"All right, I'll call when we arrive."
Jackson smirked, "I like her, she's spunky."
Elisabeth rolled her eyes again. "You have no idea."
"So, you want to share what this is all about?"
"That was Samantha Russell. She is my best friend."
"I take it we're going on a road trip to… where?"
"New Orleans."
"Okay, and Samantha Russell can help explain things…why?"
"Because she is a witch."
"Wow, I've never met a witch before. Wait a minute. Samantha? Like Bewitched?"
"Jackson, whatever you do; do not make a joke about that. She hates it and will surely put a curse on you."
"What makes you think she can help?"
"If anyone can, she can."
"All right, I'll charter a plane for the morning."
Elisabeth pursed her lips. "Maybe I should go alone."
"No way. Bewitched wants to meet me, Ice Queen." She held her face in her hands and shook her head. Jackson pulled her in by her waist. "I really liked hearing you say you're in love with me."
"You already knew that."
"Yeah, but hearing you tell someone else felt different. He waved his hand in the air. "Like it's out there now."
She kissed him softly. "You are so romantic sometimes, it is panty dropping."
He pulled back with surprised amusement. "I think I can work with that."
Jackson chartered a Lear jet for 8:00 a.m. He doubted Samantha would have any information that would help, but felt they had nothing to lose and was eager to meet Elisabeth's best friend.
The foursome returned to the work at hand, although the levity of the day was gone. All were clearly preoccupied by the strange events. Jackson and Elisabeth worked on the pumpkins, mostly in silence. Elisabeth put her knife down and touched his hand. "I'm sorry my blood is toxic to you."
"Don't do that."
"What?"
"Blame yourself. You think everything wrong with us is your fault, and that is simply not true." Elisabeth picked up her knife and started carving again. Jackson could see her distress, so took the knife from her hand. "Let's go for a walk."
They strolled quietly for a while, until Jackson stopped to face her. "I have already told you that my inability to feed on you does not change how I feel. That is still true. I need you to believe me."
"I do believe you. I just feel terrible that you are giving up so much for me. It's not fair."
"It's not that big a deal."
"You say that now, but what about a year from now?"
"I will feel the same."
Elisabeth brought her hand to his cheek. "I want you to go out and hunt."