MERLOT AND DIVORCE AND DEADLY REMORSE

by Jodi Vaughn

  Family portraits lined the dated, wallpapered wall. A modest fireplace sat against one wall with an antique mantel clock sitting in the middle and more pictures in mismatched frames on either side. The living room was small with a brown couch and two recliners facing the fireplace. There were angel knickknacks on every available space and a rocking chair near the fireplace where a forgotten crocheted quilt lay in the seat.

  The home was cluttered and not to my style, but something about the environment was cozy and inviting. It was a happy home.

  “My name’s Emma Daniels. Come on into the kitchen. I was putting some stuff in the Crock-Pot for dinner tonight.” She smiled and waved me over to a seat at the farmhouse table.

  “Nice to meet you, Emma. I’m Rachel.” I clamped my mouth shut. Should I have given her a different name?

  Emma opened a mason jar of canned tomatoes and poured them into the Crock-Pot. “My grandmother’s name was Rachel. It’s a good, strong name.”

  “I hope so,” I murmured under my breath. Right now, I wasn’t feeling very strong.

  “So, you’ve come to buy some of our meat, have you? Well, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. We have the most tender meat in the state.” Emma gave a firm nod.

  “That’s good to know.” I figured I would ask the husband about my purchase. I didn’t imagine the wife would look too kindly on what I was after.

  “Where are you from, Rachel?” She picked up a mason jar of whole corn and poured it into the Crock-Pot.

  “I’m from around the Memphis area,” I lied again. I didn’t want her knowing exactly where I lived.

  “I don’t get to Memphis much. If I have to go to the big city, I always go to Jackson. I’ve got some family down there.” She nodded and then gasped.

  “What?” I froze.

  “Where are my manners? You would think my mama raised me in a barn with those cows out there.” She laughed and shook her head. “Rachel, would you care for something to drink?”

  “Oh, no thank you. I had a large coffee on the way over.”

  “I insist.” She wiped her hands on her apron and walked over to the aging refrigerator. “You have never had sweet tea until you’ve had mine. It’s my secret recipe, and all the wives in the community have been after me for years to give it to them.” She pulled out a glass from the white cabinet and put ice in it before pouring the tea.

  “Oh, well. Then I must try it.” I smiled and took the glass of tea.

  I took a sip and tried not to wince. It was sweet. Sickeningly sweet. Since becoming a vampire, my taste buds had gone haywire. I used to love my coffee with sugar and creamer. Now, I took it black because I couldn’t stand how sweet it tasted.

  This tea was even worse.

  “That’s really good. I can see why all the wives want your recipe.” I pasted a smile on my face and nodded at the Crock-Pot. “So, what are you making? A soup?”

  “Yes. I usually add some seasoned ground beef for the men. You know how men are. They won’t eat just vegetables.” She laughed.

  “Emma, are you running to town today?” A deep voice boomed as a burly-looking male wearing overalls and a trucker hat walked in through the back door.” He spotted me, and his eyebrows shot up. “Oh, excuse me. I didn’t know we had company.”

  “This is Rachel. She’s come by to talk to you about purchasing some of our meat. Rachel, this is my husband, Earl,” Emma said and then frowned. “I’m going to town as soon as I finish putting dinner together in the Crock-Pot. What do you need?”

  “I need you to go by the church and see if the preacher still needs those goats for the Easter service next month. Tell him he can borrow the goats but not our lambs.”

  Emma sighed and then looked at me. “Every year at Easter, our church puts on a display of Christ’s death. We actually have a man on a crucifix and everything. We had shepherds and lambs gathered around the foot of the cross last year, but Earl won’t lend them out again.”

  “We’ve already had this conversation, Emma. Those lambs were traumatized.” He turned his weathered gaze on me. “Turns out they spotted the gyro truck, and I guess they smelled the lamb meat cooking.” He shook his head. “Damn near started a stampede right there in front of the church.”

  Emma looked at me. “Poor lambs started running and bleating like crazy. They headbutted anything in their way to get out of the church parking lot.”

  “Wow, that sounds…awful.” What I found more disturbing was the fact that they’d put a guy on a cross for an audience while selling food. Seemed very disrespectful to me. And that was saying something, coming from a vampire.

  “Well, Ms. Rachel. What can I do you for?” Earl took off his hat and held out his hand. I shook his hand, noticing the roughness of his palm.

  “Can I come and look at your cows before we talk business?” I looked from Emma to Earl.

  “Of course.” He slapped his hat back on his head and gave Emma a quick kiss.

  “Nice to meet you, Emma. And thank you for the sweet tea.” I smiled and walked to the front door. Earl was already there holding the door open for me.

  “Nice meeting you, Rachel,” Emma called out.

  We stepped out into the brutal brightness of the sun, and I slapped my hat back on my head.

  “You’re one of those city people, aren’t you?” He grinned, and I noticed that he was missing a tooth.

  “Yes, sir. How’d you know?”

  “City folk don’t much like the sun. Scared of getting wrinkles. Plus, your nice car. Don’t get many Volvos on the farm. Unless it’s farm equipment.”

  “You got me, Earl.” I laughed.

  “I’m kind of surprised to see you here. I mean, it’s usually the husband who comes to buy the beef. Not the pretty wives.”

  “Well, my husband is working. Plus, I like to know what I’m buying before I make a purchase.”

  “Most of our cows are out to pasture as you probably saw when you drove up. My son, Emmett is still feeding them. But I’ve got a couple in the barn if you want to look at them.”

  “That would be great.” I chewed on a hangnail and followed Earl out to the faded red barn that sat not far from his house.

  “This here is Bessie.” Earl pointed at a black cow in a stall. Her large eyes and long eyelashes seemed to look into my soul. Did she know what I was? It was possible. I mean, animals did have a penchant for following me around the neighborhood when I ran at night.

  Earl opened the gate, and Bessie walked out and stopped in front of me.

  “Hi, Bessie.” I reached out my hand, and she rubbed her head against my palm.

  “Well, look at that. She’s usually shy and don’t like people much.” Earl rubbed his chin.

  “I’m good with animals,” I said.

  “I see that.” He laughed. “Come on out and see the rest of the cows.”

  He walked out of the barn, and I followed. Bessie followed closely behind me, and every time I stopped, she did, as well.

  Earl stopped at the wooden fence and draped his arms over the top rung. “As you can see, all of our cows are grass-fed. They are not given hormones or antibiotics.”

  “Is that why you call it Happy Acres?”

  “You bet.” He grinned, revealing the missing tooth.

  I cleared my throat and decided that now was the time to venture into the subject of why I was really there.

  “Earl, I was wondering if you sell other products from your cows, more than just meat.” I was grateful for my sunglasses so he couldn’t see how nervous I was.

  “Well, we sell any part of the cow you want. Although you don’t look like a woman who fancies eating cow tongue.”

  “Cow tongue? People really eat that?” I wrinkled my nose.

  “It’s a delicacy in some countries.” He nodded.

  “That’s not what I was asking about. You see, I wanted some blood to make…”

  “Blood sausage?” He turned and gave me a look.

  “Well, yeah
. How’d you know?”

  “What else would a pretty lady want with blood. Not like you’re going to drink it.” He let out a bark of laughter.

  A nervous laugh rolled out of me.

  “You know it’s usually made with pork blood.”

  “I know. But this is a European recipe and it calls for cow blood.”

  “How much you want?” he asked.

  “Well, I need a lot of it. I have a lot of family coming in from New Orleans for a party. I’ve never had it myself.”

  “I had it once when I went on a duck hunting trip in Louisiana. It’s all right. Not really my thing.” Earl shrugged.

  “Do you sell it? Blood?” I hated having to say the words, but I needed to hurry this transaction along. If Earl wasn’t willing to sell it to me, then I needed to try the next farm on my list.

  “I’ve never had anyone ask for it.” He scratched his chin. “Not sure how much you need either. Or how fast. I don’t have any cows ready for slaughter just yet.”

  “Well, would you have to slaughter them? I mean, couldn’t you just drain some blood.” I needed it now, but there was no way I could say that without raising any more suspicion. I hated the idea of an animal dying for me. If Khalan could drink from a human and not murder them, then why couldn’t I have blood from a cow and not kill it?

  Earl’s eyebrows shot down in a crease, and I could tell from the hard look on his face that he was thinking about it.

  “That might be an idea. I can try one now if you like. If you like it in the recipe you can come back for more.” He looked over his shoulder at Bessie. “Since Bessie likes you so much, I bet she wouldn’t mind.”

  “We haven’t discussed a price yet.”

  “I don’t know. How about twenty-five dollars for a quart”

  “Sounds like a deal.” I stuck out my hand, and he shook it.

  I had no idea if this was a good deal or not. I was so desperate to find a blood source that I was willing to sell my left kidney to get it.

  “Let me go back to the barn and find a clean bucket. You can take this with you now, and we’ll just reuse the bucket when you bring it back. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds great.”

  Earl walked back into the barn to fetch the supplies. I turned around and came face-to-face with two big cow eyes and long lashes.

  “Bessie, I hope you don’t mind, but I need your blood.” I rubbed my hand on her forehead. She continued staring at me without blinking. I liked to think she could understand what I was saying.

  “Here we go.” Earl came out of the barn with a large, red bucket, some rubber tubing, and a big needle.

  “Is that an old needle?” I cringed and couldn’t help but think how many germs it had on it.

  “No. Fresh out of the package. My nephew is in vet school, and he left some supplies here.” Earl set the bucket on the ground and looped some rope around Bessie’s neck. He then tied the end to the fence. “Don’t want her jumping around too much.”

  “I’ll help hold her head.” I placed both hands on either side of her large face and looked into her eyes. “This won’t hurt much, girl.”

  “I’m shocked she’s so still for you. She’s usually a nervous wreck around strangers.” Earl held the end of the needle in one hand and put the end of the tubing into the bucket. He looped the rubber around the handle a couple of times to secure it. Then he felt around on Bessie’s neck until he found an adequate vein.

  “Here we go.”

  I didn’t look at the needle, just kept my gaze trained on the cow. Bessie grunted a little when the needle went in but otherwise didn’t move.

  I glanced down into the bucket and noted the slow flow of blood. “A quart won’t hurt her, will it? Sounds like a lot of blood.”

  “Nah. Cows usually have about thirty-six liters of blood. She might be a little weak for a few days, but she’ll recover.”

  I kept my hand on Bessie while the blood drained into the bucket. A nagging sense of guilt tugged at my stomach. The last time I’d taken blood from an animal, it had been too weak after and had gotten run over. I didn’t want another animal death on my conscience.

  “Since she’ll be weak for a few days, why don’t you keep her in the barn. I’d hate for anything to happen to her.”

  Earl looked at me and squinted. “Bessie’s a hardy girl.”

  “I know, but I would feel better if she were in the barn.” I gave him a smile.

  He nodded. “All right. If that would make you happy, we’ll keep Bessie in the barn for a few days. I’m sure she won’t mind the extra attention.”

  “Thank you. I know Bessie appreciates it, too.” I looked back at the cow, who still hadn’t blinked and now had a string of drool hanging out of the corner of her cow lips.

  I frowned. It was the same look my victims got when I glamoured them. Had I managed to glamour the cow?

  When Earl was done, he pulled out the needle and applied pressure with his hand until the wound stopped bleeding.

  “That was quick.”

  “Animals stop bleeding pretty fast.” He shrugged and picked up the bucket of blood. “I can put a lid on it for you, but I don’t have a cooler big enough to put it in.”

  “Oh, that’s okay.”

  “But you need to keep the blood cool.”

  “I’m headed straight home, and I’m going to turn the air on really cold. It should be fine.” I assured him.

  I hated cold blood.

  “Next time, I’ll be more prepared and bring a cooler.”

  “Well, all right.” He walked into the barn with the bucket.

  I looked back at Bessie. “You’ll feel fine in the morning. I promise.” I patted her head. “Thank you for your donation.”

  I headed after Earl. I found him in the barn, securing a lid to the bucket.

  “So, how often can you take blood from a cow?”

  “Miss Rachel, how many people you planning on feeding blood sausage to?” He frowned.

  “My family is really large, and it would surprise you how much they can put away.”

  “I get that. Why, Emma’s mama could eat me under the table, and that’s saying something.” He laughed and patted his large belly.

  I smiled.

  “I guess I can ask my nephew. He’d know about stuff like that.”

  My gut tightened. “Or I can just find out. I don’t want to bother your nephew. Besides, he’ll probably think I’m weird. Not many people eat blood sausage.”

  “You’re right about that.” Earl chuckled. “I’ll just put this in your car.” He hefted the bucket and headed for my vehicle.

  I opened the back of my Volvo, and he placed the bucket inside. He pulled out two bungee cords and secured the bucket so it wouldn’t move.

  “I’ll bring the cords back,” I said.

  “I always have extras. No need to rush.” He finished securing the bucket and shut the back of my car.

  I opened the driver’s side door and pulled out my purse. I dug out my wallet and handed him fifty dollars in cash.

  “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

  “Let me know how it turns out. And when you might need some more.” He nodded and headed back into the house.

  I slipped inside my car and started the engine. I drove down the driveway and headed back home.

  I was exhausted. I needed sleep and needed it now, but there was no way I could pull off on the side of the road and take a nap. I might not wake up in time to grab the girls from school.

  It was times like this that I wished I’d made the girls ride the bus.

  None of my friends let their kids ride the bus, though. I could remember taking the bus, and some things had occurred that I wanted to shield my girls from. Plus, I was a stay-at-home mom. It wasn’t like I was working outside the house. Not taking the girls to school seemed a bit lazy to me.

  My eyelids grew heavy, and I made it about twenty miles from the farm before I turned off onto a remote, dirt road. I neede
d blood, and I couldn’t wait.

  I hurried around to the back of my car. My mouth watered just thinking about the warm blood inside the bucket that awaited me.

  Earl had secured the top, but it was easy enough for me to remove it.

  I wished I had a cup or something to put it in. Drinking straight out of the bucket seemed inappropriate.

  I shook my head and grabbed the bucket and held it to my lips and drank.

  The warm blood slid down my throat, and my heart thudded in my chest with excitement. This blood tasted different, not as sweet as human, and not as satisfying. But I didn’t have much choice. It would just have to do.

  Satisfied, I put the lid back on the bucket, noting that I had drunk about a fourth of the contents.

  I got back into my car and headed home. The only thing I was going to do when I got there was sleep. And when I got up to pick up the girls, I was going to search for an attorney that would fight for us.

  Chapter 6

  I sat hunched in the car line, waiting for school to let out, when I spotted my friend, Meredith Groves, walking towards my car. Her kids were younger than mine, but we had bonded over book club.

  My stomach tumbled into a free fall. I wasn’t ready to talk to anyone or watch the pity in their eyes.

  Meredith smiled and waved as she approached. I gestured back without the smile.

  Instead of coming over to the driver’s side, she went to the passenger’s side and opened the door.

  I made a mental note to lock the door next time.

  “Hi, Rachel.” Meredith shut the door behind her. “I’ve been trying to call you.”

  “I know.” I didn’t take my sunglasses off. I didn’t want her to see my expression. “I didn’t feel ready to talk to anyone.”

  Meredith nodded and clasped her hands in front of her. “I can understand that. But if you go too long without talking to someone, you’re going to end up pushing everyone away.”

  I sank further into my seat. “I’m not trying to. I just feel devastated by what Miles did.” I looked at her. “And I feel betrayed by my friends that knew and didn’t tell me.”

  She looked straight ahead and didn’t say anything but nodded. “I can understand that.”