Deadman's Blood Read Free

can’t take all that guilt on. It will eat you alive. If you had known, you would have done the right thing, wouldn’t you have?” Anton asked.
    “Yes, Anton. I loved your mother more than anything, but I have to admit I loved Katarina, and I thought if I stayed in her life I’d only complicate it. I stayed away because I thought it was the right thing to do for her and for you,” Dominic explained.
    “Why me?” Anton asked.
    “I didn’t want you to think I loved your mother any less,” Dominic said.
    “Geez, Dad. Mom died over a hundred years ago and you haven’t been with anyone but Katarina since? I had no idea. I thought I had the corner on loneliness. You didn’t have to do that to prove to me you loved Mom. Mom loved you. She wouldn’t have wanted you to be alone for all these years mourning her.
    “Wow...I have a brother. I always wanted a bother; like Devon and Blake. Have you told him yet?” Anton asked.
    “No. I felt I needed to explain things to you first,” Dominic said.
    “Right.”
    “How do you feel about all this?” Dominic wondered.
    “I don’t know... I guess...I wish I had known a long time ago. I wish we had gotten to grow up together, maybe even been a family. And Josh...well...I think he’s great. Seems though, we Larsen men carry loneliness around like it is a badge of honor and Josh is no different. I think that is one of the first things we need to work on as a family!” Anton admitted.
    Dominic laughed and nodded in agreement. “Have any suggestions on how I, or we, should tell him about all this?”
    “Oooooh! Yeah. That’s going to be a bit of a shocker for him, isn’t it?” Anton said.
    “Do you think I should contact his adoptive parents and let them in on my findings and his lineage?” Dominic wondered.
    Anton made a face and said, “I don’t know, Dad. I think maybe that should be Josh’s decision. It might be nice for him to have a haven to go back to where no one is the wiser, if this whole vampire thing freaks him out,” Anton explained.
    “I suppose you are right, I just would so like to know everything about his childhood and what I missed.”
    “Maybe in time you’ll get that. But for now, it’s not your place. As for how to tell him…I don’t know. If you want me to be there, I’m willing to do that. Just tell him what you’ve told me, just cut out the Prof. Hadley stuff; that made things rather confusing. So when do you think you’ll tell him?” Anton said.
    “I think the sooner the better. What about you?” Dominic said.
    “I agree.”
    “Maybe this evening after dinner. Will you join me?” Dominic asked as he stood up from behind the desk.
    “Definitely,” Anton answered as he stood and walked around the desk.
    Dominic greeted him with open arms and hugged his son and said, “Thank you, Anton. I love you, son.”
    “I love you too, Dad,” Anton answered with a hard pat on his dad’s back.
     
    *****
     
    That evening as dinner wound down and people were excusing themselves, Dominic asked Josh if he might speak with him.
    Josh exclaimed, “Sure, Dominic. Is everything okay?”
    “Yes, I mean, I hope so. It’s just that some information has surfaced that involves you and I would like to talk to you about it.”
    Puzzled, Josh’s face showed concern, but he agreed to meet Dominic in the study. Dominic made eye contact with Anton.
    “Ummm. Josh, would it be okay if Anton joined us? It involves him too.”
    “Of course. No problem,” Josh said.
    A few minutes later Anton joined Dominic in the study and closed the door.
    “You doing okay?” he asked his dad.
    “Nervous. Really nervous. This could go badly in so many ways....” Dominic was interrupted by a knock on the door.
    “Come in, Josh,” Dominic said as Anton sat down. A worried Josh entered and closed the door behind him, then crossed the room to a chair next to Anton in front of the ominous desk.
    Anton spoke up, noticing Josh’s hesitance. “Dad, maybe we