Night's Touch (42 page)

Later, back at home, Vince and Cara sat in front of the fireplace, sharing a glass of red wine while they admired the lights on the tree. Christmas carols played softly in the background.

They spent Christmas morning in bed, making love. Later, while Cara made herself something to eat, Vince called his folks to wish them a merry Christmas.

Cara was putting the dishes in the dishwasher when Vince came up behind her. "Close your eyes," he said.

"Why?"

"Just do it, darlin'," he said, and when her eyes were closed, he slipped a gold bracelet onto her wrist. "Okay, you can open them now."

"Oh, Vince," she cried, "it's lovely!"

"Just a little something I thought you might like. Merry Christmas, darlin'."

"Merry Christmas."

"Don't I get a kiss?" he asked.

"Oh, yes!"

It was the best kind of kiss, one that led them back into the bedroom, and back to bed.

Life would have been perfect, Cara thought a few days later, except for her constant bouts of nausea in the morning. She didn't mention it to Vince or her parents, didn't want to think what it might mean. Had Vince been mortal, she would have thought she was pregnant, but such a thing was impossible. She couldn't help thinking of all the horrible possibilities, all of them fatal, but if she was dying, she didn't want to know.

She managed to hide her illness from Vince until he rose unusually early one morning and caught her vomiting in the bathroom.

He quickly wet a cloth and handed it to her, his brow furrowed with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," she lied as she wiped her mouth.

"Did you eat something that didn't agree with you?"

She shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. I'm fine now."

Lifting her to her feet, he gazed into her eyes. "Has this happened before?"

Her gaze slid away from his. "No."

"Cara, don't lie to me."

She looked up at him, her eyes welling with tears. "Every morning this past week. Oh, Vince, I'm so afraid!"

"Shh, there's nothing to be afraid of," he said, drawing her into his arms. "It's probably just the flu or a bug of some kind."

She sniffed. "But I don't feel like I've got the flu. I don't have a fever…"

"Have you called the doctor?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid of doctors. They never give you anything but bad news."

"Well, we're calling one now."

She tried to change his mind, but he was adamant, and because she refused to call, he made the appointment for her.

"Four o'clock tomorrow," he told her, "and I don't want any excuses. It's Monday, and you don't have to go to work." He took her chin in his hand. "And don't think about missing it. If I have to, I'll make the appointment for later in the day and I'll take you myself."

"You can't go out during the day," she retorted, "and they close at five, so you can't make me go."

"Then I'll just have to suffer the consequences, won't I?" The thought of Vince going outdoors when the sun was up was enough to insure that she would keep her appointment.

The next day, at five after four, Cara pulled into the parking lot at her doctor's office. She was sitting in the car, gathering her courage, when she happened to look in the rearview mirror. A cold chill ran down her spine when she saw a car pass slowly behind her, a car driven by a woman that looked vaguely familiar. It took Cara a moment to place her and when she did, she jumped out of the car and ran into the doctor's office. The driver had been one of the gray-clad women she had seen before.

"Miss, are you all right?"

Cara looked up to find the receptionist staring at her. "What?"

"Are you all right? You look like you're going to faint."

"No, I'm fine." She took the papers the receptionist handed her, willed her hand to stop shaking as she filled out the necessary forms. In spite of her promise to Vince, she was sorely tempted to leave without seeing the doctor, and only the thought of the pain he would endure if he carried out his threat to bring her here himself kept her from running out of the building—that and the fear that someone might be waiting for her in the parking lot.

Fifteen minuets later, she was wearing a paper gown and seated on an examining table. A nurse recorded her weight and took her blood pressure, and then the doctor came in. He looked at her chart, listened to her symptoms, and concluded that she was pregnant.

Cara shook her head. "I can't be."

"You're a married woman," the doctor said, referring to her chart. "Is your husband impotent?"

"No," Cara said quickly, and felt her cheeks burn at her enthusiastic reply.

"Then I assume you have relations with your husband?"

"Yes, but…"

He asked her a few more questions, like the date of her last period and other intimate details, and then he examined her.

Forty minutes later, Cara left the office, wondering how she was going to tell Vince he was going to be a father and wondering how she would ever convince him that the baby was his.

Cara drove home in a daze, everything else forgotten but her unexpected news. What was she going to tell Vince?, How could she possibly be pregnant when her husband was a vampire?

She was relieved to find he wasn't home when she got there. In the last few days, he had started going to the garage before the sun came up so he wouldn't be trapped in the house during the day. Sitting on the sofa, she placed her hands on her stomach. She couldn't think about fixing dinner, she couldn't think about anything but the new life growing within her. She was pregnant. With child. Gestating. She wanted to call her parents. She wanted to call Sarah Beth. She wanted to tell the world, but first she had to tell Vince.

Sitting on the sofa, she hugged herself, unable to stop smiling. She was going to have a baby, a little boy with Vince's black hair and dark eyes.

Her smile faded when she heard Vince's key in the lock.

"Hey, wife," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "I expected you to call me when you got home from the doctor. What did he say?"

"I'm perfectly healthy," she said slowly. "For a woman who's pregnant."

Vince stared at her, his eyes narrowing. "Pregnant? That's impossible. There must be some mistake."

"That's what I said, so they ran the tests twice."

A muscle throbbed in his cheek. "So, who's the father?"

Even though Cara had expected just such a reaction, the words hit her like a blow. How could he believe she had been unfaithful to him? How could he not, when everyone knew vampires couldn't create life?

Still, she couldn't help being hurt by his immediate assumption that she had betrayed him. She blinked rapidly. She didn't want him to see her cry or know how badly his words had hurt.

"Dammit, Cara, answer me!"

"You, you big jerk, you're the father!"

"That's impossible and we both know it."

"Well, it's true whether you believe it or not," she said, and, bursting into tears, she ran out of the room.

Vince swore softly. He couldn't be the father. It was impossible. And yet, in spite of his implied accusation, he knew that she hadn't been intimate with any other man. But… how could it be true? The doctor had to be mistaken.

He swore again, cursing himself for making her cry. Taking a deep breath, he went to their bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Cara?"

"Go away."

He turned the handle, scowling when he realized she had locked the door. Well, she had a lot to learn about living with a vampire, he thought ruefully. The door opened at the touch of his hand.

Cara looked up, her eyes red and swollen. "That's not fair," she sniffed.

Crossing the floor, he sat on the edge of the bed and drew her into his arms. "I'm sorry, darlin', but…" He shook his head.

"I know, I didn't believe him either, not at first." She placed her hand on her stomach. "But somehow, on the way home, I knew it was true." She sniffed again. "And I knew you wouldn't believe me." She looked up at him, her eyes wet with tears. "You don't really think that I…"

He placed his hand over her mouth. "No, I don't think that." He kissed her lightly. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me for being a jerk?"

"I guess so. Being a man, you probably can't help it."

"Hey."

She smiled at him through her tears. "How do you think it happened?"

Vince grunted softly. "The usual way, I imagine."

"You know what I mean. I thought vampires couldn't make babies."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Have you told your folks?"

"No, I wanted to tell you first." She smiled shyly. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Darlin', nothing could make me happier than having a baby with you." But even as he said the words, he couldn't help wondering what kind of baby it would be.

"A baby." Cara said with a sigh. "Our baby." She looked up at him. "It's like a dream come true."

"It's more like a miracle." Using his fingertips, he wiped the tears from her eyes. "Come on, let's go tell your folks the good news."

Roshan and Brenna looked as stunned as Vince felt when Cara told them the news later that night. Once their initial shock wore off, they bombarded Vince and Cara with congratulations and questions. Vince accepted the hugs and handshakes; as for answers, he didn't have any.

Later, sitting in the living room, Roshan proposed a toast, and then, after having giving it some thought, he said, "I've never heard of a vampire who could reproduce, but Cara's pregnant, so it must be possible. I think it's a combination of two things: Mara's ancient blood and the fact that Vince has been a vampire for such a short time. I would imagine that, as he grows older in the life, his power to reproduce will gradually disappear."

Vince nodded. It was as good an explanation as any, but only led to more questions.

Cara voiced one first. "What about the baby? Will it be half vampire? Is such a thing even possible?"

Roshan shook his head. "I'm afraid we'll just have to wait and see."

Cara nodded, but Vince saw the worry in her eyes.

"This is such wonderful news!" Brenna exclaimed. "Cara, I'm so happy for you. And for me," she admitted with a smile. "I never thought we'd have grandchildren. Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?"

"It doesn't matter," Cara replied, "as long as it's healthy."

"Of course, that's the important thing," Brenna agreed.

Cara stared out the window as Vince drove them home. Her initial joy at the thought of having a baby had paled as thoughts of having a child that was half vampire filled her mind. Would she have a baby who couldn't go outside during the day or that needed blood to survive? Would she give birth to some kind of inhuman monster?

"We should start looking for a new house," Vince suggested as he pulled into the driveway. "One with a big backyard."

Cara nodded, only half listening to what he was saying. Would the doctors discover there was something abnormal about her baby before it was born?

"Cara?" He turned off the ignition and killed the lights. "Do you want to talk about it?"

 She turned to face him, tears shining in her eyes. "What have we done?"