Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (24 page)

“And Goldilocks ran harder than she ever ran her whole life, tellin
g herself that she would never
ever go into a strange house again, or at least until she knew who lived in the house.
THE END!”

Tickling
the little girl on the bed
,
both
burst
out laughing
,
tumbling in a heap in the center.

“Can you read another one?”  Amira looked down at her watch.  She was going to miss her train if she didn’t hurry.  Looking at the
big blue eyes staring up at her
, her
heartstrings pulled
. 

“Maybe just….”

“Amira?”

Blue and
g
reen eyes turned to the figure standing in the doorway.  All of a sudden feeling
nervous
, Amira twisted her fingers together.

Casey’s face lit up
,
and her tiny body jumped out of the bed running over to him.  Amira watched fascinated as Dragan’s face
looked down affectionately
at the tiny child
,
lifting
her high in the air returning the very large hug that was given to him.

“Hi
,
Dr. Reynolds.  Did you come to visit me too?”

Carrying her back to the bed, he nodded.  “
You
know I do every time I come to work.  How are you
,
kiddo?  No I.V. lines?
”
  Casey frowned looking down at her arm.  “No, the nurse said it
collapsed
and is going to get me a new vein
and that she would be back
.”

Looking back at Casey just as serious, he nodded his head. 
“
Been studying again to be a doctor?
”

  “Yup.  I listen to everything they say so that I can grow up and help other people the way everyone here helps me.”

Sadness crossed Dragan’s face.  “I am so proud of you.  You will make a great
d
octor.”

Casey’s grin returned to her little face.  “Dr. Reynolds
,
I almost forgot
, here is Amira!  She is my friend.  Isn’t she pretty?”

Dragan looked at Amira
hoping the love that he felt could not be seen.

“
Yes
, she is very pretty.”

“Amira has been reading to me for a very long time, maybe you could take her to the cafeteria and buy her a soda?”

Dragan threw back his had laughing loudly. 
“
You know
what
?
I think I might just do that.”

Casey’s mother walked in the room.  Amira noticed that her face lit up just like Casey’s did at seeing Dragan.  “Dr. Reynolds, it is so good to see you.  How have you been?”

“Very well, thank you.  I see Casey is looking great.”  Catching the
sadness in her
eyes,
she nodded.  “Yes she does
,
doesn’t she?”

“Amira, thank you so much for staying with her.  It was wonderful to take a breather.”

“You are so welcome.”

After hugging Casey again and promising to come back soon, Amira
and Dragan walked out of the ro
om.

Walking a short distance down the hallway, Dragan grabbed Amira’s hand.  Surprised she stared down at their fingers now entwined.

Turning
her to face him, he slid his hands in her hair turning her face up
,
and she only had a moment to think before his lips
coolly
brushed against hers.

“Hi
,
Amira.”

Warily
she looked at him.
  He seemed upset.

“Hi
,
Dragan.”

“Can I buy you a cup of not
-
so
-
good coffee from the café?”

“I would like that very much.”

“Good.”

Taking her hand again, he headed to the elevators
,
unaware that every
person
had stopped working and many mouths hung open in stunned
disbelief
as the infamous Dr. Reynolds kiss
ed
his obvious girlfriend.

Finding a quiet corner in the cafeteria, Dragan pulled out a chair for Amira before placing one right next to hers before sitting down.  Watching him take a sip from his coffee, Amira waited for him to say something.  Anything.  The silen
c
e hung heavy in the air.  She wasn’t sure how a couple acted after the night they had last night, but she was pretty sure the tension between the two of them was not it.  Tears filled her eyes
,
and she fought to hold them back.

“Why the tears
,
Amira
?
”

“I think
you’re
mad at me, but I don’t know why?  I keep remembering last night and how great it was, and now…..”

Placing his arm on the back of her chair, he touched her head so that it was lying on his shoulder.

“I am not
angry
with you
,
Amira.  It has been a long day, and I
was not
expecting to see you here.
”  His voice hesitated
, “
I have changed my mind since last night in one regards,
and you
and I need to talk about the future soon.
”

A
mira looked up at him
. 
“
Why
?”

Dragan looked down at his coffee shifting so that she was no longer touching him.

“
I
think that there is more that you are not sharing with me and we need to talk, is all.

“I
was going to tell you, you know.  It’s just that every time I saw you, it felt so great being with you
,
and I felt so alive that
I didn’t want to spoil it.”

“Oh, you mean like when I told you I was a vampire.”

“That’s different.”

“What’s different
,
Amira
?” Taking her hands in his
,
he placed them on his chest.  “Feel th
at? 
You have changed me. 
That beats for you
now
.  You have brought the sun back to my life.  I want you to be able to come and tell me anything.  I want to be the one to dry your tears when you are sad, the one to hold you when you are afraid.”  Caressing her cheek, his own eyes filled with tears.  “I want to be the one that makes you laugh when that is the last thing you feel like doing.
”

Nodding her head, she took his face in his hands and leaned in close.  “Does that mean if I need a ride home, you would give it to me?”

Dragan
’s
laughter rang out in the room.  “That is
exactly
what
it means.
”  Standing
,
he took her hand again.  “
This conversation is by no means over
between you and I
, but this is not the time or the place. 
Come
,
Amira,
let’s
go home.”

Dragan kept the conversation light on the ride home from Brigham and Wom
e
n’s.  He was still in shock about everything that went on
today
, and he really did need to process it before speaking to her in depth.  Frowning as he pulled into the driveway
,
he
stared at
the front of the house.  It seemed
particularly
dark for this time of night.  Going to her side of the car, he opened the door reaching in to help her out before walking to the door.  Listening intently, he could not hear a sound.  Stepping into the house before her, he stood shocked as the lights turned on and people yelled “Surprise
!
”
  Searching for his
brother,
he caught the familiar raised eyebrows.

“Aaron?”

“It’s
our
birthday you dumbass.  Act surprised
,
and be happy.  It is
the
human thing to do.”

Turning to Amira, he saw that she was looking up at him expectantly.
  Smiling down at her, he knew it must have taken her considerable effort to pull this together without him finding out.   Hugging her to his side, he whispered in her ear.  “Thank you
,
Amira.  Remind me to show you how really grateful I am when we are alone later.”

Color spread over her face, but he saw that it was indeed the right thing to say.

Aaron walked over handing Dragan a drink while slapping him hard on the back.

“Happy birthday
,
old man!
  Forgive me for not giving you a gift, but what do you give a man that has everything
?
”
  Turning to Amira as he spoke, he bowed before kissing her on the hand.  “Well done
,
my dear.  He indeed looked surprise.”

“
Thank
you
,
Aaron
, and happy birthday to you!
”

After making the rounds and thanking everyone, the small group
walked
into the dining room.  The table had a full 12 place setting
,
and Dragan’s eyebrows rose
,
surprised.  He liked the way it looked
,
l
ess
lonely
or pathetic.
  Amira did not miss any tiny detail
.  It all looked perfect, from t
he flowers gracing the center, to the place cards.  Walking around the table, he was surprised but happy to see James and Jack on the list to be seated.  It was an eclectic group, bu
t he would have it no other way
,
and the realization that he was actually happy made him wonder how long it had been since he wasn’t.

Shaking
everyone’s
hand at the door, Dragan turned looking for Amira.  Glancing at his watch
,
he was surprised to see that it was after 1
o’clock
in the morning.  There would be no talking tonight.   Striding towards the kitchen
,
he heard her talking softly to someone. 
Pausing,
he felt a twinge of guilt as he eavesdropped.

“Yes
,
Miss Amira
,
of course.”

“I really have to thank you
,
James. 
Everything
you and the staff did to pull this off on such short notice is nothing short of amazing.” 

Dragan could
picture
the butler standing tall as usual with a proud smile on his face.

“Oh, let me take that from you.”

“It’s ok
ay
I don’t mind.”

He could hear the silverware being placed into the drawer.

“How did everything go today in the
c
ity
,
Miss?”

“Not what I expected, that is for sure.”

“I was pleasantly surprised to see you coming home with Dr. Reynolds.”

“Hmmm.  That was definitely unplanned.  I am sorry.  I should have been home sooner like I promised
,
to help.”

“Oh, forgive me, that is not what I was implying.  He fancies you, you know.”

“Yes, I believe he does
,
James
,
and I must tell you, I kind of fancy him a bit also.”

Amira kissed the butler on the check.

“Good night
,
James.”

“Good night
,
Miss.”

Walking into the hallway
, Amira smiled seeing Shadow
waiting
for her.  Looking up the long flight of stairs leading to the second floor, she felt an
intense need to go back to the cottage and be alone, knowing that it was too late
,
and Dragan would never
let
walk by herself.  Deciding to go to the barn
and think
before going
to find him
,
she
slipped out the back door.