by Nord, K. C.
I grimaced, "look, I'm sorry about us taking off like that, but I had to do something to try and find Lucas."
Nick shook his head, "that was an idiotic thing for the two of you to do. And what's the first thing that happens! You end up almost getting killed by a serial killer!"
"Well, it wasn't exactly the first thing," Norah said with a mischievous look.
"Shut up, Norah," I said and gave her a kick under the table.
Nick gave the two of us an exasperated look, "at this point, I don't even think that I want to know." He sat his almost empty bloody mary down on the table, "Look, Ladies, I was assigned to keep the two of you safe, which is what I'm going to do. So with that being said, just as soon as this mess is all sorted out and Kaley is well enough to travel. We're going back to New Orleans."
Without saying anything, I gave Norah a sideways look that Nick intercepted with a frown.
"I mean it, Kaley," he reached out and took my hand. "There will be no more tricks from the two of you. Whatever is going on with your brother is too big for the two of you to handle. By now, your mom and grandmother are on their back to New Orleans, and you can take it up with them when we get back."
I blinked in excitement, "really, they are coming?"
"Yes, and I don't imagine that either of them would be happy to find that you're out here putting your life in danger."
"You're probably right, but it's just so hard to quit when we're so close to finding Lucas."
Norah gave me a sympathetic look, "I know that it's hard, but it probably is for the best."
I WASN'T LOOKING FORWARD to telling Angela what we'd found in her grandmother's closet, but it needed to be done, and the sooner, the better. Norah said that she was outside taking care of the chores, so I decided to take Moose out for a while and enjoy the nice mild weather. The winter in Texas was certainly more enjoyable than our North Carolina winters, which could sometimes get pretty cold.
It took a while, but Moose and I eventually found Angela out feeding the chickens. She looked a little jumpy and wore a holster with a handgun as she tended to the animals. But she still took the time to give me a friendly smile as she worked.
I picked up a handful of dried corn and threw it to the chickens, who were running around clucking excitedly.
"Feeding the chickens back home was one of my chores," I remarked.
"They're not the smartest animal on the farm but are a lot easier to deal with than people," Angela replied.
"Do you think that Mabel is going to try and come back?" I asked, getting to the point right away.
"Yes, I do. She loved this house more than anything."
I nodded, "I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to blurt it right out. But earlier today, I started looking through Mabel's room, and I found out that she's been keeping trophies."
"Go on," Angela said with a look of dread.
"She has a little box by her bed that is full of jewelry taken from her victims. But that's not the worst of it; her closet is full of human skulls."
Angela gasped and abruptly sat down on the ground as if her legs had given way, "oh, no!"
I sat down beside her on the hard rocky ground, "What will you do if she comes back?"
Angela gave me a worried look, "I honestly don't know. I've never harmed anyone or anything in my whole life. But I do think that she might kill me if I get in her way."
"I can't believe that she would harm her own granddaughter."
Angela gave a laugh that was half a sob, " After what you just found today, I wouldn't put anything past her. But there is something else; I think that she killed my mom and my grandfather."
"What!" I gasped, "I thought that they died in the outbreak?"
Angela shook her head sadly, "She pretty much admitted it one night after she'd had too much to drink. When I confronted her about it the next day, she denied everything and said it was just the alcohol talking. But I don't believe her, she's a monster, and in my mind, she's far worse than the zombies. They can't help what they are, but she knows full well what she's doing and what's worse doesn't even care."
"I think that you should come back to Louisiana with us," I said firmly.
"Thanks, I just need a little time to decide. Everything has happened so fast I haven't had time to process it."
"We won't be leaving for at least a week, so you have time to think about it."
"Everything is just so messed up," Angela sighed.
"Do you have any family other than Mabel?" I asked.
Angela stood up and threw the last of the corn to the chickens, and we watched as they ran around madly, clucking and scrabbling for each piece.
"I'm not sure. Mabel said that everyone is dead, but we already know that she's a liar as well as a killer, so it's possible," Angela speculated.
"We could try going through the rest of her room and see if we find anything," I suggested.
"Ok, and you're right, there's no way that I can stay here any longer," Angela replied decisively. " But I do need to find someone to take care of the house or at least the animals."
"We can talk to the Sheriff tomorrow, but I'm sure that we can find somebody to take care of the animals," I said and followed her back into the kitchen, where we were greeted by the delicious aroma of something that Nick was cooking on the stove.
"Hey, Ladies," he said with a grin. " I decided to whip up some of my mom's famous Oklahoma fried onion burgers for supper tonight."
"Onion burgers, what's that?" I asked.
"Basically, it's just burgers fried in butter and cooked on top of onion slices."
"They smell awesome," Angela said with an appreciative sniff.
"There's nothing better than a man who knows his way around the kitchen," Nick replied with a wink.
"Stop it," I hissed when Norah nudged me with a smirk.
"I think that Nick would be perfect for you. Especially since your idea of cooking is to reheat 20-year-old freeze-dried meals," she murmured just loud enough for my ears.
"Hey!" I protested, feeling slightly offended. "I happen to like freeze-dried food."
"Well, I'm just saying."
"Just stop with the matchmaking!" I whispered, feeling my face grow warm. Nick was starting to look a little curious, and the last thing that I wanted was for him to find out that we were talking about him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I rolled over and fluffed my pillow for what seemed like the hundredth time. It was only two in the morning, but I just couldn't seem to get back to sleep. The house was completely silent except for a tree branch, which was probably why I awoke in the first place, which kept scratching against my bedroom window. I'd been dreaming of Lucas again and didn't remember the details, only that the dream left me feeling upset and unsettled.
It seems like I've been dealing with insomnia and nightmares quite a bit over the last year. I thought with a sigh and decided to get up and go downstairs to make some tea. My grandma had a good recipe for sleepy-time tea, and it was evident that I was going to need it tonight.
I don't know why but things that wouldn't normally even bother you in the day always seem worse at night, I thought as I put the tea kettle on the stove. I guess the things that you can put out of your mind during the day always seem to come back at night when your mind is at rest. And right now, I had several different things that were preying on my mind. For one thing, I was terrified that we would never get Lucas back. We had been apart for so long now, and I just wanted things back the way that they used to be. And as strange as it may sound, I was also torn about seeing my family again. I was anxious to see them, but at the same time, I was afraid of what would happen when they decided to go back to North Carolina.
Over the last few months, I'd grown pretty attached to Norah and Celeste and couldn't imagine life without them. And in fairness, I had grown pretty attached to Nick Monroe as well. He did nothing but annoy me for the longest time, so I was a bit surprised when I'd recently begun to notice that I had feelings
for him. Although I really couldn't tell if he saw me as anything other than a difficult assignment. When had life become so complicated, I thought tiredly.
When the tea kettle started to whistle, I quickly poured the hot water over the tea leaves hoping that the sound didn't wake up anyone else in the house. While the tea brewed, I leaned against the sink and, lost in my thoughts, stared unseeingly out into the night through the kitchen window.
"Kaley, is something wrong?" Nick asked from the doorway.
I turned with a start to see him standing there and looking impossibly handsome with his rumpled dark hair and a frown of concern creasing his forehead. He was wearing only a pair of red plaid pajama pants, and I was surprised to see how strong and muscular his naked chest was.
"Nothing is wrong; it's just my usual bout of insomnia," I replied and quickly looked down at my tea so that he didn't catch me staring.
"I didn't realize that you suffered from insomnia," he replied.
"Yeah, it's been going on ever since Lucas was bitten."
"Nightmares?" he asked quietly.
I nodded, blinking back tears, and was instantly mad at myself for showing weakness. In my world, sometimes, all it took to get you killed was one moment of weakness.
"Oh, hey, everything is going to be ok," he said and sat my cup of tea down on the counter before he enfolded me in his arms.
"Sometimes I wonder," I said with a sniff resting my face against his chest and hearing the strong thump of his heartbeat under my ear.
"You don't always have to be strong, and you don't have to go through this alone," he stated, holding me close and resting his chin on the top of my head.
"Thanks," I murmured softly. "But I don't know how to be any other way."
"Just be yourself," Nick replied. "I wouldn't want you any other way."
I nodded my head, "I'm sorry if the tea kettle woke you."
"That's fine," he said and tilted my head back so that I could meet his eyes. "But I want you to know that you're not alone, I'm here for you, and Norah's here for you." With that, he gave me a chaste kiss on the forehead and left me alone with my thoughts and feeling even more confused as to his feelings for me.
THE NEXT MORNING I awoke a little later than usual but feeling surprisingly rested and a little more relaxed after my late-night talk with Nick. Making my way downstairs, I found both Nick and Norah in the kitchen having coffee.
"Hey there, sleepyhead," Norah said and handed me a cup of mocha coffee.
"Mmm, thanks," I replied, taking a sip of the delicious chocolatey beverage.
"Would you like to get out of the house for a while?" Nick asked.
"That sounds interesting," I replied.
"I need to go into town and speak to the Sheriff, and I thought that you might like to ride along."
"When do we leave," I said with a happy smile and picked up a fresh-baked biscuit that Norah had just taken out of the oven.
"Five minutes," Nick replied.
"Five minutes!" I sputtered. "I don't even have time to eat. I swear, Nick, you are worse than my dad."
"I have to stay on schedule," he said calmly and continued to drink his coffee.
I narrowed my eyes; he really was the most infuriating man in the world. I must have been crazy to think that I was starting to have feelings for him.
"Oh, we wouldn't want to disrupt your schedule," I snapped.
"We can just add an egg and some bacon to that biscuit, and you'll be ready to go," Norah, always the peacemaker, said.
"Ok, thanks; can you keep an eye on Moose for me today?" I asked.
"Sure, no problem," Norah replied and handed me a breakfast sandwich neatly wrapped in a napkin.
"Thanks, you're the best," I said and turned to go find my jacket only to find that Nick had already retrieved it for me. Just when I felt that I was totally over Nick, he would go out of his way to do something nice. He was such a mass of contradictions; I thought with confusion as he draped the jacket over my shoulders.
SHERIFF JOHNSON'S LOOK of weary resignation when we appeared in his office gradually turned to disbelief and anger as we talked to him.
"Goddam!" he swore before adding. "Sorry, ma'am," with a nod in my direction. "But I don't have the workforce to deal with this. I had to call in regular townsfolk to help excavate the grave, and they are just not used to stuff like this."
Nick nodded, "I understand, Sheriff, and we'll help out in any way that we can."
"I appreciate that, and if you ever decide to leave the Militia, we could use a man like you out here."
"Thanks, Sheriff, but right now, I have prior commitments," Nick replied.
"Well, the offer still stands. In the meantime, I'll send a couple of my boys back out to the farm tomorrow to help with the rest of the cleanup."
"We'll take all the help that we can get," Nick replied.
"Oh, that reminds me," I said. "After everything that has happened, Angela Adam (Mabel's granddaughter) doesn't want to stay at the farm anymore. But she's also worried about the farm animals. Do you know anyone who might want to take them?"
"We have a lot of farmers around, so that shouldn't be a problem. But I do have something that I'd like you to take a look at," the sheriff said and handed me a composite drawing of Mabel.
I looked down at the picture with a shudder; the artist had done a fantastic job of capturing Mabel's likeness. At first glance, she seemed like a harmless grandmotherly woman with her round rosy cheeks, bright blue eyes, and sweet smile. But the artist had also managed to capture the hint of madness that lurked in her eyes.
"Wow, it's a perfect likeness!" I exclaimed.
Nick leaned over my shoulder and glanced at the picture, "the face of evil; you would never suspect someone that looks like that would be capable of mass murder."
"Unfortunately, with that type, you don't realize what they are until it's too late," the sheriff said with a troubled look.
AFTER LEAVING THE SHERIFF'S office, we walked down the street a couple of blocks to the local bar & grill for a late lunch. We were assailed by the smells of cigarettes, beer, and barbeque the minute we stepped inside.
The place was unusually crowded for a Saturday afternoon, and Nick walked ahead of me, clearing a path through the packed room. Noticing an open table, we headed for the back of the room. As we passed through the room, a couple of men at a table to my left got into a heated argument. One of them pounded his fist on the table and suddenly jumped up from his chair before slamming right into me.
I saw him coming and tried to step out of the way but didn't quite make it in time as he ran into me. I fell back against a table with a jarring thud and knocked a couple of drinks onto the floor, but luckily managed to keep my balance and avoid further injury to my shoulder.
"Hey, watch where the hell you're going!" The drunk slurred his words as he swayed a little while fighting to keep his balance. Seconds later, he was lying on the floor and blubbering after Nick had punched him in the face.
"Maybe you should try not getting drunk in the middle of the day and making a fool out of yourself in public," Nick snapped and dragged him up off the floor by the collar of his shirt. "Now apologize to the lady and go on home before you end up in jail."
Sobering up a little, the drunken cowboy started to look a bit embarrassed," sorry ma'am; please accept my humble apologies. I hope that I didn't hurt you when I ran into you like that. "
"It's ok, I'm fine," I said with a reassuring smile. I'm not the type of person to need someone to find my battles for me, but it was a little impressive to see how easily Nick had handled him.
"Are you sure that you're ok?" Nick asked.
"I'm fine," I replied, walking past him."Now let's go find a table before anyone else starts fighting."
"I wouldn't mind getting something to eat before you get me into any more fights," Nick joked.
"I could have handled him perfectly well on my own," I said while sliding into my seat. "But thanks for the help,
" I added with a smile.
"You're one of the toughest people I've ever known, but everyone needs help at one time or another. And you're welcome," he said with a grin.
"I guess I'm more like my mother than I used to think," I remarked.
"I think that you are more than a lot like her," He replied, taking a drink from the cold mug of beer that the waitress sat down on the table in front of us.
"Why is everyone so in love with my mom?" I questioned.
"What's not to love? She's beautiful, smart, strong, and tough. And that's not even mentioning the whole legend in her time thing." He replied.
"It sounds like you pretty much covered everything," I laughed and picked up my menu. "I wonder what's good on the menu?"
"The sheriff recommended the ribs, so that's what I'm going to go with."
"The smoked chicken sounds good," I replied and glanced around uneasily; ever since we'd sat down, I'd felt like there were eyes on me, and it was starting to make me a little paranoid.
"Is anything wrong?" Nick asked.
I shrugged, "I feel like someone is watching us."
Nick looked around but didn't notice anything, "it's probably because we're new in town, plus by now, everyone's heard about Mabel and what was happening on the farm."
"Yeah, you're probably right. News usually gets around pretty fast in a small town," I said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
"I need to ask the Sheriff something before we leave town," Nick said and disappeared inside, leaving me outside on the sidewalk. Today was a little warm, so I decided to wait for him on the bench next door in front of the general store instead of going inside with him.
It was early afternoon and although the shops were still open most of them, with the exception of the bar and grill, weren't all that busy, and except for a man sitting on the bench in front of the hotel, the street was mostly empty. Across the street, there was a small park with some playground equipment next to the barbershop, and I watched the kids as they played on the swings and jungle gym.