“No,” Phineas replied. “We’re cool.”
“We just like riding at night,” Brynley added.
In the middle of nowhere, Phineas thought with a snort. They probably did look suspicious.
But Digger nodded as if it were normal. “Put away your weapons. I ain’t gonna hurt you. Mine ain’t loaded right now. And come on to my campsite. I’ve got some beans cooking.” He turned and lumbered through the woods.
Phineas holstered his sidearm.
“Should I keep my shotgun ready?” Brynley whispered.
Phineas shook his head. “He’s mortal and harmless, as far as I can tell.”
“If his smell doesn’t kill us.”
Phineas smiled. “If we get into any danger, I’ll just teleport you out.”
“Okay.” She slid her shotgun back into its case, then took the reins of the horses. “He reminds me of the old mountain men. I thought they were all gone.”
They walked the horses into the camp. While Brynley tethered them to a hitching post, Phineas surveyed the area. Three small cabins, no heartbeats inside. Digger appeared to be here alone. He was squatting and stirring the contents of a black cast-iron pot that sat on a rock near the fire. His shotgun was resting against a tree.
“So you’re camping here alone?” Phineas asked as he approached.
“Not exactly.” Digger straightened with a grunt. “I got my boy, Jake, with me. You want some beans?”
“No, thank you. I just ate.” Although this camp had cabins, Phineas couldn’t imagine Corky staying anywhere near this smelly mortal. Or trying to feed off him. Beneath Digger’s battered hat, hanks of greasy gray hair fell to his shoulders. His tattered jeans were held up with suspenders, and his undershirt had once been white, but was now stained and gray with age.
Digger nodded at Brynley as she approached. “Would you care for some beans, ma’am?”
“No, thank you.” When Digger slumped with disappointment, she added, “But they sure do smell good.”
He brightened with a smile that showed a few crooked teeth and a few more gaps where teeth were missing. “It’s my own special recipe. You gotta add some bacon fat and squirrel meat.”
She nodded. “I’ll try that sometime. Thank you.”
“Have you noticed anything odd around here?” Other than you? Phineas added in his thoughts.
Digger’s eyes lit up and he slapped his thigh, which caused a cloud of dust to puff around him. “Dagnabbit, I knew it! I knew that was why you’re gallivantin’ around at night. You’re hunting them, ain’t you?”
“Them?” Brynley asked.
“Yep. They’re new to these parts, but I’m on to them.” Digger scratched at his shirt. “I’m hunting them, too.”
“Them?” Phineas asked.
“You know the Carson ranch south of here?” Digger asked. “Two cows mutilated last week. That’s what they do, you know. They drain all the blood, then cut up the carcasses so no one will figure out what they’re doing.” He pointed to his head. “But some of us are too smart for them. We got ’em figured out.”
Phineas exchanged a look with Brynley. Had Corky become so desperately hungry that she’d fed off cows?
“I think they’re hiding in these here woods.” Digger turned his head and spit on the ground. “They’re some sneaky devils, that’s for sure. You only see them at night.” He nodded with a knowing look. “That’s why you’re riding around in the dark. You’re hunting them, too.”
“Well,” Brynley drawled. “I reckon you got us all figured out.”
He chuckled and slapped his leg. “That’s right! You can’t put one past old Digger.” His eyes gleamed as he looked Brynley over. “You’re a pretty little thing. Are you taken?”
Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“It’s been a while since I had me a woman—”
“She’s taken,” Phineas interrupted, and moved quickly to Brynley’s side. “We’re married.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
She stiffened, then gave him a hesitant smile. “Yes, we’re . . . newlyweds.”
Frowning, Digger motioned to her hand. “You ain’t wearing no ring.”
Her eyes widened, then she blurted out, “It’s a secret. We . . . we haven’t told anyone yet.”
“Her father doesn’t approve of me,” Phineas added.
Digger gave him a sad look. “Now ain’t that a shame? Is it because you’re black?”
Brynley flinched. “No!”
“Yes,” Phineas answered at the same time.
“Phin,” she whispered and touched his cheek. “No.”
“You know it’s true,” he whispered back. “Your father will never accept me.” If his race didn’t upset the old werewolf, the fact that he was a vampire certainly would.
The pained look in Brynley’s eyes made his heart swell with tenderness. He slipped his hand around the back of her neck to pull her closer and kissed her brow.
“Yep, you two are newlyweds, all right.” Digger chuckled. “I ain’t never seen two people so in love.”
Brynley’s gaze lifted to his with an alarmed look, and he swallowed hard. In love? Was he? Damn. If he couldn’t fool Digger, why was he trying to fool himself?
“Dammit!” Digger bellowed.
With a start, Phineas turned toward him, making sure he kept a safe grip on Brynley. “What?”
“It just makes me so damned mad! A nice couple like you, having to keep your marriage a secret. I mean, can you help who you fall in love with?”
“No.” Phineas glanced at Brynley. “I can’t.” Time seemed to halt for a second as their gazes locked and sizzled. Would she think he’d just confessed to loving her? Or would she think this was all an act?
“Of course you can’t help it,” Digger growled. “Why, my own Jake fell in love with a squirrel.”
Brynley blinked, and they screeched back to reality.
“Say what?” Phineas asked.
“You heard me. He’s in love with a damned squirrel.” Digger leaned toward them and lowered his voice. “Don’t tell him about the squirrel meat in the beans. It’ll upset him.”
“We won’t say a word,” Brynley assured him.
Digger grunted, then turned toward some bushes that were trembling. “I know you’re back there, Jake. Stop spying on us and come on out.”
There were two crazy guys? Phineas held on to Brynley in case he needed to teleport her away.
The bushes parted and a dog padded into the clearing. He was big, yellow, and dirty, but his most striking feature was the hat strapped to his head. It looked like an old leather football helmet, crowned with a layer of aluminum foil that gleamed in the light of the campfire.
“Oh, the poor thing,” Brynley murmured. “He’s had a head injury?”
“Nope.” Digger regarded the dog fondly. “My Jake is sharp as a tack. He’s what you call a receiver.”
“For a football team?” Phineas asked.
Digger broke into laughter, slapped his thigh hard, then coughed when the cloud of dust reached his face. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard! Dogs don’t play football!”
Phineas exchanged a look with Brynley as Digger started to laugh once again.
“He’s got to wear that hat to keep them from talking to him,” Digger explained. “First, they tried talking to me, but I was too wily for them.”
“Them?” Phineas asked.
“Them aliens, boy! The ones mutilating all the cattle around here. They’ve been using my Jake as a receiver.”
“What do they say to him?” Brynley asked.
“How the hell would I know? You think I can talk to a dog?” Digger snickered. “I ain’t crazy, you know.”
“Right,” Phineas murmured.
“So I’ve been hunting those little devils, so they’ll leave my Jake alone.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Brynley said.
“We should be going now.” Phineas retreated, taking Brynley with him. “So you can get back to your hunting.”
“You don’t want to hunt together?” Digger asked with a hurt expression.
“Sorry, but we prefer to be alone,” Phineas explained. “Newlyweds, you know.”
Digger chuckled. “I got you. You two are making more hay than hunting. Well, I’ll see you around.”
“Nice to meet you.” Brynley mounted her horse. Phineas mounted, too, ignoring the painful twinges in his rump and thighs. He waved at the old man.
“Be careful,” Digger called after them. “Them nasty aliens are close by. I can feel ’em.”
Phineas rode down the path alongside Brynley. Neither said a word until they were sure Digger wouldn’t hear.
She pulled her shirt up to her nose and sniffed. “I may need to change clothes. And shower.”
“I could teleport you to Phil’s place. I’ll come back to watch the horses while you clean up.”
She smiled. “That’s very sweet of you. Thanks.”
Sweet. He was starting to hate that word. Why didn’t she see him as sexy and desirable? Why couldn’t she ache for him the way he did for her? Was it because she considered them horribly, dreadfully mismatched?
It was true what he’d said earlier. Her father would never accept him. A poor guy from the Bronx. A vampire.
Brynley could have any man she wanted. A rich rancher. An Alpha wolf. She could have wealth, land, and security. Why would she give all that up for him?
“Thank you for coming to the rescue,” she said quietly.
“Huh?” The pain in his rear was rapidly becoming unbearable. Maybe he should walk the rest of the way. “What rescue?”
“You rescued me from Digger’s advances.”
“Oh. No big deal.”
“You’re a sweet—”
“Don’t say it!”
Her eyes widened. “Are you angry?”
Yes! Digger could tell I’m in love with you, and you can’t! “It’s nothing. I . . . I need to get off this damned horse.”
“Okay.” She pulled the horses to a stop. When he dismounted, she gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s normal to feel sore the first few times.”
“I’m fine.” He gritted his teeth and walked stiffly beside her. “I’m just annoyed that we’re not finding anything about Corky. I don’t think she would hide out here. It’s too primitive. She’d use her vampire mind control to take over a ranch or ski lodge.”
“You may be right,” Brynley murmured.
“And I’m wondering about those dead cows. Digger said they were drained of blood. We should check that out.”
“You think Corky would feed off cows?”
“If she was desperate enough, yeah.”
“But why mutilate them?”