I’m not usually so quick to trust. Especially when my children are involved. I wonder what it is about Ned that has won me over so quickly?
There’s something about him. An unspoken understanding, maybe, a quiet acknowledgment of pain. It’s as though he carries his own scars, hidden just beneath the surface, and in that, there’s an odd comfort. I don’t feel judged, and I don’t feel pitied. For the first time in a long while, I don’t feel like I’m drowning alone.
I step into my office and let the door click softly shut behind me. Whatever it is about Ned, I’m glad for it. I’m looking forward to having him in our lives, and it feels damn nice to have something to feel hopeful about.
For once, the future is looking a little brighter. I can’t wait.
Chapter three
Ned
“You were paid to do a job, so man up, have some pride and bloody well do it properly!” I snap.
The plumber is staring at me in horror, but I don’t give a shit. If he had done what he was supposed to, I wouldn’t need to be having words. And I don’t think he is being incompetent, which would be somewhat forgivable. He is just downright frigging lazy and thought he could get away with it.
He opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t want to hear any of his excuses. So I continue with my tirade. As I’m doing so, the front door opens. Morgan is home.
My words falter, but a human would not have heard him. So I gamely continue on. Even though I’m no longer paying attention to the workshy workman. All my focus is on the sound of soft footsteps jogging up the stairs. Every evening for the whole week, it has been the same. Morgan comes home and goes straight up to see his kids. I don’t think it is because he doesn’t trust me. He is simply a man who loves his kids and misses them when he has to spend the day away from them.
Soft footsteps come back down the stairs. The kids are asleep. He has given each of them a forehead kiss and now he is coming to see what all the commotion is about.
But he is being awfully quiet. A human still would not have heard him. So I have to keep on being my true grumpy self. Damn it! Up to now, I’ve been on my very best behavior. Morgan thinks I’m charming and sweet.
“Everything alright?” asks Morgan from behind me.
My stomach does something strange. He didn’t spy on me. He announced his presence. He had one second to see me arguing with the plumber and he immediately took my side.
“Everything is fine!”
Crap. That came out harsher than I intended. I meant to reassure him that I had it all under control, but now I just sound like a grumpy asshole.
“George here was just leaving, but he is coming back first thing in the morning to redo his fix on the leak.”
George hastily agrees to this plan and then scurries away as if the hounds of hell are nipping at his ass.
I turn to face Morgan and find him regarding me with a wry smile. I swallow uneasily. Not only was I a bad tempered shit, it was to someone who is twice my size and appears to be twice my age. It’s such a strange disconnect. Because forty-year-olds look like babies to me, and I could snap any human like a twig.
But to mundanes, I still look like a young man. A short, slender one. They see a twink. Not a ninety-nine-year-old man who fought in the war and feels older than dirt.
“Should have guessed you were a firecracker,” says Morgan with a soft, tender smile.
My heart beats. Gosh. I may be an old man, but being a vampire has certainly given me the libido of a teenager. I’m not at all immune to tall, dark and handsome men smiling at me.
“Thanks for dealing with that for me. It’s not at all in the job description, so I really appreciate it.”
I nod. “No problem.”
I hate that he has brought up that he sees me as just his employee, but there is nothing I can do about that. It is the truth, after all.
He hesitates for a moment, and I wait with bated breath.
“Would you like a drink?”
Oh heaven help me. The answer should be no. I need to say no. I have to flee.
“That sounds great!” I say.
Damnit! Where is my backbone? My will power? Why oh why am I so flipping weak and feeble? Spending time with Morgan is a terrible idea. But I am powerless to resist. So I follow him meekly to his study.
