Page 54 of The Rebirth
She pursed her lips. “I know the Aberdeens are famous for blaming themselves for shit that they shouldn’t. I’m guilty of it as well. But I made my choices. That meansIown them. Not you. I could’ve walked away that day when you found out you were pregnant and you urged me to start a life away from vampires. I thought about it, but I chose not to. Also, you can’t forget that you were on the hunt to find Orion and Luna. You can’t be everywhere at once, sis.”
The tension in my shoulders was starting to take its toll on me. “You’re right. But I want you to think about your own life. I want you to find your man, have kids, travel the world, and do something fun. Please, Jordyn.”
“What about you? You can’t take care of quadruplets by yourself.”
I touched my heart. “I love you, Jordyn. You’ve always been there for me,” I said in a choked tone. “I’ll find a nanny or two. For now, I want you to concentrate on healing and your future.” I waggled my eyebrows. “What about asking Sawyer out on a date?”
She giggled or tried to. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.” She held her stomach. “I don’t even know if he’s interested.”
“Maybe we could ask his sister Harley,” I said.
I hadn’t seen the strawberry-blond vampire in what seemed like ages. I adored her. We’d become fast friends the first day I drove onto the naval base with my sister Rianne, who had been compelled by Sam at the time.
“I can do my own investigating,” Jordyn said. “We’re not in grade school anymore.”
I giggled, and the act felt freeing and liberating.
“Your turn,” she said. “Tell me about the rescue mission. Did you meet the white-haired witch who is supposedly our grandmother?”
I’d spoken to Jordyn via phone a few times during my travels to Montana, Washington, and North Dakota. But the last time we’d spoken had been the day before we’d stormed the farm.
“Are you really in the mood to hear what happened?” I wasn’t sure I was ready to relive the events, but she needed to know several things that transpired, especially my new witch powers.
“It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” she said.
I curled my legs underneath me and was about to start when I heard Dr. Vieira’s voice. Then the possibility of her not being able to walk again stung my brain. Surely, she would’ve told me by now if that were the case.
Shoes scuffed on the floor as Dr. Vieira waltzed in, his brown eyes dancing with delight. “Layla, has Jordyn told you the good news?”
“I was waiting for you,” Jordyn said to Dr. Vieira. “And we were talking about other things.”
I laughed. “Are you referring to her ability to walk? If so, I was tempted to ask her, but I guess I wasn’t ready to know. So…”
“Jordyn has feeling in her legs,” he said.
I squealed. “That’s the best news ever. Is there abutcoming?”
“No,” Jordyn answered. “I might need physical therapy for my back. Dr. Vieira gave me a dose of the healing blood, so that should help speed up the recovery process for my wounds. As far as my head goes, Dr. Vieira will set a final scan before I head to the naval base. Right, Dr. Vieira?”
Doc tucked his hands into his lab coat pockets, chuckling. “You are correct, Jordyn. But as we talked about, once we’re back home, I want you to stay in the infirmary for a few days.”
I was silently shedding tears. I couldn’t have been happier at that moment. The fact that my sister was alive was a miracle. It was also a sign that she had a purpose to fulfill, and it wasn’t as my nanny.
Happier times were ahead of us. I had to believe that.
21
LAYLA
I’d been walking on air for the last three days since Jordyn came out of her coma. To see her smile, laugh, and talk about her dreams had taken away all the bad that had happened to us. Until Dr. Vieira broke the news to her that she had the same blood type as me, Vel negative—then her bubbly attitude took a downturn.
I thought she would be happy to know that she could get pregnant by a vampire. Not that she wanted to, but she had expressed interest in knowing one way or the other in the event that she slept with a bloodsucker.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I’d asked her.
“I need to process that I have the potential to have a vampire baby,” she’d said.
To take her mind off the news, I’d filled her in about Agnes, what happened on the farm, how I became a witch, the Mystic, my new job with Steven, Sam’s new position as the Vampire Navy SEAL’s training instructor, how her nieces and nephew were vampire witches, Rianne’s prognosis, and everything in between. We’d laughed and cried for hours on end.
