“Twilight,” Billy murmured.
The room stilled. No one knew what to say for a long moment. Was it his way to help deal with what he had seen?
Mary patted his shoulder. “Twilightmight be a little old for you both.”
“I want to watch something about vampires.” His voice came out squeaky, as if he was on the verge of tears.
Josh and Georgie’s eyes darted to mine, filled with questions and concern. I grimaced and rubbed my forehead.
“Have you seenHotel Transylvania?” Georgie recovered and brightened her voice. Billy and Lottie shook their heads. “That’s a really good movie and has vampires in it. How about you finish up breakfast and we can go for a swim, then we can bake cake and cookies, have lunch, and all watch something together. Does that sound good?”
Billy scooped a big mouthful of pancake into his mouth. “Yeah.”
Lottie nodded shyly as she climbed out of the chair, carrying her plate and glass to the sink. Her elbow bumped the corner of the counter, and the plate and glass fell from her hands, smashing all over the floor. Sharp shards of porcelain and glass scattered everywhere.
She gasped, her big brown eyes filling with fear. She staggered back, about to step on a large slither of glass.
Josh sprang to his feet, but without using his vampire speed he wouldn’t reach her in time.
I cried, “Stay?—”
I didn’t finish my sentence before Karson swooped in out of nowhere and picked her up, settling her gently on the kitchen bench.
She scampered away until her back smacked into the wall, as far away from him as she could get. Her eyes glistened with fear, and her bottom lip trembled. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
Distress flickered over Karson’s face as he took her fear in. “It’s alright, Lottie, accidents happen,” he said gently, stepping back so she didn’t feel threatened.
To hear the most ruthless man in the world be so gentle, to see him so caring, my heart expanded against my ribcage. The world saw a figure he’d crafted himself to be, someone ruthless, someone lethal. It didn’t matter what anyone thought, it didn’t matter what I’d seen. At that thought, the blood-soaked images slipped behind my eyes, but I shoved them away before they threatened to destroy what was right in front of me. This was the man I fell in love with. The man I wanted to spend the rest of my life beside.
Billy sat in his chair, tense, his hands on the table as if he was on the verge of getting up and protecting his sister.
Josh placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. Stay here.”
Tears slid down Lottie’s face and her hands twisted in her nightie. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s just a plate.” Karson smiled softly. “We needed new ones anyway, didn’t we, Mary?”
“We sure did.” Mary smiled at her as she took a tissue out of a drawer and gave it to Lottie. “I’ve been wanting an excuse to get rid of those old things for a long time.” Lottie sniffed, clutching the tissue in one hand and wiping her nose with the back of her other hand.
“I have a few things I bought for you and Billy in the foyer,” Karson said. “How about I carry you out, Lottie, so you don’t cut your feet, and Josh could carry Billy. That way, we can get this all cleaned up. Would that be alright?”
Lottie blinked, then after a long pause, she sniffed and nodded. Karson moved to the edge of the bench and held his arms out. She shuffled toward him. He took her into his arms and carried her out.
Billy scowled at the thought of being carried, but he grabbed Lottie’s teddy and let Josh carry him.
We all walked to the edge of the door behind them.
Karson had two suitcases and four large bags on the floor, and he passed two to them each. The kids just stared at them as if they were strange creatures they had never seen before.
“Open them,” Karson said. “They are for you.”
Billy’s mouth hovered open. “Really?”
Karson nodded. “Unless Josh likes Superman, I’m pretty sure those two are yours.”
“I guess Superman is pretty cool,” Josh teased. “So, if you don’t want it …” He held his hand out, pretending he was about to take it.
Billy slapped the teddy on Lottie’s chest for her to hold and grinned as he shot forward.
