Page 19 of A Hunter Turned
“Do you drink blood?” this asked shyly by one of the girls, her face set in lines of trepidation as she waited for the answer.
Jamie hesitated. She didn’t want to scare these kids, especially Cady, so she glanced at Archer. His face was set in a grimace, but he nodded at her.
Licking her lips, she mulled over her wording before she admitted, “I mostly eat regular food,” and then with a chuckle, “that would have been a deal-breaker for me if I had to give up my Hot Pockets and Cheetos, but I do need to have blood every once in a while.” And then to take the sting from that disclaimer that had brought a shimmer of fear to several pairs of eyes, she added, “But I mostly get that from bags. I don’t hurt people and neither do my friends.”
“You’re Hunters,” Efrem said with a nod, turning to glance at each of his fellows. “They hunt the bad vampires.”
Cady’s hand gripped Jamie’s tighter and she attempted not to wince at the pressure on her still overly-sensitive fingers as the little girl whispered, “Like the bad vampires that hurt my mommy.”
Jamie’s chest constricted at the pain in that little voice. Vampires had hurt Cady’s mom? Archer’s wife? Had they killed her? It explained so much about why Archer had been such a dick at first, and if that was the case, she couldn’t blame him.
Squatting down to be eye level with the girl, she solemnly said, “Yes. We get the bad guys.” And then with a quick glance up at Archer who was shooing away the curious teens with the promise that they could ask more questions another time, she returned her gaze to Cady’s and added sincerely, “I wish we could get them before they did the bad things.”
Cady’s arms latched around her neck and squeezed so hard it was nearly choking. Standing with the girl still clinging to her, Jamie rubbed that warm little back, unsure how to make things better.
“How about we go see Marshmallow?”
Her father’s words had the girl’s head popping up and her face once more filled with excitement. “Oh, yes, please!”
Squirming to get down, Jamie reluctantly released her only for Cady to immediately grab her hand once more and pull her along with the promise of, “You’re going to love, Marshmallow, Jamie. She does tricks.”
Raising a brow that had been penciled in much better than her previous attempt the night before, Jamie glanced at Archer and mouthedMarshmallow?
Archer’s laugh was rich and booming, filling the night before he told her, “Wait and see.”
Jamie’s curiosity was piqued, but first, she had to listen to the boat rules delivered by a stern-faced four-year-old that made Jamie’s lips twitch with amusement.
“You’re not to fiddle with the life vest, even if it’s scratchy,” Cady informed her, her little hands perched on her hips, “and your butt remains in the seat at all times.”
Nodding, Jamie saluted. “Aye, aye, captain.” Then, with Archer’s assistance, she boarded the fan boat and took a seat.
Archer kept the ride relatively slow so that Jamie could take in all the sights. She still found the bayou creepy, especially when the spotlight mounted on the boat picked up movement slithering into the water from the banks. “Was that an alligator?”
“You’ll see more of them the deeper we go,” Archer informed her, his eyes trained on the water as he skillfully navigated the craft.
Cady’s little hand slipped once more into Jamie’s as if giving reassurance. “Big ones too, but there’s no need to be scared.”
Jamie’s heart felt like it wanted to burst right out of her chest. This little girl. She was amazing. Jamie was just about to tell the child so when her attention was diverted as the spotlight lit upon a house on stilts smack dab in the middle of the water, a gently rocking rowboat tethered to a tiny dock in the front.
Blinking, in case she was suddenly hallucinating, Jamie gasped, “Who lives there?”
“Aunty Nedra,” Cady told her, and then added in a stage whisper, “she’s a witch.”
Jamie squinted. “A witch, witch, or a not nice lady?”
Archer chuckled at that as he cut the engine and allowed the boat to drift closer to the house. “Nedra would tell you she’s a private practitioner of the ancient arts of healing.”
“But she’s very nice,” Cady chimed in before her face screwed up with distaste as she added, “Just don’t eat anything she gives you.” A shiver accompanied by a poked-out tongue. “She likes strange food.”
This time, Archer’s laugh was deep and full-bodied as he stepped around to rumple his daughter’s dark curls. “Luckily, we brought food you like.”
Gazing at him for a few moments more than was strictly necessary as she drank in the sight of his joy, as well as the way the faded jeans he was wearing, lovingly contoured his hips and thighs, Jamie had to clear her suddenly dry throat before she could ask, “Are we stopping to visit?”
Archer shook his head and pointed to what she had previously missed. Three alligators situated on the raised porch of the house as if guarding the front door. “We’re here to see them.”
Cady bounced excitedly in her seat and extended her arm to point. “See the one with the yellow spots down her back? That’s Marshmallow.”
Marshmallow was huge. Like, swallow a person whole and have room for dessert, huge. She was also looking right at them.
