Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (17 page)

“I will leave you now.  I would appreciate you keeping my secret
,
Amira.”

Setting her guilt aside, she looked up at him.  “Please don’t leave yet
,
Dragan!”

“But I thought…”

Cocking her head to one
side,
she smiled.  “Your truth did not push me away like you thought it would….It will take some time for it to sink in my head
,
but I really don’t see how that changes how I feel about you.”

Brushing his knuckles against her cheek, he stared at her in wonder.  “You are amazing to me
,
Amira!  I will stay for another cup of tea, but then I really must go.”

  
Hearing the door open, James looked up from the papers spread out before him
on the giant desk
.

Surprised
,
he watched as Dragan walked into the room closing the door behind him.

“Good morning
,
Dr. Reynolds.”

“Good morning
,
James.”

“I am almost finished with reviewing the house accounts
,
and they should be ready for you to
approve
by tomorrow.  Tell me-
how is Miss Amira feeling today?”

Dragan sat in the seat waving his hand for James to stay seated in his chair behind the desk.  “Her temperature had me very worried last night, but it seems
to have
broken
,
and she is recovering.
  She has since told me that she has an autoimmune disease, that makes sense to me how her fever spiked the way it did.
”

James watched the slight smile grow larger
on Dragan’s face
as he spoke of the young tenant.

“That is wonderful news sir.  If I may be so bold, I must say, I find Miss Amira to be very….refreshing.”

“Hmmm. Refreshing.  What a great word to use on her.”
Watching Dragan stare off into space, James had a feeling that there was more.

“Did you need something sir?”

“Yes.  Do you think it would be possible to have one of the staff pop in
periodically to check on her?  I would hate for her to have another
episode and
for
her to be alone.”

“Of course
,
t
hat
should
not be a problem.”
 

Dragan walked to the bar pouring himself a
generous
amount of whiskey before sitting back down in front of his butler.
Staring into the amber liquid
,
he seemed to struggle with his next words. 
“How long have we
known
each other
,
James?
”

“45 years sir.”

“
Good Lord, h
as it been that long already? 
Can I be frank with you?”

“As always.”

“I like her
.”

James watched
Dragan
take a huge gulp from the glass realizing that
his boss
seemed
nervous
.  “She is easy to like sir.”

The two men locked eyes both trying to assess the situation.
  Dragan decided to be blunt. 
“
Have you never wondered why I do not age
,
James?  I have heard the other staff members talking
,
and you defend me
every
time.  But have
you
ever
wondered
?
”  Dragan watched the color cross his
butler’s
cheekbones.

“I thought so.”

“Wh
at
you are does not change your heart
,
Dr. Reynolds.  You are who you are.”

“
But
what am I?”

A long silence hung heavy in the air.

“I will tell you.  I am a vampire.  I am one of the undead
;
a
soulless
being
that
is destined
to spend eternity in
hell.”

James sat
back
stunned.  There was such anguish and despair in the words.  He was unsure what he should say.

“I have not wanted for anything my whole life save one thing
-
t
o die
with dignity
and be allowed through the gates of heaven
instead of hell
.
Last
night that changed
for me
.”

James nodded his head, now understanding. 
“Miss Amira.”

Slamming his hand on the des
k, Dragan rose pacing the floor before taking his seat once more.

“From the moment I saw her running through that field into the woods with Shadow chasing her, I have wanted her.
”

“Is that a problem
?  Being a vampire and relationships?
”

Dragan had to give it to him.  There was no reaction to his news
,
and
James
was still
coherent
enough
to throw
back
a question.

“
There
are
many problems with this situation.”

James rose from his chair walking around the desk to sit on the edge.  Touching the man in front of him, he felt like a father
speaking to a son, and his heart warmed at the thought
.

“Dragan, I will say this again.  Your heart is good.  You
r
circumstance
obviously i
s not.  Please do not allow your circumstance
to stop you from
loving someone
, e
specially one as kind as Amira.
”

Feeling the tears sting the back of his eyes, Dragan looked away.  Hearing his friend call him by his name was just as overwhelming
as realizing that it did not matter
what
he was only who he was
to James
.  Humbled, he placed his hand over James’
s
hand
that was still resting on his shoulder.  “Thank you for that, my friend.  You have helped me tremendously.”

“You are welcome
,
sir.  Now, if you do not mind, I really need to get back to work.”

James looked down at the paperwork lifting his head only when he heard the office door close again.  It was many hours before he was able to think about something other than his employer.

Aaron waited until he could no longer hear his brother’s footsteps in the house before stepping out of the shadows.  In all of his 334 years, he had never heard his brother speak of a woman the way
Dragan
did in speaking of Amira.  Thoughtfully, he walked back to his room.  When he had first met Christine hanging out at the Black Rose in
Boston
,
she told
him about her friend that
had sold everything she owned to make a change in her life.  Aaron tracked down Amira to check her out before compelling Christine
to convince
Amira
to rent the
house
on the property
.  The whole set up was me
ant as a diversion for his brother who was always a bit t
o
o serious.  He wo
uld never have imagined that
his brother would actually have feelings for someone.  Hell, in all of those years and in as many
women
that they both had
,
and Lord knows both had had more than they could count…neither one ever had
strong
feelings for any of the wom
en
that they met
,
or slept with for that matter
,
e
ven before they were turned. 
He
found the situation curious.
  Anxious to meet her
,
he strode outside.  Walking towards the old chapel his brother built, he saw
the
old wolf sitting on the steps guarding the door wagg
ing
his tail frantically in greeting but
not leaving
his post.  “Good
,
” he thought to himself, he would have
plenty
of time knowing that his brother would be occupied for several hours more.   Listening in on his
brothers
prayers, he felt no guilt
eavesdropping
.  Hardening his heart to the anguish he heard in his
brother
’
s
voice, he listened for only a few minutes.  There was no hope for
both brothers
,
and
the sooner
Dragan
accepted his fate, the better off they would all be.

Closing his eyes, he pictured the tiny cottage near the lake.  Within
moments,
he was standing outside of the tiny door.  Raising his hand to knock
,
he was startled when the door opened
,
and
he
found himself staring into the greenest eyes he had ever seen.  The shock on her face turned to surprise and the brightest smile enveloped not only her whole face but seemed to
exude
from her being.  She actually seemed to glow from an internal light. 
Aaron
stood transfixed.

“Dragan!  Stepping through the door, he felt her arms wrap around his waist
,
and her head rest on his chest.
  His own arms instinctively went around her body.
Stilling
,
she stepped
back tripping over the threshold
in her haste to get away from him
. 
Aaron’s
hand caught her before she fell to the floor.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry.”

Aaron stared down at her
smiling
.  “How did you know?”

“You feel different than he does.”

Laughing
,
Aaron let go of her
taking
a step back
to give her space
.  “Really?  Never heard that
one
before.”   Holding out his
hand,
he introduced himself.

“
Hi
,
Amira
,
m
y name is Aaron Reynolds.”

Amira smiled
warily
shaking
his hand
,
and then
was
immediately caught unawares as he turned her hand
over
to kiss her on the wrist.

Snatching her hand
away from his touch
,
she looked behind him.

“Is Dragan with you?”

“Sorry to disappoint, but no, just me.”

“You look just like him.”

“So we have been told.”

Confused
,
Amira stepped out of the house
closing
the door firmly behind her. 

Point
taken
,
thought Aaron.

“May I help you?”

“Just wanted to come
over and
say hi, and
to
introduce myself to you.”

“Really?  Why?”

Choosing
to
ignore
her question, he took in her sweatpants and sneakers.  “Going somewhere?”

“I was going to walk
around the
lake.”

“Would you mind if I joined you
?
” 
Without waiting for her reply Aaron held
out his elbow
,
w
atch
ing
as she hesitated before slipping her hand into the crook
of his arm
.

Walking silently down the path that led to the lake
,
she struggled for something to say.  To say that she was stunned
to see
Dragan’s
twin
would be an understatement.