Free Broken Heart 05 Over My Dead Body by Michele Bardsley Page A

the bad side of a pixie. Or a permanent fixture on an Oklahoma hillside.
    Since Flet could neither tell us how he’d gotten from England to Oklahoma nor where he’d been for the last four centuries, Patsy ended the meeting.
    “We’ve replaced the broken post, and it works fine. The Invisi-shield should be operational in time for the festival.” Patsy’s jaw cracked as she yawned.
    I felt the pull of dawn, too. The closer it got to sunrise, the more tired I felt. That was the way of vampires. We had no choice about when we went to sleep or when we woke up. Although the older vampires got, the more strength and power they accrued. Some, like Patrick and Lorcan, could even tolerate weak sunlight.
    “I think there’s something going on and we need to stay alert,” Patsy continued, “especially since we have guests coming in to town for the big shindig. Unfortunately for Simone, she’s stuck with Flet. Sorry, hon. I can requisition a fly swatter, if you like.”
    “Hey!” protested Flet.
    I laughed. “No. I’m sure he’ll behave.”
    “Well, let’s go home, people. The sun will rise soon, and I have a bucket of hot wings with my name on it.”
    I saw Jessica’s look of longing and caught her gaze. “Yeah,” I said. “It’d be nice to eat again, wouldn’t it?”
    As everyone else departed, Brady and I walked with Jessica and Patrick (and Flet) out of the garage.
    “Sometimes I’ll just lick a Godiva truffle,” she said, her voice filled with yearning. “It makes me sick to my stomach, but God, it’s worth it.”
    “You’ll get used to our ways, mo chroi,” said Patrick. “It’s been only a year since your Turning. I don’t even remember what food tastes like.”
    “I don’t imagine the food you were used to eating was exactly good to begin with,” said Brady.
    Patrick laughed. “ ’Tis true. All the same, I have no cravings. At least you can still ask your donors to ingest gastric delights.”
    “Chocolate-tinged blood isn’t as good,” declared Jessica. She grinned. “That sounded really whiny, but I don’t care. It’s been almost a year, and I still want to stuff my face with champagne truffles. Do you know that Godiva makes a pumpkin pie truffle for Thanks-giving?” She groaned, and pressed her hand against her stomach.
    “If only eating the food didn’t make us throw up,” I said.
    “Plus, where would it go?” asked Brady.
    “The insides don’t really work anymore. The heart pumps when we feed, but most of the other organs aren’t necessary,” said Patrick. “If a vampire managed to keep the food down, it would just . . . rot.”
    “Gross. We know how it works, buddy.” Jessica smacked Patrick on the shoulder. “If only that Invisi-shield had magic powers, too. Any vampire who stepped within our borders could suddenly eat with no consequence.”
    “Oh, man! I wish that could happen,” I said, thinking of the big dinner my grandmother would cook tomorrow. All I’d be able to do was smell it and salivate (figuratively, of course). “I wish we could all eat again. And that it would just disappear. We’d get to enjoy it, you know? Then it would magic away.”
    For a moment, Jessica and I contemplated the very idea of enjoying real food again. Then Brady squeezed my hand and I jolted out of my revelry.
    “We better scoot,” said Jessica. She looked from me to Brady, her eyes sparkling. I don’t know what she was thinking, but knowing Jess, it was something embarrassing. Like Brady and me . . . doing things together. Once again, I found myself experiencing a blush that wasn’t real. I couldn’t blush, but my cheeks really wanted to. Whatever we did, it was no one’s business ’cept ours. Small towns, paranormal or not, didn’t allow for much privacy. Yet I’d still managed to keep my secrets just fine.
    “G’night Simone. Brady.” Jessica’s grin widened. Patrick nodded to us, the same knowing twinkle in his silver eyes, and then he wrapped his arms around