a computer. Hers
wouldn’t get here until later that week, with the rest of her
belongings. Violet and Tommy were planning to go to her house
tomorrow to meet with a lawyer about her mom’s estate, as well as
sort through her and her mom’s stuff and bring back Lexi’s things.
She couldn’t bring herself to go; the idea of going back into the
house where she had so many memories of her mom would only make it
harder to cope with her mom’s death. Not only that, but she also
needed a break from her aunt and uncle. She was still upset that
they had refused to hold a memorial service for her mom. She knew
that funerals could be expensive, but her mom was Violet’s sister.
How could she just go on acting like nothing happened and she had
never existed?
    Gabe sat on the hammock, pulling Lexi down
beside him and staring at her intensely. “You don’t know where your
dad is?”
    She shook her head. “He disappeared when I
was a kid. No one in my family has heard from him since.”
    “I remember,” Gabe mumbled, looking down at
his feet.
    “You do?” Lexi was shocked. She only had a
few memories of her father. How could Gabe, who she didn’t even
remember, be able to recall memories of her dad? “What else do you
remember?”
    “I…not much. I don’t know if I should tell
you. You’re mad at your aunt and uncle right now. I don’t want to
make things worse.”
    “Tell me,” she said, gripping his thigh. It
was as if he was withholding a memory from her – a memory that she
wished she had.
    “Well, when your dad disappeared…Tommy came
over to the house. He told my mom that we shouldn’t let Violet or
your mom know if we heard from your dad. Apparently, he didn’t want
anyone to put him back into contact with your family.”
    “I wish I knew what even happened,” Lexi
said. “It’s like...one day he was outside playing soccer with me
and Austin, and the next day he was gone. I don’t really know why
he left.”
    “Maybe you can get your aunt and uncle to
tell you one day. We thought…I mean, maybe your dad doesn’t know
that you don’t know how to get in touch with him.” Gabe kicked up
dirt with his sneaker and then glanced at his watch. “I should
really get going. It’s almost dinner time and my mom’s going to be
wondering where I am. Soon, Violet and Tommy are going to be
looking out the window too. And since you’re not allowed to see me
anymore…”
    Lexi pushed herself onto her feet and
intertwined her fingers with his. She gave him a long peck on his
lips. “Your hands are always freezing. Are you sick?”
    “No, I’m fine. I just have low blood
pressure.” He gave her another peck on her lips and started to
leave. Turning around, he asked, “Hey, Lexi?”
    “Yeah?”
    “If you need anything, I’m always right
across the street.”
    She smiled. “I know. I am, too.” Her smile
fell from her face when she remembered Violet and Tommy. “But make
sure my aunt and uncle aren’t home first,” she added.
    Turning to go inside, Lexi decided that she
didn’t care what Violet had said about Gabe being a manwhore. Lexi
knew it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.
     
    *
     
    Later that night, Lexi sat at the kitchen
table, quietly playing with her peas. She decided that she wasn’t
going to speak to Violet or Tommy and, so far, neither of them had
said a word to her.
    Lexi didn’t have an appetite and she was
still fighting against the tears that were threatening to pour out
of her eyes. As she dumped her food into the stainless steel
trashcan in the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Wondering who it was,
Lexi went back into the dining room and listened as her aunt
answered the