Page 90 of Silver Claw

“Sure,” I said.

He reached into the bag and pulled out the fat, weighted stuffed dog, an adorable gray and white sheepdog. Farrow had seen Ash once and had watched him with the fascinated longing of a child. I believed that when she’d been human, she’d had a beloved dog.

But vampires rarely kept pets. For one thing, dogs and cats didn’t like the undead. Cats hissed and ran away, and dogs barked, growled, and hid under the furniture.

He stared down at the stuffed dog for so long I squirmed in my seat, uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but I was pretty sure both Bastien and Farrow would think I was demented.

“Kait,” he said, almost mournfully. “Kait.” He lifted a tentative hand to touch my face.

I didn’t move as he caressed my cheek so lightly I almost didn’t feel it. “It was a…” I cleared my throat and tried again. “It was a silly idea.”

“No,” he murmured. “She’s waiting in the shadows. Can I bring her into the car, or do you need to speak to me alone?”

“Of course you can bring her in. The news I have will affect her, too. And both of you will like it more than the stuffie.”

He smiled, just a little. “Not possible.”

Farrow appeared at the car as though he’d put down the window and called to her. She got into the back seat, her eyes empty, her face blank.

I turned sideways in my seat so I could see her. “Hi, Farrow.”

“Hello, Kait.”

Bastien put the stuffed animal back into the bag before reaching in between the seats. “Kait bought you a present,” he told her.

Finally, a hint of emotion. She frowned, then took the bag gingerly, as though afraid something might jump out of it and bite her. “What is this?” she asked.

“Open the bag,” Bastien told her.

Even though the parking lot was decently lit, it was still dim in the car. I turned on the overhead light, which really didn’t help much.

She pulled the toy out of the bag and stared down at it, as Bastien had done, not saying a word. I watched her, and Bastien watched me.

Finally, she lifted the dog to her face, squeezing it tightly in her hands, and broke into dry, harsh sobs.

“Oh,” I said. “Oh, no, Farrow. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

But she shoved her upper body between Bastien’s seat and mine, and still holding onto her little dog, she wrapped her free arm around me and hugged me as hard as she could.

And that was hard.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “You cannot know what this means to me. I love it, Kait. I love it so much.”

Then she sat back against her seat and played with her stuffed animal like a six-year-old might. “This is the best present I’ve ever gotten,” she murmured. “And she’s so heavy! Her name is Precious.”

I smiled at Bastien. “I guess she likes it.”

He took my hand in both of his. “To her, it is joy. She adores it, Kait, the way she adores you.” He hesitated. “If anything should ever happen to me and I find my true death, will you take her?”

Farrow gasped. “Nothing will happen to you. Not ever!”

But Bastien didn’t take his stare off me. “Kait?”

“Of course I will,” I told him. “She can come live at Silverwood. If that’s what she wants.”

“Nothing,” Farrow cried, “will happen to you. And if it does, if you die, Precious and I will die with you.”

I honestly didn’t think the girl could survive if Bastien’s life ended. But that brought me to the reason for my visit.