One Hell of a Coyote Problem

[Wil Marsh]

Greg's last job had been rough. He'd been tracking a possible vampire coven, chasing leads on dead cattle and mysterious animal attacks. It had started with a few news stories in Buffalo, New York, and he'd followed a trail through Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, all the way to a small town in Kansas. It had taken him a few weeks to take out the coven, and a few of the vamps had made a run for it. He hadn't had the energy or the motivation to go after them.

After sleeping most of the day away and showering, Greg left his motel room and drove around to get something to eat. He found a little bar and grill and pulled his Jeep into the parking lot. The sun was just starting to set.

A little while later, he sat alone at a table eating a turkey club sandwich and drinking a beer. There were a few people sitting at the bar talking to the bartender. He picked up snippets of conversation here and there. "...and the bastard never showed up. Can you believe the shit I put up with...? - having a baby! I can't believe I'm gonna be a granddad... - half my herd, gone. Like I have the money to deal with that. And they tell me it was a goddamn coyote..."

Greg laughed softly to himself. "Have to be a big coyote," he muttered, taking a swig of his beer.

Well, he thought, at least there are a few less 'coyotes' in this town.

And all it had cost him was quite a few nights of sleep and a few nasty cuts, one of which was prominantly displayed just above his left eyebrow. He shrugged off his brown jacket to reveal a faded black t-shirt over worn blue jeans. He'd thrown on anything before leaving the room. Right now he didn't care much about his appearance.

[missy]

Bella was tired from a long day and now she needed to rest. After driving around for a while she spotted a bar and pulled her truck into a empty parking spot. Bella had heard about the food in this place so she decided to try it out for herself.

As Bella walked in she looked around the place as she headed towards an empty table to sit down. After sitting down she sighed. "I am so tired right now." she said to herself. After ordering a burger and soda, Bella nodded to the waitress when she asked if that was all she wanted.

"One of these days I am going to take a vacation." she muttered to herself and grinned afterwards. She couldn't complain to much because in a way she liked her job.

[Wil Marsh]

Greg was halfway through his sandwich and working on his second beer when a pretty young woman walked in. She was tall, but not too tall. Long brown hair, nice figure. She passed him and sat alone a few tables away. He heard her order a burger and a soda and say something to the waitress about taking a vacation.

Amen to that, he thought. Greg would definitely try to take a few days off after what this job had put him through, but at least he'd lived through it.

She glanced up at him. He smiled slightly and gave her a nod before going on nibbling his sandwich. Normally he would've offered to buy her a drink, but he was too tired to make the effort. Besides, she'd probably assume he was trying to pick her up. Sometimes he just bought a lady a drink to be polite, but it wasn't always appreciated. He'd just leave it alone, finish his meal and let her do the same.

[missy]

Bella was enjoying her burger and soda when she got the feeling that someone was watching her so she looked up and seen some of the guys at the counter nod to her. Bella rolled her eyes and went back to trying to eat her food.

Bella should be used to people looking at her and giving her weird looks but she always just shrugged it off. She then looked over at the guy who was two seats over and smiled once again at him. "You look like you had a hard day." she said as she took a drink from her soda.

She finished her burger and pushed the plate back after tossing the napkin on the plate. "I don't think I could eat another bite." she said to herself as she looked up at the counter again and sighed.

[Wil Marsh]

As Greg took a sip of his beer, someone spoke.

"You look like you had a hard day."

He looked up at the pretty brunette he'd smiled at a moment ago. He nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he said.

She pushed her burger away and muttered something, looking over at the bar. Greg glanced over. A few of the guys kept staring at her. Not that he could blame them, she was gorgeous. But there was no need to be rude.

"You're not missin' much with those guys," he told her. "They're not very good conversationalists."

[missy]

Bella smiled as she shook her head. "Your job will get better." she told him as she watched him for a few seconds and then looked away.

"Yeah guys like them are not so nice to the ladies." Bella told him as she looked at the counter and then looked down at her soda. "They all look like they will treat a lady nice and then their not."

Bella looked over to where Greg was sitting and bit her lip. He was good looking and a very nice person. "Care to join me for a drink? I'll pay."

[Wil Marsh]

"You look like you had a hard day," the woman had said.
"Yeah," Greg had agreed. "I guess you could say that."
She smiled and shook her head. "Your job will get better," she said.

Not likely, he thought as he sipped his beer.

The woman looked away from him toward the guys at the bar. When Greg said she wasn't missing much, she agreed, saying that they all looked nice, but wouldn't treat a woman right. She sounded undoubtedly certain and Greg figured she might've been burned one too many times. That was a shame.

Greg nodded. "Yeah. Some people aren't what they seem," he said.

He continued eating, not really noticing the woman was studying him as he finished his sandwich.

"Care to join me for a drink?" she asked. "I'll pay."

Greg looked up, raising his dark brows in surprise. Women didn't usually buy him drinks. It was a nice change.

"Sure," he said.

He finished the last few sips of his beer in one large gulp before standing up and walking over to her table. He sat down in the seat across from her.

"I'm Greg," he said.

[missy]

Bella grinned as he sat down across from her and introudced himself. "Nice to meet you Greg." she told him. "I'm Bella."

"Some people aren't what they seem." he had said

"I know that people aren't what they seem." Bella told him as she watched him for a second or two.

When the waitress came and asked what she could get them to drink Bella told her to bring two beers. Bella then looked back to Greg with a smile. "So you hunting something big this time?" Bella asked

As she sat there she got the feeling that there was something different about Greg she just couldn't put her finger on it. It was like he had a dark side to him. Bella really didn't care about that. "He's still cute." she said to herself.

[Wil Marsh]

Greg sat down and introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you Greg," she said pleasantly. She said her name was Bella and added that she knew people weren't what they seemed.

He smiled. "I caught that," he said.

She ordered them two beers. He liked that she was assertive and independent. At least, she seemed that way to him.

When the waitress had left, Bella smiled at him. "So," she said, "you hunting something big this time?"

Greg raised his eyebrows. Occasionally he came across other hunters, and sometimes they knew he was on the job. But he didn't think Bella was a hunter.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

He supposed the big gash on his eyebrow didn't help, but most people - normal people, anyway - didn't assume a guy with a gash was a hunter.

[missy]

Bella looked at him with a raised eyebrow and grinned. "Let's just say I can see things and I seen you hunting someone or something." she told him just before the waitress came back with their drinks.

"I have a friend who was abused by a guy she thought she could trust." Bella told him with a sigh.

Bella looked at the big gash on his eyebrow and shook her head. "How many stiches did that gash take?" she asked as she took a drink of her beer.

[Wil Marsh]

"What makes you say that?" Greg had asked when Bella asked if he was hunting something big.

"Let's just say I can see things," she replied, "and I seen you hunting someone or something."

The waitress brought their drinks and Greg studied her as he sipped his beer.

"You see things, huh?" he said. "How's that treatin' ya?"

She asked him how many stitches the gash had taken.

"A few," he said. "I've had worse."

[missy]

"You see things, huh?" he said. "How's that treatin' ya?"

Bella looked at him when he asked her that. "Yes I see things and I have had my good days and I have had my bad days." she told him with a small grin.

"I know you have had worse than that one you have." she said to him as she took another drink from her beer.

Bella didn't like the way the guys at the counter were looking at her but she wouldn't say anything because she didn't want to cause an argument with them right now.

[Wil Marsh]

Bella told Greg she had good days and she had bad days and she said she knew he'd had worse than that gash.

He smiled. "Well, you just know everything, don't you?" he said.

He noticed she glanced at the guys at the bar. They didn't seem to be able to stop themselves from looking at her and muttering a few comments now and then. He wasn't sure if it bothered her or not.

He looked at her with his bright blue eyes. "So, what else do you know about me?" he asked.

[missy]

He smiled. "Well, you just know everything, don't you?" he said.

Bella laughed a bit and shook her head. "No I don't know everything." she told him with a grin

She could hear the guys at the bar talking again and she sighed. Those guys really needed to go home to their wives. "It seems that those guys can't take a hint." Bella says outloud.

She grinned at Greg again and put her finger to her chin to think. "What do you want me to know about you?" she asked as she held back a smile from him.

[Wil Marsh]

"Well, you just know everything, don't you?" Greg had said.
Bella had laughed. "No I don't know everything."

She sighed, looking at the guys at the bar. "It seems that those guys can't take a hint," she said.

Greg didn't bother looking back at them. "You shouldn't let it bother you," he said. "Guys like that are all talk. Just trying to look cool in front of their buddies."

He looked at her and said, "So, what else do you know about me?"

She smiled and thought about it. "What do you want me to know about you?" she asked.

If she was flirting, Greg didn't notice as he took a swig from his beer bottle. If it were up to him, she wouldn't know anything at all about him until he chose to share it, but that wasn't in the cards, it seemed. He'd come across her type before: psychics, mediums, fortune tellers. Some were fakes, just out to make a few bucks. But some were for real. Since Bella wasn't charging him and had offered to buy him a drink, he figured she was the real deal.

"I think we both know it doesn't really matter what I want you to know," he replied. "It seems like, for whatever reason, you know some things about me, which is weird," he admitted. "But, I'm not a liar, so I'm not worried. Just curious."