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“I kind of hoped that vampires were above petty greed,” I said.
He smiled that maddening Buddha smile. “Well, we were all human once.”
“Speak for yourself.”
>I stood, refrained from rolling my eyes when Mrs. Stubblefield flinched, and stuck my book on the correct shelf. I reached the door of the special collections room and turned back to my former boss.
“By the way, I’ve always wanted to tell you. Eyebrows. There should be two.”
Mrs. Stubblefield gasped in indignation as I swaggered out. I made a point to be pleasant to Posey as I checked out several volumes on remedial gardening and creating healthy boundaries in adult relationships. (My hope sprang eternal.) And yes, an Aretha Franklin chorus was ringing in my head as I left the building.
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me, ” I hummed. Gabriel was perched on the Veterans Memorial Fountain across the street, dragging his fingers through the burbling water.
“How did you know I would be here?” I asked when I reached him.
“I made a lucky guess,” he said. He nodded toward the library. “What were you doing?”
“Having a truly excellent moment in my life, ” I said, grinning shamelessly. “One of the best ever, to be honest, before and after you came along.”
“I don’t know how to take that,” he said.
“Doesn’t feel too good, does it?”
“How are you?” he asked. He pushed my shirt aside and traced his fingertips along the shiny edges of the scar over my collarbone. “Wood wounds take longer to heal. It will be gone in a few days.”
“I kind of like it,” I said, not bothering to move his hand away. “My very first war wound.”
“So, how are you?” he asked again.
“Recovering,” I said, meeting his gaze. “Zeb’s still a little weirded out. He watched me kill somebody, which was a horrible new experience. Plus, he had semisexual feelings when he watched me wrestle with Missy. I don ’t know which was more disturbing for him.
“In another milestone in my emotional development, I sent Jolene a bridal planner specifically written for were-brides,” I said, adding flatly, “and in exchange, Jolene sent me a catalog of bridesmaid hair accessories.”
“I’m very proud of you,” Gabriel told me. “And your parents?”
“Not very proud of me right now,” I said. “And my sister is suing me.”
“I could still talk to them for you,” he offered.
“What would you possibly say? ‘Sorry I bit your daughter?’ They’re just going to have to work it out at their own speed,” I said. “I think Daddy’s going to be OK. In fact, I think he’s kind of leaning toward it being cool to have a vampire daughter. He called yesterday, mentioned that he’d like to talk to you.”
Gabriel made an “uh-oh” face.
“No, I think he just wants to ask you some questions about your Civil War days. When I told him how old you are, he kind of started drooling.” I laughed.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a friendly chat with a special lady friend’s father,” he said, tugging at his shirt collar. “It will be friendly, won’t it?”
“Decidedly,” I assured him as he slipped his arm around mine. “He likes you. The fact that you ’re a living record of everything he’s ever wanted to know about the history of the Hollow just gives you that much more of an edge.”
“And your mother?” he asked.
“Has taken to her bed and is refusing to come out. I think I have been officially written out of my grandmother ’s will, but really, my name was in pencil, anyway, so it hardly matters.
“I am allowed to be friends with Andrea again, which is nice. Aunt Jettie says hi, by the way, and that she prefers that you wear pants the next time you’re in the house.”
“I’m sure you’ll explain that, at length, at another time,” he said, clearly confused. I’d forgotten that he and Aunt Jettie had never been properly introduced.
“My first battle to the death,” I said. “How many of those am I going to have? Because they’re not fun.”
