“It’s okay, sis. I’m rooting for you and Sam.”
I let out a laugh that felt like the weight of the universe had lifted off my shoulders. “Only you would.”
“Look, it’s weird. I know. But you can’t help who you love.”
“I’m not in love with Sam,” I was quick to add.
She bobbed her head in patronizing fashion. “We were brought up to hate vampires. They have no souls—Dad taught us that. But after meeting Sam and the other military vamps… they’re not evil like the ones you and I have come to know. Which is why we should consider talking to Steven Mason. We can help to rid the planet of the evil ones.”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
The light breeze ruffled her long brown hair. “I get that Rianne wants to join the military. I’m all for her doing what she wants, and I want you to be happy as well. But I saw how you looked at Sam after everything went down with Roman. You were also happy when you talked to Rianne and me about what had happened between him and you. Frankly, I’ve never seen you glow over a guy.”
I snorted. “Glow, huh? The sex was amazing. I won’t lie. But that’s all it would ever be with Sam and me. I’m not going back, Jordyn. I can’t and won’t lose myself like I did.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I go, then?” Jordyn asked in a hesitant tone.
I studied my sister, who resembled our mom with a button nose and heart-shaped lips. “If I recall, you mentioned something about wanting to bed a vampire. Is that the real reason?”
A hawk flew over the firepit, landing on the wooden T that my uncles had built to string up vampires.
She swiped a hand over Yankee’s mane. “I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t want to experience what it’s like to have sex with one of them, but it’s not about that. It’s about protecting humans, which is what our family stands for. If I’m not mistaken, that’s your moral code as well. I mean, if you want to be a cop, that means you want to protect. So let’s put our skills to use.”
I heard what she was saying. I wholeheartedly agreed about protecting humanity. “I don’t know. I’m afraid, actually.”
“Layla Aberdeen, afraid? Nonsense. You’re the toughest woman I know. You would die for Rianne and me. What has you spooked?”
“What if I revert to the crazed animal I turned into when I was around Sam? I don’t want to get like that. I felt like I didn’t have any control.”
She laughed and snorted at the same time. “Says the woman who called out Sam’s name in her sleep the other night.”
“What?” My jaw practically hit Poncho.
“Sounded like you were having a pretty intimate dream too.” She waggled her eyebrows.
I shouldn’t have been embarrassed, but heat pinched my cheeks hard. Then something else whacked me upside the head. If I dreamed about him, did he have the same dream, as he had when I'd been sleeping in the women’s barracks?
She squinted and twisted her lips, holding back a grin.
I dug my heels into Poncho. “Let’s go.” Talking about Sam, vampires, and watching the hawk study the pit below him was making me want to hurl.
We headed back toward the ranch in silence, lost in our own thoughts. And I couldn’t shake the thought that maybe Sam had had the same dream as me.
About half a mile in, I asked, “Have you seen my phone?”
“So you can call Sam,” she teased in a playful tone.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m worried. What if Uncle Jack has my phone? If Sam’s been texting…” I didn’t want to think of the consequences, especially if Sam did experience my dream with me or was dropping comments about our steamy night together. Then my vision blurred for a split second. “Jordyn, did you dispose of the pregnancy test?” I was sure she had.
“Whoa. Where did that come from? Of course. But what does it matter? The result was negative.”
The notion that one of us could be pregnant might not sit well with our family. Then again, they shouldn’t care. We were old enough to start families. “True, but I just don’t want to answer more questions,” I said.
“Surely, they know we couldn’t get pregnant by a vampire, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my gloved hand. The cold air always made my nose run. “You’re right, we can’t, but I still don’t want to hear their opinions and all that.” Noah would have a field day, for sure.
Another round of silence followed us until I said, “I miss Mom. I would give anything to have her here right now.” She’d been wise beyond her forty years. She knew how to calm me and make me feel like I could conquer the world.
