Page 35 of Valley of the Shadow
She nodded, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She gripped his hands in hers. “They’re safe here.”
“So safe,” he said. “Surrounded by our family. They will wake up in the morning while you are sleeping, and Dema will take them swimming. Beatrice will be in the library to read them stories. Matt will take them on the horses, and Dez will bake cookies.”
Natalie nodded, but she still couldn’t look away.
“And when it’s bedtime, Carwyn will come in and say prayers with them and let Jake pray for the entire human race and all the aliens too.”
She laughed through her tears.
“Giovanni will probably try to teach them Latin. Brigid will give Jake archery lessons because I told her a seven-year-old handling a BB gun was out of the question. And Makeda and Lucien will be there from sundown to sunup, making sure they both feel like they’re at home.”
She nodded and sniffed. “Okay.” She turned and stood in his arms, letting his strength soak into her fear. “Okay.”
“One more kiss for now,” he said. “Then we’ll go.”
She nodded, walked quickly to the bed, and kissed Sarah’s cheek. Then she kissed Jake’s and reminded herself that her children were loved, and after that night, not even cancer could take her away from them.
Baojia and Nataliewalked through the woods and up the narrow trail to a large, spacious cabin built into the hills around the valley.
“Holy shit.” Natalie stopped when it came into view. “You know, I forget a lot of the time that they’re totally loaded.”
“This is… impressive. And to be fair, we’re also loaded, but not as loaded as they are, and we have two children to send to college.”
“What you’re saying is when it’s time for us to build our chalet in the Patagonia Mountains, we’ll keep it a little more modest?”
“I mean…” He shrugged. “Is that third story strictly necessary?”
“It’s a little ostentatious.”
“So it fits the Italian.” Baojia grinned when she elbowed him. “Kidding. Kind of.”
Beatrice came out on the porch. “We can hear you!”
Baojia laughed as Natalie covered her eyes. “Stupid vampire hearing.”
He put his arm around her. “You’ll get used to it soon enough.”
Natalie turned to him. “Hey, George—”
“I know.” He put his hands on her waist and faced her. “I’m leaving you here. I’m not going to follow. This step… it’s for you to take.”
She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Stay with the kids?”
“I will.” He studied her face, every inch of it lit clearly by the full moon hanging over the valley. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “For what?”
“For loving me. You knew this day was coming. From the beginning, you knew. And you loved me anyway.”
Natalie threw her arms around his neck. “It wasn’t a choice.”
He squeezed her tight. “Yes. It was.”
Baojia took her mouth in one last searing kiss before he sped away into the night.
Natalie watched him go. Then she turned and walked up the path to the light waiting for her. Makeda and Lucien were in the doorway. Lucien, smiling with his timeless eyes, and Makeda, welcoming her with open arms.
Beatrice met her at the foot of the stairs and held out her hands. “Are you ready?”
