A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

Page 100



Chapter 16

Tracysat up, yawning. A glance at the clock showed that she had already slept most of the morning away. Dating a vampire certainly kept her up far later than she was accustomed to. By the time she showered and had breakfast, the day would be half gone! Not only that, but her laundry was piling up and she had bills to pay.

Rising, she went downstairs to put the coffee on,then hurried back upstairs for a quick shower. She pulled on a pair of cut-off shorts and a tank top,then went downstairs to fix breakfast. Opening the refrigerator, she grimaced at what she saw. Not surprisingly, all of the food she had left in the fridge when she ran away had soured, wilted, or turned blue with mold.

After dumping it all in the garbage and washing out the refrigerator, she grabbed her purse and her keys and headed for the village.

Driving down the main street, she noticed anew how deserted the place was. Funny, she had never paid much attention to that before. Many of the shops didn't open until after sundown. She saw a few tourists peering into windows. An elderly couple sat at a table at the outdoor cafe, sipping lattes.

Tracypulled into the parking lot of the market and got out of her car. Did the townspeople know that their town was a haven for vampires? Or were they as happily ignorant of the fact as she had been only days ago?

Grabbing a cart, she wandered up and down the aisles, filling her basket with whatever caught her fancy. It occurred to her that few of the items she bought would have even been in existence when Dominic was mortal—things like frozen dinners, ice cream, milk in cartons, meat in neat little packages, food in cans, sliced bread, dry cereal, candy bars. Did he ever wonder what modern-day food tasted like?

As she watched the clerk total up her purchases,Tracy decided that, judging by the amount of chocolate she had bought, she was definitely feeling anxious. Dark chocolate had ever been her comfort food of choice.

She was on her way to her car when she heardBryan call her name. Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder to see him hurrying toward her.

"Hey, where've you been?" he asked. "I've been worried sick." "I was on a little… umm,holiday , I guess you could say."

He frowned at her as he helped her put her groceries in the trunk."Holiday? Where'd you go?" "Maine."

"Oh. Well, I wish you'd let me know. I thought maybe that madman had abducted you or something."

Tracygrinned. That was exactly what had happened, but she couldn't tellBryan that. "Well, not to worry. I'm back now. How've you been, otherwise?"

"Fine."He closed the trunk. "I was really worried about you. Have you read the paper lately? Three