Read Online Taste (Ava Delaney #5) by Claire Farrell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Claire Farrell
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take any more.
I sniffed hesitantly, but detected no death. There was… something. Different scents that I couldn’t explain. I found Nancy in the living room, knitting rapidly.
“Oh, hello, Ava,” she said brightly.
Her out-of-character attitude completely freaked me out. “Your door was open.”
“Did you leave it open again? Aren’t I always telling you to close it after you?” She shook her head and the clacking of her knitting needles grew faster. “The child will be the death of me,” she whispered.
I shifted from one foot to the other, feeling ridiculously juvenile. “So I came to tell you something, and—”
Her head shot up, her eyes narrowing coldly. “What did you do this time?”
“Me? Nothing. It was the vampires. They—”
She made the sign of the cross. “Don’t say that word in this house. You know the rules. Go to your room.”
“My what ? What are you on about?”
“No answering back! Get out of my sight.”
“Nancy, what the hell are you…”
I caught a scent then, something I hadn’t smelled in over seven years. My breath hitched in my throat, and I froze. There was no escape. The past had just caught up with me.
The front door slammed, and a voice called out, “I have your tea, Nancy.”
I turned in shock as Wesley walked into the room. He faltered when he saw me, a half-dozen emotions flitting across his face in rapid succession. My own mouth had dropped open, and he let a plastic shopping bag fall to the floor.
That broke the spell. Both of us bent to pick it up, our fingers touching briefly. I took a step back in horror as my throat ached with a thirst I couldn’t satisfy. Not now. Not again. Not with him.
I turned away from my ex-boyfriend, the one I had been tempted to drain, the one I had run away from, the one who had changed my life in a dozen separate ways. My hands trembled; I couldn’t think straight. Between my grandmother acting crazy and my ex walking into the room as if the past seven years hadn’t happened, I couldn’t get a handle on what was going on.
“No funny business, you two,” Nancy said, peering at us. “David, put on the kettle. There’s a love.”
“David?” I gazed at my grandmother, still struggling to catch up.
“It’s okay,” Wesley said under his breath, touching my arm briefly. “Why don’t you give me a hand?”
He escorted me out of the room, and after a second, I heard Nancy’s knitting start up again.
I made it to the kitchen before losing my mind. “What’s going on? Why are you here? And what the hell is with her ?”
He stared at me blankly for a couple of seconds. “You don’t know?”
“Do I look like someone in the know?” I shouted.
He held up his hands. “I thought you were here because you knew. It’s dementia, Ava. A couple of years ago, she was told she was likely in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Lately, she’s gotten worse. It’s been a pretty rapid decline, actually. We’ve been trying to figure out how to get in touch with you. She never said… my mother’s been taking care of her mostly. I help out when I’m home. And I’m home for good now. I owe it to you to keep an eye on her.”
“Owe it to me? How could you possibly owe me anything?” I stared at him, aghast. I could have killed him back then, a man who had only ever been good to me. He had been the first to treat me like a person. The only one to see through the weirdness and awkwardness and appreciate the person I was underneath. I had repaid him by sinking my fangs into his flesh.
He glanced away as if ashamed. When he looked back at me, his dark soulful eyes reached inside me, found my teenage heart, and squeezed it until it skittered in my chest. “I don’t fully remember what happened the night you left, Ava. It was a blur, but I must have hurt you terribly, and I’m so sorry. All I remember is how scared you looked. I can’t forget that one thing. If there’s anything I can ever do to make up for it,
I sniffed hesitantly, but detected no death. There was… something. Different scents that I couldn’t explain. I found Nancy in the living room, knitting rapidly.
“Oh, hello, Ava,” she said brightly.
Her out-of-character attitude completely freaked me out. “Your door was open.”
“Did you leave it open again? Aren’t I always telling you to close it after you?” She shook her head and the clacking of her knitting needles grew faster. “The child will be the death of me,” she whispered.
I shifted from one foot to the other, feeling ridiculously juvenile. “So I came to tell you something, and—”
Her head shot up, her eyes narrowing coldly. “What did you do this time?”
“Me? Nothing. It was the vampires. They—”
She made the sign of the cross. “Don’t say that word in this house. You know the rules. Go to your room.”
“My what ? What are you on about?”
“No answering back! Get out of my sight.”
“Nancy, what the hell are you…”
I caught a scent then, something I hadn’t smelled in over seven years. My breath hitched in my throat, and I froze. There was no escape. The past had just caught up with me.
The front door slammed, and a voice called out, “I have your tea, Nancy.”
I turned in shock as Wesley walked into the room. He faltered when he saw me, a half-dozen emotions flitting across his face in rapid succession. My own mouth had dropped open, and he let a plastic shopping bag fall to the floor.
That broke the spell. Both of us bent to pick it up, our fingers touching briefly. I took a step back in horror as my throat ached with a thirst I couldn’t satisfy. Not now. Not again. Not with him.
I turned away from my ex-boyfriend, the one I had been tempted to drain, the one I had run away from, the one who had changed my life in a dozen separate ways. My hands trembled; I couldn’t think straight. Between my grandmother acting crazy and my ex walking into the room as if the past seven years hadn’t happened, I couldn’t get a handle on what was going on.
“No funny business, you two,” Nancy said, peering at us. “David, put on the kettle. There’s a love.”
“David?” I gazed at my grandmother, still struggling to catch up.
“It’s okay,” Wesley said under his breath, touching my arm briefly. “Why don’t you give me a hand?”
He escorted me out of the room, and after a second, I heard Nancy’s knitting start up again.
I made it to the kitchen before losing my mind. “What’s going on? Why are you here? And what the hell is with her ?”
He stared at me blankly for a couple of seconds. “You don’t know?”
“Do I look like someone in the know?” I shouted.
He held up his hands. “I thought you were here because you knew. It’s dementia, Ava. A couple of years ago, she was told she was likely in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Lately, she’s gotten worse. It’s been a pretty rapid decline, actually. We’ve been trying to figure out how to get in touch with you. She never said… my mother’s been taking care of her mostly. I help out when I’m home. And I’m home for good now. I owe it to you to keep an eye on her.”
“Owe it to me? How could you possibly owe me anything?” I stared at him, aghast. I could have killed him back then, a man who had only ever been good to me. He had been the first to treat me like a person. The only one to see through the weirdness and awkwardness and appreciate the person I was underneath. I had repaid him by sinking my fangs into his flesh.
He glanced away as if ashamed. When he looked back at me, his dark soulful eyes reached inside me, found my teenage heart, and squeezed it until it skittered in my chest. “I don’t fully remember what happened the night you left, Ava. It was a blur, but I must have hurt you terribly, and I’m so sorry. All I remember is how scared you looked. I can’t forget that one thing. If there’s anything I can ever do to make up for it,
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