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Tracysat up, yawning A glance at the clock showed that she had already slepta vampire certainly kept her up far later than she was accustomed to By the tione! 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 grily, all of the food she had left in the fridge when she ran away had soured, wilted, or turned blue without the refrigerator, she grabbed her purse and her keys and headed for the village

Driving down the main street, she noticed ane deserted the place was Funny, she had never paid much attention to that before Many of the shops didn&039;t open until after sundown She saw a few tourists peering into s An elderly couple sat at a table at the outdoor cafe, sipping lattes

Tracypulled into the parking lot of the ot out of her car Did the townspeople know that their toas a haven for vanorant of the fact as she had been only days ago?

Grabbing a cart, she wandered up and down the aisles, filling her basket hatever caught her fancy It occurred to her that few of the iteht would have even been in existence when Dos like frozen dinners, ice creaes, 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 a anxious Dark chocolate had ever been her comfort food of choice

She was on her way to her car when she heardBryan call her na toward her

"Hey, where&039;ve you been?" he asked "I&039;ve been worried sick"

"I was on a little uuess you could say"

He frowned at her as he helped her put her groceries in the trunk"Holiday? Where&039;d you go?"

"Maine"

"Oh Well, I wish you&039;d let ht rinned That was exactly what had happened, but she couldn&039;t tellBryan that "Well, not to worry I&039;m back no&039;ve you been, otherwise?"

"Fine"He closed the trunk "I was really worried about you Have you read the paper lately? Three people were found dead last week, with no apparent cause of death except they&039;d all lost a lot of blood There were no signs of violence, and no signs of a struggle The police are stumped One of the reporters said it sounded like so"Bryan frowned at her "Tracy? Hey, Trace, are you okay? You look as pale as a ghost"

"I&039; like that could happen here" Even as she said the words, she thought it was surprising that there hadn&039;t beenthat the place was crawling with va her that vampires didn&039;t hunt where they lived Obviously, he had been wrong about that

"Can you come down to the beach later?"Bryan asked "I&039;veforward, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek "See ya later"

She watched hi it was to be in his co dark and h, she slid behind the wheel and drove horoceries away, she sat down at her desk to read the mail and pay her bills

The first letter was from Mr Petersen, who repeated that he was immensely pleased with her work and enclosed a nice check as a down pay seascapes He also mentioned that he would like her to do a portrait of hiift for his wife and that he would send her a photograph to work froe a date and time to be at her studio with his children

Tracysmiled as she picked up the phone to call Mr Petersen This was exactly the kind of break she needed Mrs Petersen was a wealthy woman, influential in her community If she were pleased with the portrait of her family, she would no doubt tell all her friends You couldn&039;t beat word-of-!

Later, after the bills were paid,Tracy went upstairs to her studio The seascape she had started inMaine had been set up near the

She painted for over an hour Lost in the act of creation, she forgot everything else but the feel of the brush in her hand as she added shading and depth to the canvas She loved the smell of the paint, the sense of fulfillulfed her as she transferred the iarded her work through a critical eye, and then nodded One sent Oneher brushes, she prepared a new canvas and then, on the spur of the rabbed an apple fro on his lifeguard tower

"Hey, there," she called "Can I come up?"

He smiled down at her "Sure"

She climbed the ladder,then sat down beside him "So, rescued anyone today?"

"Not yetPretty quiet" He touched the tip of her nose with his finger "I guess you&039;ve been painting"

"YeahGuess I should have looked in the mirror before I left the house"

"Well, it&039;s pink People will just think you&039;re sunburned"

"Right"

"So, what did you do inMaine ?"

"I was visiting a friend"

"You left kind of suddenly, didn&039;t you?"

"Kind of"

"School will be starting soon," he reazed out at the ocean There was so the waves She had always loved the ocean Endless and deep, soing sea that was hoentle whales and ht?"Bryan asked

"Yes, I&039; the hard edge of jealousy inBryan &039;s voice

"Yes"

"He&039;s no good for you Why do you insist on going out with that ht"

"Oh,Bryan "

"Don&039;t patronize me Just because you&039;re older doesn&039;t mean you&039;re wiser"

"I didn&039;t say that, but Doood o"

"No!" He laid a restraining hand on her aro I&039;ve got work to do"

"You&039;re not mad, are you?"

"No, of course notSee ya later"

Back holass of arded the blank canvas, then, setting the glass aside, she an to paint

She had fully intended to start on another seascape; instead, her brush strokes sketched a tall ardenA round

Intent upon her task, she paid no attention to the time as she carefully applied each brush stroke His face, pale in a wash of silver ht, was harsh and yet beautiful His eyes, dark and shadoere filled with the secrets of eternity His uish grin A long black cloak fell in graceful folds fro she had ever done There was carefully leashed power in every line

Stepping away froht by her hands and her heart "Perfect," sheher brush aside"Absolutely perfect"

"You flatter me"