Jaycee smiled as she brought the steaming cup of black coffee to her lips. She had been standing on the front porch watching Grandfather teach Angel to 'talk' to the horses.
She shook her head; a few weeks ago, the whole idea would have seemed preposterous. But so much had changed for them. For her, especially.
Especially since that night. Just thinking about it, about him made her body come alive from head to toe, particularly those good bits in the middle. If she weren't careful, she would need to change her panties. She seemed to be going through the things at an alarming rate, changing them a couple of times every day.
Not that she minded. The nights more than made up for it. And the occasional morning and afternoons while Grandfather kept Angel occupied with her 'lessons.' The reading, writing, and arithmetic of home education seemed to be taking a backseat to these new studies. But she did not mind, with each new day, Angel seemed to improve.
There had been no seizures in weeks, and even her meltdowns were becoming a thing of the past. While Jaycee might not be a fan of religion, the prayers or chants or meditations that Grandfather taught her daughter seemed to be working miracles that no medicine had.
Of course, that would be the real test. She had not found the courage, or perhaps faith would be a better word, to discontinue her daughter's seizure medications. Not yet, anyway. She knew it was ridiculous. None of those meds had ever proven effective at completely stopping the seizures as these past few weeks had. Still, she held on to the safety net.
Though Rex and Grandfather, even Angel, were beginning to pressure her. The side effects were not worth it, they claimed. Rex, especially, should know, having spent most of his childhood on similar medications. She knew they were right. But?
Her cell phone on the rail in front of her dinged. She picked it up as much out of habit as anything. Yes, she still had her clients to consider, but there were not that many of them. And Hector and Lupe usually checked in once a day or so as well.
She cursed as she saw the message. Why suddenly was Sean playing the concerned father? Was there some new woman in his life that he was trying to impress? Or perhaps some new political position that could use the boost of a couple of photos with his poor sick child?
But for whatever reason, for the past few days, her ex-husband, who only called once or twice a month, usually to say that the child support was too much or would be late, was calling two and three times a day, demanding to know where she had taken 'his' daughter and when they would be returning.
Jaycee considered ignoring the text but knew that would only result in another phone call. The last one had ended with Sean threatening to take her to court for interfering with his parental rights. Unfortunately, this time, she knew he was right. She did not have a right to keep Angel's whereabouts from her father. It was not a legal battle she could win, not without serious evidence of abuse.
She sighed; this past couple of weeks here had been so peaceful. But it was not just Sean who was intruding on this ideal. Rex's boss, Tim Masters, had emailed, phoned, and repeatedly texted about the horses, too.
Since the animals were no longer on her ranch, they had violated the agreement. They must surrender the horses to the RSPCA. He had fired Rex. Not that Rex seemed bothered by that. Grandfather had been begging him to quit and work with him to keep this place running. But now Masters too was threatening to take them to court. It seemed she would have plenty of work to do, just none of it paid.
If she had been worried that this was some dream, afraid that someone would pinch her, and she would wake, then this was much worse. The world was closing in around them from all sides. She was not sure how much longer they could keep any of it at bay.
The pinch on her jean-clad bottom brought her back to the present. As Rex smiled and held out a breakfast burrito, "You need to eat before we face any of that. But yes, this is very much real, Nʉ Sʉmʉ."
He leaned in and kissed her, drawing her bottom lip between his teeth and biting lightly. "The good and the bad. I'm afraid we can't keep hiding from any of it."
"Yes, but..."
'What if that thing finds us here?' he switched to speaking in her mind.
She still found that incredibly strange, almost frightening. But at times like this, it could prove useful. While she had learned that Grandfather could occasionally overhear them, it was better than spelling to keep adult talk away from little ears. She nodded her head.
'We knew we would have to face it eventually. And we need to. We can't spend the rest of our lives hiding.'
She nodded, though a chill ran up her spine at the memory of that night. The sight of that monster. The sound of Blu's dying whimpers. The smell of fresh blood on that thing's fangs. She did not want to think about what might have happened if Hector had not arrived with his gun. But not even that had stopped the thing. It simply absorbed the bullets like some bad science fiction movie.
Rex's arm went about her. He drew her closer to his side as he planted a tender kiss to the top of her head, "This time, you won't be alone, Nʉ Sʉmʉ." He spoke those words of reassurance aloud as Grandfather and Angel joined them on the porch.
"And this time, we know what we are facing. We will be ready. In our time and on our ground, my children," Grandfather added as he shooed her daughter into the house.
She nodded and sighed, "So, what do we do?" she asked, looking up at Rex.
"We draw them here. All of them," Grandfather replied.
She shook her head, "All of them?"
"Yes, child, since we cannot know where the danger comes from, we bring all of the players together. Here."
The thought of bringing that thing, and whatever danger it represented here was terrifying. This had become their refuge, their fortress. And inviting their enemies in was not something she wanted to consider.
Rex nodded, "Grandfather is right. We have no other choice, Nʉ Sʉmʉ. We have not been able to identify who the Chupacabra is. So, bringing all the players here is our best option."
"But won't that put more innocent people at risk?" she asked.
Grandfather sighed, "Yes, my daughter, it is the only way. We do not why, what it seeks."
"The horses, it went after the horses that night," she answered.
"Yes, but were they its ultimate goal? Or merely something to feed upon before going for its real target?"
