He also called an oil company to come out and fill up the pumps at the gas station.
In what little spare time Kadie had, she worked on a new ad campaign, something she loved doing. She went through their email list and sent out a mass email to let former clients know that the town would be opening the following spring. She also sent emails to former employees asking if they were interested in resuming their old jobs. But her favorite times, the best times, were looking after the baby. She never tired of holding him, spent hours just looking at him, unable to believe he was hers. She hadn’t spent much time around babies and it amazed her that he grew so fast, quickly losing the brand-new baby look.
At home, Saintcrow avoided being alone with the boy. The scent of the child’s blood was a constant temptation, although it wasn’t nearly as hard to resist as he had feared it would be. It wasn’t so much a thirst for the boy’s blood as it was curiosity. He had never fed on an infant but he knew vampires who had and they all raved about how fantastic it was, unique, satisfying beyond any other.
He had to admit, Conor was a hell of a cute kid. He didn’t cry much. He had put on a little weight so that he no longer lookedlike a little scarecrow. With time and patience, Saintcrow had a feeling everything would work out.
Late one Friday night, Saintcrow and Kincaid met in the hotel bar.
“So,” Kincaid asked. “How’s it going?”
Saintcrow shrugged as he filled two glasses with wine and offered one to Jake. “He’s a cute kid. Kadie’s as happy as a clam, and I’m getting used to him. But if I had my way, he’d be gone.” He had to admit, his biggest problem with the boy was that Kadie spent so much time with him. And although he hated to admit it even to himself, he was jealous as hell.
“It’s your own fault,” Kincaid said. “You could have left him where we found him, or dropped him off at some shelter.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a little too late for that now. Kadie’s already crazy about the boy. She loves being a mother. I can’t take that away from her.”
Kincaid shrugged. “Seems pretty simple to me. All you have to do is mesmerize her and wipe the memory of the baby from her mind.”
Saintcrow glared at him. “Memories sometimes come back, you know. If that happened, she’d never forgive me and I wouldn’t blame her.” But it was a tempting idea. Muttering an oath, he drained his glass, refilled it, and changed the subject. “I’m gonna reopen the town in a few months.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah. I need something to do, something to get me out of the house.”
“That bad, huh?”
“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Fortunately, my self-control is pretty strong, and as long as I don’t go too long without feeding, it’s not a problem.” He laughed softly. “I’ve never been around anything that tempted me twenty-four seven, except for Kadie, but that’s a whole different thing.”
“You can handle it,” Kincaid said, slapping him on the back. “Hell, you’ve conquered necromancers and vampire witches and who the hell knows what else.”
Saintcrow snorted. “Sometimes it’s hard but it isn’t impossible. Besides, I kind of like the kid.”
“No shit? Well, I guess if things get rough, you could visit Izabela and see if she can help.”
“Hell, no. No more magic for me. I’ve had enough to last a lifetime.”
“You’ll work it out,” Jake said, grinning ear to ear. “A powerful vampire like you can handle anything.”
Saintcrow glowered at him.
Jake finished his drink and set the glass aside. “In the meantime, if you need any help with the town, let me know.”
“I will. Thanks, Jake.”
“What are friends for?” Kincaid said, and with an airy wave, he vanished from sight.
Saintcrow sat there for a long time, thinking about the past, wondering about the future, grateful that he had one good friend he could count on whenever things got tough.
A thought took him to the nearest town in search of prey. He didn’t usually feed so often but with the baby in the house, he didn’t want to take any chances with his self-control.
~ * ~
Friday night, Kadie said she needed to make a quick trip to Cheyenne to buy some baby formula. Conor was asleep and she assured Rylan that she would be back before the baby woke up.
Reluctantly, he agreed.
A quick kiss on the cheek, and Kadie was gone.