Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“My mother was twenty-two when I was born,” I corrected, looking over at her.
“Old lady,” she joked.
“She was married before my father,” I explained, something inside me settling at the surprisingly normal conversation we were having. No sniping. No misunderstandings. “And she had two daughters.”
“Oh,” Reese murmured, her face falling. “What happened?”
“The war,” I replied quietly. We’d only ever heard bits and pieces of what our mother’s life had been like before she’d met Erik Boucher. “Her husband was a soldier. My sisters died of typhoid.”
“Damn,” Reese whispered. “Your poor mother. When did she meet your dad?”
“After,” I replied. “He fought for the Union—”
“Hell yeah, he did,” Reese enthused, making me smile. “I knew I liked that guy.”
“He’ll be so glad,” I joked. “He was in her town buying a horse or something. The story changes each time he tells it, but the result was that he saw my mother gardening out in front of her little house and knew instantly that she was his.”
“Must’ve been a shock for her, though,” Reese mused.
“You should ask her about it,” I offered. “I think she’s downplayed that part for us.”
“Aw,” Reese replied. “She wanted you to be under the illusion that your mates would jump for joy when you found them.”
“Something like that, I’m sure,” I agreed.
“Sorry, not sorry to disappoint,” she quipped.
It took me a moment before I could think of something to say that wouldn’t make her angry. If I told her she hadn’t disappointed me, we’d both know I was lying. If I confirmed that she had, it would be like rubbing salt in the wound.
“I’m sure I’m not your first choice,” I said finally.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said almost breezily. “If you kept your mouth shut, I’d like you just fine.”
I let out an oof in mock pain, and she chuckled.
“You haven’t been so bad for the last fifteen minutes,” she said slyly. “Keep up the good work.”
“No promises,” I replied as we turned onto the driveway.
My parents were in patio chairs on the front deck as we pulled into the garage.
“Shit, I thought they’d be asleep,” Reese grumbled, sitting up straighter.
“They stay up late,” I replied, shutting the car off. “It made it impossible to sneak out.”
“What was there to do in the eighteen-seventies anyway?” she asked snarkily.
“There were cows to be tipped back then, too,” I replied.
“Are you serious?” She stared in disbelief.
“No, I’m not serious. We lived in the city. There were prostitutes and gambling halls.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You better not have given me syphilis. I know all about those turn of the century sexually transmitted diseases.”
“I’m going to ignore that you know an obscure fact about prostitutes a hundred and fifty years ago.” She glared. “And tell you that Vampires can’t catch human infections.”
“Thank God for small mercies,” she grumbled as she threw open the door and climbed out.
I stopped her at the hood of the car and pulled the duffel bag from her hands.
“My father will punch me again if he sees you carrying your own bag,” I told her as she opened her mouth to protest. “And since sneaking inside is impossible, let’s get this over with.”
“He punched you?” she asked, a smile playing on her lips as I tugged her toward the garage door.
“Oh, so you didn’t hear that part, huh? Figures.”
“Actually, I did,” she replied smugly. “But it’s nice to get confirmation that it wasn’t just wishful thinking. Do we really have to go say hi to your parents?”
I stopped short in the driveway. “I should’ve told you earlier,” I murmured, leaning down to speak in her ear. “But Vampire hearing is very sensitive. They can hear pretty much anything you say in or around the house.”
Reese choked and started to sputter.
“Even in your room?” she hissed.
My eyes widened in horror. “No, absolutely not. The apartments are about as soundproof as they can get. Someone would have to be outside the door for anyone to hear what was happening inside.”
“Oh, thank God,” Reese blurted.
My father’s laughter drifted toward us.
“They just heard us, didn’t they?” Reese asked, her head dropping in defeat.
“Unfortunately.”
Reese stood with her eyes closed for another moment, then jerked her head as they snapped open and started marching forward, towing me along behind her.
“This is a surprise,” my mom called happily as they came into view.
“Your son is a pain in my ass, but I’ve agreed to stay close to him so as to not burn alive,” Reese announced.
“Logical,” my dad replied.
“I thought so.”
He looked at me. “You’ve come to your senses.”
“He didn’t really have a choice,” Reese answered for me. “He can’t seem to stay away from me either.”
“As it should be,” my mom sniffed.
“That remains to be seen,” Reese replied. “If I murder him in his bed, I hope you won’t hold it against me.”