Okay, TMI. But still, gomom.
“The next day he wasdeployed and it was the perfect time to make the break. I felt so free, so gladto be out of that destructive relationship. Of course, in an ironic twist offate, it was that very night I almost lost my life and all sense of freedomwith it.” Her brows drew together, a shine of tears at the memory glistened inher brown eyes. “On my way home from class I was attacked by a rogue vampire.Rogues were a little more common back then. The enforcers weren’t quite asconcerned about public opinion.”
Even though all of thishad happened a long time ago, my breath still caught in my throat. How was shestill alive?
“What happened?”
Those brown eyes softenedthen, as if some wonderful memory had superseded the horror of her attack.“Carter happened. He came out of nowhere and saved me. He fought the vampire,and despite killing him, ended up quite injured himself.” She brushed back hermess of hair. “I couldn’t leave him like that, no matter what the rules said,so I took him home and patched him up.”
Mom was a nurse, andwould never ignore the plea of an injured person. What was she talking aboutrules though?
“Carter was so different thanany man I ever knew. He was gentle with me. Caring.”
Shit, I was starting tosee where this was going.
She finished in her softvoice. “That night, passion was high, and, well, you know how these things go.”
TMI times two. Thanks,Mom.
“Carter and I wereinseparable for the next few days, and I realized that for the first time I wasin love. We’d already broken so many rules. What was one more?”
The pieces sort of cametogether for me then. What human could have fought off a vampire and just endedup injured? None. So that meant…
“Mom, are you saying…?”
She nodded. “Carter was avampire.”
Holy shit. Holy, holyshit. Well, at least I knew my father wasn’t Lucas. ‘Cause that would have beenwhacked out.
I heard a sniffle andknew this story hadn’t been easy for my mom to share with me. But I was reallyglad she had. I reached for her hand.
“It’s okay. I’m so sorryyou were with the Army asshole. I’m actually more grateful to know that myfather is a vampire than an abusive drunk.”
Tears sparkled in hereyes.
“When I fell pregnant, Iwasn’t sure whose it was. Carter wasn’t able to visit me often. He said someinternal politics were shaking up the Hive and he might need to go into hiding.He was special in the vampire world but he never told me why. Then I found outit was a girl and I knew you were John’s daughter. I told Carter and hepromised to be around either way, but then one day … I never heard from himagain. Days after this, I got a letter from the Army saying John died in battleand, well … I knew that it was just going to be you and me.”
One of those tears sliddown her cheek. Shit, this was heartbreaking. Carter was almost as big anasshole as Army dude. Who left a woman he loved, even if she was pregnant withanother guy’s baby? It wasn’t like she cheated on him or anything.
“He’s probably dead,” Istated.
But my mother shook herhead, her blond hair rippling in the firelights. “No.”
She said that with suchsurety. There was definitely something else she wasn’t telling me. Before Icould press her harder, she reached forward and tucked a chunk of my hairbehind my ear. For a second the closeness between us and the distinct anddelicious smell of her blood distracted me. She pressed that same hand to mycheek, and I knew she was about to drop something else big on me.
“Carter is not dead. Everyyear on Christmas, since your birth, I get ten thousand dollars wired to mybank account.”
I blinked a few times,trying to remember if there had ever been any indication of these secrets thatlittered my mom’s life. How could you know and love a person so much, and yetnot really know them at all?
“Forgive me for nottelling you all of this,” she choked out.
“Mom, of course I forgiveyou. It’s okay.” Yeah, it wasn’t really okay, she’d kind of effed-up my world,but there was no point mentioning that now. The past couldn’t be changed and Iwould never stop loving her. We hugged for a long time before I finally pulledaway. She looked into my eyes and chuckled.
“You have his eyes now.The crazy dancing green-silver.”
That was interesting. Iwas already curious about the difference in my eyes to the other ash, so muchmore silver. And she was right, this weird dancing green, like an arc ofelectricity, zagged through it.
My mom leaned in very close.“We could run away. I could give you blood. I don’t want you going through theculling.”
