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Gracie slowed her stitching. “Oh, my.” She placed the green fabric back in the basket. “I think I’ll work on a black dress for you.”
Delilah’s eyes widened. Shit. Was she reading her mind?
“Not purposefully. You newer transitions tend to project your thoughts. It’s sort of like you’re shouting at me. What’s a Jell-O shot?”
“Mmm,” Destiny and Anna both moaned.
“Remember Jell-O?” Destiny said in a reminiscently fond tone.
Anna laughed. “Remember Vodka?”
Real concern bloomed in Delilah’s gut. “You guys don’t drink?”
“Good luck finding a high enough proof to impact our nervous system. We burn the effects right off.”
“Speak for yourself. I was drunk last night,” Destiny bragged, earning an eye roll from Anna.
“She’s a half-breed,” Gracie explained.
“Rude,” Destiny tossed a spool of thread at Gracie. “You’re just bitter because the females aren’t allowed to drink.”
“Do the males?”
“Of course,” Annalise said with evident snark. “But even they can’t get drunk. To feel any sort of intoxication we would need a shit-ton of drugs mixed into a cocktail.”
Delilah waited for the other girls to correct Anna’s language, but no one said anything. She smiled, liking these women more and more. “Thank you for the gifts this morning.”
Larissa beamed. “It’s our pleasure. Gracie will take more precise measurements, and we’ll take in these dresses so they fit more comfortably. Eleazar already told us your height.”
“Eleazar?”
“My husband, the bishop. I thought you met him.”
She did recall a man stopping by the house, but she’d been so determined to ignore Christian at the time and in the midst of her hunger strike, that she didn’t recall much detail about the man.
“Can I get you something to eat or drink?” Gracie asked.
“I’ll have some water if you have it.” She didn’t want to bother her for food and have to explain the whole vegetarian thing again, but maybe that was why she was so exhausted.
Gracie went into the house and returned shortly with a glass of water. The girls watched her as she drank it down. When Delilah emptied the glass, she looked back at them in question. “What?”
Larissa gave her sister a stern look. “Gracie, don’t.”
“You’re not feeding.”
“Grace!” Larissa appeared completely scandalized by her sister’s observation. “Ignore her, Delilah. She didn’t mean to intrude in matters that are absolutely no concern of hers.” She sent her sister a scathing glance. “Really, Gracie. You know better.”
Embarrassed and, now uncomfortable, Delilah bit her lip. “It’s… It’s okay. It probably seems silly to you.”
“Not at all.”
“Nope.”
“A little.”
“You can’t starve yourself. Brother Christian will forbid it.”
She looked toward Destiny and Annalise who took a more understanding position on the matter, likely because they weren’t born immortal like her. “Did you struggle with it?”
“Yup.”
“Cain had to put me in a trance to get me to take his blood.”
Delilah’s eyes went wide. “They can do that?”
The women exchanged knowing glances and Gracie explained, “New transitions need a lot of blood.”
“Wait, are you suggesting that Christian gave me his blood without my knowledge?”
“Not at all,” Larissa interjected. “Because that would be none of our business.”
After that, the girls sealed their lips, but Delilah had a sneaking suspicion they were right. How else could she explain the change in her this morning?
“Isn’t this maroon lovely!” Gracie exclaimed. “Not at all like vomit.”
Annalise and Destiny exchanged a glance and Delilah sensed there were certain things they wanted to tell her, but not in front of Larissa and Gracie. Maybe she could ask for more water. Then it occurred to her that Gracie was probably reading her thoughts.
“Correct. Still shouting,” Gracie said without looking up from her work as she stitched the hem of a gown.
“So, how are you coping with the Amish thing so far?” Annalise asked, changing the subject.
Feeling useless, she fiddled with her empty glass. “Um, I guess it’s a little weird. Sorry. Is that rude of me?”
The girls laughed. “Not at all,” Annalise lifted her bonnet to scratch at her copper hair. “It’s totally weird. I’m still not used to it, and I’ve been here for years.”
Delilah examined her, searching for signs of longing or regret. “Do you ever miss your old life?”
Anna shrugged. “Sometimes. But it’s more like missing pieces. I’m happy I’m here with Adam.”
“What was your life like before this?”
“I was a student and a waitress at a bar. Nothing super glamourous.”
“You get used to it,” Destiny said. “Although sometimes I miss the internet.”
“Destiny was on television,” Larissa said, her tone full of admiration.
“Really?”
Destiny nodded. “I was a field reporter for Channel Six. It’s just a small local station.”
“Cool.”
“It brought me to Cain.” She grinned then lamented. “I’m sure by now social media’s changed so much I wouldn’t even know how to use whatever platform’s trending.”
It was refreshing to hear them speak in modern phrases. “TikTok’s all the rage.”
“What’s TikTok?” Anna asked.
“The dance app? You’re kidding?” Destiny laughed. “I never thought that would stick. Kids record videos of silly dance trends and post them from their phones.”
