MY HYBRID LOVER

Anna bolted upward, clutching the patchwork quilt to her chest. Shudders wracked her body as she gulped in deep breaths .Shudders wracked her body as she gulped in deep breaths. She buried her face into the old familiar blanket, reaching for any kind of comfort. The last wispy layers of the nightmare faded, but her skin crawled with residual fear.

She slept on a too-soft mattress that occupied an eleborate bronze frame. Across from he bed , a white marble hearth hoised a low-burning fire. She glanced at the rose - covered wallpaper and elehant mahogany trim frowned . Where the heck-oh yeah. Silver Creek. Cripes. She took aa deep breath to still the poundng of her heart.A terrible ringing thrummed in her head. She pressed her palms against her ears , but the unceasing balls won't stop. She pulled away her hands , realizing with shaky chagrin that the thrill of the phone had woken her.

She picked up the receiver .

''Hello?'' Her grandmother's gravelly voice pierced the static -filled line.

Anna blew out a relieved breath. Gran's voice had comforted her on nights long ago when childhood monsters had haunted her dreams. But her grandmother no longer held sway over Anna's demons . She knew the truth ;monsters were real. Some were so evil , so vile , they could never be vanquished , and the ugly memeories they created could never be purged.

''Anna?You there?''

''Yeah,'' She grabbed the clock off the nightstand and groaned . Damn she'd only been out twenty minutes- if she restless fera-filled journey into dreamland could be considered sleep.''Jeez Gran.It's clearly midnight.''

''Midnight?So what ?''

Anna rolled her eyes . Her grandmother's motto should have been.''Screw propriety.'' When she figures something needed to be done, she didn't wait for the so called .''right moments.''

According to the old woman , there was doing it or not doing it .Hope Adams age 76 , was a lot like an old west Yoda.

''I'm staying in Rura until the end of the week.''

''Gran, You're already supposed to be here.''

''You ready to talk about it yet?"

No.Never .

Stop asking

She bit her lip to keep the words from spiling out. Everyday for the last three months Gran had asked the same question . Dread curled through Anna, Stabbing at her conscience like hot knives , and seeping into the raw wounds left by the guilt and self -damnation.

Anna stared at her red strands of hair draping her nightshirt . She took a curl and looped it around a finger .I managed to pull the sheets off the tables and inventory the bar. We're going to need some more rum.- lasts year it seemed like everyone wanted Long Island Teas,'' ''Its only february. We don't open until April.'' Gran's voice was soft reproaching .''How long do you plan to run away from your problems ?''

''I was thinking along the lines of forever .''She tugged on the coiled lock of hair .''I cant get this place ready by myself.''

''We have plenty of time to bring the ole girl back to life.''Her grandmother paused .''Why do you sound skittish? you usually like being alone.''

Anna settled against the pillows , released the trapped ringlet , and rubbed her left temple.''It's scary here at night.''

Her grandmother chuckled .''There isn't a soul there who would hurt you. Even the ghosts are friendly.''

The line clicked then the dial tone buzzed in her ear . Gran never said good bye. As Anna hung up the phone , she shivered .She couldnt possibly close her eyes now. The fire in her hearth crackled , reminding her that there wasn't any more wood in the bedroom .The flames sputtered , allowing enough light fo shadows to creep around the room. She sighed. the wood was stored outside in the shed, which meant she'd have to tramp around in the cold desert air.

Goosebumps pimples her arms at the mere thought of leaving the bedroom. On top of the impeding storm and bitter cold, the lights in the outside hall, stairs, and bar had gone out earlier in the evening . Another electrical problem that would cost a fortune to fix . Last time she checked , only the lights in the kitchen worked.

The nightmare, the one she'd been unable to escape, coupled with Gran's remindeers of ghosts, made her feel particularly vulnerable. She kicked aside the quilts , Uncovering a stephen King novel;The Star. She picked it up and shook her head at her own foolishness.

''That's what you get,''She muttered as she dropped the book and pushed the quilt off her,''For reading a scary story while stuck in a gost town.''

She sighed . Time to go downstairs and grab the damn firewood ....and raid her stash of Hershey's Kisses from the kitchen freezer. cHocolate. Now there was suitable motivation to get her ass out of hed.

Anna pulled her pink bunnyslipperes from underneath the bed then she reached inside the nightstand's drawer and grabbed the flashlight .As she walked to the door , the bunnies 'fuzzy ears flopped back and forth, tickling her ankles. Just as her hand touched the cold brass door knob she heard a groan, a acreak and an 'oooooooooooh'

Her hand clenched this knob , but she couldnt find the courage to twist it. She debated diving under the covers to hide until morning came and sunshine swept away all the shadows.

A storm had been brewing all day and was still threatening to unleash its fury. In an old building like this, creepy noises were common and made worse by the fierce wind and ominous thunder .She just hoped it wouldn't turn into a snowstorm.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. She stepped onto the landing , stopping when cold uneasiness pooled in her stomach .She touched the smooth wooden railing with her fingertips and looked down . The only discernable light was the moon shining through the big square windows. She nibbled her lower lip as she glanced to the blackness waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Her grandmother loved to tell the tragic story of the first saloon owner's murdered daughter , and how her ghost now haunted the upper floor .As a physchic , Anna accepted many wierd things about life .After all, she was aware of shifters , and one bear shifter in particular .James.. Former handsome stubborn partner. She missed his face , damn it. But the only way for her to protect him was to stay away from him .As long as they were apart , he would live. She knew that as the truth because ever since she'd walked away from him . she stopped having all omnious visions about his death .And if she knew one thing about her gift, It was to head it's warnings .She knew James wouldn't as a bear shifter, he thought himself damned near untouchable .

Yep. I'd rather deal with the ghost.

After a short debate with her irrational fear, she decided chocolate was worth facing the dark. Hurrying wasn't an option with her unwieldy slippers flopping around , But at least her feet were toasty -warm..

Gusting high winds lashed at the building , the windows rattled and shook.

Letting out a startled scream .Anna nearly turned around and fled to the safety of her room. She took severeal dep braeaths until she calmed herself and shored up her courage. She pointed the flashlight at the sairs .Chocolate awaits remember?

James finally found the town of Silver Creek ,Nevada.He'd passed Virginia City five miles back- which felt more like a ahundred in the steep ,winding mountain roads .He checked the map spread on the passenger seat of the jeep .Thhis had to be the place,

The ghost town , a summertime tourist attraction ,wasn't much to look at .Six buildings , two tall, three squat, and one crumbling , leaned against each other like drunken soldiers trying to stand at attention.

The sun had set about half an hour before the dusk swirled dancing to the brewing storm's ominous tune.

Yellow light flickered in an upstairs window of the structure second from the left in the misshapen row of derelict buildings .James resisted shuddering .He stayed in the Jeep ,procrastinating the inevitable as he watched the shadowry movements in the distant window.

A blustery gale roared suddenly. viciously, Startling Jake out of his thoughts .Thunder rumbled.

Seconds later , lightning cracked open the dark, rolling clouds .

Goddamn it. He didn't want to come to her like this. When she'd walked out, he'd been gut -punched . He'd been shocked and angry .He felt rejected as hell. Three months he'd been without Anna and it sucked the life out of him.

Noe here he was , not woo her back , but to ask for her help . He handn't invilved his brothers in this situation , because they were off doing married couple shit 'He knew hey'd drop everything if he asked , and that's why he didn't ask .They deserved to have personal lives.

James griped the steering wheel , shored up his courage , and drove the jeep to the Silver Creek Saloon and hotel and parked nest to Anna's white Honda.

Reluctance clawed at him .He had the same heavy feeling he'd experienced when he hadn't gotten the weakly check in from Donna. Four moths ago , Pearson security had rescued Donna and her young son from a domestic violence situation nd relocated them. One month before Anna left him.

Damn it .

He got out of the jeep and took the tree rickety steps to the plank wood street infront of the saloon - hotel .Just as his boots thudded into the timber , the skies opened and rain poured down.

The knob rattled as he opened the creaking door .For the thousandth time, he wondered why Anna had chosen this dilapitated old plac for a retreat. Musty smells of dust and disuse assailed his nostrils. The door clicked shut behind him . She'd talked about this place and about her grandmother.

He'd met Gran a atime or two- the old lady was a real hoot- through he'd never been to Silver City 'It was one of the things that he and Anna had said they'd do- and never did.