The Reluctant Vampire

outage.

“Oh dear,” Marguerite breathed when she finished. “I’ll call Lucian and have him send some men to clear the road and-”

“Oh, no, don’t do that,” Katricia said at once, and then explained, “If the road’s cleared he might leave. Besides, right now I’m staying at his cottage and sharing Decker’s food with him. If you clear the road-”

“There won’t be any need for you to both be at his cottage,” Marguerite finished for her with understanding, and then paused briefly before asking, “So you have heat and food?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose there’s no real urgency to clear the road and get the power back on then,” Marguerite murmured. “But call at once if the situation changes and you need things fixed quickly.”

“I will.”

“I’ll call Bastien about the blood delivery though,” Marguerite went on. “They can bring it in by snowmobile. Perhaps they can even arrange for a snowmobile to be brought for the two of you to use. That way you can still share the cottage but also leave to get provisions if you need them, or even just get out for a meal so you don’t get cabin fever.”

“That would be nice,” Katricia said, a smile curving her lips as she imagined Teddy sitting behind her on a snowmobile, his arms wrapped around her as they roared off into town for groceries or dinner. Or even herself on the back holding onto him as he drove them back. In her experience, men tended to prefer to drive and she was willing to share. . especially if it meant getting to ride with her arms around him and her chest pressed to his back and-

Dear God, I’m pathetic, Katricia thought with a shake of the head. “Are you sure I can’t just tell him? He might be all right with it if he knew.”

“He might,” Marguerite agreed uncertainly. “I just think it’s better to err on the side of caution. This life-mate business is such a delicate thing. I’m just suggesting you maybe wait a day or two. Right now you’re a stranger to him, dear.”

“Yeah,” she agreed on a sigh, her gaze moving to Teddy out by the truck.

“I’ll suggest Bastien have the blood courier bring food too,” Marguerite said suddenly. “And more blankets and- It might take a while to get everything together, Katricia. Are you okay for blood if it doesn’t show until tomorrow morning or later?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Katricia said on a sigh. “I can go two or three days without if I have to. Twenty-four hours is nothing.”

“All right then, leave it to me. I’ll take care of everything.”