She supposed that she should be grateful. After all, Scarlet was alive. That, really, was all that mattered. And she was more grateful for that than she could ever express. In fact, Caitlin squeezed her hand more tightly as they walked, afraid to ever let it go.
Just as she was reeling from the trauma of the event, from Aiden’s pronouncement of a terrible loss yet to come, she also had to hear this news about Sera. Caleb’s timing was terrible, though at the same time, she did appreciate his not keeping it from her. At least she had managed to wisely hold her tongue this time, and give herself time to cool down. She was proud of herself for not saying something she would regret, or taking hasty action, or rushing to blame Caleb for the situation.
Now that she was away from him, breathing the salty ocean air, walking with Scarlet, her head was beginning to clear. She was starting to realize that it was not Caleb’s fault, and there was nothing to blame him for. Yes, it was beyond annoying that Sera persisted in interfering in their lives. Yes, it bothered her that Sera had vowed to tear them apart. Of course, that was news that no bride would wish for on the day before her wedding.
But at the same time, Caleb was hers now. At least, that was how Caitlin felt. She wore his ring, and whether they’d had the ceremony yet or not, she felt that deep down, their souls were connected. After all, she was holding Scarlet’s hand, their child’s hand. What more proof could she want than that?
As she walked, her bare feet sinking into the sand, she realized she should let go of any upset with Caleb. Sera was really the one to blame. If anything, she should be grateful to Caleb for always deflecting Sera’s advances, and for being so honest with her.
Most importantly, Caitlin realized there was nothing to fear: there was no way Sera could ever tear them apart. Caleb loved her, Caitlin. She felt it. And nothing – and no one – could ever take that away. The more she dwelled on it, the more her anger toward Sera started to abate. She realized that Sera was just a powerless, pathetic creature, a lost woman who was unable to get on with her own life.
Caitlin’s thoughts turned to Scarlet. She looked down at her, and marveled at how peaceful and content she seemed, skipping in the sand, looking out at the sea, chasing the seabirds running along the shore. She felt so connected to her. Caitlin was overwhelmed to think that Scarlet was hers. Her daughter. Her real daughter. And now that she knew she was her mother, she felt a greater responsibility than ever. To guide her, to teach her who she was, what it meant to not be of the human race. Caitlin recalled when she had first found out she, herself, wasn’t human; it had been quite a shock.
“Mommy?” Scarlet suddenly asked, kicking a seashell, “what is a vampire?”
Caitlin felt a chill. Scarlet’s timing was uncanny. She could not believe how easily she’d read her thoughts.
“Well,” Caitlin began, trying to think of how to explain this to a child, of how to choose her words, “a vampire is a very special person. One that has special talents and abilities. One that has a special way of eating, and one that can live a very, very long time.”
Scarlet furrowed her brow. “Longer than other types of people?”
“Oh yes,” Caitlin said. “A lot longer.”
“Is that what I am?” she asked. “A vampire?”
Caitlin looked down at her shining eyes, looking up at her, and knew that she had to be completely honest. Children demanded that.
“Yes, honey, you are. And, in your case, that is a very beautiful thing.”
“Are you one, too? Is Daddy?”
“Yes,” she said. “We all are. Our whole family.”
“Does that mean that we all get to live a long time? Together?”
Caitlin stopped and knelt down, and looked her in the eyes.
“I sure hope so,” she said.
Scarlet frowned.
“But I heard that vampires are scary. Does that mean I’m scary?”
Caitlin smiled.
“No, love, you’re not scary at all. You’re perfect. Only some vampires are scary. Just like some humans are scary. Other vampires are very, very nice. Even nicer than some humans.”
“Is that my kind?” Scarlet asked.
“Yes it is. We never hurt any humans. We eat animals, just like humans eat animals.”
Scarlet seemed to relax a little bit.
“When those wolves attacked me,” Scarlet began, “I felt them biting me. I felt their teeth in my neck. And then everything went black. I was sure that I was dead. It was like I was supposed to be dead. But I didn’t die. I don’t understand. Does that mean that I can’t ever die?”
Scarlet stared back at her intensely, and Caitlin could see that she desperately wanted the truth.
Caitlin cleared her throat, and looked her in the eyes.
“You are like your Mommy and Daddy. Which means that you can’t die. Not like humans die.”
Scarlet looked down at the sand, then off at the water, as if debating how to react. Finally, she looked back at Caitlin.
“I always knew I was different. Sometimes, I can hear things. Not like normal people. It’s like… I can hear people’s thoughts. Like yours, sometimes. When I try to.” She looked at Caitlin. “Is that strange?”
Caitlin knelt down and smiled at her, brushing the hair out of her face.
“You’re not strange. You just have very special gifts. And you may have even more gifts, ones that we don’t even know about yet. But that doesn’t mean you’re strange. It just means that you’re special. Like us.”
“Like all of us,” came a voice.
Caitlin wheeled, shocked at the sound of the strange, male voice so close behind her, and immediately protective of Scarlet. Caitlin didn’t understand how anyone could have crept up on her, especially here, in the middle of nowhere.
Until, that is, she saw the face staring back at her. And her jaw nearly dropped open.
Standing there, a foot away from her, was Blake.
Caitlin stared, speechless. Blake looked exactly as he did the last time she saw him: he still had those perfect, chiseled features, the longish, wavy brown hair, the large, green eyes and that far-off, distant look, like a haunted loner.
Blake. It was really him. She thought of her dream the night before. Had it been more than just a coincidence? Had he visited her in her dreams? Of all people, alone on this desolate beach, why did it have to be him? And why now, just as she was sorting through her feelings for Caleb, just as she was preparing for her wedding day?
He stared back at her, and a slight smile formed at the corner of his lips.
“Hello, Caitlin,” he said in his soft voice.
Scarlet stood between them, and Caitlin could sense her curiosity, as she looked back and forth between them, trying to figure it all out.
“Hello, Blake,” she answered flatly.
Caitlin didn’t know what to say. She felt herself trembling inside, torn by a million conflicting emotions. She wanted to thank him for saving her life; to apologize to him for all that she’d put him through; she even felt the need to apologize to him for marrying Caleb.
But most of all, she just wanted him to stop looking at her that way, with those intense eyes that prevented her from looking anywhere else, from thinking of anything else. She thought back to their first time together, on Pollepel, of their standing guard together on that sunken parapet in the river. On the one hand, it felt like lifetimes ago; on the other, it felt like it was just yesterday.
She had to forcibly shake herself out of it, to remind herself that she was with Caleb now. That Blake was lifetimes ago. That was the problem with vampire relationships and with immortality: nothing seemed to ever stay in the past. People and relationships always came back, full circle, again and again, no matter when and where you were. Nothing ever died. Ever.