Page 34 of Valley of the Shadow
“Sorry.” Jake was pouting. “How long until we can see you?”
“Dad told you.”
“A year?” Jake’s eyes were wide. “Really a year?”
“Why?” Sarah started crawling into Natalie’s lap. “A year is forever, Mama.”
“It’s not forever.” Natalie smoothed the flyaway curls from Sarah’s face. “It’s a long time, but I’m going to need that long to feel like myself again. To get better.”
“Are you sick?”
“Kind of.” She kissed Sarah’s head and hugged Jake closer. “But after I become a vampire, I won’t be sick ever. Isn’t that good news?”
“Did Dad have to spend that long away from his family too?”
Natalie took a deep breath. “I think it was a lot longer.”
Jake’s eyes went wide. “Longer than a year?”
“Yeah.” She glanced at him. “See? A year isn’t so bad.”
“I’m gonna be taller,” Jake said. “Maybe as tall as Andre.”
“Maybe.” Natalie smiled. “I think you’re gonna be pretty tall. Like Grandpa Ellis.”
Andre was one of Gus and Isabel’s many nephews. Or great-nephews? Great-great-nephews? Who knew? He was one of the kids on the ranch and he was a few years older than Jake, but he’d been happy to have someone near his age to play with. He and Jake had quickly become friends.
“Mom, does Grandpa Ellis know what’s happening?” Jake put a hand on her arm. “Did you tell him?”
Jake understood more than Sarah why they couldn’t spend much time with Grandpa Ellis, though they did talk via screen time. “We haven’t told Grandpa Ellis, baby. We’ll video chat when it’s safe. He just knows we’re out of the country for a while.”
In fact, they’d told Natalie’s father that they’d be out of the country for a year for Baojia’s work. Since Natalie’s father had never truly recovered from his wife’s death, Natalie’s contact with him had always been sporadic and limited. Her becoming a vampire would just make it more so.
“What do you want to do today?” She hugged both her children close. “Anything you want.”
“I want to… make cookies. And play with my new paints,” Sarah said.
“Cookies sound good.” Jake shrugged. “Whatever you want to do, Mom.”
He was already so much like his father it made her heart ache. Jake wanted everyone to be safe and happy. If everyone around him was happy, he was happy. If someone was troubled, he was troubled. He had a protective streak a mile wide and a huge heart.
Natalie kissed the top of Jake’s head. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”
“But you’ll be back.” Jake slipped his hand in hers. “A year is gonna go really fast, Mom.”
“Yeah.” Sarah put her arms around Natalie’s neck. “Super-duper fast.”
They waiteduntil both the children were sleeping. She and Baojia put them to bed together in Natalie and Baojia’s bed, giving kisses, reading stories, and getting many cups of water. It was an early bedtime for both kids, but they were tired out from a long, happy day of playing in the river, baking cookies, and painting sunny pictures for Natalie to take with her to the cabin.
Baojia took her hand when both the children were in bed and led her to the door. Natalie lingered, watching their chests rise and fall. She stared at them for a long time, matching her breath to theirs.
“Make me leave.” She blinked back tears. “Otherwise I never will.”
He put his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. “You’re doing this for them.”
“And for you.” She leaned into him. “And for me.”
“Look as long as you want to,” he said. “And remember that a year is going to fly by.”
