Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition))

by Zaroski, Melissa

  “Thank you, Chris and Nicole, that will be all for now,” Aidan said, clearly giving them a cue to leave the room.

  Emma slouched back on the couch with a satisfied smile and her eyes closed, relishing in the afterglow of her superb meal.

  One side of Aidan’s mouth curled up in a sly smile, “You haven’t done that in a while, have you?”

  “Mmmm, nope. I forgot how good it is,” Emma replied, keeping her eyes closed.

  “How can you enjoy drinking out of a glass a majority of the time? Why not feed from a human and just charm them to forget?” He asked, clearly perplexed once again by her lifestyle choices.

  “I don’t like having to charm people, you know that,” she responded as she opened her eyes to look at him. “I don’t feel like it’s fair for me to wipe out someone’s memory.”

  “But, that’s why we have that ability, my dear. It is so we can feed without having to kill them to keep our secret. It’s a natural mechanism for us, don’t be ashamed of it. Not to mention it is for your own safety.”

  Once again, Aidan’s teachings made her question her own decisions. Sometimes she wished he would have fought a little harder to convince her not to stay with her family and live among humans. It certainly would have spared her the pain of losing them with each passing generation, especially the ones she grew attached to. Daniel instantly popped into her mind.

  “Aidan, I was wondering…if Zachariah and Daniel could come here and join us for the holidays? I have never been apart from them this time of year,” she asked, unsure of how he would respond.

  He looked at her quizzically, “Daniel…your human nephew?”

  She nodded while looking at him with innocent, pleading eyes.

  A moment passed while he thought it over, “Zachariah…of course. He is family to us. But, Daniel…why the human?”

  “I’m the only family he has, Aidan. He has no cousins, aunts, uncles, or grandparents. His parents are gone—you know that. I have been like a sister to him since he was born; Zachariah and I are all he has now since his parents were killed. I love him, Aidan. We have a bond like no other.”

  He put his hand to his face and rubbed his cheeks down to his chin, while mulling over her words. “A bond like no other, huh?” He hesitated a bit longer; Emma felt like a little girl asking her father for permission to do something he didn’t approve of. “Emma, I haven’t had a human in my house that wasn’t a food source in…well, never. You came here to get away from that human, Todd, right?”

  “Right, but I didn’t realize he was headed back to London for the holidays. I almost canceled my trip to come here, however you know how strong the pull is for me to you. Once I made up my mind to come, I couldn’t wait to see you. But, Zachariah and Daniel were disappointed that I would be gone for the holidays.”

  “How about this,” he started with a spark. “Why don’t I come to Chicago? I haven’t visited your home in a few years. I would like to see your great nephew that you have a bond with…just not here. I’m not accustomed to having humans here as guests.”

  Emma smiled brightly, knowing how happy the boys would be to hear the news that she would be there for the holidays. She herself was elated that not only would she be with Daniel and Zachariah, but Aidan as well. She jumped onto Aidan’s lap, straddling him while giving him a hard kiss on the cheek. “I’d love for you to come for a visit! Thank you!”

  He placed his hands on her waist and with dark eyes he responded, “You’re welcome, darlin’. Would you mind if Mackenzie joined us? It has been ages since she has visited your Manor.”

  “Of course Mackenzie can come, it would be lovely to have her there, too,” Emma replied. She had always like Mackenzie and enjoyed spending time with her whenever she came to visit Aidan in Scotland. She loved her quick wit and camaraderie when she was with her. “Just a friendly F.Y.I. though...Daniel isn’t food,” she said.

  With a quick laugh that was just air being exhaled from his nose, he replied, “I know. He won’t be touched.” He sounded slightly perturbed. “I still don’t understand why you would want to remain with humans.”

  “You know, there is a part of me that wishes that you would have fought me a little harder about that when I first turned. I have lost count of how many times I have had to say goodbye to those I love.”

  “I tried to tell you, darlin’. But, you were bound and determined to stay with your family. I actually admired your demanding personality and it was then that I knew that you were going to be amazing. I don’t think you would have been able to change your mind no matter how much I fought you.”

  “You’re probably right,” she said as she mindlessly played with his hair.

  “I’m very proud of you, Emma. You’ve exceeded all of my expectations and you’re doing a great job.”

  He had told her this time and again, but it made her heart swell every time she heard it. She wanted nothing more than to please her maker and to be reassured that the decisions she made were right. He may not always agree with her, but he had always supported and guided her the best that he could.

  With his hands still on her hips, he pulled her up against his body. She moved her hands down to his broad shoulders and ran them down the length of his upper arms. His muscles flexed under her touch; he was the epitome of a man’s man. He had been a Scottish warrior during his human years and his large, strong body was built to fight. Even without the knowledge of him being an ancient vampire, one would be hesitant to pick a brawl with him.

  She leaned in and aggressively kissed him, feeling his stubble lightly scratch her face. He wrapped his large arms around her, engulfing her petite frame.

  “I’m going to give the boys a call and let them know about Christmas,” she said as she climbed off of him and reached for her cell phone.

  “Hey Zach! I wanted to let you know that instead of you guys coming here, Aidan and Mackenzie will be joining us in Chicago instead. I’ll let you know of our travel plans. How are things going there?”

  Zachariah replied, “Things are good here, people are starting to head home for the holidays. That’s great that Aidan and Mackenzie will be here, which rooms do you want me to prepare for them?” Zachariah had always had a sweet spot for Mackenzie and often hooked up with her when they saw each other, which was usually every few decades.

  Emma instructed him on which rooms to prepare for their new guests and to let Daniel know just how important Aidan and Mackenzie were to the vampire world. She was sure he already knew, but since living with vampires was so normal for him, she wanted him to be reminded that Aidan was no ordinary vampire. He was her maker, one of the oldest vampires walking the earth, and the King of Europe.

  After spending a few days in Scotland with Aidan and Mackenzie, the trio flew in to Chicago in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve, but just barely. A blizzard was about to hit the city and several flights were canceled for the evening going in and out of O’Hare airport. Luckily, their flight was one of the last few that wasn’t diverted to another city or canceled. Emma was both excited and nervous about having Aidan and Mackenzie come to visit. She knew they judged her for remaining with her human family and the fact that she was so close with Daniel. But, just the mere presence of Aidan for an extended period of time was enough to make her a bit giddy.

  Zachariah picked them up in the Escalade knowing they would need the extra room and that they would probably end up driving right into the storm as it made its way into the area. Once they were on the highway and got the small talk out of the way, he turned to Emma and said, “I should tell you now, before you get home and are surprised…”

  Emma looked at him with impatience as he clenched his teeth.

  “…Todd is still there. His flight out to London this evening was canceled and they wouldn’t be able to get him there until two days after Christmas, so he scrapped his trip home altogether.” He winced, pursing his lips while waiting for her reaction.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” she
responded with disbelief. He shook his head.

  “Oh, this ought to be fun,” Mackenzie chimed in with amusement. Emma had filled her in on the entire story of Todd during her stay in Scotland. Emma buried her face in her hands and dramatically shook her head back and forth while Aidan chuckled from the backseat.

  Once they arrived home, they came in through the back door and made their way to the foyer where Vivienne and Declan were waiting. Declan bowed and Vivienne curtsied as Aidan approached them. There wasn’t a vampire in the world that didn’t know his importance.

  “Daniel, where are you?” Emma called out, her voice bouncing from the cathedral-high ceiling.

  Daniel slowly emerged from the parlor; clearly Zachariah had stressed Aidan’s importance in the vampire world. He examined their new guests with caution and gave them a closed-lip smile that had fear hidden behind it.

  “Daniel, this is Aidan, my maker and the King of Europe,” she said while touching Aidan’s shoulder with one hand and motioning to him with the other. “And this is one of his other offspring and second-in-command, Mackenzie.” She turned to them and said, “This is my dearest sixth-great nephew, Daniel.”

  With a calm in his eyes and a warm smile, Aidan reached out his hand to greet Daniel. “Good to finally meet you, lad. Emma has had nothing but great things to say about you,” he said as they shook hands.

  “Good to meet you both, too,” he replied as he moved on to shake Mackenzie’s hand as well. Aidan’s face looked oddly familiar to him, like a case of déjà vu. His anxiety was getting the best of him and Aidan could hear it in his palpitating heart.

  “Relax, Daniel. No harm will come of you,” he said with a smooth voice. Daniel instantly exhaled and gave him a relieved smile.

  Emma and Zachariah looked at each other with hidden shock when they realized that Aidan had just charmed Daniel into relaxing.

  “Daniel, would you mind warming up some glasses of blood for our guests?” Emma said to get him out of hearing range. After he turned down the hallway and they heard him near the kitchen, she spun around to scold Aidan. “No charming Daniel! The only time he has ever been charmed was when I told him he could never spill our secret to those who didn’t know. I did that with every child once they learned how to talk. Otherwise, I never charm my family members.”

  Aidan held his hands out in front of him, “Whoa, love! I meant him no harm, I just don’t want him to be afraid of us. I won’t maliciously charm him, you should know that.”

  She narrowed her eyes with threat, “No charming Daniel. No feeding on Daniel. Got it, you two?” She mockingly waved her index finger at them.

  “He relaxed though, didn’t he?” Mackenzie said with an encouraging smile.

  Emma snickered and rolled her eyes. “Come on, everyone, let’s go into the dining room. We’ll drink in there.”

  They followed her into the dining room and sat down while she continued to the kitchen with Vivienne following behind her to help. Daniel had just finished heating up the last couple of glasses of blood and put the jug away in the hidden refrigerator.

  “Thank you, Daniel. Why don’t you crack open a beer and join us?” She asked as she placed all the glasses onto a silver tray.

  They sat around the large dining room table having a lively conversation. Thanks to Aidan charming Daniel to relax, he felt right at home socializing with the six vampires around him. He had been a gentleman and pulled a chair out for Mackenzie and took the seat next to her. He easily spoke about growing up with Emma and Zachariah as part of the family and the antics they would pull to amuse him as a child. Aidan and Mackenzie began to see the appeal that Daniel had; the bond that he shared with Emma and the admiration they had for each other. They realized that growing up with vampires in the house was as normal as butter on bread to him. Aidan spoke of his numerous travels around the world, fascinating everyone in the room. He spoke in a manner that allowed them to envision what life was like long before any of them were born.

  They shared laughs and began to get louder with each conversation. Todd, who had been sitting in his room watching TV, heard a faint commotion of people downstairs and decided to check it out. He knew a majority of the cast and crew were gone for the holidays—they were smart enough to book their travels a few days before Christmas. When he had made his travel plans, he was still with Emma and didn’t want to be apart from her for too long. So, he booked his flight home to London on Christmas Eve, arriving on Christmas morning. Now, due to the snow storm, he was stuck in Chicago and traveling home two days after Christmas was completely pointless.

  He quietly walked down the grand staircase and followed the sound of voices through the hallways and into the dining room where he saw Emma and the others along with two new faces. “Emma, you’re back already?”

  She glanced up at him standing in the doorway; for once she was actually surprised. She had been so consumed in the conversations that she didn’t pay attention to any surrounding sounds or scents. She had let her guard down, something that she rarely did and she was disappointed with herself for doing so. “I am,” she said with a smile. “Zach told me that your flight was canceled for tonight. I’m sorry you won’t be able to be home for Christmas.”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t get out until the twenty-seventh and my return flight was for the twenty-eighth, so it’s pointless to go. I’ll just use my tickets at another time.”

  She stood up so she could introduce him to Aidan and Mackenzie. “Todd, this is Aidan, my maker from Scotland. And this is his other offspring, Mackenzie.”

  Mackenzie gave him a polite wave “hello” and Aidan slowly stood up and began walking toward him. Todd met him halfway and shook his hand and noticed that Aidan looked less than friendly.

  “Good to meet you, Todd,” Aidan said with no infliction in his voice. His menacing stare pierced through Todd, who remembered that Emma had once told him that Aidan was an ancient vampire. He matched Todd in height, but Aidan was far more bulky the he was. He looked as though he was made of brick and mortar, solid like a rock, and he knew he didn’t want to be on Aidan’s bad side. “Why don’t you join us, Todd?” His voice was ominously coercive.

  Todd was unsure what to think, but he felt that if he declined it would seem insulting, so he hesitantly replied, “Sure.”

  “Come,” Aidan’s voice bellowed. “Sit between Emma and me.” He motioned his head to Zachariah telling him to move down a chair to make room.

  Todd sat down and noticed all eyes were on him, making him feel like he was on trial. Emma gently patted his thigh and he could feel the tension rolling through her.

  “So, Todd…Emma tells us that she has been dating you for the past couple of months while you’ve been here,” Aidan said without changing his expression.

  Todd awkwardly nodded his head and replied, “Yes, I was completely taken by her when we met. She’s a lovely person.”

  “Do you still find her lovely now that you know what she is?”

  Without missing a beat, Todd replied, “Yes.” He gave Emma a quick glance and raised his eyebrows.

  “Even though you watched her kill five men right in front of you without an inkling of remorse?” Aidan grilled.

  “Yes,” he replied. He started to feel like a teenager being interrogated by his girlfriend’s father.

  “Did you wonder why Emma was so drawn to you, even though you are just a human?”

  “I wondered why she was drawn to me even before I knew she was a vampire. It just seemed unlikely that a girl like her would fancy someone like me,” Todd replied with honesty.

  “What do you mean someone like you?” Aidan’s brow was now furrowed, almost angry.

  Todd’s nerves were beginning to take over and he stammered his response, “I mean…I’m just an actor. She’s…this amazing, beautiful girl from an affluent family that actually knew who I was. It was mind-boggling.”

  Aidan nodded in agreement, “It is mind-boggling.”

  “Aidan!” Emma hissed
.

  He chortled and threw his hands in the air, “I’m just trying to understand the appeal of dating a human you have no intention of turning, love!”

  She shook her head, rolled her eyes, and let out an exasperated breath of air. “I’m sorry, Todd.”

  He chuckled, “That’s okay, he’s just looking out for you.” He really wanted to say that Aidan was being a prick, but he knew those would be the last words he would ever say.

  Chapter 13

  Todd and Emma walked upstairs together toward the bedrooms while the others remained in the dining room. She had really missed Todd’s company the past few weeks and how easy it was being with him.

  “I’m sorry about Aidan interrogating you,” she said as they stopped in front of her bedroom door.

  Todd, knowing that Aidan could hear them replied, “That’s okay.” But, he whipped out his cell phone and typed as if he was going to text her, He’s a jerk.

  She quietly laughed and took his cell phone from his hand and typed back, He’s just a little old fashioned when it comes to vampire/human relationships. I don’t think he can understand how I let myself get emotionally attached to you when I don’t plan to turn you. He still doesn’t get why I stayed with my family for the past 200 years.