Chapter Four

By Saturday, there was still no word from Vaughn. I didn’t count the two-word “I’m okay” text he sent in the middle of the night—when he knew I’d be asleep. I paced in my living room while Skyler studied me from the couch.

“Maybe we should go look for him?” I suggested.

“Where, exactly, should we look?” Skyler replied. “We’ve already gone by his house three times.”

“Something’s wrong,” I insisted. “He hasn’t been at work, either. His dad didn’t seem worried when I asked, but Mr. Sheridan’s been a little distracted lately.”

“Maybe they’re not getting along,” she said. “Maybe he just needs time to decompress. If he were really in trouble, he wouldn’t have sent you a text saying he was okay.”

Part of me knew she was right, but the other part wanted to find my boyfriend and force him to tell me what was going on.

Granny came home, still dressed in her work clothes. The library usually closed early on the weekend. “Long day?” I asked her.

“We had cake for Jennifer’s birthday,” she explained. “What are you two doing sitting around here on a Saturday night?”

“Nothing,” I replied quickly.

But Skyler said, “Vaughn’s ghosting Tansy and we don’t know why.”

“That doesn’t sound like him,” Granny said. She gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head. “Why don’t you come out with the coven tonight?”

“I’m not really in the mood,” I said.

“Tansy Morgan Mariotti, I did not raise you to sit around feeling sorry for yourself,” she said. Granny rarely scolded me. Now I felt like I had to go just to prove I wasn’t pathetic.

“You’re right,” I said. “Maybe a night out is what I need. Where are you going?”

“A cowboy bar,” Granny said. “Yeehaw!”

“Can Rose and Thorn come, too?” I asked. “If they find out I went somewhere without my security detail, they’ll take it out on me in my next workout. I might not survive it.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” Granny said with a laugh.

I sent the twins a text and got a thumbs-up emoji back from Thorn.

Then I put my red hair in a long braid—the haircut Skyler had given me was already growing out—and borrowed a cowboy hat from Granny, who just so happened to have a couple of extras for Skyler and me. At least we would blend in.

The twins and some of Granny’s coven slash book club members showed up while Sky and I were getting ready. Evelyn was wearing a purple maxi dress paired with bright teal boots. Edna was in skinny jeans, a T-shirt that said Love is Love, and a rainbow cowboy hat.

My grandmother was in jeans and a Librarians are Magical T-shirt, which wasn’t that different from what she usually wore, but she had on a white cowboy hat and a belt with a buckle in the shape of an open book.

Granny and her friends rode with the twins in Edna’s minivan, and I rode with Skyler. Before heading out, I secured my drumstick—the one I’d used to kill Fang, The Drainers’ original drummer, when he’d attacked me—in my back pocket. My long top helped to conceal it. The drumstick was perfect for staking, and it fit there without being noticeable. Since the sun had already set, Skyler left the top down on her convertible.

The bar was in the canyon. We followed Edna’s van through the winding roads. There were cow pastures, cattle and horse ranches just a few miles from the city, and even a winery up in the hills.

“We’re here,” Skyler said, pulling into a gravel parking lot full of pickup trucks, motorcycles, and cars with bumper stickers with sayings like Buy at Feeders: Drain and Grain.

“This doesn’t look like a place the coven would hang out,” I commented. “It has more of a vampy vibe than a witchy one.”

A sign hanging on a wooden post read Ultima Parada. I’d taken four years of Spanish and still couldn’t roll my Rs correctly, but I could translate that. The Last Stop.

We joined our group, who were waiting for us by the front door.

“There’s a cover charge,” the bouncer said. He wasn’t wearing his cowboy hat because he was using it to hold the money he was collecting.

“Why?” Skyler asked.

“Band comes on at nine,” he said.

“What’s the name of the band?” I asked.

“Thirsty Thieves,” the guy said. “You in or out?”

I’d never heard of them. “In,” I said and handed him some money.

They inspected our bags and tried to confiscate my tonic, but Granny wasn’t having it. “That’s my medication,” she lied without batting an eye. “You wouldn’t want me to have an episode, would you?”

The bouncer gave her a look but waved us through.

The interior was dim and smoky, even though technically it was against the rules to smoke inside. The crowd didn’t look like the kind of people who cared about rules.

It smelled kind of yeasty, like beer and sweat had soaked into the walls. I took a step forward, and something both crunchy and sticky was under my heel. Along with spilled beer, there were peanut shells on the floor.

“Yummy,” Granny said, looking around. “I like a man who knows how to wear a pair of Wranglers.”

Most of the guys here seemed to be wearing high-end jeans, and I doubted most of them had ever been on a horse, except the ones on a merry-go-round.

“Is that a mechanical bull?” I asked. As we watched, the guy riding it got thrown off and landed on the mat, laughing. More than half the people in the bar wore cowboy hats, and the others mostly wore trucker hats.

It was larger than it looked from the outside. There was a jukebox in the corner and a beautiful antique bar that ran across the entire length of one wall.

We snagged a long table but had to hunt for more chairs.

“Thanks for dragging me out tonight,” I told Granny. “A night of friends and live music is just what I needed.”

“There are some hot guys here, too,” Skyler said. She was sitting next to me and smiled at someone in the crowd. “Like that tall, dark stunner.” Her smile faded. “Incoming,” she added in a low voice.

I followed her gaze and was shocked to see Vaughn approaching. My heart immediately went into overdrive. His skin was golden brown from his month in the Texas sun, which made his gray eyes shine. His dark hair was longer than he normally wore it.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, then I noticed Connor walking next to him. He was taller and his hair was buzzed short, but it was him. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Skyler was peeking at him, but I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

Connor Mahoney stood there, smiling at my best friend like he’d never broken her heart. “Hi, Sky,” he said softly. His amber eyes glowed. “It’s good to see you.”

She said nothing and looked past him. Score one for Skyler.

Behind Connor were three other guys I didn’t know, including the guy Skyler had been drooling over earlier.

“You’ve been blowing me off to hang out with Connor at a dive bar?” I crossed my arms and glared at my boyfriend. I trusted him, but I was starting to wonder if he trusted me.

There was a chorus of “ooohs” and “Vaughn’s in trouble” from the guys. Vaughn ignored them. “I’m sorry,” he said.

Some of my anger dissipated. There were dark smudges under his gray eyes, and his hair was tousled like he’d been running his fingers through it. Vaughn didn’t smile widely very often, but there was usually something sparking in his eyes. Tonight, even that spark was noticeably absent.

“Do you mind if we sit with you?” he asked hesitantly.

The rest of the group tried to pretend they weren’t listening in. I was still a little mad at him, but I was also worried. Where had he been? At least he was here now and he could explain.

“I don’t mind,” I said, studying his face for clues. “As long as we talk later.”

He nodded.

“Promise you’ll tell me everything that’s going on?”

“I promise.”

“Good.” I tilted my chin at the other boys. “Who’re your friends?”

Connor made the introductions. “This is Lucas, Beckett, and Xavier,” he said. They squeezed in at the table.

A low growl sounded, and I realized it came from Lucas, the blond. He was taller and even broader than Connor and the redhaired guy. His hair was short and spiked on top. It kind of made him look like an angry porcupine.

“I’m Beckett,” the redhead said, waving at me. His long hair was the color of fire, and his blue eyes were full of mischief. “You’re a hot ginger,” he said to me. “Almost as hot as me.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, almost.”

“Beckett, quit flirting with my girlfriend,” Vaughn said. “You should be calling her ‘Your Majesty.’”

“Girlfriend?” Connor stared at Vaughn. “Your Majesty? It seems like you left a few things out during our last chat.”

“Yes and yes. Tansy’s the queen of the California realm of vampires,” Vaughn said evenly.

The news didn’t faze the guys, except for Lucas, who seemed to have not just a chip on his shoulder, but the whole damn bag.

“You’re dating a vamp?” Lucas wrinkled his nose. “I thought I smelled something bad.”

“I’m not a vampire,” I said. “I’m a striga vie. Jeesh, do I need to make a T-shirt?”

“Queen Tansy,” Xavier said with a warm smile. “A pleasure to meet you.” Xavier was a tall guy with dark brown skin, who looked a few years older than the rest of the pack.

I smiled back at him, stunned silent by the sheer beauty of his laughing brown eyes.

“Tansy’s also my girlfriend’s best friend,” Connor said.

“Ex-girlfriend,” Skyler clarified.

His eyes didn’t leave hers. “My loss.”

Skyler made a scoffing sound, then deliberately turned her back on him and addressed Xavier. “Why haven’t I seen you around before now?”

“Xavier is in med school,” Connor said proudly.

“I feel like all I do these days is study,” Xavier said. “I’m glad I came tonight. I needed a little stress relief.”

Skyler raised her hand. “I volunteer as tribute.”

She was joking, but Connor frowned.

“What?” she challenged him. “I’m single.”

“Are you?” he asked.

Their gazes met and held until she looked away.

A silver fox stopped in front of Granny and smiled at her.

“Very Urban Cowboy,” Granny said, looking him up and down.

“What’s an urban cowboy?” I asked.

Vaughn, with his love of Netflix, old movies, and trivia, beat her to an answer. “John Travolta in a cowboy hat.”

My granny’s admirer held out his hand. “Care to dance?”

“There’s no music,” Granny said, then shrugged playfully. “Not like that’s ever stopped me before.” Was she flirting with him?

As if on cue, the jukebox started playing an old country song. He grinned at her. “Now there is.”

Granny took the silver fox’s hand, and they hit the dance floor. Edna and Evelyn watched for a moment before hopping up to join them. I watched them intently, purposely avoiding Vaughn’s looks. Until we had a chance to talk privately, I didn’t know what to say to him.

After the song ended, Granny said something to her dance partner, and he laughed before he rejoined some older guys in the corner booth. Granny came back to our table, flushed and smiling.

“He’s cute. Did you get his number?” Skyler asked.

Granny blushed, but she didn’t deny it.

Evelyn and Edna went up to the bar and came back with a pitcher of beer and several glasses, which I knew weren’t for me or my friends, but Beckett didn’t get the memo.

He reached for one of the glasses, and Granny slapped his hand playfully. “Get your own,” she said. “And make sure it’s the kind you’re old enough to drink.”

I laughed, but I was conscious of Vaughn’s gaze on me. I had to keep ignoring him, though. It was either that or flash my fangs.

Xavier and Granny got into a deep discussion about holistic medicine. Beckett danced around the table, making the Old Crones Book Club laugh, and I sat next to my boyfriend, caught between anger and relief. What the hell was actually going on with him?