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beautiful!” The mare was predominantly black, with one white stocking. A spotted white blanket covered her hindquarters.
    â€œShe’s yours.”
    â€œMine? But I thought you said Mom bought her.”
    â€œShe did. She bought the mare for you.”
    Abbey stroked the Appy’s neck, ran her fingers through the short, silky mane. “Hi, girl,” she murmured. “Have you got a name?”
    â€œHer previous owner called her Freckles, but I suppose you can call her anything you like.”
    â€œFreckles suits her.”
    â€œWell, saddle her up and let’s go,” Rane said.
    The mare had a smooth, rocking chair gait. She responded quickly to the touch of Abbey’s heels and seemed to be bomb-proof, unruffled by a jack rabbit that darted across her path, unperturbed when a flock of birds burst from cover and took to the air.
    Abbey glanced at her father as they rode across the pasture, side by side. He was a handsome man, with chiseled features, a strong jaw, and long black hair. Years ago, he had been a magician, performing as The Remarkable Renaldo, The Marvelous Marvello, The Amazing Antoine, and Santoro the Magnificent. Of course, the magic he had performed wasn’t magic in the usual sense of the word, merely a display of his preternatural powers.
    Sometimes she forgot that he was a vampire, that he had to drink blood to survive. He rarely spoke of his past, but Mara had once told her that he regretted every life he had taken as a young vampire, that for most of his life he had refused to walk in the sun’s light because he thought of himself as evil.
    He wasn’t evil, she thought, but the kindest, sweetest man in the whole world.
    And then there was her mother, Savanah, a direct descendent of that infamous vampire hunter, Abraham Van Helsing.
    As always, thinking of her parents brought a smile to her face. It just didn’t seem possible that a vampire and the descendent of a vampire hunter could ever find happiness together.
    â€œWhat’s so funny?” Rane asked.
    â€œI was just thinking about you and Mom. Yours has to be the strangest love story I’ve ever heard.”
    â€œI can’t argue with that,” her father agreed.
    â€œI guess opposites really do attract.”
    â€œSo they say. Are you ready to let her out?”
    At Abbey’s nod, Rane touched his heels to his mount’s flanks. With a toss of his head, the big bay gelding broke into a lope.
    With a whoop, Abbey urged her own mount into a gallop. It was wonderful, exhilarating, racing across the ground with the wind in her face, the sound of the mare’s hooves pounding over the ground, the sense of freedom that engulfed her.
    They rode until the horses broke a sweat, then turned back toward home.
    â€œSo, what do you think you’ll do now?” her father asked after a time.
    â€œI don’t know.” Abbey shrugged. “Got any ideas?”
    â€œYour mom can always use help with the horses. Right now, we’re paying a college kid to come by and feed the stock in the morning, but he’s starting a new job tomorrow, so today was his last day.”
    Abbey chewed on her lower lip. It did sound tempting.
    â€œIf you don’t want to feel like you’re mooching off of us, we can make it a business deal. I can even put it in writing. I’ll pay you a fair salary. And if you want a place of your own, you can live in the cottage out back. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll even charge you rent. What do you say? Do you need to think it over?”
    What was there to think about? It was the best offer she’d had since she’d left home.
    It was only later, alone in her room, that Abbey had second thoughts. If she stayed in California, she would probably never see Nick again.

Chapter Six
    At sundown, Nick left his secondary lair located in New Jersey. A thought took him to his condo. Even before he opened the door, he knew Abbey was