bothered by Melinda? Well, Melinda had gotten past them eventually. Only Griffen himself could have kept an experienced and determined lady like her away from Val. The baby in her womb was Melinda’s grandchild.
Val found it a curious dichotomy that she had come to terms with Melinda, would happily die for the sake of her future child, and yet looked forward to killing the bastard who had impregnated her when she saw him next. Melinda was carefully keeping her son out of Val’s way. It wasn’t the fact that she was going to have a baby; it was that he had used another dragon skill, a kind of magical hypnosis, to get in bed with her. For robbing her of free will, she was going to beat him to death the first opportunity she could. Sometimes, when she had an odd moment, she fantasized about what heavy objects she was going to use on him.
As for the baby itself—Val carefully kept from trying to guess its gender—she had never loved anything so much in her life. She’d been of two minds when she first found out. She was glad she hadn’t jumped at her first impulse, to get rid of it. Now Val wanted to be a mother. She was eager for the day in late September when her baby would be born and she could hold it in her arms for the first time. The joy she felt every so often when she thought about it made her feel good all over. Sure, there were going to be problems ahead. Handling a newborn and the rest of her future at the same time would need a lot of planning and plenty of help. She was luckier than many single mothers who had fewer resources to count on. The Quarter was not only her neighborhood, it had become her extended family. Hers and Griffen’s.
She had few clear memories of their parents. Griffen and Val had been small when their mother and father left home for the last time. Still, Val recalled being held in strong arms and rocked. There had been a blue teddy bear with a yellow ribbon around its neck and amber plastic eyes. A mellow soprano voice and a deep baritone voice sang nonsense songs with her tiny treble. She had a mental image of a small blond woman and a very tall man. To her childish memory, they had been perfect. Now she realized how little she knew about them. Her uncle had never really sat down with her and Griffen to tell them what had happened to take their parents away, or to answer any questions they had had over the years.
How easily she had accepted the status quo. Immediately, she felt a pang of distrust. Had Malcolm done something like Nathaniel and compelled them not to be curious? No, how could he? He was never home, or hardly ever. She and Griffen didn’t miss him when he was away during their childhoods. Val was grateful that he had taken them in, but she had no strong feelings for him. He hadn’t called them in over a year since they had moved to the South. Maybe he was glad to be rid of them, like Melinda said.
Val tore off a piece of bread and played with it moodily. She really shouldn’t trust Melinda. The older dragon was far more concerned about the well-being of Val’s baby than about Val herself. Still, she treated Val like a real adult.
Maybe too much of one.
A rap on the door drew her out of her reverie.
“Come in!” she called.
A timid face peered around the doorway.
“Are you ready for me, Miss Valerie?” Roxanne was a petite woman with shining blond hair pulled back and folded against the back of her head. At six feet tall, Val felt like a giant next to her. That reminded her of her friend Mai, one of Griffen’s girlfriends, petite with delicate bones. She missed Mai.
“Sure,” she said. “Come in.”
“Thank you.”
Roxanne dragged in her rolling cart of hairdressing tools. Without another word, she went to work on Val’s hair, gently combing out the tangles and drying it with a cylindrical brush and a blow-dryer with a huge diffuser attached to the mouth.
“How’s it going?” Val asked, staring out at the dancing lights on the pool.
“Fine,
Val found it a curious dichotomy that she had come to terms with Melinda, would happily die for the sake of her future child, and yet looked forward to killing the bastard who had impregnated her when she saw him next. Melinda was carefully keeping her son out of Val’s way. It wasn’t the fact that she was going to have a baby; it was that he had used another dragon skill, a kind of magical hypnosis, to get in bed with her. For robbing her of free will, she was going to beat him to death the first opportunity she could. Sometimes, when she had an odd moment, she fantasized about what heavy objects she was going to use on him.
As for the baby itself—Val carefully kept from trying to guess its gender—she had never loved anything so much in her life. She’d been of two minds when she first found out. She was glad she hadn’t jumped at her first impulse, to get rid of it. Now Val wanted to be a mother. She was eager for the day in late September when her baby would be born and she could hold it in her arms for the first time. The joy she felt every so often when she thought about it made her feel good all over. Sure, there were going to be problems ahead. Handling a newborn and the rest of her future at the same time would need a lot of planning and plenty of help. She was luckier than many single mothers who had fewer resources to count on. The Quarter was not only her neighborhood, it had become her extended family. Hers and Griffen’s.
She had few clear memories of their parents. Griffen and Val had been small when their mother and father left home for the last time. Still, Val recalled being held in strong arms and rocked. There had been a blue teddy bear with a yellow ribbon around its neck and amber plastic eyes. A mellow soprano voice and a deep baritone voice sang nonsense songs with her tiny treble. She had a mental image of a small blond woman and a very tall man. To her childish memory, they had been perfect. Now she realized how little she knew about them. Her uncle had never really sat down with her and Griffen to tell them what had happened to take their parents away, or to answer any questions they had had over the years.
How easily she had accepted the status quo. Immediately, she felt a pang of distrust. Had Malcolm done something like Nathaniel and compelled them not to be curious? No, how could he? He was never home, or hardly ever. She and Griffen didn’t miss him when he was away during their childhoods. Val was grateful that he had taken them in, but she had no strong feelings for him. He hadn’t called them in over a year since they had moved to the South. Maybe he was glad to be rid of them, like Melinda said.
Val tore off a piece of bread and played with it moodily. She really shouldn’t trust Melinda. The older dragon was far more concerned about the well-being of Val’s baby than about Val herself. Still, she treated Val like a real adult.
Maybe too much of one.
A rap on the door drew her out of her reverie.
“Come in!” she called.
A timid face peered around the doorway.
“Are you ready for me, Miss Valerie?” Roxanne was a petite woman with shining blond hair pulled back and folded against the back of her head. At six feet tall, Val felt like a giant next to her. That reminded her of her friend Mai, one of Griffen’s girlfriends, petite with delicate bones. She missed Mai.
“Sure,” she said. “Come in.”
“Thank you.”
Roxanne dragged in her rolling cart of hairdressing tools. Without another word, she went to work on Val’s hair, gently combing out the tangles and drying it with a cylindrical brush and a blow-dryer with a huge diffuser attached to the mouth.
“How’s it going?” Val asked, staring out at the dancing lights on the pool.
“Fine,
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