Thicker Than Water (The Briar Creek Vampires Book #2) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse by Jayme Morse Page A

Something about the
nod made her feel uneasy, but she couldn’t put her finger on
why.
    Lexi went upstairs. A few moments later, she
heard Violet and Tommy talking in hushed voices. She crouched about
halfway up the staircase and poked her head over the
railing.
    “Greg sounds really worried,” Violet
said.
    “Mrs. Lawrence has been sick for years, Violet.
We all know that. I don’t know why he’s getting so worried about it
now. They have plenty of time for her condition to
change.”
    “Tommy, I don’t think you understand the
seriousness of the situation.”
    “I understand just fine. Her blood is powerful
to us. I just don’t think we should go around doing something
drastic until we know for sure.”
    “But it’s perfect, Tommy. She won’t suspect a
thing.”
     
    ****

Chapter 9
     
    “I’m going to the homecoming dance,” Lexi said,
taking a sip of orange juice.
    “Homecoming?” Violet asked, turning around
quickly and nearly spilling the pot of coffee that she was holding.
Her face had twisted into an uneasy frown. Recovering, she said
enthusiastically, “How exciting! How are you going to pay for a
dress?”
    “Well, I do have some money from work,” Lexi
replied. “It’s not much, but I’m sure that I can buy a dress from
the clearance rack with it.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry Lexi,” Violet replied quietly.
“We used that money to help pay for your stay in the hospital.
Although, it only made a small dent in the bill. I don’t understand
why you felt the need to get in the car with that boy.”
Apologetically, she added, “I’m sure we will figure something out.
Don’t you already have a dress in your closet that you can wear to
the dance?”
    “Umm, I’ll have to look, I guess,” Lexi
replied, ignoring her aunt’s jab at Gabe and the dress. Her aunt
had whined about their financial problems long before the accident.
She was just using this as yet another excuse to be even more
stringent when it came to helping Lexi out with cash.
    “Come to think of it, Lexi, I don’t think that
I really want you going to the dance because --” Violet
began.
    “Ahem,” Tommy interrupted. “I don’t think it’s
fair to not let Lexi to go to the Homecoming dance. She goes to
Briar Creek High. It’s important for her to make friends and have a
social life. Going to the dance would be the perfect opportunity to
meet people.”
    “Well, I guess,” Violet stuttered.
    Tommy pulled his wallet out and handed Lexi a
thick wad of twenty dollar bills. “I think this will be enough to
cover the cost of the dress, but if you need more, just let me
know.”
    “Thanks,” Lexi replied, hesitantly taking the
money from him. She wasn’t sure why her uncle was being so nice to
her, but she knew it was all an act. It was probably his way to get
her to trust him – and that would never happen.
     
    *
     
    “What do you think of this one? Does it work
for someone who’s running for Homecoming queen?” Mary-Kate asked,
twirling in front of the mirror in a long midnight blue mermaid
dress. The sequins at the top of the dress accentuated her
cleavage, and the dress hugged her hips in all of the right
places.
    “It looks really pretty. You should definitely
get it,” Lexi replied. She felt a twinge of jealousy. Lexi always
wished that she could pull off the mermaid dress look, but it did
nothing for her own shapeless body.
    “Okay, I will. Your turn!” Mary-Kate said
excitedly, handing her a short red dress. Lexi didn’t think it was
going to look good on her and had tried to swap it for a longer
dress, but Mary-Kate had insisted that she try this one
on.
    Lexi stepped into the dressing room and
stripped off her clothes. She stepped into the red dress. As she
zipped the back of the dress, Lexi stared at herself in the
mirror.
    The sweetheart neckline gave her cleavage that
she didn’t even know she even had. The red fabric fell just above
the knees, accentuating her long legs. She was going to have