“Well I am mortal. I will grow old and eventually die, and Jeanne Louise is afraid of having to watch that. She’d miss me too much.”
“I don’t want you to grow old and die, Daddy,” Livy said at once. “Who will bandage my booboos and tell me I told you so when I make myself sick on too much candy?”
Paul’s lips twitched at the words, but he assured her, “Honey, I’m not going to die for a while yet. You’ll be grown up when I do.”
“But I don’t want you ever to die,” Livy said at once. “Maybe I can make you a vampire like Jeanne Louise did to me. Then she would come see us again and you would never die and we could be a family.”
“Would you like that, Livy?”
Paul glanced sharply to the side at that question, then stood and stepped protectively in front of his daughter when he recognized Lucian Argeneau standing in the doorway between his kitchen and garage. “What are you doing here?”
“The front door was open,” Lucian said with a negligent shrug, stepping down into the garage and revealing Leigh, Nicholas, and Bricker crowded in the kitchen doorway behind him.
“We rang the doorbell,” Leigh said apologetically. “But the door was open and when there was no answer we decided we’d best investigate.”
“I let Boomer out after I put the pop in the kitchen,” Livy said with a grimace.
And hadn’t closed the door properly as usual, Paul finished in his head. Christ, the kid must have moved like the wind to put the pop away, let the dog out and come back to close the trunk for him in the few short seconds it had taken him to gather the grocery bags in his hands.
“Why don’t we all go inside and sit down?” Leigh suggested, rubbing her extended belly uncomfortably.
Lucian was immediately all concern. “Are you tired? Do your feet hurt, love? Come, we’ll sit down in the dining room while Paul gets his groceries.”
The others made way as Lucian tried to usher Leigh back through the kitchen, but she refused to move and murmured, “Let’s wait for Livy.”
Paul glanced behind him, intending to collect the grocery bags he’d set down and escort his daughter inside, but Livy already had the bags in hand and was moving around him toward Leigh and Lucian.
“Hi Aunt Leigh. Hi Uncle Luc,” she greeted cheerfully as she approached them.
Lucian Argeneau actually cracked something resembling a smile for the girl while Leigh ran a hand gently over Livy’s head as the young girl drew abreast of them.
“Did you bring Jeanne Louise with you?” Livy asked, stopping.
“No,” Lucian growled, scooping the child up, groceries and all in one arm, leaving his other hand to take Leigh’s arm and urge her into the kitchen, as he said, “Not this time, cupcake. But I’m sure you’ll be seeing her very soon.”
Paul stared after them helplessly. Lucian Argeneau had called his daughter cupcake. And Livy had called him Uncle Luc. And his half pint daughter was carrying groceries he’d barely been able to manage, and doing so as if they weighed nothing. As to the claim that they would see Jeanne Louise soon . . . Well, that was just cruel when he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“You gonna stand out here all day or what? Lucian isn’t the patient sort.”
Paul blinked and scowled at the immortal who had scared his daughter down the damned stairs and nearly killed her. Justin Bricker. He didn’t respond to the man’s words other than to start grimly forward. He didn’t want to blame the man for his woes. After all, it had been an accident. But if he hadn’t scared Livy, she wouldn’t have fallen and Jeanne Louise wouldn’t have had to turn her on the spot and forgo her hoped for plan of turning him and his turning Livy. Paul blamed the bastard whether he wanted to or not. If not for the otherwise seemingly nice hunter, he’d have it all right now.
“I’m sorry about that, Paul,” Bricker said quietly as Paul drew abreast of him. “I didn’t expect the kid to freak like that and take a header. And I couldn’t get into her head to stop her. I did try when she turned to run, but I couldn’t get in quick enough to stop her. I think the brain tumor caused some resistance or something.”
Paul let his breath out on a sigh, his shoulders sagging as his anger slowly drained out of him. Jeanne Louise had commented at some point that it was a little harder to get into Livy’s thoughts then most, that she had to make a full concerted effort to manage it, and she suspected it was the brain tumor that caused it. Paul supposed that was what the man was talking about. It had been an accident. He’d tried to save her. Life was full of such unhappy events that were really no one’s fault, just fate fucking with you.
“Yeah, fate’s a bitch at times,” Justin muttered, obviously reading his thoughts. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he urged him into the kitchen, adding, “Lucian brought us all here because I want to make up for it though. I offered to use my turn to turn you for Jeanne Louise.”
When Paul stopped abruptly to gape at him, he smiled wryly and added, “And for Livy too, of course. The kid’s a cutie. Can’t have her moping around and blaming me for eternity after you grow old and die.”
“You are not turning him, Bricker,” Lucian said irritably from the other end of the room. “Now you two get over here. I’d like to settle this before Leigh goes into labor.”
“I’m not due for another month, Lucian,” Leigh said with amusement.
“You’re one of those people who are early for everything,” Lucian growled, offering his wife an affectionate smile to soften the words, and then he scowled at Paul and added, “While Mr. Jones here appears to drag his feet about everything.” He arched his eyebrows and gestured to the empty seat at the table. “I’m waiting.”
Paul moved toward the seat, but Bricker was right at his side, saying, “I thought we were coming here so I could turn him. It was after I said I would yesterday that you started making arrangements for this visit.”
Lucian rolled his eyes. “Did you think you were the only one to make the offer? Marguerite offered too. And Nicholas’s Jo offered as well,” he informed him dryly, and grimaced. “Every bleeding heart in the family with a free turn has offered.”