The Caretaker of Showman's Hill (Vampire Romance) (8 page)

Chapter 11

Basil walked down the hill just before dusk, cursing that he'd once again forgotten his sunglasses at the house. If it wasn't for Cassie distracting him so much he'd be thinking straight and his eyes wouldn't be burning like a son of a jackal.

After he'd put Cassie into La Roux's room last night, he thought he'd be able to get a decent day's sleep. Instead, when he laid down and closed himself into the wall, all he could smell was her scent on his pillows. A scent that to him was like the smell of musk to a moose in mating season. The girl was ripe for the taking and he wanted nothing more than to pluck her from the vine and pop her into his mouth.

His keen hearing picked up her laugh from the bar area. He walked around the outside of the house, and peered into the front window. Something blocked his view. Damned curtains with little flowers on them. He looked right through them and saw her talking to Andre at the bar. Andre was Antonio's father, and Basil's uncle. He'd always been a quiet old man up until now.

Basil watched as he leaned forward over the bar, almost touching noses with Cassie when he spoke. She laughed again and then pulled something out of her back jean pocket. Basil's eyes rested on her rear end for a moment, noticing the way her tight jeans hugged her feminine curves. This was the first time in a long time that he was eyeing a woman's anatomy that rested below her shoulders.

Suddenly Andre stopped laughing, and Basil saw him frown. He listened carefully and heard his uncle saying, "No. Can't say I've ever seen her before."

Cassie shoved the item into her back pocket and headed off for the kitchen.

Basil let himself in the front door for the first time since he'd owned the place.

"Basil?" Andre looked up from behind the bar. "Why are you using the front door?"

"Because I want to." He closed the door behind him. "Does it bother you?"

"Not in the least. Just surprised to see it."

Basil seated himself at the bar stool and told his uncle to pour him a drink. Andre looked at him oddly and poured him a bourbon.

"Customers will be here any minute," he reminded Basil. "Don't you want to go into the kitchen?"

"I'll go when I'm damned well ready to." He downed his bourbon in one swig. "What'd she want?"

Andre busied himself filling a tray with green olives. "What'd who want?"

All of a sudden a bottle shattered behind the bar. Andre looked up slowly. "All right, stop it and I'll tell you. She was looking for someone and wanted to know if I'd seen her."

"She showed you a photo?"

Andre nodded and sucked in one cheek. "You're not going to like it, Basil."

"Like what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"The girl in the photo was Dee."

Basil stiffened. "She's looking for Dee? Why?"

Andre shrugged his shoulders and Basil knew he was keeping something from him. But pulling information out of quiet Andre was never easy, nor did he have the time for it at the moment.

"Damn! I knew Cassie would cause us trouble the night she set foot in my cemetery. This is all I need to make matters worse. What did you tell her, Andre?"

"I didn't tell her anything. Just said I hadn't seen the girl."

Basil shook his head. “I'm not going to lie to her, Andre. Cassie deserves the truth. I'm just not sure she's ready to hear it.”

"Then keep her from asking you about the photo and you won't have to tell her the truth."

Easier said then done. When it came to Cassie, he'd already realized she wasn't all that easy to control.

Basil stomped off to the kitchen, stopping short when he saw the little dinner party going on inside. Sheriff Killian was making himself at home helping himself to a huge helping of spaghetti and meatballs. La Roux was sitting next to him munching on a salad, and Cassie was standing at the stove.

"Well, is this going to be some sort of little ritual every night from now on or what?"

Cassie looked up from the pot she was stirring. "Dinner usually is. Isn't it?"

"Not around here it isn't.”

Jack and La Roux remained quiet.

"I didn't notice your squad car out front, Sheriff," he continued.

"Took my convertible," Jack said in between bites. “I'm not working tonight."

Basil saw Jack's thoughts fly through his mind of him and La Roux going for a little joy ride in his car. This thought unnerved him.

"Well, La Roux
is
working. So hurry up and finish eating so she can get out on the floor and take drink orders." He didn’t care that both La Roux and Jack had disappointed looks their faces.

"Are you hungry?" Cassie asked from the stove.

If only she knew how hungry he really was. And it wasn't for food.

"Maybe. Why are you asking?" He walked over to the stove and Cassie uncovered the pot of bubbling borscht.

"I've got your favorite."

He about gagged on the smell. There was something foreign in this batch and whatever it was it really repelled him.

"I don't think so."

She scooped out a bit of soup on the huge stirring spoon and blew on it to cool it off. Some of her breath hit his face and it was all he could do to stop himself from grabbing her and throwing her down on the kitchen floor and jumping atop her.

"I spiced it up a bit today. I think you'll like it better."

He opened his mouth to protest, and she stuck the spoon into it. For a second the erotic, bold gesture had him spellbound, and without even thinking what he was doing, he swallowed.

He should have just had someone stick hot pokers through his veins. He suddenly knew exactly what she'd put in the soup and it damned near killed him. He ran to the sink and stuck his mouth under the running water. He swallowed again and again and also rinsed out his mouth.

"You don't like it?" Cassie looked at him with a disappointed frown on her face.

"You . . . you . . ." he could barely talk. His voice was rough as he choked out his words. "You put garlic in my soup!"

"She did?" La Roux ran over to Basil and patted him on the back.

"You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"

Cassie was near tears, and if he wasn't so mad at her he might have felt sympathy.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She bit her bottom lip that was trembling.

Jack wisely excused himself and went into the bar.

"I hate garlic." He held onto the sink for support.

"Well, how was I supposed to know?"

"I also hate the damned curtains you put up around here." He walked over to the window and tore them down. He then stormed out the back door leaving Cassie and La Roux alone.

Cassie couldn't control her tears any longer. Her day was going from bad to worse. After everyone in town saying they'd never seen Didi, she'd come back to the house, a wasted day. She wanted so much to please Basil that she spent all afternoon making curtains and borscht for him. The harder she tried, the worse it got. She threw down the spoon and ran crying up to the room she shared with La Roux.

Basil opened the door and came back into the kitchen.

"And another thing . . . " he looked at La Roux. "Where'd she go?"

"Up to her room, crying. You really ought to be a little nicer to her, Basil."

"Why should I?"

"Because, it's obvious she was only doing it to try to please you."

Basil knew it was true, though he tried to deny it. He didn't want to be nice to her. He was trying his hardest to be cruel so she'd leave. He wanted her out of here before she wound up getting hurt.

"She's been asking a lot of questions, Basil."

"I hope you didn't answer any of them."

"I told her to ask you."

"Great. You know I can't answer them for her." He ran a weary hand through his hair.

"Why not? What's the worse that can happen?"

He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a jar of blood. "I'm going up to feed the bats. Did Antonio tell everyone about the meeting tonight?"

"They all know."

"Let's close down a little early. I'm tired and would like to get some sleep."

"What are you going to do with Cassie?"

"I'll go up there in a little while and put her to sleep. Believe me, she won't hear a word. After last night I know my mind power can keep her out all night. She's nothing to worry about."

"I hope you're right, Basil. I'd hate for her to hear anything that's going to be said at the meeting."

Chapter 12

Cassie heard Basil open the door so she pretended to be asleep in her sleeping bag. He walked over to her and sat down by her feet.

"Trying to ignore me?" he asked.

She didn't respond.

"I know you're not sleeping, Cassie. Or have you forgotten, I can read your mind?"

Damn. Her tactics weren’t working.

"You're so angry with me that your thoughts are deafening my ears."

She sat upright, not being able to stand it a moment longer. She saw his eyes rake down her thin nightgown and she sunk back down and pulled the sleeping bag up closer to her chin. "You didn't have to make such an ordeal over my soup, did you?"

"Sorry about that.” He ran a hand over his face. “I guess I went a little overboard."

"A little?"

"I came to say goodnight."

"I'm not tired. I want to talk."

"It can wait til . . "

"Morning? I don't think so. You never seem to be around during the day. The way you only come out at night you act like a damn . . ."

"Vampire?"

She swallowed hard and looked the other way. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't need to. It was what you were thinking."

"That's silly." She pulled the covers closer. "Vampires are only legends. They don't really exist."

"Then why are you doing a story on them for the magazine?"

"I . . .I don't know. I guess it's just for the money."

"You wouldn't be doing it unless somewhere deep down you believed vampires could be real."

"Stop it," she commanded. "You're just trying to scare me."

He let out a deep sigh and ran his finger along her cheek. She liked it, but tried to act like she didn’t.

"No, Cassie. I don't ever want to scare you. It's just the opposite. You scare me."

"I . . I do?" She’d never been said to have scared a man before. Scared off, maybe, once they found out she was still a virgin, but that’s it.

Basil acted boldly for a man who was supposedly scared of her. He leaned forward and gathered her in his arms and gave her a hug. She was still mad at him and didn’t return the hug, but neither did she object.

"Honey, you scare me more than you'll ever know. When I'm around you I find myself thinking and feeling things that have been dormant inside me for a long, long time." He kissed the top of her head, the kind gesture making her body relax slightly.

"Have you ever been married, Basil?" She turned and looked at him. She hated to ask, but needed to know. Her heart beat rapidly waiting for his answer.

"Once," he answered, and she found herself being disappointed. No woman likes to hear the man she’s interested in had someone before her. Maybe that’s why he’s so bitter, she thought. Maybe it was a bad marriage ending in a nasty divorce.

"Did you love her?" Cassie didn’t know why she was asking him this question, but it was too late now to take it back.

"I thought I did."

"What happened to her?" She could tell her continuous questions were irritating him. Still, what else was she supposed to do to find out about this very private man?

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

"Oh, I'm sorry." She could hear a sadness in his voice when he’d answered, and it made her want to reach out and comfort him. She felt something for him, but she couldn’t understand why. He hadn’t been very nice to her, but yet she still wanted to be near him. She could sense he was hiding something. That he had deep emotions stuffed away like most men, but just didn’t show his sensitive side. Maybe while she was there she could help him get back in touch with whatever was bothering him and help him work through it. She raised her chin as he bent closer to her, and their mouths were just inches apart. Her eyes settled on his mouth while they talked.

"Aren't you going to ask me if I've ever been married?"

"You haven't."

"Oh, I forgot. You read minds."

"I didn't have to, Cassie. I know you haven't been married because you're still a virgin."

That was not what she’d expected to hear him say at all. She almost felt insulted. "I am not." She tried to push away from him but he wouldn't let her.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, sweetie. It's rather nice to know there's still virgins out there that aren't in their teens."

"I'm twenty five, Basil. How old are you?" She guessed him to be about thirty-two.

"Older than you think. Go to sleep now, Cassie. I need to get to work."

"Just what is it you do, Basil?" She’d yet to figure out just what his job was.

"I told you the first time I met you. I'm the caretaker."

"Of the cemetery?"

"Of that and much more."

"No wonder you do such a bad job. You obviously can't see in the dark to mow the lawn."

"I can see better than you think. Now go to sleep."

Cassie knew he was going to pull his little sleep trick on her next. Well, she wouldn’t let him. She was determined to stay up tonight and find out exactly what was going on around there. She stifled a fake yawn and lay down upon her pillow.

"Look at me for a moment, Cassie."

She looked at him and tried to block her thoughts.

"You're going to sleep well tonight, aren't you?"

She pretended to fall asleep, closing her eyes before he could get her under his spell. She kept her mind clear so he wouldn't read her thoughts. Then he bent over and kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room and closing the door.

Cassie waited a minute then jumped up and pulled on her jeans, tucking in her nightgown instead of putting on a bra and t-shirt. She grabbed her tape recorder and headed to the door. Tonight she'd find out what everyone was keeping from her. She'd find out, even if she had to stay awake all night to do it.