“It’ll just take time,” Malorie assured him, rearranging her dress as her sated baby fell into a milk coma. “He’ll come around sooner or later, you know.”
He gave a desolate chuckle, “He can hold a grudge for a very long time.”
“But not this time,” she assured him with absolute confidence. Nudging his shoulder, she grinned impishly, “You have me on your side.”
He stared at her in bafflement. “Why?”
“You saved my baby,” she repeated.
“If it weren’t for me she would never have been in danger.”
“You were desperate and not in your right mind.” She shrugged her slender shoulders and added, “Besides, you’re taking your punishment very well.”
He scoffed, “As if watching over a bunch of squalling infants when they’re born is going to be a hardship.”
“You have no idea,” she snorted. “You know, my grandfather might still be out there. Maybe when you have a break in babysitting a horde of infants, you can search for him. I don’t think Gustav will mind since he’s preoccupied with Tari and their baby.”
Finally he looked at her with bemused gratitude, “You are a remarkable woman, Malorie. My brother is far luckier than I ever realized.”
She ducked her head, uncomfortable with his praise. Trying to laugh it off, she grinned, “You’re just trying to sweet talk me so you can charm your way into having your pick of Breeders when they’re born.”
“Sparks,” he blurted. At her questioning look, he colored slightly as he explained, “As in life spark. Aradians can only destroy humans but you… you give them life. You are the spark that creates so Sparks.”
She grinned, mulling the name over in her head. It was far better than Breeder but she wasn’t sure if it would catch on. “Perhaps.”
“It was just a suggestion,” he said with a smile.
“Malorie,” Feryn crooned with absolute love and devotion in his warm voice as he and Toby joined them on the blanket. Without looking at Jiro, he spoke in an absolutely icy tone, “Jiro.”
Jiro chuckled but it was strained, “It seems my brother has yet to forgive me.”
“Time,” she reminded him as she handed Hope to her doting father. He cradled the baby in his arms with such tender care that it filled Malorie with such joy she thought she would burst. Leaning against Feryn’s shoulder, she ran a finger along the curve of Hope’s face and crooned, “It’ll just take time. Won’t it, little one?”
“Can I….” Jiro stared at the baby with longing as he cleared his throat and asked, “Can I hold her?”
Gently extracting Hope from her father’s hold, Malorie placed the baby in her uncle’s arm. Had she not already forgiven him, Jiro’s stricken expression was enough to convince her he truly repented his actions. Had things turned out differently, she wasn’t sure if she would have had the strength to forgive him but that wasn’t worth considering. It was because of Jiro that she almost lost Hope but it was also because of Jiro that Hope was saved.
~The End~
A.C.Warneke
Books by A.C. Warneke
Darkness Comes
Darkness Falls
Blight
After Blight
Awakening
Stone Lover
Stone Romance
Stone Destiny
Siren Song
Winter's Heart
Connect with A.C. Warneke:
http://acwarneke.com
http://www.facebook.com/ACWarneke
acwarneke@yahoo.com
Table of Contents
The story so far
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
A.C.Warneke