Page 98 of Finding Noah

“I'm getting old,” I replied, shoveling another forkful of salad into my mouth.

“Which means I'm getting old,” she countered, a look of horror and disgust blanketing her features.

“Nah, vampires don't get old.”

“Tell that to my wrinkles,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “And the gray hairs I keep having to cover. My God, they multiply every damn day. I can't keep up with it.”

“Just go gray,” I suggested. “Then you could be the old crone on the hill and scare the shit out of the kids.”

“We already scare the kids,” she grumbled. “Live in a cemetery. Gives you instant scare factor.”

The front door opened, and Aunt Stormy stood to greet her husband from the kitchen entryway.

“Hey, Spider,” she said softly with a smile. “Where've you been?”

“Stopped at the security office,” the long-haired, tattooed gravedigger said, wrapping his arm around her waist and giving her forehead a kiss. “Just to make sure Todd took care of those kids.”

“You should've told them the cops were coming,” Aunt Stormy replied, shooting a wink my way.

Charlie regarded me with a smile. “I should've. Knock some sense right into them.”

“Could've waved the gun around a bit,” I said with a waggle of my brows.

“Oh God, you brought your gun?” Aunt Stormy groaned. “Why? You expect you'll need it on your little trip?”

When I had asked Aunt Stormy if I could stay for the weekend, I had told her it was to see an old friend who'd moved to the area and to spend a bit of time with her and Charlie. It was a grossly exaggerated version of the truth, and it was entirely different from what my parents thought of this impromptu little sojourn. But I figured, if she compared notes with Mom, it would be simple enough for me to say that Meg and I had found ourselves at a bit of a crossroads and I also needed time to clear my head. Convenient timing, I'd tell her, and it'd be fine.

But no matter what the reason, none of them explained the need to bring my firearm.

“Habit,” I told her with a sheepish grin.

“Oh, duh,” she replied, laughing like it was the most obvious answer. “Well, anyway …”

She turned back to Charlie, who filled her in on his trip to the security office, and I dropped my gaze to the dish in front of me. I ate mindlessly, mulling over my plan for the next couple of days.

As luck would have it, Tomas Nolan had been buried at a cemetery not far from the one I was staying at. Sure, it would've been more convenient if he'd been buried here, but let's be honest … I thought it would've scared the hell out of me—to think the man's spirit could come haunt me in my sleep.

Anyway, the first step in my plan was to spend Saturday stopping by his grave and paying my respects.

Then I was going to head over to The Llewellyn Family Funeral Home and chat with the director.

Tomas had been murdered twenty years ago. It was unlikely I'd find much, and I knew that. Hell, there was a good chance this entire ordeal would be a complete waste of my time, but I had to try.

That was what this was all about.

Trying.

Trying to make peace. Trying to tie up loose ends. Trying to lay a night to rest that'd been haunting me since I had been a little boy.

And if I couldn't do any of that, then at least I could say I did what I'd set out to do.

Try.

CHAPTER TWENTY

UNDER AN OMINOUS SKY

Me: My uncle Charlie is a fucking weird-ass dude.