Chapter Nine
“Who was your father?” Ricard had a very strange feeling he already knew the answer, and if he was correct, Jessica might have a lot more information than she realized.
“Matthew Stevens.”
“Panthera’s lead geneticist was your dad?” Hunter whistled low. “No wonder Rollins was so interested in helping Joshua.”
“Matt was a very smart man. I admired him a great deal.” Ricard remembered working side-by-side with Matt on what they had believed was a cancer project. Hindsight being what it was he now knew they had provided Tyrone with the basis for his revenant serum.
“My father loved his work, even in the end,” Jessica said.
“How many years has it been?” Ricard asked. He’d heard of Matt’s death well after it had occurred.
“Fifteen.” She sighed. “He didn’t last but a year after Mom, and it was a tough year.”
“I’m sorry. Your parents were good people.”
“They were. They loved each other so much and everything they did, they did with the other in mind.” She smiled. “Joshua and I grew up in a very loving home.”
“Your mom was a real wonder. Patricia’s ability to calculate complicated equations in her head before anyone else could do them on a calculator was astounding.” Ricard chuckled. “We held competitions with her to see who was faster, her human brain or hundred year-old vampire brains.”
“How’d she do?”
“Beat us more times than she didn’t.” Ricard smiled. “We were sad to see her give up the lab. We missed her.”
“She hated to do it, but she had a hard time with…” Jessica shrugged. “Who knows? If she hadn’t quit, she might have been at work the night of the fire. We’d have lost her four years earlier.”
The inhale of Jessica’s breath was jagged. Losing parents was never easy. Watching them suffer must have been debilitating.
“Were your parents and Joshua your whole family,” Alice asked.
“Yeah. I’m the only one left now.” Her voice was a hollow whisper. “They were all I had.”
Ricard rubbed her back. “But you are not alone. You’ll never be alone.”
With her lips pressed tight as if to stop a sob, Jessica nodded.
“We’re sorry about this situation, Jessica, but like Ricard said, you’re not alone. You don’t know us yet, but we’re your family now, and we’ll keep you safe and help you with anything you need.” Alice pulled Jessica from Ricard and hugged her tight.
The two women whimpered and cried.
Ricard’s eyes darted to the side to see if Hunter had any reaction to his mate’s newly public demonstrations of teary kindness.
Hunter shrugged again and mouthed, “I have no idea what’s up with her.”
Such odd behavior left both men confused by what to do next. The women remained in an extended hug and Hunter and Ricard watched and mouthed a conversation.
“Is she all right? Did she hit her head?” Ricard mouthed.
“No. She was fine up until you guys came in.”
“No previous crying?”
“No. Nothing. No yelling. No crying. Normal Alice.”
Alice hiccupped and sniffled. Jessica squeezed her closer. “It’s all right, Alice.”
Ricard glared at Hunter. “Get her out of here. This is the last thing Jessica needs,” he mouthed.
Adopting a new best friend who was clearly having an emotional breakdown was not going to make his mate’s night any easier.
“Alice, honey, let’s go home.” Hunter gently pried the women apart. “We should let Ricard work his scientist magic on this situation and Jessica probably needs—”
“Call me Jessie.” She held Alice’s hands and both women nodded and smiled at each other.
“—Uh, right. Jessie, probably needs some rest. I know I’m suddenly very tired and confused.” His voice trailed off to a low resonance. “And worried my wife is losing her mind.” He turned Alice toward the door.
“If you need anything, Jessie, Ricard knows how to find us.” Alice leaned around Hunter. “Ricard, you’ll call, won’t you?”
“Of course. I’ll be sure to keep you informed, if anything is needed.”
Alice lurched forward and hugged Ricard, startling him so he nearly forgot to embrace her. “Thanks. Take good care of her and remember we’re just down the hall. Well, down the hall in the residences. You know where.” She released him. “Good night, Jessie.”
“Good night, Alice.”
Thankfully, before Alice could start another round of call me, if you need me, Hunter ushered her out the door.
“That was an interesting and completely unusual experience.” Ricard pulled a chair out for Jessica to take a seat. “Alice is not known for her public demonstrations of kindness toward anyone who isn’t a dog or her mate.”
“No, she wasn’t ever known for that, but she’s changed,” Jessica said.
“Changed? You’ve met before?”
“We attended the same high school. She was a tough girl. We didn’t spend time together. I had Joshua to care for. She moved onto the streets or something.” Jessica petted the head of a German Shepherd who rested his snout on her leg. “I’m glad to see she survived and is happy.”
“She’s done quite well, finding her niche in life and excelling at it. Bonding with a mate who loves her implicitly seems to agree with her.” In review Alice had faired far better than Jessica to this point.
“I have rarely thought of finding my niche, or a husband, or anything more than a cure for my brother.” Her fingers tapped the countertop. “Once in a great while I hoped those things would happen, but something else always did and that little thread of hope seemed foolish.”
“Even the little thread of foolish hope is worth having.”