Jessie's Girl Read online

  “Let’s go, Jessie. I don’t want to decide tonight.” She looked up at him.

  “Please.”

  “All right, darlin’.”

  Hester materialized in the room as if she’d been conjured there, and walked them to the front door. “Let me know what you decide.”

  When they reached the hotel, Jessie sent the car away. Hand in hand, they crossed the lobby toward the elevators.

  Kathy’s heart was pounding in her ears when they entered her suite.

  As soon as Jessie closed the door, she moved into his arms, her mouth seeking his.

  There was no need for words, not now.

  Jessie carried her into the bedroom, gently removed her clothes, then quickly shed his own. She drew him against her when he slipped into bed beside her, buried her head in the hollow of his shoulder.

  “I’ve got to do it, Kathy,” he said quietly. “Please try to understand.”

  “I am.”

  “I believe in you,” he said, stroking her hair. “In us. I’m not afraid.”

  He made love to her ever so gently, as if they had all the time in the world, as if it didn’t matter that dawn was only a few short hours away. He held her and caressed her, and all the while he whispered that he loved her, would always love her.

  She wept bittersweet tears, knowing that if her love wasn’t true enough, if Hester’s witchcraft wasn’t strong enough, this would be the last night they spent together.

  With a cry, she drew him closer. The spark between them ignited again, burning hotter, brighter, than the sun he had not seen for over a decade, and burned yet again, until she felt him go suddenly still.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Dawn…”

  She glanced at the window and saw that the sky was growing bright.

  “Kathy, go.”

  “What?”

  “Leave me. Now.”

  “But why?”

  “I don’t….” He took a deep breath, as if it was effort to speak. “Shouldn’t have come here. Don’t want you to…to see me…”

  She started to scoot out of bed, and then stopped, hypnotized by what was happening to him. His eyes closed and he went still all over. She placed her hand on his chest. She could detect no heartbeat, no sign of life at all. His skin was cold.

  “Jessie? Jessie!”

  She scrambled off the bed, shaken to the very core of her being by the sight of him lying there. As still as death.

  Time and again, as the day wore on, she went into the bedroom to look at him. He never moved. What if he really was dead? In the movies, the vampire always had to return to his coffin before dawn. What if Jessie had to sleep in his own bed?

  It was the longest day of her life. She tried to read, tried to watch tv., but she couldn’t concentrate on anything, think of anything, except the man sleeping the sleep of the dead, or the undead, in the next room.

  She had considered asking Jessie to make her a vampire, but after today, she knew that a vampire’s life – or death – or whatever it was – definitely was not for her.

  Slowly, oh so slowly, the minutes ticked by. She was standing at the window, watching the sunset, when she felt his presence behind her.

  “Kathy?”

  “What?” She didn’t turn around, just stood there, staring out the window.

  Jessie took a deep breath. No one had ever seen him while he was caught in the dark sleep of the undead. He didn’t have to wonder what Kathy had thought. He could sense her revulsion, see it in the set of her shoulders, the way she refused to look at him.

  He took a deep breath. “Are you ready to go see Hester now?”

  Chapter 15

  Kathy felt a sharp stab of trepidation as she crossed the threshold into Hester Greene’s house. Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly….

  She reached for Jessie’s hand as she sat down on the sofa beside him, her heart pounding wildly as she watched Hester move about the room. Tonight, the old woman looked like a witch. She wore a flowing black dress. The skirt was embroidered with bright yellow moons and silver stars. A heavy gold pendant in the shape of a half-moon hung from her neck. Silver bracelets adorned her wrists. A large black cat followed at her heels like a puppy.

  Dozens of white candles lit the room.

  Kathy swallowed hard as Hester placed a small silver goblet on the coffee table in front of them. She left the room for a moment, returning with two hypodermic needles.

  “The omens are favorable,” Hester said as she pulled a small bottle of alcohol and two cotton balls from one of her voluminous pockets.

  “Favorable?” Jessie asked.

  “Yes, I have consulted the stars. Mars and Jupiter are in close conjunction. It is a good omen for change.” Hester looked at Kathy. “Your arm, please.”

  Kathy held her breath as Hester swabbed her arm with alcohol. She winced at the prick of the needle, looked away as the syringe began to fill with blood. Her blood.

  Watching the blood leave her body made her sick to her stomach. How did Jessie drink it?

  “Done,” Hester said. She slapped a Band-Aid on Kathy’s arm, withdrew blood from her own arm and mingled it with Kathy’s blood, which she had emptied from the syringe into the goblet.

  Opening several small vials, Hester sprinkled the contents into the goblet. She stirred the mixture with a silver spoon, chanting all the while. She uncorked another vial and poured in a liquid that was thick and yellow. A thin column of black smoke rose from the goblet as Hester picked it up and rolled it back and forth between her palms.

  She stopped chanting, and looked at Kathy, her black eyes sharp. “Do you love this man here beside you and no other?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you swear your love is true?”

  “Yes.”

  Hester looked at Jessie. “ And you? Do you love this woman here beside you and no other?”

  “Yes,” Jessie replied quietly.

  “Do you swear your love is true?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  Hester passed one hand over the goblet. “From dark to light, from death to life, true love will prevail.” She handed Jessie the goblet. “Drink it. Quickly! Before the blood cools.”

  Jessie gazed deeply into Kathy’s eyes as he lifted the cup. “I love you, darlin’. Whatever happens, remember that,” he said, and lifting the goblet, he downed the contents in one long swallow.

  “Kathy.” He gasped her name as the goblet fell from his hand. “Kathy…”

  The cup rolled to a stop. A single drop of dark red blood spilled out onto the floor.

  “Jessie!” She screamed his name as he fell back on the sofa, his body going limp, his head lolling to one side. She cried his name again, and again, but he didn’t speak, didn’t move.

  The world began to spin around her, faster and faster, and then everything went black.

  Chapter 16

  Kathy woke in her hotel room, in her bed, alone. For a moment, her mind was mercifully blank, and then it all came back to her – Hester, the blood…and Jessie.

  He was dead, she thought, really dead this time. Her love hadn’t been strong enough, true enough, and her blood had destroyed him.

  Tears burned her eyes. Jessie….Jessie…how was she going to go on without him? She should have insisted he make her what he was. At least then they would still be together.

  She rolled onto her side and buried her face in the pillow he had slept on. She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. Jessie…She felt numb inside, and empty, so empty. She tried to think of what she would do now. She didn’t want to stay here, without him.

  Rising, she went to the window and opened the drapes. The rising sun was streaking the sky with long fingers of crimson. It reminded her of blood and she turned away.

  This afternoon she would call Keri and tell her she was coming home and ask her to get in touch with the couple renting her condo and give them thirty days notice….

  She climbed back into bed and pu
lled the covers over her. She was reaching for Jessie’s pillow when she heard a knock at the door.

  Frowning, she slid out of bed, grabbed her robe, and went to the door, wondering who on earth would be at her door at this time of the morning.

  “Who is it?”

  A muffled voice answered. “Room service.”

  Kathy frowned as she opened the door. “I didn’t order any…”

  The words died in her throat. She took a step backward, one hand pressed to her heart. “Jessie!”

  His grin was as wide as the Grand Canyon. “Mornin’, darlin’,” he said cheerfully. “I brought breakfast.” He lifted the lid on a large tray. “I didn’t know what you liked, and I haven’t eaten in a while, so I brought everything I could think of. Ham and eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and honey, French toast, bagels, chocolate chip muffins.”

  She stared at him, at the mountain of food on the tray, then turned to look out the window. The sun was shining brightly. “I must be dreaming,” she murmured.

  “You gonna invite me in?” Jessie asked, “or make me eat my first breakfast in over thirty years standing out here in the hallway?”

  Speechless, she stood aside.

  Jessie entered the room, then nudged the door shut with his heel.

  “It’s daytime,” Kathy said. “And you’re here. How?’ She shook her head. “Last time I saw you, you were…I thought I’d killed you.”

  Jessie set the tray on the coffee table, then folded Kathy into his arms. “It worked, darlin’. I’m human again.”

  “But last night…”

  “I died. That is, the vampire died.”

  She didn’t know what to say, what to think. She could only stare up at him, breathless, speechless.

  “Kathy?” He grinned at her. “You might say you’re glad to see me.”

  “Oh, Jessie,” she exclaimed softly. “Jessie, you’re alive!”

  He laughed then, a deep, full-throated laugh that warmed her heart and soul.

  “Jessie! Jessie!” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Kissed him and kissed him again as happiness welled up inside her, bubbling like sparkling champagne.

  “Should I call you Elvis now?” she asked, leaning back so she could see his face.

  “No, darlin’. I’m Jessie now. Your Jessie, if you’ll still have me.”

  “I’ve always been Jessie’s girl,” she replied with a saucy grin. “And I intend to have you in every way possible.”

  “Here I am, darlin’,” he said. “Do your worst.”

  “Quite the contrary,” she replied, taking him by the hand and leading him into the bedroom. “I intend to do my very best.”

  Breakfast was a long time cold before they got back to it.

  Epilogue

  “Oh, Jessie, it’s so beautiful here.”

  “It is that,” he agreed. “But not as beautiful as my bride. Happy, darlin’?”

  “Yes, oh, yes.” She held up her hand, admiring her wedding ring. It was a simple gold band, the perfect mate to the flawless diamond engagement ring.

  With a sigh, she leaned back against him and gazed out at the flawless blue ocean. They had been married in Las Vegas the day before, then flown to Maui for their honeymoon. She had wanted to see the Islands ever since she saw the movie, Blue Hawaii. It was like paradise, she mused, the vast blue ocean, the white sand, the palm trees.

  They had toured Kauai and Oahu, and the big island of Hawaii. They had been to a luau, taken hula dancing lessons, gone scuba diving, seen volcanoes and waterfalls. But the best times had been the early mornings and late nights in their room, locked in Jessie’s arms.

  She watched the waves dancing on the shore as the sun rose on a new day, its golden light shining on them like a benediction. Their lives stretched out before them. Like the ocean, they would have highs and lows, but the love they shared would see them through.

  She sighed with pleasure as Jessie hugged her close, felt her heart skip a beat as he swung her up into his arms and carried her inside, happy beyond measure to be Jessie’s girl.

  The End

  About the Author:

  Amanda Ashley enjoys writing, particularly in the genre of Historical Romance and delves into the world of the paranormal and romantic fantasy. She resides in California, where she was born and raised.

  Also writing as Madeline Baker, she is one of the most popular authors of Native American romance and has written numerous bestsellers.

  For more information about all her wonderful books,

  please visit her website at

  http://www.madelinebaker.net/

  If you enjoyed Jessie’s Girl you might also enjoy:

  Or try these Western stories from Madeline Baker:

  http://westerntrailblazer.com

  Coming Soon to major online retailers:

  Catch the Lightning, Capture the Lightning,

  Passion's Promise, and Reckless Destiny

  will be offered in this Madeline Baker

  collection – Tales of Western Romance.

  As a special bonus, Amanda Ashley has graciously included her story,

  The Music of the Night.