Mrs. Heath also claimed to have the power of sight. Vicki didn't believe in such things, yet Mrs. Heath had predicted far too many events that had come to pass far too often for her predictions to be mere coincidence. Mrs. Heath also believed in ghosts and spirits and claimed to have spoken to her deceased husband during a séance. Her other quirk was that she never went outside alone after sundown. Ever.
Mrs. Heath turned off the hose and invited Vicki inside. As always, Vicki was amazed by the amount of clutter in the older woman's house. There were magazines and newspapers everywhere. Vicki thought Mrs. Heath must be the most well-informed woman in Pear Blossom Creek. She subscribed to newspapers from just about every major city this side of the Missouri. In addition to the papers, there were plants and knick-knacks and books on every available surface. A large crucifix hung over the fireplace.
Vicki followed Ramona into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
"Did you see the moon last night?" Mrs. Heath asked as she poured Vicki a glass of lemonade. "It was red."
"Red?"
Mrs. Heath nodded as she cleared a chair of a pile of newspapers and sat down. "As blood. And I heard a wolf howl."
Vicki shivered. "A wolf? Are you sure?"
Mrs. Heath nodded again.
Vicki knew there were wolves out in the country near Hellfire Hollow, but she had never heard of one coming into town. "It was probably just a dog howling."
"No, dear. It was a wolf. I'm going to call Neddie later and let him know."
Vicki grinned. Mrs. Heath was the only one who could call Ned Williams by his childhood nickname and get away with it.
"So, dear," Mrs. Heath said, "have you found yourself a young man yet?"
"Not yet, but I'm still looking." It had long been Vicki's dream to marry and settle down.
She wanted to have the same sort of happy marriage that her parents had enjoyed, to raise some kids, to live out her life with a man who would love her as long as they lived.
"You should give Arnie another chance," Mrs. Heath said, patting her hand. "He's a fine young man."
Vicki rolled her eyes. Was everyone in town determined to see her married to Arnie Hall?
"You'll never find a better man."
"Maybe not," Vicki said, thinking of Antonio. "Then again, I might."
"Why, Victoria Lynn," Mrs. Heath said, her eyes twinkling, "have you found a beau you're not telling anyone about?"
"Now, Mrs. Heath, you know if that were true, you'd be the first one to know."
Mrs. Heath beamed at her. "You're such a sweet girl. You should have a family and a man to take care of you."
Sharlene had deserved to have a family, too, Vicki thought with a sigh. She had seen Ron at the gas station earlier. He had forced a smile when he waved at her. When she went to pay for her gas, Fred Black had told her that Ron had quit his job and was moving to Amarillo. She couldn't blame him. There were too many bad memories for him here. She seemed to recall that he had some family in Texas.
"Can I get your some more lemonade, dear?"
"No, thank you."
They chatted for a few more minutes and then Vicki gave Mrs. Heath a quick hug and took her leave.
Vicki spent the rest of the day dusting and vacuuming and doing her laundry, her mind filled with thoughts of the bounty hunter and Antonio and unblinking yellow eyes.
She was glad when it was finally time to get ready for work. Hopefully, the diner would have a crowd tonight and she would be too busy to think of grieving parents or howling wolves or dy***ite kisses.
The bounty hunter was having dinner when she arrived. Steak again, she noted in passing. He was a real meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, she thought with a grin. Not bad looking, either. She wondered how long he was going to be in town and who the mysterious man with the yellow eyes was and if the hunter was any closer to finding him. It was still hard to believe that there was a killer on the loose in their sleepy little town.
She approached Tom Duncan's table when he pushed his plate away. "Can I get you anything else?"
He looked up, seeming surprised to see her. "Hi. What happened to Gladys?"
"Her shift ends at six. Can I get you some dessert?"
"I don't know. You got any apple pie?"
"Best in town."
"How about bringing me a big slice and a cup of coffee?"
"Sure. You want ice cream with that?"
"Why not? You only live once, right? Might as well enjoy the good things while you can."
Vicki thought about how true that was as she cut him an extra-large slice of pie and added a double scoop of ice cream. Picking up the coffeepot and the plate, she carried both back to table number four.
He murmured his thanks as she placed the plate in front of him, then refilled his coffee cup.
He took a bite of pie and smiled his approval. "You're right, it is good."
With a nod, she moved away from the table.
Tom Duncan glanced around the diner, noting that he was the only one eating alone.
Everywhere he looked there were couples on dates or families enjoying a night out together. Even Ramsey had found a mate.
Well, he was tired of being alone, he thought irritably. Even vampire hunters deserved a night off.
His gaze settled on Vicki as she cleared a nearby table. She was a pretty thing. He'd checked earlier, noting that she didn't wear any rings.
While waiting for her to bring him his bill, he looked around the diner again. It looked like something out of the fifties, with its black and white tile floor. There was a long counter lined with stools covered in red vinyl. There was a jukebox in one corner that played all the old fifties hits. He'd noted that Elvis was a big favorite. There were old movie posters on the walls. Again, Elvis was prominently featured. There were booths along two of the walls; round tables covered with red-checked cloths stood in the center of the floor.
When she returned to see if there was anything else he wanted, Duncan took his courage in hand and blurted, "I don't suppose there's any chance you'd like to go out with me one of these nights?"
Vicki started to say no, then thought how nice it would be if she could tell Mrs. Heath that she'd had a date. "I might. What did you have in mind?"
"Dinner and a movie? Just dinner? Just a movie? I'm easy."
"I'm off on Sundays and Mondays." She slid his bill under the salt shaker.
"How about Sunday night? I could pick you up about what, five? Six?"
"Six is good." Tearing a page out of her pad, she wrote her address and phone number on the back and handed it to him.