I’d never seen this budget plan, but it apparently accounted for a lot of things. So far, it managed to support the five of us in the rented house and had a timeline in place for when we’d be able to afford a house of our own, more education for her and me, and eventually Declan’s education. It was pretty impressive that she could make all of this work, but then, I’d learned to expect impressive things from her.

She hugged all our guests and then took Declan from Jill. Pretending he was our dhampir son might have started off as an act, but it had become reality as far as we were concerned. Sydney loved the little guy fiercely and, like the rest of us, would do anything for him. She kissed the top of his curly head and was rewarded with a smile. “¿Cómo estás, mi amor?” she asked, carrying him off to the kitchen to check dinner.

Rose turned to me. “Did she just speak to him in Spanish?”

“Yeah,” I said. “She only speaks to him in Spanish, actually. It was in some parenting book she read about kids learning a second language.”

“We should eat,” my mother said, shooting me a wry look. “Otherwise a crime against fine cuisine might be committed.”

That was another thing I’d taken upon myself, along with my collection of jobs: cooking. And it turned out I wasn’t so bad at that either.

Later, when dinner had wound down and we were all around the table, I found myself gazing around and unable to believe this was how my life had turned out. Never would I have guessed I’d fall so comfortably into the role of husband and father. Never would I have guessed I’d be married to a human. And I certainly wouldn’t have guessed I’d be so happy without spirit.

After we’d rescued Jill and agreed to raise Declan, we’d had to make a very quick decision about where to run off to with our newly bought freedom. Northern Maine had won out. Close to civilization but far enough that it wasn’t so easy for someone to sneak up on us. I still woke conflicted sometimes, feeling guilty for loving Declan so much, being so glad I was able to call him my son. And always, always, I felt guilty for not saving Olive, for not having rationed my spirit that night.