Free Son of Eden, a Paranormal Romance by Brianna Merrill Page B

north by Cooperstown that I like to escape to every now and then. It’s quiet and I feel like I can think. I’ve spent a lot of summers there and I really enjoy it.”
    “It’s always nice to have a retreat.” Alexander commented.
    “Yeah, I’m lucky I have one.” Emily had always felt blessed that her family had two homes. She tried not to take it for granted.
    “Will you stay in New York the rest of your life?”
    “Umm I’m not sure. I’ll have a chance to go to some colleges out of state after I graduate this May. But I am not sure I want to go very far.” Emily let her sentence trail off. She realized she just disclosed her age and that she was still in high school. For all she knew Alexander assumed she was older. She waited for his shock or disapproval at the announcement of her age. But it didn’t come; he didn’t flinch or skip a beat.
    “Why don’t you want to go far?”
    “My mother passed away two years ago, so it’s just me and my dad. I’m not sure I’m ready to be apart from him. I hate the idea of him being lonely.”
    Alexander stopped in his steps and turned toward Emily.
    “Losing a loved one, especially a parent has to be one of the most difficult trials in this life. I’m sorry you had to experience that.” Alexander’s eyes showed absolute empathy, his remark full of kindness.
    Emily tried to keep tears from welling up in her eyes. “It’s been the most difficult thing I’ve faced so far. And in all honesty I’m not sure I am over it yet… I know I should be, it’s been two years but I still feel like I have a hole in my heart.”
    Alexander took a deep breath. “Healing takes time. It can take longer for some people and I don’t believe there is anything wrong with that.”
    “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” was all Emily could say.
    She was lost in her own thoughts and could tell Alexander was as well. They walked in silence for a few minutes, and then Emily decided to use the opportunity to learn more about Alexander before he had the chance to ask her more questions.
    “Do you have any family nearby?”
    “Yeah they come and go. But that is a subject that can get quite complicated.” Alexander gave a little laugh.
    Emily didn’t want to push for information, but she was curious. “Oh really.” She decided that was an appropriate response. Alexander could share more if he wanted.
    “I’ve got a lot of brothers and sisters, but technically none of them are related by blood. As for parents…I guess you could say I have five parental figures. Hence its complexity.”
    Emily assumed that Alexander was from a divorced family and his parents must have remarried creating a lot of stepbrothers and sisters.
    “Well that isn’t too complex. Lots of families are like that nowadays.”
    “That doesn’t sound too complicated,” she said.
    “Oh, you don’t even know the half of it.” Alexander gave a light-hearted sigh.
    They continued to talk about little insignificant things as they walked. Emily enjoyed hearing Alexander talk, his voice was soft and carried a sweet melody to it, almost as though he sang his words. Their conversation flowed easily and time passed quickly. It wasn’t long before they arrived at their destination.
    “Well, we’re here,” Alexander announced.
    Emily looked up at the building in front of them and instantly recognized it. It was the Morgan Library and Museum.
    She had visited this place when she was very young, but really didn’t remember much about it. They stood in front of the entrance of the McKim Building which was the original library built for Pierpont Morgan back in the early nineteen-hundreds. Emily had forgotten what it looked like inside and was anxious to go in.
    After all she was a history nut, especially when it came to historical documents and literature, which was exactly this museum’s specialty.
    “Shall we?” Alexander motioned with his arm toward the entrance.
    “Oh, I thought you couldn’t enter through