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  “Trent? What the hell?!” Regan instinctively took a step back. Trent was on the edge of her bed with his legs crossed.

  “Sorry about the intrusion -”

  “It’s called breaking and entering.” Regan managed to sound more confident than she felt. Coming home to find a man in her room, specifically one she didn’t like, was not how she had imagined her otherwise perfect day ending.

  “I own the building, so technically -” The man stood up. “Well, it doesn’t matter.” He bent over and casually straightened the quilt on Regan’s bed.

  “What can I do for you, Trent?” Regan stayed close to the open door.

  Turning to face the woman, the tall man smiled warmly. “It occurred to me that you’ve been in town nearly a month, and short of a few offhanded exchanges, we’ve never really talked.”

  Regan’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t know what he was getting at, but his forced friendliness was making her uncomfortable. “Why don’t we have a coffee tomorrow morning, and - get to know each other.” She wanted desperately to get him out of her room.

  Tisking, the man walked toward Regan. “I’ve offended you.”

  “You startled me.” Regan asserted.

  Shaking his head, Trent stepped into Regan’s personal space, the scent of licorice and whiskey wafting over her. “And what has my sister done to you?”

  A rush of blood to Regan’s face caused the room to suddenly feel hot, and nearly stifling. “Ask her.” She had no interest in getting into the middle of a family feud, no matter how much she liked Lily.

  The casual smile on Trent’s face vanished, and his light blue eyes went flat. “I’m asking you.”

  Regan stepped to the side, gesturing toward the open door. “I think you should leave.” Her heart thudded in her ears, and she felt the muscles in her back and legs tighten, ready to run if the man refused to leave.

  After several excruciating seconds, Trent’s shoulders relaxed, and he clapped his hands together. “It was nice visiting with you, and I look forward to having that coffee.”

  He walked passed Regan, intentionally brushing his shoulder against hers. Then he was gone, and Regan barely managed to lock the door and make it to her bed before her legs gave out. Jesus. He’s a psycho.

  She wasn’t sure what to do. Clearly the man had access to the room, a thought that made her stomach sour with dread. She needed to tell Lily. Based on their conversations it was clear she was aware of her brother’s issues, even if she didn’t realize their extent.

  Sitting up, Regan looked at her watch. It was nearly sundown. Lily would still be at her house, and hopefully Trent wouldn’t be. Worst case, if he was, the two siblings could hash it out, and hopefully leave Regan out of it.

  Pacing back and forth, Regan chewed nervously on her right thumb nail. She had to think about how to broach the subject with Lily. Though the day she had spent with Lily had been wonderful, she still really didn’t know much about the beautiful woman – let alone her family dynamic with her brother. Regan wasn’t sure if Lily would even be able to do anything.

  Realizing her keys were still in her hand, Regan laid them down on the bed, and then quickly changed into a pair of gray shorts and a navy blue tank top. Running a brush through her hair, she grabbed her keys and headed downstairs. The futility of locking her room door irritated her further.

  The sun had set by the time she reached the Sexton ranch, and she flipped the van’s headlights on as the vehicle rattled over the metal cattle guard at the gate.

  A half mile later, Regan carefully scanned the areas around Lily’s house and the main one. The only vehicle she saw was Lily’s blue truck. Pulling alongside of it, Regan parked the van and pulled the emergency break.

  Taking a deep breath, she got out of the van and walked up the stone walkway to the house. Her palms were sweating and she felt sick to her stomach. She liked Lily a lot, and didn’t want this to come between them, even if there was only going to be a them for the next month.

  “Regan?” Lily asked hesitantly as she opened her front door. Reaching her hand out, Lily slowly pulled Regan into the house, shutting the door behind them. “What is it?” She gently stroked the brunette’s hair.

  In spite of the reason for the visit, Regan couldn’t help but smile at Lily. The memory of their morning and afternoon together brought a surge of warmth and tenderness to her face.

  “It’s a little hard to explain.” Regan looked past Lily, concerned Trent might be there. Seeing the house was empty, she looked at the concerned woman. “Can we sit?”

  Lily nodded, and the two women walked into the living room, and sat next to each other on the leather sofa.

  After several moments of silence, Lily cupped Regan’s cheek with her warm hand. “What’s going on?”

  Unable to resist, Regan turned her lips to the beautiful woman’s palm before speaking. “I went back to my room today, and your brother was there. Actually in my room.”

  Lily’s brow arched as she sat back on the sofa. “What did he say?”

  The dark haired woman’s tone seemed almost resigned, and Regan was caught off guard by how casually she was behaving. “Well, for starters he wanted to know what was going on between you and me.”

  Lily frowned. “What did you tell him?”

  Driving over, Regan had imagined a half dozen ways the conversation might go. Lily’s matter-of-fact reaction had not been one of them. “I told him he should ask you.” Regan leaned away from Lily. “Look, I don’t want to be in the middle of anything with you two. I just don’t want him coming and going in my space whenever he feels like it.”

  Lily nodded. “I’ll talk to him.”

  Her mouth moved independent of her brain, and Regan heard the words being spoken before she could stop herself. “That’s it? You aren’t even a little - I don’t know, weirded-out that your brother was in my room?”

  Lily stood, and turned her back to Regan as she spoke. “I’m sorry he scared you.”

  Regan realized her frustration stemmed from her wanting Lily to be outraged on her behalf. She hadn’t known it until that moment, but regardless of how unrealistic it was, she needed Lily to care enough for her to standup to her brother. Feeling the disappointment that stemmed from Lily’s near apathy, Regan wanted to leave before she made a fool out of herself.

  Standing, Regan managed to keep her tone even. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Taking a step toward the door, she sighed. “I have to head back.”

  Lily turned, and for a second Regan thought she saw a hint of worry cross her pale blue eyes, but as quickly as it was there, it vanished. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  The two women stood in the open doorway. Lily leaned in and quickly kissed Regan on the lips before stepping back. “Will you be in for breakfast tomorrow?”

  Regan shrugged, the energy from earlier gone. “Probably. The dining options are limited.”

  Lily hesitated and then nodded. “See you then.”

  “Bye.” Regan walked back to her van, feelings of disappointment and confusion swirling in her.

  It was after seven. The sky was dark, except for the moon that hung low in the eastern sky. Regan drove back toward Howell, irritated and hurt by her conversation with Lily. She knew it was foolish to expect a woman she hardly knew to trigger a family feud on her behalf. I’m going to be gone in a month. Did I really think she would risk her relationship with her brother for me?

  Regan wiped at her tear streaked face with the back of her hand. No, but I wanted to matter enough to her that she would. She rolled her eyes at how pathetic she was, hating herself for becoming attached to Lily so quickly. You’re lonely and beyond tragic, Andrews. Get over it.

  Pushing the van’s accelerator closer to the floor, Regan sped toward Howell, resolved to keep her head down and her heart protected until she could get back to her real life.

  ***

  It had been over a week since Regan had talked to Lily. The morning after Lily’s decidedly lackluster
response to her brother breaking into Regan’s room, Regan had gone to Hobb’s Market and stocked up on a variety of cereals, protein bars and sandwich fixings. She had resolved to minimize her interactions with Lily at the restaurant, and avoid her brother altogether.

  Standing in the observatory’s small break room, Regan rubbed the back of her neck as she poured a third cup of coffee. Glancing up at the digital clock hanging on the wall, the bright red numbers told her it was after one in the morning.

  Her mind felt sluggish, and she had been trying to calculate an adjustment to the facility’s low resolution mass spectrograph for over an hour. Returning to her desk, she took a drink of the bitter coffee and cringed, missing her French press back in Howell.

  Looking at her scribblings from earlier, Regan began entering in a series of formulas to adjust the mass defect value of the spectrograph.

  “Don’t forget to show your work.” Jason’s amused voice broke through Regan’s thin thread of concentration.

  Looking up, the dazed woman rubbed her eyes. “That’s pretty unlikely tonight.” She leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms over her head.

  “All kidding aside, what’s up?” Jason pulled a chair over, and sat down.

  “I’m having resolution issues with the spectrograph, and I think it’s a calculation issue with the atmospheric height measurements.” Regan picked up her pencil and began jotting down formulas on a legal pad.

  The man laughed. “I was only kidding about showing your work.”

  Shrugging, Regan tossed the pencil down. “There’s no point anyway. I’m fried.”

  Jason nodded. “I’ve noticed you’ve been coming in earlier - staying later.”

  Smirking, Regan looked at him. “Then so have you.”

  “Yeah, but I’m ridiculously dedicated.” Her co-worker grinned broadly. “You always struck me as someone with a life.”

  Shaking her head, Regan rested her elbow on the desk. “Not in this neck of the woods, my friend. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of f-ing nowhere.”

  “A hazard of the trade.”

  “Yeah.” Regan turned her attention back to her laptop.

  Jason stood up, and then hesitated before moving the chair back. “I wonder if a night out wouldn’t do you some good?”

  Regan glanced up, and seeing the man chewing nervously on his lower lip, felt a rush of embarrassment on both their parts. “Oh.” She closed the screen on her laptop, and gave her anxious colleague her undivided attention.

  “Maybe a road trip into Marfa, or even Alpine? They have an independent baseball team that isn’t half bad. We could catch a game.” A slight smile found Jason’s lips as he looked hopefully at Regan.

  Over the years, Regan had managed to gently disappoint several men with ambitions to date her, but Jason was the first colleague. The situation was even more risky since she had another three weeks working in proximity to him.

  “Were you thinking a date or a friendly outing?” Regan had found getting straight to the point was best, and saved everyone confusion and heartache.

  Jason’s eyes widened. “A date?”

  Regan couldn’t help but smile at the man’s nervousness. She had been in his position many times when trying to work up the courage to ask a woman out. “I’m gay, so a friendly outing would be better for both of us.” She kept her tone light as she didn’t want Jason feeling uncomfortable. “Is that cool?”

  There were several awkward seconds as Jason looked blankly at Regan. She had seen that look before. It was laden with self-doubt and confusion. He was more than likely wondering how he missed the fact she was a lesbian, and how he could be attracted to her.

  “Friendly is good too. Not great, but good.” Jason smiled.

  Regan nodded, confident any serious uncomfortableness had been avoided. “When’s the next game?”

  “I’ll go check the schedule right now, and we can set something up.” He slid the chair back under the adjacent desk and hurried from the room.

  Regan smiled. She had grown to like Jason over the past month. He was always a good conversationalist, and a pleasant distraction from the drudgery of research. In spite of the rather crappy week, she was looking forward to the change of pace and scenery.

  ***

  The moon was full as Regan drove from the observatory back toward Howell. Jason and she had met there, gone to Alpine to see a very spirited game of baseball, and eaten their weight in hot dogs. As evenings went, this one hadn’t sucked.

  She wasn’t tired at all, and knew the supply of books and magazines she had brought along with her was running low. The thought had occurred to her to stay at the observatory and work, but her energy felt more social than academic.

  One possibility kept creeping into her head. Her route took her past Lily’s house, and she could see if the woman was home. They hadn’t parted on bad terms necessarily, just no terms really. The time and distance had lessened the sting of Lily’s behavior, and also given Regan some perspective.

  She and the woman were friendly and clearly attracted to each other, but it wasn’t anything serious or long term. Lily didn’t owe Regan anything, and she had said she would talk to Trent about the intrusion. Since then, Regan hadn’t even seen the man around town, much less in her room.

  Regan retrieved her cell phone from the passenger seat. She wanted to call Lily rather than just show up unannounced on her door step.

  “Damn.” Regan tossed the phone back into the seat. As usual, she didn’t have a signal, and was now faced with a dilemma. She wanted to see Lily, but didn’t want to make the woman uncomfortable by just showing up.

  Deciding worst case, Lily would ask her to leave, Regan slowed the van down. Turning onto the narrow road, she followed it back to Lily’s house. The woman’s truck was parked next to the guest house. Scanning the darkness, Regan didn’t see any other vehicles.

  Turning the van off, Regan walked up the stone path to the front door. Knocking, she stepped back, sliding her hands into the pockets of her khaki shorts. After a minute, she knocked again. There was no answer, but the sound of grinding metal came from the side of the house.

  Worried Lily had fallen, or someone was trying to get into her house, Regan followed the lighted path around the house. Two wooden cellar doors jutted out from the side of the house, with a thick metal rope chain wrapped around the door handles. Lifting the lock that secured the chain, Regan was confident no one was getting in the house through the cellar.

  As she turned to walk back toward her van, the sound of someone struggling from the basement reached her. Stopping, she turned back toward the cellar doors. “Lily?” Turning her head to the side, she listened carefully, but the noise had stopped.

  Crouching next to the doors, Regan knocked on the thick pine boards. “Is someone there?”

  After several seconds of silence, Regan heard the unmistakable sound of a woman crying. Standing, she ran around to the front of the house and toward her van. Her adrenaline was surging, causing her hand to shake as she reached for the crowbar in the back of her van.

  A minute later, Regan was kneeling next to the cellar doors, and having wedged the crowbar between the padlock and the doors’ metal handle, was pushing with all her strength to dislodge the lock. The lock didn’t give, but the wood under one of the metal handles splintered, and Regan was able to pry it free of the door.

  Pulling the door open, the scent of wet wood, sweat, and musk wafted over her. It reminded her of the Austin zoo on a hot July morning. Crowbar in hand, Regan descended the stairs, guided by a faint light coming from a far corner of the cellar.

  The walls of the room were limestone, the floor was just bare packed earth, and the ceiling low, giving the space a cave feel. Rounding the corner of a wall she assumed led to the stairs, Regan stopped.

  Her eyes narrowed in disbelief as her brain struggled to process what she was seeing. A small cell had been constructed in the furthest corner of the basement. Thick metal bars
ran the length of an opening that had been carved out of the rock wall. Curled up at the back of the cell was a naked, trembling Lily.

  “Lily?” Regan took a tentative step toward the woman.

  Lily’s head shot up, her short hair matted to her head with a sweat that coated her entire body. “Regan?”

  The woman got to her knees, and crawled toward the metal bars as Regan rushed toward her. “What the hell is happening?” Regan began scanning the cage for a latch or lock to release the woman.

  Lily looked over Regan’s shoulder at the open cellar door. The moonlight was dimly lighting the wooden stairs. “You need to leave.”

  “Screw that. I need to get you out of here.” Regan found the hinges of the cell door, and wedged the crowbar into the small crease.

  “Stop!” Lily’s voice verged on a growl. “Leave me. Please!”

  A chill ran up Regan’s spine. Lily’s voice was raw and guttural. “Why are you in there?”

  Shaking her head, the woman slid toward the back of the cage. “It doesn’t matter. Just go.”

  Regan gasped. In the darkness of the cage, Lily’s blue eyes had begun to glow an iridescent yellow. “Lily, I -”

  Before Regan could process what was happening, Lily lunged toward the bars of the cage. Her jaw was elongated as the teeth in her mouth appeared to be multiplying. Her tan skin looked red and flushed as the muscles under it shifted and moved before Regan’s stunned eyes.

  “Leave!” The growl of Lily’s command filled the cellar, and instinct took over for Regan. Sprinting up the stairs, she practically jumped into the driver’s seat of her van, and sent dirt and gravel flying as she sped away from the house.

  The jarring from the van hitting the metal cattle guard near the main road brought Regan back to reality. The van skidded as she steered it onto the blacktop, and toward Howell.

  Regan’s hands were still trembling as she struggled to get the key into the store’s lock. Her knees felt unhinged as she ran up the stairs to her room, being sure to lock both the downstairs and upstairs doors behind her.