Even if his nights spent here had been more or less platonic.
No, not platonic. Definitely not. But we hadn’t had sex yet, which was fine by me. I was newly divorced and not in any hurry. At least that’s what I told myself whenever I found myself drooling over the gorgeous man.
I ran a quick blow-drying brush through my hair and slapped on some deodorant. There. That was good enough for around the house with Daniel here. I did take the time to change into more comfortable clothes, as well as grabbed an outfit to put by the door. I wanted to remember to take it back to Beth’s with me so I’d have emergency clothes for next time - there would always be a next time.
Twenty minutes later, I walked into an empty kitchen. “Henry?” I called to my brother, who was back engrossed in another game on his PlayStation in the living room. “Have you seen Daniel?”
“Back porch,” he muttered without looking away from the TV.
“Thanks, bro.” I noticed a plate of food beside him but didn’t think much of it until I stepped out onto the back porch to find a leftovers feast waiting on the table, all warmed up. “Hey,” I said appreciatively. “You cooked.”
Daniel snorted. “In a sense.” Most of the food was takeout, as that was how Henry, and I survived most days when I had to work. The rest was something or another Henry had made. He enjoyed cooking, but only when the mood struck him. “I man a mean microwave,” Daniel said.
“I like a man who can micro the waves.” What a lame joke, but bless him, Daniel laughed.
It was almost getting too cold for dinner on the back porch, but it had been an unseasonably warm day. It was nice to be out here as the sun sank in the horizon, catching the last of late autumn’s warmth, such as it was. “Thank you.” I gave Daniel a warm smile and plopped down to fill up a plate with orange chicken, shredded pork barbecue, and broccoli and cheese casserole.
“Well, we took care of the water nymph,” I said. “Stefano is happy, but it was a rough case.”
Daniel’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, I imagine it would be. Water nymphs are notoriously difficult.”
“That wasn’t even the worst part of my day,” I said after swallowing a bite of orange chicken. “I had a visitor by my car when I left Beth’s.”
Daniel caught my tone and straightened immediately. “Who? What happened?”
I sighed. “It was Bryan, Carol’s ex. The one who got away.” I took a big bite of barbecue, laughing internally at Daniel’s shocked expression.
Yeah, no surprise there. Daniel knew Bryan in high school. They didn't travel in the same social circles, because Daniel was more jockey, and Bryan was nerdier, but most of the people in a place this small knew each other in one way or another. He'd been aware that Carol had dated him, and after I explained it to him, aware of just how much his disappearing hurt Carol.
But it was more than that, Daniel had also been absolutely shocked when Bryan had showed up at my door three weeks ago. He wanted nothing to do with the guy, although he confessed that a lot of shifters naturally didn't like vampires. Even the mention of him made Daniel anxious, I could tell. He'd been hoping the guy was long gone by now. While I was sort of hoping he'd come back and give Carol at least a little closure after everything he'd done, and maybe me some too, after telling me I was in danger and then disappearing.
When his eyebrows were nearly touching his hairline, I took pity on him and set my fork down to explain. “So, a vampire named Quillan Turned Bryan into a vampire when he was pretty young. Just out of high school.”
Daniel nodded, seeming to have forgotten the food on his fork. “He looks older because vampires age until around middle age, then it slowswaydown.”
It was all I could do not to lean over and press a kiss to Daniel’s lips as he watched me with rapt attention. Rick had never treated me like this like he hung on my every word. It was a lovely feeling, especially because Daniel behaved this way whether I was telling him something important like I was now, or just telling him something silly and dumb. “So, Bryan left town when he became a vampire. He was afraid of hurting anyone and didn't really have anyone to talk to or ask questions to about what happened to him and how he could have any kind of a normal life. But when he returned to town recently, he found out the vampire who Turned him is still turning too-young people in our town. Which appalled him. He doesn't feel that young kids should ever be Turned. That they're too inexperienced to understand what it means, and he worries that many of them aren't being given a choice, like what happened to him.”
“What happened to him?”
“He said Quillan Turned him without his consent.”
“That’s a big deal in the vampire community,” Daniel said, his eyes narrowed. “Even they have rules that no one can break.”
“And yet, he claims this man did break them.”
The clank of Daniel’s fork drew my gaze. “So,” he said. “He wants Karma to take care of this guy?”
“Essentially.” I shrugged. “Obviously I’m not going to go kill a vampire, but something probably should be done.”
Daniel reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently. “I agree. Even if I don't normally like to agree with vamps.”
I smiled, understanding exactly what he meant. My instinct was to disagree with all vampires too after my experience with them when my brother got in trouble for gambling. “But I’m not sure what to do. Bryan seemed to get upset when I didn’t immediately agree to go kill this guy.”
"That's a tricky one." Daniel took a few bites with a puzzled expression on his face, and we sat in companionable silence while we ate. Finally, when his plate was clear and mine nearly was, he spoke again. “Maybe, for now, we should just finish eating and head to bed. It’s been a long day and we need to at least look into this guy before we make any real plans.”
That was true. We could research Bryan’s claims first. “Good idea.” I sighed. “But what will I tell Carol?”
Daniel grimaced. “I don't know the answer to that one. You know her better than I do.”
