Till the Break of Dawn Read online

  “Jesus.”

  It wasn’t the fact that Jamie took the Lord’s name in vain that caught my attention. It was the way she made it have way too many syllables.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “What kinda shit do you watch in the mornings?”

  “The news. You know I always turn on the news while I make coffee.”

  She was just sitting up when I walked into the living room and it looked like that movement took quite a bit of effort. I glanced down at my cream-colored couch and was surprised to see that her makeup hadn’t smeared all over it. It was probably all over the red pillow she was holding in her lap. Oh well, it wasn’t as if my makeup didn’t come off on it from time to time. At least the fabric was easy to clean. I sat down in the leather chair across from her and got a good look at the problem.

  “They are an abomination!” the red-faced preacher yelled.

  I rolled my eyes. “Not another nut job preaching against vampires.”

  Jamie groaned and rubbed the already smeared mascara across her face. “Sounds like he hates werewolves too.”

  “We must join with our brothers and sisters of H-A-T-E in protest of these events!”

  He was very careful to spell out the letters of the organization known as H.A.T.E. rather than just speak the name. It stood for Humans Against Treating Animals Equally. (Don’t know why they didn’t count that second “A” in the acronym. Maybe because H.A.T.A.E. didn’t spell anything.) As you might have guessed, they were against the equal rights movement for werewolves. But this particular red-faced nut was part of a group that called themselves Followers of the Light. Their biggest gripe was vampires. I knew this because I’d had the unfortunate displeasure of tuning in to his program before.

  “What events is he talking about? Oh, my God, he looks like he’s going to have a stroke. Look at the veins popping out in his neck.” I pointed at the screen and as I spoke it appeared that the preacher’s head was about to explode from pressure. I couldn’t imagine hating another group of people enough to get that worked up.

  Jamie opened her mouth to answer me, but before she could they slapped a picture of Marcus up on the screen. My heart jumped painfully and for a moment I wondered if my face was as red as the angry little preacher.

  “It is a sin and a crime for a monster like this to be so celebrated,” he yelled. They continued to show Marcus’ picture in one corner of the screen. “Brothers and sisters, his very existence is a slight against Almighty God! He should be dead! There is life and there is death. The bible does not speak of un-death. But for his own selfish reasons this man has chosen to walk the path of darkness. At the cost of his immortal soul!”

  “Does that answer your question?” Jamie snorted.

  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of—”

  “FUCK!”

  I slapped at the power button so hard I was surprised when the flat screen television didn’t fall off the wall.

  Jamie laughed softly, then put her hands on either side of her head as if to hold it steady.

  “Somehow I don’t think that was what he was about to say.”

  I had been so angry at his words that it took me a moment to catch on to her meaning. I laughed then too.

  “The valley of the shadow of fuck,” I said, laughing softly.

  She got up slowly and followed me into the kitchen. “Sounds like a nice place to visit.”

  “Maybe we can make it into a new drink.”

  One of my hobbies was coming up with crazy names for mixed drinks. Even though what I said was funny, I was still fuming over what the preacher had been yelling about.

  “Can you believe that crap?” I asked this as I poured a cup of coffee and passed it to Jamie.

  She took the cup with hands than only shook a little bit. His words had upset her too, but Jamie was better at keeping things like that to herself than I was. We’d known each other long enough that her trembling hands gave away her anger. To anyone else she would have looked perfectly calm. And hung-over.

  “That preachers hate vampires? Sure. They hate anyone who has found eternal life without having to sacrifice everything first.”

  I shook my head and immediately regretted the movement. “But Marcus did make sacrifices. Lots of vampires have made sacrifices to be who they are.”

  Jamie took a few sips of coffee while she rummaged through my cabinets looking for aspirin. “I may have been drunk last night, but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember what we talked about. Are you still up for our bet?”

  “You mean the one about finding a normal guy?”

  “That would be the one.”

  “You know, it’s not really a bet.”

  She turned back to me, crossing her arms underneath her breasts. “Sure it is. If you can’t find someone that you at least think you’ve got a shot with in the next month then you’re calling Marcus and that’s that. I’m sick of seeing you alone. Only I didn’t figure out why nothing had worked out with you until last night. I can’t believe I never noticed how you look when someone mentions his name. Guess I never really looked you in the eye when someone said ‘Marcus’ before. I just figured you were embarrassed when things didn’t work out and maybe that hurt your feelings somehow. I had no idea you were in love with him.”

  The more she spoke, the faster her words came until by the end she was running them together and I held up my hand for silence.

  “Stop. What I meant was, there’s nothing at stake for you.”

  “Come again?”

  “Well, our discussion was about both of us needing to make a decision about where our lives are going. What happens if I can’t find someone and I call Marcus up? Say it works or even if it doesn’t and I’ve lived up to my end of the deal, what then?”

  “What do you mean what then? That’s it.”

  My smile must have given something away, because she looked nervous all of the sudden. Jamie ran a hand through the tangles in her long dark hair and turned back to look for the aspirin.

  “Is there a guy you never talked about? One who got away?”

  She shrugged. “Of course there is. For anyone over the age of twenty there’s usually at least one.”

  I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned back to me with a sigh. “His name is … Well, he didn’t really get away. You see, I’ve never had the nerve to act on what I feel.”

  “God, Jamie just tell me.”

  “It’s Earl, okay?”

  I just stood there with my mouth open. Jamie turned beet red and faced the sink. She remained there, blushing deeper by the minute while I got the aspirin and handed it to her.

  “Really? You’re not messing with me?”

  She snorted. “You going to make fun of me now?”

  I laughed. “Hell no, Earl is hot. What’s wrong with liking Earl?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  This turn of events couldn’t have been more shocking to me. However, it also meant I wasn’t entirely alone in having to make a change. Even though I’d put Jamie on the spot, I felt better about not being alone.

  “Fine. If I end up having to call Marcus, you have to ask Earl on a date.”

  Jamie ran a hand over her face as if wondering what in the world she’d gotten herself into. “All right, fine. Mind if I stick around for a while? I feel like shit.”

  I smiled. “Sure. Have some more coffee.”

  After finishing my coffee I walked down the hall to the laundry room. Monday was normally my cleaning day, but the laundry would have to wait. When I checked to see if I had detergent I remembered something else.

  I dashed back into the kitchen where Jamie was still slumped over the table.

  “We’ve only got a few hours before we’re supposed to have lunch with Mandy.”

  “Shit. I need to get home and change.” Jamie looked down at her rumpled clothes and touched her tangled hair again. “And get a bath.”

  “Do you know where w
e’re supposed to meet her?”

  “Damn. I suck at giving directions.”

  “Can you write them down?”

  “Yeah. Give me some paper.”

  She scribbled down the directions and handed me the paper on her way to the door.

  “Thanks again,” she said, giving me a quick hug.

  “For what?”

  “For not letting me drink alone.” Her smile was kind. “And for telling me about you and Marcus.”

  “No problem. See you in a little while.”

  *****

  The restaurant Mandy picked was just over the Alabama state line and a forty minute drive from my house. As I glanced at the clock in my car I decided I was just going to have to be late. Mandy and I always got along in school, but we were never really “close.” So why did my appearance matter so much to me? Because Mandy was a year younger. It’s a small but petty truth about women. We will always want to look our best around a younger woman. When we’re in our teens it’s to show off the fact that we’re so much more grown up than them. When we’re in our late twenties and up, it’s to show that we’re still sexier than they are. Even if it’s someone you dearly love, deep down all women have this reaction.

  It took me thirty minutes to decide which jeans made me look slimmest. Another twenty minutes to decide which bra best lifted my 36DD cleavage and way too much time was spent on hair and makeup. All petty girl stuff aside, I’d always been insecure about my body. This was mostly because I’d had large breasts since the fourth grade. Lots of people think that wouldn’t be a problem, but it is. I’ve spent most of my life being self-conscious because I think everyone is staring at my breasts. The rest of me is okay. I’m not all hung up on myself, but I try to stay in good shape. I’m a size eight and I’m proud of that. At five-foot-four I do not consider myself overweight. I don’t want to be paper-thin. I just want to be fit and feel good about myself.

  The t-shirt I decided on was green, because I thought it went well with my hair. It was short and made to hang off one shoulder, all the more reason to be sure my bra matched. I’d picked something that wasn’t too tight hoping that eyes would be drawn toward my revealed midriff rather than my chest.

  When I arrived (only five minutes late) I found Jamie waiting in line outside. She was wearing similar jeans and a tight pink tank top.

  The first words out of her mouth? “Do I look stupid or is this cute? I mean, I didn’t go to school with her, but I knew her when she lived here and—”

  She stopped mid-sentence, saw the look on my face, and we both started to laugh.

  Chapter Five

  I don’t know about Jamie, but once Mandy drove up I felt really stupid for worrying about how I looked. It wasn’t that she looked so much better or anything like that. She was radiant. The woman glowed from clear across the parking lot and it had nothing to do with her light blond hair. She was happy and it was clear for anyone to see.

  “I’m so glad you could come,” she said, hugging us both. “Sorry, I’m running late.”

  Mandy was taller than me too, but not as tall as Jamie. She’s around five-seven and she looked great in the pale blue dress and sandals she was wearing. I remembered Jamie saying she was pregnant, but you certainly couldn’t tell to look at her.

  As if reading my mind she put a hand over her stomach and grinned from ear to ear. “I’m not showing yet.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. How far along are you?”

  “Two months.”

  “Congratulations.”

  I was afraid that lunch was going to be awkward, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Mandy told us that she and her boyfriend planned to get married. She hadn’t told anyone besides us about her pregnancy. Mandy was so excited she felt like she had to tell somebody. It was really sweet that she chose us. It was also sad that she wasn’t closer to anyone besides me and Jamie. We used to have lunch together when she worked at the salon in town. Mandy was a bikini waxer before she moved. Not sure what she did now. Her brother Bill used to tease her about looking at “other girl’s hoo-has” all day long. When she informed him that she also did balls, he stopped making jokes. Ah, the memories.

  Mandy and her fiancé wanted to hurry up and get married before she started to show. Then they’d share the happy news with everyone else. She couldn’t stop talking about him. However, all I knew was his name was David and he traveled a lot with his job. She talked more about his personality than his life or what he did for a living. After an hour of hearing about him I still had no idea who this guy was.

  “I know this may sound strange, since I haven’t seen you in so long, but I’d like for you both to help me with the wedding plans.”

  Jamie nearly choked on her margarita and I did choke on my salad.

  “I’m sorry to spring this all on you. It’s just that mom is dead, my brother wouldn’t be much help and … well, I never had that many friends around here. Of course I’ll understand if you can’t. I know you guys have your own business and—”

  “We’d love to,” Jamie and I said together.

  “Really?” She sighed. “That’s great. We want to have it here since this is where I grew up.” When Mandy spoke she gave me a funny look. Her reasoning made sense to me, but what was with the look? I felt like there was something more she wanted to add, but didn’t.

  *****

  The next day Jamie and I were both at work early. We’d come to the decision that hiring more help was a must. As it was now, we mostly worked on the weekends or fight nights. However, we were both in agreement that a few more days off would be nice. Not to mention, neither of us had taken a vacation before in our lives.

  She was in the back sorting through job applications and I was out front looking at a book of wedding invitations. The way we all saw it, we had about two months to put Mandy’s wedding together before she started to show. I’d told her I would look at the book and give her my opinion this afternoon. My only thoughts were cream or white when someone knocked on the door.

  “We’re closed,” I called without looking behind me.

  They knocked again and I slid down from my barstool and walked to the door. The upper part of the front door of Our Place is made of glass. It gave a limited view of whoever was on the other side, but that was more than enough to see that he was drop dead gorgeous. He ran a hand through his dusty blond hair and turned his brown eyes toward me.

  I opened the door.

  The man standing just outside was definitely not from around here. His jeans fit like a second skin and the white t-shirt he was wearing revealed every muscular curve beneath it. Damn. What was he doing here?

  “Sorry, but we don’t open until five o’clock.”

  His smile reached his eyes and I couldn’t help but smile back. “I’m sure it’s five o’clock somewhere.” When I opened my mouth to say we were still closed he stopped me and said, “I just need directions.”

  I knew he wasn’t from around here. “Where to?”

  He handed me the business card of a local real estate office. “Can you tell me where to find them?”

  “Sure.” I stepped outside with him and as I spoke pointed down the road. When I did this the stranger stepped closer. Mmm, he smelled good too.

  When I was finished with the directions he offered me his hand and said, “My name is Jesse, by the way.”

  “Well, Jesse-by-the-way, my name is Dawn.”

  He laughed. As I looked at him I decided that a smile must be the expression he wore most often, because it looked so good on him.

  “Thanks for the directions.” He turned to leave, but just before getting in his truck he stopped and looked back at me. “I’ll see you at five o’clock.”

  I didn’t know what to make of Jesse or his promise to come back. Or was it a threat? I was still standing there with a smile on my face, watching his truck drive away when Jamie came outside.

  “Who was that?” she asked.

  Even when she wasn’t working
she often wore her cowboy hat. As she spoke she tipped it back to get a better look at the departing vehicle.

  “Nice truck.”

  “Yeah, his ass wasn’t bad either.”

  Chapter Six

  At five o’clock I was surprised to find myself looking toward the front door of Our Place. I was bartending tonight and we weren’t very busy. So, I kept looking. Who did this Jesse asswipe think he was anyway? He probably made that comment just to get me to watch for him so he could be sitting around somewhere feeling self-satisfied. And never show up.

  “Our clock is fast,” Jamie said.

  I jumped at the sound of her voice over my shoulder.

  “Don’t sneak up on me.”

  She laughed. “I didn’t. You just weren’t paying attention to anything but the door.”

  “Well, I guess I should be going,” Mandy said.

  She had been sitting at the end of the bar going through the invitation book for the last hour. Now that she’d finished her virgin strawberry daiquiri she seemed to have come to a decision.

  “So, what’s the prognosis?” I asked.

  Mandy laughed at my choice of words. “Cream with lace trim and silver letters. I’m going to hold off on ordering them until I find a dress. I hate to put a date and time on something when I don’t have everything else ready.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Jamie asked. “Not that I’ve ever planned a wedding before.”

  Mandy shrugged and her pink t-shirt fell off one shoulder. “After I find a dress, I’ll go ahead and set a date and order the invitations. David said to just let him know when I decided. We’re aiming for exactly two months from now. We’ll see how that goes.”

  When Mandy turned to leave, guess who opened the door for her? Jesse had walked in while we spoke. She said “thank you” and he smiled, but rather than admire the slinky blond his eyes found me across the room. What can I say? I instantly liked him. Noticing me with my long red hair and pale skin over a tall, sexy blond with a tan put him right up to the top of my list.