Evangelina Green (9 page)

Damn! She hadn’t really
meant to tell them that. They each had their
gifts
and they knew she had an
affinity with animals but she had just stepped over the invisible
line from believable to a little loopy.

Netta saved the day by standing and telling
her sisters she was retiring for the night. "I’m not really all
that hungry but I will take some of that broth you had on the stove
earlier, it smelled yummy."

Both Tashi and Lina turned and stared at her
worry and concern furrowing their brows.

"
What
? I’m fine, just tired.
It
was
a long
trip.”

Tashi grabbed a soup cup,
filled it, placed it on a tray with some buttered bread and a fresh
cup of hot tea, then walked out of the kitchen leading the way to
Netta’s room. Lina was surprised, as Tashi had always been the
standoffish one.
Mother hen

Lina was left with the
dishes. Smiling, she began washing and placing them into the drying
rack, lost in thought. The manual labor, the repetition, always
made her feel more relaxed. She could gather her thoughts and work
out problems, think of Keaton…
Whoa. Don’t
go there.
But of course, she did.
Daydreaming was nice when you had a subject like Keaton to focus
on. He really did seem to like her and just as she was,
warts
and all. She had
to stop with the self-deprecation and just enjoy the attention. She
was sure the sex would be out of this world amazing. So, she would
wait. She would let him woo her.

Tingles went up her back and over her scalp.
She heard the owl hoot again. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on
the owl and let it show her what it wanted her to see. She felt the
wind blowing in her face and the ground fall away under her. Flying
was natural. Her eyesight was extraordinary. She could see in the
dark as well as any brightly lit day.

"Where are we going?"

No answer. Nothing other
than circling the mansion going higher and higher until she could
see the entire house, the yard and gardens and the rain-swollen
swampland behind. The attic drew her attention again. The green
glow pouring out the front window was a total mystery. What would
make that kind of light? Using only her thoughts and a little will
power, she guided the owl lower until it landed on the peak over
the attic window. Lina couldn’t see the window from that angle but
the glow extended out a few feet. The light was soothing and almost
beckoned to her...
Find me.

With a jerk, Lina sat up, wide awake and in
her room.

Okay, just how did I get
here?”
After her
vision
, she must have blacked out
and now it was morning and early...ugh. She got through her shower,
hair and dressing ritual in just a few minutes and headed to the
kitchen for her morning
drug
. Coffee!

Netta was already in the
room with a pot made and was reading the local newspaper. The
overstuffed living room chair apparently had been claimed as
hers
and truth be told,
she needed to be pampered. Just a little. Lina was not going to let
her get away with feeling sorry for herself, milking her illness or
manipulating others because of it. They had not been raised that
way. Grams didn’t hold with coddling. You got up and got over it.
Move on.

Tashi waltzed in like Pollyanna,
sing-songing. "Good mooorning ladies!"

"
Ugh
,” was Lina’s reply. Netta just
buried her head in the paper.

"Well!! I expected
some
courtesy, but I
guess all I’m gonna get is a grunt from Lina and Netta
hiding!”

"I hate mornings. I hate morning people. I
hate happy-happy in the morning. Hush now, and get the creamer out
of the fridge, please." Lina moaned.

"Well, since you added the please. After
coffee, what are the plans for today?” Tashi settled herself at the
small card-table they were using for the time being.

Lina hadn’t planned on her sisters being
here this soon, much less planning what she was going to do with
them. They weren’t supposed to arrive until after the kitchen was
complete. She decided she might as well take advantage of them
being here.

"I was hoping you could
give me some ideas and drawings for a billboard design, advertising
the
Antiques & Flea
Market
." She knew Tashi would jump at the
chance to use her artistic talents.

"Sure thing! Did you want down-home or more
metro feeling? Who are you going to try marketing to? Upscale or
middle class? I should get my sketch pad and start on this.” She
mumbled as she rushed her way out of the kitchen.

"Netta, I have a less than glamorous task
for you, if you feel up to it?"

Netta frowned and put the paper down. "Don’t
you dare baby me! I’m just sick and now I’m getting sick and tired
of being treated like an invalid.”

"Okay! Fine! I need you to follow me around
and write down all the items and supplies that we’ll need to finish
some of the projects around here. I know…I know..." She held up her
hands to ward off the inevitable objection coming from Netta. "I
said it was less than glamorous. I really need the help, but it'll
be a lot of walking, climbing stairs and possibly some carrying,
and some lightweight things. You up to it??”

Netta grinned. “Bring it on, sista!"

An hour later, they were out in the large
garden area.

Lina was ticking of a list. "A dozen 2 x 4's
and 500 yards of chicken wire. Two dozen t-posts and a box of
baling wire. That’s a good start for the garden. We can get some
chickens later, when we’ve civilized this place a little more or
we’ll lose ‘em before they can start laying those delicious, fresh,
brown eggs!" Lina dusted off her hands on her jeans with a look of
satisfaction. She was rattling off items as fast as Netta could jot
them down. It felt good to get organized. It appeared the
contractor and his subs were making good progress on the kitchen
foundation, framing, and had some wiring completed by the
weekend.

Since Netta and Tashi had arrived, there had
been no sign of Keaton and he hadn’t called. Lina should be
relieved. She had a lot of work to do. But you could tell she was
not a happy camper without contact from him and that was obvious by
how she drove herself and her sisters to do more and more every
day.

"I think we need to hit the hardware store
this afternoon. We can get the lumber through the contractor, but
the wire, t-posts etc. we can get in town at the hardware store.
Once we get the fence repaired, we can start tilling the soil,
adding amendments. Oh! Jot that down. We’ll need to get some manure
from Mr. Hawthorne down the road, then we’ll have to plan how many
tomatoes, onions, and potatoes for the sunny side of the garden.
Flowers can be put in between. Hmmm. We can always add marigolds
later for insect control. Did you get all that?”

Netta was grinning and watching her sister
light up from the inside. Lina was in her element, organizing and
planning, putting things into proper order.

"Yes ma’am. I got it all. If you want to get
to the hardware store and get back before dark, we’ll need to leave
in about an hour. That enough time for us to get cleaned up? We’re
both muddy from this so-called garden of yours.” Netta huffed as
she sat on a large boulder surrounding the garden.

Lina noticed the dark circles under Netta’s
big pale gold eyes and felt guilty yet pleased she had lasted as
long as she had. "Let’s get a cold drink, clean up and see how we
feel. We can always go into town tomorrow.”

Netta had to be tired but didn’t want to be
a burden. However, she looked grateful for the reprieve.

Cold and lemon flavored, the iced tea hit
the spot. The fact that Tashi was missing when they returned helped
both of them relax a bit more. It wasn’t so much that she was a
tyrant...except she really was, but she tried to micro-manage
everybody and although she did it with a great deal of love and
good intentions, it didn’t always come across that way.

Netta was in the hammock
and Lina in her favorite glider chair, both sipping tea and
listening to the silent chaos of early evening. There was just
enough of a breeze to keep it from being
muggy
and it also kept the
mosquitoes and gnats away.

"This is just perfect." Netta sighed as she
swung slightly back and forth.

Her color looked better but Lina knew not to
get her hopes up. She’d had breakthroughs before, only to have even
bigger setbacks. The illness was beginning to take a toll on
everyone, not just Netta. Worry was wearing on both Lina and Tashi
but she was loved and that had to be enough for now.

Just as they both relaxed enough to almost
become drowsy, and the sun was beginning to fall behind the trees,
a long black limo pulled into the front drive. Netta was so
comfortable in her hammock, she’d gone into a light sleep, so Lina
stood and shading her eyes against the last rays of sun with her
hand, tried to see who was driving, but the windows were blackened
out. Curious. As the limo pulled to a stop, no one moved to get out
and the engine did not stop. Okaaaaay.

Just as the sun had
totally set behind the treetops, the chauffeur’s door opened. He
walked crisply around the front of the long, sleek auto and opened
the rear door for the passenger to exit. Lina’s eyes widened in
both surprise and delight as a man with movie star good looks,
climbed out and stood gracefully beside the car.
Eye candy!
He had to be
at least seven feet tall with long, almost white-blond hair flowing
in thick waves to just below his waist. He was dressed completely
in a black robe. A toga? In this heat? His hands, gloved in black
leather, also proved he did not belong in south Arkansas during
summer.

"My lady. May I
present…Mr. Victor LaFontaine.” The driver bowed to her then to Mr.
LaFontaine. He actually bowed? Lina didn’t know if she should
curtsey, bow, shake hands or just wave
“Howdy.”
She giggled.

Finally her manners kicked in. "How may I be
of service, Mr. LaFontaine?"

She did not approach him
though. There was something, unnatural about him. She had
the
gift
, as her
mother called it, this ability to communicate with the dead. This
tall, pale man was causing her alarms to go off. She sensed death
was either a
close friend
or a
dangerous
enemy
of this man. Either way, she sensed
death and wanted to stand clear until she knew for sure who or what
he was.

"I apologize for intruding unannounced, but
the matter I must discuss with you is urgent.” He stepped toward
the porch and Lina took an involuntary step back. He smiled,
understanding.

"I am harmless, Ms. Maddox, and I believe I
can actually help you with a problem from which your family is
currently suffering."

Lina immediately felt him
probing her mind.
Vampire!
The thought came into her head, unbidden, yet she
knew it was true and still didn’t quite
believe
it. While he attempted to
probe her mind, he must have shown his true self. Sure, she
kinda
thought they
existed and she did talk to the
dead
after all and vampires were
dead, weren't they? But to have one in front of you was totally
freaky and then have him sift through your thoughts, like it was
permitted and acceptable?
Not
!

"Please stop nosing around in my mind, Mr.
LaFontaine, it’s rude.” She stood with her hands on her hips,
waiting for him to apologize or try something shady.

"Ahhhh, so you are aware of my...talents,
shall we say? I offer my apologies." Now he was bowing. This was
getting weird.

"What I
do
understand Mr.
LaFontaine is that you are a vampire, you have arrived unannounced
offering your help, when none was requested, and then probed my
mind,
uninvited
I
might add.” She felt proud of herself for staying calm – well
she
sounded
calm
anyway.

Netta was awake now
staring at Lina and the visitor with her mouth wide open. "Lina?
Are you okay? And uhhhh, wait a minute. Did you just say
vampire
?”

Lina took a step away from
Victor and closer to Netta. "Yeah, I know this is freaky and even
I'm surprised I'm not screaming and running for my life, but
something tells me that I should hear him out,
but
,” she turned to the vampire,
“before we go any further, Mr. LaFontaine, can you and
will
you guarantee our
safety? That is, if I can even
remotely
trust you. Then I must also
know what reward you would ask for this information you seem to
think we need. Vampires seldom give anything
away...freely."

"Lina? Answer me!” Lina could hear the panic
in Netta’s voice.

"It’s okay, Netta,
this
gentleman...
is indeed a vampire—not sure how I know—but none the less, he
is. He has offered his help with a problem he thinks we have. And
if you ever watched TV or read a vampire novel, you’ll know these
three things."