Dead is the New Black (10 page)

I frowned and shook my head. “I wish I could
believe that, Jon, but I just don’t see how—”

“Stephanie?”

At the sound of my mother’s voice, I whirled
around. She stood there looking neat and tidy, her hair combed, a
smile on her face. She’d changed out of that damned persimmon
pantsuit into a lovely print dress. “Yes, Stephanie. It’s me. I’m
really here.”

I felt my eyes sting as I shot a quick look
at Jon and then rushed to my mother to fold my arms around her and
hold her close, close, close.

“Mom?” I cried into her hair. “Oh, Mom. Do
you really know me?”

I felt her nod her head. “I do, my sweet
baby,” she whispered. “I do.”

She stroked my hair like she’d done when I
was a little girl, murmuring soft words of comfort while I hugged
her as tight as I could. “Thank you,” she said, “for taking such
good care of me. I know I’ve been a burden—”

“No
, Mom,” I rushed,
pushing back a little so I could look into her face. “
Never
a burden, Mom.
Never, never,
never
.” Her eyes were clear and sharp and
there—
despite the tears that spilled from them to wet
her cheeks. She was wholly
there
.

Compassion shone in her eyes. “I know you
blamed yourself for ‘giving’ me Alzheimer’s, Stephanie, but it just
isn’t true.”

“But the car accident,” I protested. “I
wasn’t paying attention and ran that red light and you hit your
head, and—”

“Stop,” she said softly. “Not your fault. You
were sixteen. Learning to drive. Please stop beating yourself up
over something that happened half a lifetime ago. I never blamed
you and you shouldn’t, either.”

Stepping away from me, she said, “Well, it’s
been a long day. I’m going to bed now. We’ll talk more tomorrow,
okay?”

“Yes, Mom,” I choked. I gave her another long
hug and a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll talk tomorrow and the day after
that and the day after that. I love you, Mom.”

“Love you more,” she said with a smile, then
slowly walked, with Lucy’s help, off to bed, leaving me alone with
Jon.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Her healing.
It’s miraculous. It can’t happen this fast. There’s just no
way—”

“It can,” he interrupted, “when you’re a
Vampire who knows a thing or two about neurology.” His tone became
serious. “However, she still has a long way to go. She will
relapse, but with each treatment, she will improve. I’m asking you
to trust me, Steph. I have only your mother’s best interest at
heart. And yours.”

He moved closer and slid his arms around
me.

Leaning in to him, I put my forehead on his
chest. His strong, solid chest. “I do trust you. Thank you.”

He kissed the top of my head.

“I should confess,” I said softly. “I think
I’m falling in love with you.”

He chuckled. “Perfect. I’m sure I’m falling
in love with you. From the moment you stepped into my office, I
began to hope.”

As soon as I raised my face to his, he kissed
me. And then he kissed me again, longer, slower. His lips were
delicious and I couldn’t get enough. I think I moaned. Or maybe it
was him, I really couldn’t tell.

I broke the kiss for a moment, and took a
deep breath. “I need to know—”

“I know you do.” His blue eyes sparkled with
humor. “I am not from Transylvania or any other part of Europe. My
parents were Dutch immigrants. I was born in New York.”

“What year? How old are you?”

He lifted a dismissive brow. “Oh, age is so
irrelevant, don’t you think? It’s how you feel that matters.”

I lifted my hands to grip his sweater in my
fists. “What year were you born, Jon?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” he said. His large
hands gently covered my own. “Let me just say that when I was born,
New York City was called New Amsterdam, and my family knew Henry
Hudson—personally.”

His half answers made me giggle. “And Van
Graf, in Dutch, means?”

He pursed his lips. “Don’t let this bother
you, but it translates basically into
grave
dweller.
Pure coincidence, I assure you.”

“Swell,” I laughed. “So what’s the mystery to
living for more than 350 years?”

He pretended to think about it for a moment,
then, “Fiber. That and staying away from sharp objects.”

“Like stakes?”

He shrugged. “I’ve heard it said.”

“So you’re not gonna let me in on the real
secret?”

He bent as though to kiss me again, but
stopping short, against my mouth, he murmured in a low, sexy voice,
“Tell you what. I’ll give you a chance to figure it out…over the
next
350 years.”

Then his lips met mine again, and I was a
goner. I was his, forever and forever and forever more.

Everything Entertaining Magazine
Book Review Section
by Afton Harsh

DEAD TO WRITES: I MARRIED A
VAMPIRE

Author: Stephanie Scott Van Graf

She’s back! Yes, the former Stephanie Scott of those
quaint little
Debby Destiny
cozies is back
and better than ever. This, her 11th novel to date, is a change of
pace and takes the genre of romantic mysteries to new heights.

When a down-on-her-luck romance author takes a job as
housekeeper for a sexy Vampire, what ensues is murder, mayhem, and
everlasting love.

A fun and riveting romp. 10 stars out of 10.

Where
DO
writers get their
ideas?

Stories have
always played a part in Marianne’s life, beginning with her
birth—she was named after a character in a book. When she was four
years old, her mom read her
The Ugly
Duckling
. Marianne cried so hard at how the lonely little
duckling was bullied, her mom had to skip ahead to the end of the
story to prove all would be well. The first real book she ever
owned was
Black Beauty
, which she read and
reread and then read again until the cover fell off and the pages
literally disintegrated in her hands.

To this day, sad stories make her cry. And
though those first books have been lost over the years, Marianne’s
love of reading and happy endings has remained.

Retired from a twenty-five year career as
senior technical writer at the Boeing Company, she now focuses on
creating happy endings of her own. When not writing, she enjoys
quilting, embroidering, crocheting, gardening, cooking/baking, and
watching every British mystery ever produced. Originally from Santa
Barbara, California, she now lives in Washington State and is
married to her own personal hero. Together, they have three amazing
children, two beautiful grandchildren (so far!), and two rescue
dogs.

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