“No,” I said immediately, though fear twisted hard inside me because I did not actually know that. “Children, listen to me.”
“No,” CJ said, his face pale again. “No, there’s no way we’re telling him.”
“CJ.”
“He’ll freak out, Winnie.” His voice grew louder by the second. “Dad can’t handle change, and he especially won’t take the news that you’re a vampire well.”
“He might,” I said, though I didn’t believe my own words.
“He’ll fire you,” Billie whispered.
The fear in her little face nearly undid me.
Bianca stepped closer to me, lifting her chin in that way she did when logic became her armor against the heavy, adult things in her life. “Winnie put herself in danger to protect us and our home. Dad should be grateful.”
I sighed. “That doesnotmean we can hide this from him.”
“It means he needs context before reacting emotionally,” Bianca argued.
CJ nodded rapidly. “Exactly. Context.”
Billie hugged the stuffed bear tighter. “Temporary information management.”
I blinked at her. Bianca and CJ looked equally impressed.
“What?” Billie asked. “I listen.”
I leaned against the counter. Standing without support was becoming increasingly difficult. “We cannot keep secrets from your father.”
CJ crossed his arms. “You said you can explain. So explain later.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You should be the one to tell him,” Bianca said. “Not us. It’s your life.”
That stopped me. Damn the smart child.
“It would be better coming from you,” she added.
I looked at the three of them standing there in the foyer, brave and terrified and loyal in ways children shouldn’t have needed to be. They weren’t afraid of me, not truly. They were afraid of losing me.
That fact settled beneath my ribs and hurt in an entirely new way.
“I’ll tell him,” I said at last. “When the time is right. Soon.”
CJ’s shoulders sagged with relief.
Billie launched herself toward me, then stopped abruptly before touching me. “Will it hurt if I hug you?”
Oh. My face nearly crumpled. “It will hurt a little,” I admitted.
So, she hugged me gently. CJ joined next, avoiding my singed arms. Bianca hesitated, but then she wrapped her arms around me with surprising force.
I stood there in the ruined kitchen, two unconscious intruders on the floor and three children clinging to me, and for one ridiculous, terrible moment, I felt more human than I had in nearly two centuries.
Finally, CJ pulled back and looked at the men. “So, what do we do about the robbers?”
Reality returned.
