by Quinn Loftis
“You should get some sleep. I will keep watch,” Raphael’s deep voice penetrated her thoughts.
She looked up at him, but he still was looking out the window. Emma didn’t bother with sleep clothes. She was too worn out. It took all of the energy she had left to climb into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Raphael looked down at the sleeping child. She had worked diligently as her aunt had given her task after task and not once had Emma complained. He had to wonder who this human was that she was so important to the Creator’s plan. Raphael could see that she was exceptional in her knowledge, kindness, and joy. But were those the things that set her apart for her destiny? He did not know the answer to that. He did know that even if she had been just a young child, with a simple destiny, he would still have protected her. He wished that he could protect all children from people like Mildred and Rat. Even as an angel, he did not understand the evil in the world. And after thousands of years, he was still surprised by it. Whatever her future was, wherever she went, as long as it was in his power to do so, Raphael would be her guardian. He was not human, and so it was difficult to truly say, but he figured that the way he felt about Emma was the equivalent to the way a father felt for his child. Raphael would never have children, but that did not mean that he could not offer his protection to those who might be fatherless. Perhaps, that was his purpose now, and until the Creator told him otherwise, that is what he would do.
Chapter 11
“If you dream about being a permanent marker, it means you are feeling that your situation is perpetual and stinks.”
Serenity sat on the couch next to Dair with her hands twisting nervously in her lap. She didn’t realize that Dair had noticed until he reached over and placed one of his larger hands over hers. She glanced up at him but he was still looking and listening intently to Aunt Willa who was bombarding him relentlessly with question after question. Willa’s interrogation was actually worse than her Uncle Wayne’s had been. It was another moment where Serenity felt a face palm was completely appropriate. Why hadn’t she just told Dair to come see her later? Why on earth did she think it was a good idea to introduce him to Willa, who she knew was notorious for drawing information out of people? A CIA interrogator had nothing on this woman. Even after Dair had answered her as smoothly as he’d answered her uncle’s questions, Serenity could see the curious gleam in her eyes. In Willa’s case, pulling the wool over her eyes was not an option. Serenity knew that once Dair was gone, she would undergo her own interrogation by her aunt.
“So tell me more about this little Emma,” Willa said after having finally gotten her fill of Dair’s answers. “Darla’s told me a little about her when we’ve talked on the phone.”
“Did she tell you she’s a genius?” Serenity asked.
Willa nodded. “And very mature for an eight-year-old. But she’s living with an aunt that cares nothing for her and the girl is in danger.” Her eye narrowed dangerously.
“We can’t just steal her away, Willa,” Darla told her sister. “Don’t think we haven’t considered it.”
Serenity bit her lip as her eyes darted from Darla to Willa and then Uncle Wayne. “I sort of did something.”
“What?” Darla and Willa asked at the same time.
“I called DHS,” she admitted. The rest of her words came out in a hurried ramble. “I told them that she didn’t need to be in that house and that Mildred had no business raising a child. I also told them that the house itself was not fit to be considered livable; it should be condemned. I told them about Rat and what had happened.”
“What did they say?” Willa asked as she moved forward to the edge of her seat.
“They asked if she was still with us. I told them, no, that we’d taken her back to her aunt’s. The lady I spoke to said that was good because it wouldn’t look good to a judge no matter our intentions if we stole her. She asked if we felt Emma was in immediate danger when we took her home.”
“Was she?” Willa interrupted.
Serenity looked over at Dair. He gave her a small nod. “I don’t know, but she isn’t without protection. I didn’t tell the DHS lady that she had protection, but I did tell her that I didn’t think Mildred was going to harm her.”
“Are they going to start an investigation?” Uncle Wayne asked.
Serenity nearly growled out the words. “As soon as they can get a DHS worker out there.”
“How long will that take?” Dair asked.
Willa snorted. “It’s the government. They’ll take as long as they damn well please, and when you call to check on it, they will say they’ve lost the paperwork, or the person handling the case got fired, or a sudden attack of malaria mysteriously overcame the DHS office, and they had to burn everything the sick came in contact with.”
“So they aren’t very efficient?” Dair reiterated.
“No.” Willa shook her head. “If I had meant they weren’t very efficient, I would have said that. What they are is unconcerned. Emma isn’t anyone important to them. She’s just another child among thousands that got put in the system and shoved in the first home they could find. I’m not saying that their jobs are easy. I am saying that someone with a brain and some common sense could come up with a better way to handle it.”
“We will keep an eye on her until DHS decides to show up,” Darla assured her sister. “Emma is now an honorary member of our family, and if it comes time that she needs a new home, Wayne and I are willing to take her in.”
Serenity felt tears burning in her eyes. This was news to her. She hadn’t known that her aunt and uncle had made such a decision but it didn’t surprise her. Darla would save the world one person at a time if she could.
“Well I don’t think anyone would find it suspicious if old Mildred fell down a flight of stairs because she was too drunk to see straight,” Willa said dryly.
“Willa,” Darla admonished, though Serenity could tell her heart wasn’t in it.
Willa waved her sister off. “All I’m saying is it would leave more oxygen for the rest of us and our pets if the likes of Mildred weren’t taken any in.”
“I guess I forgot to mention that my aunt has homicidal tendencies,” Serenity said to Dair as she blew out a breath, puffing out her cheeks.
“She wouldn’t really kill Mildred.”
“Um, Dair, when her dogs kill one of her ducks, she takes the dead duck and beats the dog with it and then ties the same duck to their collar and makes them drag it around for a few days. Don’t underestimate Aunt Willa,” Serenity warned.
“They never kill another duck that’s for sure,” Willa grinned wickedly.
“And on that note, I think Dair should be going and I need to get to bed. I have to be at the clinic tomorrow morning bright and early.” Serenity stood and held Dair’s hand as she pulled him toward the front door.
“It was nice to meet you Dair,” Willa called out. “Don’t be a stranger.”
Dair started to turn to say something but Serenity wasn’t having it. She needed to get Dair out of there before Willa started in on him again. She grabbed her coat from the rack next to the door and slipped it on as she shoved him, none too gently, out of the door.
“A less confident man would think that you were ashamed to have your family meet him,” Dair said but Serenity heard the teasing note in his voice.
“Dair, any woman ashamed to be seen with you needs to have her head examined.” She looked at her car and the lack of vehicle for Dair. “So I guess to make this look like you don’t just pop in and out of thin air I need to drive you home.” She made air quotes around the word home.
“That means I get to spend more time with you…alone,” he said waggling his eyebrows.
Serenity laughed at that. “Calm down, Sandman. I’m just going to drive to the drive-in and back. There will be no stops in between.”
“A man can hope,” he murmured in his deep sexy voice as he climbed into the passenger side of her car.
S
erenity shook her head at him, but her lips were still turned up in a smile as she pulled out of the driveway.
The week following Christmas was blissfully peaceful. Serenity would leave in the mornings and pick up Emma, regardless of Mildred’s complaints, and they would head to the clinic to take care of the animals. The owners didn’t mind Emma being there and actually seemed to enjoy Emma’s endless barrage of questions. In the afternoons, they would head to the library to volunteer in any way that Darla could use them, and then they would head somewhere for a quick dinner before Serenity had to take Emma back to her aunt’s.
Raphael took the time to go do whatever it was that angels had to do, but he told Emma that all she had to do was say his name and he would be there. Dair was around some but Serenity had noticed that he seemed distracted and distant. Each day seemed to draw him further away from her. When she asked him what was wrong, he would tell her he was fine and then quickly change the subject. Serenity didn’t want to be the nagging girlfriend, so she’d just let it slide. But by New Year’s Eve, she was beginning to get frustrated with him.
“Are you coming to the restaurant tonight for the New Year’s bash?” Glory’s voice crackled a little from the bad reception Serenity was getting at the back of the vet clinic. She was just about done cleaning and feeding the dogs and had plans to meet Dair for lunch. Emma hadn’t felt good that morning when she went to pick her up and had told her she was going to stay in bed. It had been hard for her to leave her at Mildred’s, but Raphael had reminded her that he would be watching over her. Still, Serenity had called her aunt to let her know, and Darla had promised to take Emma some chicken noodle soup at lunch.
Serenity’s mind had been so focused on confronting Dair once and for all over his strange behavior that she had forgotten about the New Year’s Eve party at The Fireside. She had promised Glory that she’d come since Glory had to work and wouldn’t get to come out to Darla and Wayne’s house like she normally did.
“Yes, I’ll be there. I really want to bring Emma but she said she wasn’t feeling well this morning,” Serenity told her.
Glory made a clicking sound with her tongue. “Do you think she needs to see a doctor? Goodness knows Mildred won’t take her to see one.”
“I’m not sure, but Darla is going to check on her at lunch. She’ll make sure Emma gets any kind of care she needs.”
“So where are you off to after you get done at the clinic?” Glory asked her.
“Dair and I are having lunch.”
“Oh, like a normal couple.”
Serenity laughed. “I know, right? It’s almost like he isn’t an immortal being who helps shape history. He’s taking me on a date, like a normal guy.”
“Honey, I hate to break it to you, but there is nothing normal about Dair. Even if he wasn’t immortal, men don’t look like him, and if they did the world would be in trouble because women would be too busy wiping drool off of their faces to get anything done.”
Serenity couldn’t argue with her. Dair was a step above good looking and took sexy to a whole different level. “Alright, so I’ll see you tonight.”
“I’ll be there with a smile on my face, after I’ve had a few drinks,” Glory teased.
“I know better than that. You’ve seen firsthand what a little alcohol can make people do. And let me tell you, Glory Day, you don’t need any help letting go of your inhibitions.”
Glory laughed. “True enough. Later.”
Serenity slipped her phone into her back pocket and gave the kennel one more look before clocking out and heading toward the front door. She waved goodbye to Dr. Little as she pushed the door open and felt the bite of winter against her face. Her eyes narrowed as the icy wind caused them to water producing a sheen of moisture to distort her vision. She reached up to wipe them as she headed to her car. Once her vision was again clear, she could see that her car was not empty.
Dair sat in the passenger seat looking at her innocently. She unlocked her door and tossed her purse into the back seat before climbing in. Serenity quickly stuck the keys in the ignition and started the engine, wanting to get the heat going as fast as possible before she looked over at Dair.
“Make yourself at home?” she asked with a single raised brow.
“I thought it would be better than just suddenly appearing in the parking lot, considering the clinic seems to be busy today. I would hate to scare some little lady and her poodle.”
Serenity nodded. “Fair enough. What do you want for lunch?”
The look Dair shot her held enough heat to cause the car to warm up. It was the first time all week that he had given her one of his smoldering gazes, complete with bedroom eyes.
“I didn’t say who do you want for lunch? I said what,” she pointed out.
“Semantics,” Dair muttered as his gaze continued to devour her.
“Okay,” Serenity said, drawing out the word. “Perhaps, I better pick the cuisine this time.”
As she pulled out of the parking lot, Dair reached over and laid his large hand on her thigh. Serenity tensed, having not expected the gesture. He gave it a firm squeeze before letting it relax. She didn’t say anything and he didn’t remove it until they had pulled into the parking lot of the drive-in. She’d decided she wanted privacy for the conversation they were about to have.
“Dair,” she began, but was cut off by his words.
“Do you think it’s wise for us to stay in the car, together?” He paused meaningfully. “Alone?” His voice was low and full of suggestion. Serenity felt his hand under her chin as he gently turned her face to look at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she met his swirling dark eyes. If she didn’t know Dair, didn’t trust that he would never try something that she wasn’t comfortable with, that look might have scared her. It was intense, filled with desire and want. But she did know him. She knew that he cared for her deeply and because of that he would never ask for what she wasn’t ready to give. If anything, she was scared of herself because if he kept looking at her like that and talking to her in that voice, she might just offer herself up on a golden platter complete with a side dish of please take me now.
Dair knew he shouldn’t tempt himself or her. He was well aware of the strong desire that constantly pulled at both of them, but he needed to distract her. Serenity had noticed that he had been distant all week. What she didn’t know was why. But he had gotten the feeling that her patience with him was wearing thin, and she was going to confront him about his behavior. Dair would give her anything she asked if it was in his power, but he could not give her the information she was seeking. He could not tell her what had caused him to be lost in his thoughts and drenched in grief. Even if it was allowed, how did he tell someone―not just someone, but the woman he loved―that she was going to die from a gunshot aimed at someone else? How could he tell her that she would be the reason Emma lived, but it would be at the price of her own life? And perhaps, worst of all, he didn’t know what to do to prevent it from happening. If he interfered, Emma might be lost. So, he’d come up with the strategy to seduce her away from her questions. Probably not the brightest idea he had come up with in his hundreds of years. But then, he was learning that people did stupid things in the name of love.
Dair began to lean forward as Serenity got lost in his eyes. He whispered sweet words to her allowing the hypnotic quality of his voice to draw her to him. Her breath was warm against his face and her scent called to him, enticing him to get closer. As his hand slid up her neck and wrapped around the back of her head she gasped. The sound hit Dair in his gut, and he had to fight for control because in that moment, seeing her so lost to him, he wanted her―all of her.
Their lips were mere centimeters apart when she said his name. It was what she said that pulled him from the haze of lust and need and want.
“Stop,” Serenity said again, only this time her voice was more than a whisper. “Dair, please, stop.”
Dair closed his eyes and squeezed them tight as he pressed his
forehead to hers. Not like this, he thought to himself. He couldn’t sully any of their time together by using her desire for him as a weapon. “I’m sorry,” he whispered through ragged breaths.
“What was that about?” she asked him. “I mean, I know that you’re attracted to me but that was a lot more intense and intentional than you’ve ever been before. What’s going on, Dair?”
Letting out a deep breath, he pulled away from her. He did not meet her gaze because he knew it would be full of questions and hurt. Dair didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t tell her what she wanted to know. Not only could he not but he didn’t want to. He knew Serenity, knew her heart for others, and―even if she was scared beyond reason―knew she would do whatever it took to save Emma if the young girl was in danger. He didn’t want little Emma to die. Not just because of the important future that was in front of her but because she was a precious life, so young and innocent. One such as her should not have her life cut short so soon. But neither did he want his love to die. Dair felt almost as if he was having to choose between the two females who had become extremely important to him. It was a choice no man should ever have to make.
“There are some things that I can’t share with anyone because it might alter the future.” He attempted to choose his words carefully. Dair didn’t want to make her feel like it was only her specifically that he couldn’t tell, because in truth it wasn’t. The knowledge the Creator had bestowed upon him had been for Dair’s eyes only. It was his burden to carry and, like so many things over the centuries, he would bear it alone.
