The Comanche Vampire by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy Page B

“I’m an intelligent woman and I’m a good judge of character.   If you weren’t all I said, I’d know… but you
are, Ned.”
    Ned
said nothing, couldn’t summon up the words because he had no idea how to
express his emotions.   And, if he had, he
wouldn’t have been up to dredge them up past the thick knot of tears locked
within his throat.   Anne’s love moved him
and so he put one arm around her.   He
held her close and tight, her head on his shoulder.   They sat for a long time, until the moon
shifted position and the first light of dawn appeared in the east.
    “All
I can do is try to be the man you think I am,” Ned said, finally.   “If I can’t and when you figure out I’m not,
promise to forgive me.”
    Speaking
hurt, cut like broken shards of glass in his throat and tightened his chest but
he needed to say it.   Anne’s wordless cry
eased a fraction of his anguish.   She
kissed his face, his cheeks and then his mouth.   “I don’t know what’s bothering you. I can tell you’re hurting over
something.   Why don’t you just tell me,
Ned? Whatever it is can’t be that terrible, and it’s not going to change how I
feel about you. Won’t you just tell me?”
    He
ought to do it, just say the four words that would destroy his world.   Ned couldn’t bring himself to say ‘I am a
vampire’ so he said, “I can’t, Anne.   Not
now.”
    “Then
I’ll wait,” she told him. “I’ll listen when you’re ready to tell me, when you
can. Don’t be sad.   We should be happy.”
    Anne’s
plea tugged hard on his heartstrings. “I am,” Ned told her. “Oh, I am.”
    “Then
show me.” Her grin infected him and banished his dark thoughts for now.
    His
facial muscles stretched as his smile emerged. “I’d like to.   Wanna go back in
the lodge?”
    “I
wouldn’t mind but I was thinking maybe we could go out for breakfast, maybe one
of those buffets,” Anne said. She sounded wistful. “And then maybe we could go
to the museum on post at Fort Sill.   Then
we’d head over to the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton.   We could make a day of it, running around to
see some historic sites, do a little shopping, and have lunch.”
    Ned
hadn’t set foot on the fort since he left it, but he’d heard some of the
original buildings, ones he’d known from his experiences there, were part of
the historical complex.   With an
abundance of heat and sunshine in the forecast, he didn’t think it would be a good
day to run around Lawton with Anne.   Maybe some rainy, gray day in the fall or winter, they could, he
thought.   Although he hated to disappoint
her, he answered with as much truth as he could.
    “I
work tonight, Anne,” he told her. “Someday I’d like to do all that, but not
today.   How ‘bout we go to my house and
spend the day together?”
    Her
lips twisted into a bow then Anne nodded. “I guess we can.”
    “You
disappointed?”
    “A
little, but I’ll manage.” Her slight smile erased any sting and Ned
relaxed.   She wasn’t mad, then. He gauged
the sky.   In an hour, it’d be full light
and he’d rather be inside by then.
    “Then
let’s gather the gear and take it home.” Ned stood.   He put out the fire and gathered gear.   Anne helped and together they carried all of
it back to the house.   Leaving her to
investigate the kitchen, Ned showered then dressed in his usual jeans.   His wet hair hung past his waist. He’d combed
it but nothing more when he entered the kitchen.
    Anne
climbed down from a chair and closed the cabinet she’d been investigating.
“Don’t you ever buy groceries? I wanted to make breakfast but there’s not much
to work with.   I can scramble eggs but
that’s about it.”
    “Eggs
will do.   And no, I don’t go to the
supermarket much.” He didn’t have to eat and when he did, he ate what he liked,
usually in a restaurant.   Ned brought
home anything he wanted, but he’d never gotten into the idea of buying in bulk
or