Read Online Deadman's Blood by T. Lynne Tolles - Free Book Online Page B

alone me. I’ve grown very fond of the boy; so has Anton. Then to find that he was…well…family, it was quite a shock for all of us.”
    “And how is Anton taking the news?” Dr. Rowe asked.
    “Are you kidding? He’s thrilled. He told me that if he could hand pick his own brother, it would be Josh. They’ve really bonded, and well the rest of the family, Devon and Blake, liked him from the get go.
    “I can’t tell you, dear friend, how wonderful it has been to have these kids and their friends in our lives. I’ve grown so attached to all of them. For so long, Michael, I mourned Sophia and let loneliness rule my life, but I feel awakened again. Full of hope and life. Sophia would have been so happy to have such a houseful. She had always wanted as many children as she could have. At the time I had no appreciation for what she obviously knew all along was so important, but I do now.”
    “I’m so happy for you, Dominic. Another son. Do tell me how this all came to be.”
    “Well, I don’t know if you remember me traveling to Minnesota almost thirty years ago? I filled in for Professor Hadley for a semester. I know I told you this,” Dominic said.
    “No...I think I would have remembered this story,” Dr. Rowe said.
    “Well, I met this incredible young woman - beautiful, amazingly bright, and so strong-headed. It had been so long since I had let myself feel anything towards another woman, but she took my breath away from the instant I saw her.
    “That entire semester we had a very passionate love affair, but you know how I was brought up. Father always said that Larsens should never muddy their blood with outsiders. This woman though, Michael, I would have muddied a thousand bloodlines for, but I loved her too much. She was human and I thought introducing her into a world of vampires was too selfish of me to change her life so. I also felt as if I was betraying Sophia and Anton somehow.
    “So when the semester was over I walked away from the girl and the life we might have had. I had no idea that in the time we had been together, we had conceived Josh.
    “Poor thing. I wasn’t there to tell her that a human/vampire pregnancy would be much longer than a normal pregnancy and she couldn’t explain to those around her who the father was, when the child was conceived, or any of it. Apparently, her family had her put away into an institution and when Josh was born, they took him from her and put him up for adoption.
    “Luckily, he was adopted by some very loving humans, but they couldn’t possibly help him with the abilities he had or teach him how to control them.
    “If only I’d known, Michael. Think how different our lives would have been. I could have known love and fatherhood again. Josh wouldn’t have grown up so tortured about himself. Anton would have had a brother. But I guess, better late than never, right?” Dominic explained.
    “I can’t believe you never told me about this love affair,” Dr. Rowe said.
    “I couldn’t, Michael. I thought of her so often, that if I submitted to talking about her, I would not have been able to let her be. Stupid, I suppose. If I had, maybe I would have gone back for her and...well, things would have been different, but I was stubborn...and I felt I was doing the right thing.”
    “You’re a lucky man, Dominic. You’ve known love not once, but twice, and you have two sons to prove it,” Dr. Rowe said.
    “Oh, Michael. How insensitive of me. I know you and Margaret tried for so long...I didn’t mean....” Dominic started.
    “Don’t give it another thought, Dominic, but I should get a move on. I have some things to do this afternoon, and I will most definitely be late for them, but I’ve enjoyed our chat. I’ll let myself out,” the doctor said.
    “You’re sure you are okay? You seem...I don’t know... annoyed,” Dominic noticed.
    “Not at all, dear friend. I had just forgotten my obligations and you know how I hate when my memory fails me.