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“When the time was right.”
I sneered.
“I’m sorry, Masie. I really am. But I’ve been itchin’ to retire, and when I told Stark I wanted to sell so you wouldn’t have to deal with the vampire situation, he wasn’t happy. Then he promised he’d look after you if I turned my businesses over to you.”
So that was why Uncle Jimmie gave me the Rooster out of the blue. “Welp, he was going to look after me, all right. As his bride.”
“I didn’t know that at the time.” Jimmie rubbed the back of his neck. “I never imagined things would play out like this.”
My heart sank. “How could you know?” I drew a slow breath. “Let’s just forget about it. The less I think about all this stuff, the better.”
“I’m here for you, Masie. Anything you need.”
“Thank you, Uncle Jimmie.”
“For the record, I wanted to leave you the Flaming Rooster and the distillery no matter what. I don’t want you to think for one second I was forced into the idea.”
If I weren’t so drained, I would’ve cried. “Thank you. It’s good to know.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I finished the night feeling a thousand times better than when I arrived. The Rooster’s familiarity helped push aside the horrors of the past week so I could focus on something normal, easy.
Not that I was naïve and thought my vampire problem had gone away. There was an entire vampire community displaced by my ban, so I’d gotten what I’d wanted, but sooner or later, they’d be back.
My continuing challenge was that I still didn’t know the rules, which put me at a severe disadvantage. That was why I ordered Lord Bleyer II to send me copies of Anna’s writings, including the sex book Stark mentioned once. I figured those were a good place to start my true education.
I finished locking up the bar and set the security alarm. I stepped outside, spotting Sheriff Idiot waiting by my truck.
“Masie, girl. Where you been?”
“Not in the mood tonight, Thomas.”
“What’s goin’ on? Every time I asked about you, your uncle brushed me off. You all right?”
“Yes, Thomas. I am. Now please go home to Lizzy.”
He lowered his voice. “Just be on your guard, m’kay? People are actin’ real strange. It’s like the rich folks know somethin’ we don’t. Rats jumping ship.”
“You mean they’ve left town.” That was great.
“Yeah. And property values are falling through the floor. Doris Emery, at Real Estate Ten, said she had one hundred new listings just today.”
So we’d had over one hundred vampires living in town. “Wow. That’s a lot.”
He pulled off his cowboy hat and combed a hand through his short, messy hair. “Don’t know how I’ll ever retire now. My house ain’t gonna be worth a lick of shit.”
“I’m sure things’ll turn around.” More importantly, he might actually live to see retirement.
“Let’s hope.” He put his hat back on. “You have a good night, Masie. Keep your eyes open. If something big’s happening, the folks at the Rooster will hear it first.”
“Keep you posted.” I got in my truck and started the engine. Tomorrow night, I’d go see Daddy at Stark’s place. Hopefully, he’d still be there, and we could talk about telling Mamma the truth. My fear was that if Stark had left town, Daddy had gone with him.His loyal servant.
The thought still boiled my blood. Even when Daddy had worked for Jimmie, he was never anyone’s servant. He pulled his weight in the world and commanded respect like a true Kicklighter.
I drove home, feeling oddly alone, and when I arrived at the Carlins’, there was no one waiting in the shadows outside, the horses were quiet, and my front door was locked. Just like I’d left it this morning.
Was everything back to normal? I prayed it was, even if it wouldn’t last forever.
