The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,21

of the recent past are pre y grim. You put on a good face and seem cheerful and happy, but your days are spent hun ng bad guys and mourning unwilling turns you have to capture or kill. And I know you struggle every day with feeling guilty that you have to do it. You think that if you'd just tracked their rogue sires down a bit faster, they might have been saved before they were turned, or at least before they were made to do something that marked them for death." She grimaced. "It seems a pretty grim life."

"It is," Drina said quietly.

"Then why do you do it?"

She smiled wryly and shrugged. "Someone has to."

"But it kills you a little bit inside every day," Stephanie said quietly.

Drina didn't deny that, but simply said, "It kills all rogue hunters a li le bit inside every day. But for me

. . ." She sighed and said, "Maybe, just maybe, my ac ons have prevented one or two other young girls, like you, from going through what you are." She smiled crookedly. "Surely that makes it worthwhile?"

Before she could respond, they both heard the restaurant door opening and glanced around to see Harper approaching.

"Sorry, I forgot I'd locked the car," Harper murmured, hitting the button on his key fob.

"That's all right. We just got here ourselves," Drina assured him, moving to the back passenger door as

"That's all right. We just got here ourselves," Drina assured him, moving to the back passenger door as Stephanie opened the front door.

"Thank you for lunch and for taking us shopping today, Harper," Stephanie said moments later, when they pulled into the driveway at Casey Cottage. "I had fun."

"I'm glad." He murmured absently as he eased his car into the ght space on one side of the two-car garage.

Stephanie then turned in her seat to peer at Drina in the back, and said, "While you guys are out tonight, I'll check the Internet and look for things for us to do tomorrow."

"Okay," Drina agreed easily, undoing her seat belt.

"Things to do tomorrow?" Harper asked, but the vehicle had stopped, and Drina was already slipping out, leaving Stephanie to answer. However, she got out just as quickly, and Harper followed, repea ng the question as he closed the door. "What do you mean, things to do tomorrow?"

"Well, it wasn't just that we needed warmer clothes and stuff that made us go out today," Stephanie explained, walking around the front of the car toward the stairs into the house. "We were worried about waking up everyone if we stayed in. That will s ll be a problem tomorrow, so we'll have to find someplace to go or something to do to entertain ourselves." She paused at the top of the steps with a hand on the door and pursed her lips. "I guess we're going to be pre y limited without a car, though."

Sighing, she shrugged and pulled the screen door open. "I'll figure out something."

Stephanie started into the house then, and Drina was directly behind her, but Harper caught her arm and drew her to a halt. The moment the door closed behind Stephanie, he asked with concern, "Do you think it's wise to take her away from the house?"

"She's not a prisoner, Harper. We can't keep her locked up in the house. Besides, she was sent down here to live as normal a life as possible," she pointed out, and then added, "And I did call Lucian first to make sure it was all right. He's pre y sure they weren't followed from New York, and she's safe. Apparently Anders and I are just a precaution and babysitters until Elvi and Victor return."

"Oh," he murmured, releasing her arm. "Well that's good news. That she's safe, I mean."

"Yes," Drina agreed, and turned back to the door, only to back up a step when it suddenly swung open and Stephanie reappeared, her coat already off but her eyes wide.

"We forgot our clothes!" she squawked with disbelief.

Drina laughed at her expression and turned away to slip past Harper and off the stairs. "Close the door; the garage isn't heated, and you aren't wearing your coat. I'll get the bags."

She was at the trunk of the car before Drina realized she didn't have keys, but Harper was already there beside her, handling the ma er. They each took half the bags and carted them into the house. Stephanie was immediately on them, taking as many bags as she could handle and