Chapter Fifty-seven

Standing in the hall, Bram worried his lip. She knew. *SHE KNEW.* She was being kind. Too kind. And too calm. He was afraid this was going to turn out badly. Every cell in his body was going into panic mode.

When the door opened, he couldn’t bring himself to look over at her. Instead, he stared at her door across the hall. “Alright. Let’s figure out those sleeping arrangements now.” She smiled up at him. “Have you thought where everyone should go?”

“Sure.” His eyes finally met hers. “The boys in Devon’s room, Gabe on the couch. Jennifer can take your bed and the girls in your room. You can share my bed like you did the other night.” If she was going to ignore the elephant in the room, he would too.

She looked at him, “I was going to suggest something close. Devon in your room with us, and then Gabe in Devon’s bed with the boys. That way, when I get up to start making breakfast for everyone, I won’t bother someone sleeping in the living room.”

“Are you afraid to be alone with me?” He couldn’t bring himself to look at her as he asked. So, instead, he studied his feet.

“No.” Her hand reached out, touching his arm. “We can leave Devon in bed and Gabe can sleep in the living room. I’m just not a very quiet baker. We have those fresh berries in the fridge and everything I need for muffins. I just wanted everyone to be able to sleep. It’s probably a pipe dream anyway. We have six kids under the age of seven in an apartment.”

“Did you know I’m afraid of being alone with you?” He hated himself for saying those words. They just slipped out.

“I didn’t.” Her hand slipped away from his arm as she moved to stand in front of him. “Why?” She asked, touching his chin, hoping he would look up at her.

“Because I want you so fucking bad.” His blue eyes met hers’.

“Did I lie to Jennifer when I told her we were safe?” There still wasn’t an ounce of fear in her voice.

“No.” He scowled at her. “I won’t let you be in a dangerous spot. It’s not every day I find someone who can defend me so passionately.” He half smiled at her.

“Then why are you afraid?” When her hands touched his chest, he thought he would melt and felt his resolve weakening.

“Because I used too much energy. I’m in a dangerous place right now.”

“But we can fix that?” She asked.

“Yes. But I need to feed.”

“Can you do that without killing someone?” She stepped into him, pulling his arms around her.

He took a deep breath. She wasn’t wearing any harsh perfumes or soaps. Her subtle fragrance was always enjoyable. “I’m afraid because if I can’t stop, I would hurt you.”

“Is it possible?” She asked, holding him close.

“Yes.” He answered. “But, maybe not with you.”

“Let’s not walk on eggshells all night Bram.” She sighed. “I trust your judgement. If you say no to me, that’s okay. But, I would be willing to let you.”

His head came up in a quick motion, looking at her in shock. “What?”

“You can feed off me. If that’s what you need, I can donate some blood to you. But I do want to stick around to help with the kids. So…” Her cheeks went red.

Bram shook his head. “Can we get the kids to bed?” He desperately needed to change the subject. The thought of feeding off her was terrifying and heavenly at the same time. “We can continue this conversation in the bedroom. Alone.”

“Yeah. Let’s go get the littles. I bet by the time we’re done Gabe and Jennifer will be out of the shower.” She turned, going to the living room. They were laying along the sofa and all of them were sleeping. “Oh. We need to get bedding from downstairs.”

Bram shook his head, waiving for her to follow him. He went into the laundry room that was down the hall between her room and Bram’s. There were cupboards in there she hadn’t gone through, but as he opened them, there were a bunch of blankets, sheets, and pillows. He started to pull them out, placing them on the washing machine. “How many do you think we need?”

“One to lay on the floor in each room. Then one to lay over the children. You grab two and do Devon’s room, I’ll set up the girls.” Bram nodded, and together they got everyone tucked in. They sat on the couch, waiting for the teenagers to get out of the shower. Pouring himself a cup of whiskey, he offered Izabella a glass of wine. She chose not to partake though. When Jennifer came out, she looked much better. Izabella brought her to the dinning room table where she had a medical kit out, waiting.

“You don’t have to do all this.” The girl said as Izabella prepped everything.

“Nonsense. You were bitten. Who know what those dirtbags could possibly have?”

“They’re vampires,” Bram said over his shoulder, “they don’t carry disease.”

“They could. And regardless, *she* can still get infected.” Izabella wasn’t about to hear otherwise. She cleaned the girl’s wounds, disinfecting what she could. “You can go to bed, Bram. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Maybe take a shower? By the time you’re out, I’ll be done.”

“I think I will.” Bram stood, heading toward the hall.

“Bram?” He turned, his blue eyes were tired, his face haggard. “Can we make a doctor’s appointment for Jennifer tomorrow? Do you think they’ll see her?”

“Uh, yeah. I’ll call my personal physician and have him come here tomorrow. He can look over all the children. He did this for me when I got Devon a year ago too. I can’t take them to the hospital until Gavin situates the documentation though. They’ll just take them away and send them back to the orphanage, since they’re going to be listed as runaways until I get finalization on everything.”

“That’s a paper trail that will come back on you though.” She looked over.

“It can’t be helped. I can’t just one day wiggle my nose and have an extra six kids as dependents. Trust me, Gavin knows his way around the ropes. He’ll take care of it.” He leaned against the wall, a motion she knew meant he wasn’t worried.

“We should invite Gavin and Tyler to dinner one night. That would be fun.”

“Gavin’s full blood. He can’t eat food. And if any of the kids has the slightest scratch, it will make him very uncomfortable.” Bram frowned. “Finish up. I’m tired.” He turned back around, disappearing down the hall.

“Oh.” Izabella’s eyes went wide, and she bounced her head back and forth muttering under her breath. “He says that like I should have some kind of clue how this all works.”

Jennifer laughed, earning a smile from Izabella. “You two are almost exactly what I thought a real mom and dad would be like.”

“Oh? Tell me more.” Izabella said, dressing the wounds. Jennifer would smell like anti-septic, and Izabella certainly wasn’t a nurse, but hoped she was doing this right.

“He could almost pass for the overprotective, over worked dad. And you compliment him by being the kind and caring mom.” She laughed, looking over at Izabella shyly with those beautiful golden eyes. “I’ve been part of the system since I was twelve. My parents died in a boating accident, and I’ve been alone since.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Jennifer. That couldn’t have been easy at that age. Though, I guess you’re right. I see it now that you said it.”

“You can call me Jen.” They sat quietly, smiling at each other as Izabella worked on covering her open wounds. “Gabe has a few too, should he come in and get them taken care of?”

“Yeah. Probably. Gabe, are you still awake?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He came to sit with them at the table, taking the chair on the other side of Izabella.

Once Izabella was finished up with Jen, she turned to Gabe. “Okay, lets see it?”

There were bite marks on his shoulders and cuts on his legs, but nothing as extensive as hers. “By the way, feel free to call me Iz or Izzy, if you want. Bram seems to like Iz, and Devon calls me Izzy. Bram will ultimately be the one who adopts you, if you choose to stay. Feel free to ask questions. I’m still figuring a lot of this out myself. But he is a good man. Don’t let tonight be what you judge him on.”

“Are you kidding? He came in and beat the shit out of every one of those guys. We’re alive because he came for us.” Izabella nodded, agreeing with Gabe.

“Please, you need to watch your mouth.” Izabella chided.

“Sorry. He and that other guy swore a lot. I thought it was okay.” Gabe looked at Jennifer.

Izabella finished dressing the cuts on his legs, frowning up at him. “I don’t like it though. Not in the house. Not around the children. If you’re out with the boys and they get rowdy, I can’t help that. But I don’t want the kids to pick it up. They still have school and everything else to get through. There’s a time and a place. Here isn’t it.”

“I’m sorry, Izzy.” Gabe said, looking up at her like he just got away with something.

“Apology accepted.” She said, clicking the medical box closed. “You go lay on the couch. If I wake you in the morning, I am sorry. But the littles will need to eat. Jen? Come with me. You’re going to take my bed.” Izabella stood, waiting for them to follow.

“Your bed?” Jen seemed surprised. “I can just sleep on the floor. This place is much better than the orphanage any day.”

“I have another bed I can go to. It’s not a problem. But I do need some sleep. I can’t let Devon and the other kids wake up without an adult to help round them up.” The teens nodded, both feeling much better. They were clean. They were patched up. And they both had more comfortable beds to sleep in comparatively. Izabella hugged Gabe and Jen both before disappearing to the end of the hall. The teens watched after her with bated breath.

Was she really okay with sleeping with a vampire?


***

**If you have enjoyed the story so far, please leave a comment. Let me know what you think. Tell me about a favorite part you've read, or let me know what parts you didn't like. I would love to see some discussion.**