exclaimed.
She yanked the truck door open. “I can do anything I need to do to protect my family.”
“He’s your son!” I cried.
Rosie slammed the truck door, but Jeff gave Jamie one last sad look. Quietly, he said, “Our son is dead.”
The engine roared to life, and the truck thundered back out of the driveway. I watched the taillights dim in the distance, mesmerized by the fading color. Jamie sat down on the porch steps with a thud. Although he was naturally quite pale, his face seemed ashy gray.
“Well, I don’t have to worry about school anymore,” he said. “Or baseball or college.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was a manly, though weary, gesture, and he might have pulled it off, if not for the faint bloody smudges of vampire tears around his eyes.
“It’s OK to be upset, Jamie. There’s nothing wrong with being hurt when your family rejects you. And it could have been worse. Gabriel’s family tied him to a tree and left him out for the sun.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“My mom keeps trying to force-feed me pot pie,” I added.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Have I not mentioned the ‘solid foods make us vomit’ thing?” I asked, cringing. “There’s a whole thingwith our enzymes—well, a lack of enzymes. The bottom line is that all human food will now taste like wet dirt and gym socks to you.”
“I’ve been too thirsty to think about it,” he said, his brow furrowed. “But now it makes a lot more sense that you don’t have any food in the house . . . Well, this day just keeps getting better and better.”
I smiled at him sympathetically. “It’s OK. You know, you’ve adjusted to this new life pretty well, considering. You haven’t had a big freak-out moment. I had several when I was first turned. You haven’t tried to run away. You haven’t tried to attack a bus full of nuns. As your sire, I’m very proud of you.”
He groaned. “What is your deal with the busload of nuns?”
“It’s an interesting visual,” I said, shrugging and pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we’ll go inside, and I’ll warm you up a bottle of blood.”
“What about your mom? Weren’t you supposed to go over there tonight?”
“I’ll call her and tell her I can’t make it. She’ll be fine.”
Unfortunately, Rosie Lanier managed to call my mother before I did. Mama took time out of her busy grieving schedule to call me and yell like I haven’t heard since that time she found the belly-button ring I’d sported for a grand total of three weeks in college.
“Oh, Jane, how could you?” Mama cried, so loudly that I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “You were doing so well, not eating people.”
“I didn’t eat him, Mama, I was saving his life. It was either this, or he was dead. It was the same sort of situation I was in, injured and not likely to get medical attention in time. Jamie asked me to turn him, just like I asked Gabriel to turn me. Would you have rather Gabriel just left me alone to die because he was afraid of upsetting you?”
“No, honey, you know that. It’s just—Oh, how am I going to face Rosie?” she fretted. “This is so much worse than that time Jamie threw that water pistol at your head and left you with that little divot in your eyebrow.”
The aforementioned dented eyebrow winged up to my hairline. I’d completely forgotten about that. Jamie’s mom had made him pay for my emergency-room deductible with his piggy-bank savings and birthday money. But he never pitched another tantrum while I was babysitting him. I was so bringing that up later.
Mama’s insistent voice jerked me out of my thoughts. “Aren’t you worried about what people will think?”
“When have I ever worried about what people will think?” I asked.
“That was before you owned a business that depended on the goodwill of your neighbors.”
Dang it, she made a good point. My vampire and werewolf customers wouldn’t care much
She yanked the truck door open. “I can do anything I need to do to protect my family.”
“He’s your son!” I cried.
Rosie slammed the truck door, but Jeff gave Jamie one last sad look. Quietly, he said, “Our son is dead.”
The engine roared to life, and the truck thundered back out of the driveway. I watched the taillights dim in the distance, mesmerized by the fading color. Jamie sat down on the porch steps with a thud. Although he was naturally quite pale, his face seemed ashy gray.
“Well, I don’t have to worry about school anymore,” he said. “Or baseball or college.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was a manly, though weary, gesture, and he might have pulled it off, if not for the faint bloody smudges of vampire tears around his eyes.
“It’s OK to be upset, Jamie. There’s nothing wrong with being hurt when your family rejects you. And it could have been worse. Gabriel’s family tied him to a tree and left him out for the sun.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“My mom keeps trying to force-feed me pot pie,” I added.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Have I not mentioned the ‘solid foods make us vomit’ thing?” I asked, cringing. “There’s a whole thingwith our enzymes—well, a lack of enzymes. The bottom line is that all human food will now taste like wet dirt and gym socks to you.”
“I’ve been too thirsty to think about it,” he said, his brow furrowed. “But now it makes a lot more sense that you don’t have any food in the house . . . Well, this day just keeps getting better and better.”
I smiled at him sympathetically. “It’s OK. You know, you’ve adjusted to this new life pretty well, considering. You haven’t had a big freak-out moment. I had several when I was first turned. You haven’t tried to run away. You haven’t tried to attack a bus full of nuns. As your sire, I’m very proud of you.”
He groaned. “What is your deal with the busload of nuns?”
“It’s an interesting visual,” I said, shrugging and pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we’ll go inside, and I’ll warm you up a bottle of blood.”
“What about your mom? Weren’t you supposed to go over there tonight?”
“I’ll call her and tell her I can’t make it. She’ll be fine.”
Unfortunately, Rosie Lanier managed to call my mother before I did. Mama took time out of her busy grieving schedule to call me and yell like I haven’t heard since that time she found the belly-button ring I’d sported for a grand total of three weeks in college.
“Oh, Jane, how could you?” Mama cried, so loudly that I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “You were doing so well, not eating people.”
“I didn’t eat him, Mama, I was saving his life. It was either this, or he was dead. It was the same sort of situation I was in, injured and not likely to get medical attention in time. Jamie asked me to turn him, just like I asked Gabriel to turn me. Would you have rather Gabriel just left me alone to die because he was afraid of upsetting you?”
“No, honey, you know that. It’s just—Oh, how am I going to face Rosie?” she fretted. “This is so much worse than that time Jamie threw that water pistol at your head and left you with that little divot in your eyebrow.”
The aforementioned dented eyebrow winged up to my hairline. I’d completely forgotten about that. Jamie’s mom had made him pay for my emergency-room deductible with his piggy-bank savings and birthday money. But he never pitched another tantrum while I was babysitting him. I was so bringing that up later.
Mama’s insistent voice jerked me out of my thoughts. “Aren’t you worried about what people will think?”
“When have I ever worried about what people will think?” I asked.
“That was before you owned a business that depended on the goodwill of your neighbors.”
Dang it, she made a good point. My vampire and werewolf customers wouldn’t care much
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