Free Courted by the Vampire by Sandra Sookoo Page B

next.”
    He did not know how to comfort her. “Fe ar is the absence of confidence.” He tugged on her hand in an effort to keep moving. “Even if you feel it inside, if you project confidence then others will trust you, fear you, or respect you, depending on the situation and your level of self-assurance.”
    I hate it when men are right. “Is your quaint little nickname for me the only German you know?” She tripped on a rock but declined his assistance.
    “I speak German quite fluently since it is the primary language of my ancestors.” Edwin shrugged. “I am more comfortable with the older European dialects and know bits and pieces of French which is enough to get by on the rare times I go visit.” He smiled, but when his attempt to cheer his companion failed, he continued with his lecture. “I know that schatzi means little treasure, and ma petite caille means my little quail in French. I have a bit of both parents’ language, but I cannot speak fluently in either. I was not interested in learning words when there were more important skills to master.”
    “Great. You’ve got a thing for poultry.”
    He ignored her comment. As they climbed a steep hill, he kept a tight grip on her hand when she floundered in the loose dirt and sand mix.
    “What about you? Do you know any Irish? You speak of your grandmother often so I assume you must be close?”
    Hannah sucked in a few deep breaths before she answered. “My gramma is originally from Cork, and after my grandfather died, she moved from Dublin back to her home town. They’re a very superstitious lot there.”
    “And?” He wished he had more time with her, but he needed to keep them on a tight schedule.
    She snorted in annoyance. “When my mom went away to college in the U.S. she turned her back on the silly stories and beliefs she had heard from Gramma and raised me with strict orders not to have anything to do with fairy tales or fantasy realms. It’s pretty funny given my circumstances, if you think about it. Anyway, the only phrase I can repeat is a curse, really. Gaelic is hard to learn if you didn’t grow up with it.”
    Edwin remained silent as they fought for each foothold in the shifting sand. He had learned that silence often yielded the best results.
    “My gramma occasionally lapses into the language when she’s stressed.” The harsh sound of her breathing blended with the nocturnal forest sounds. I’m going to die of oxygen deprivation.
    You won’t die . He bit back a chuckle at her steady complaints. “What is the curse?”
    A grin lit her face. “My mom always washed my mouth out with soap if I said it aloud.”
    “Is that a custom in your family before you speak?”
    Her laughter held a note of surprise. “Hardly. She feared something bad would happen, that’s all.”
    Edwin increased the pressure on her hand in encouragement.
    “Okay, I’ll tell you but don’t laugh. Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat. Roughly translated, I think it means may the cat eat you, and may the cat then be eaten by the devil. It sounds much better with an accent and a highly agitated grandmother screaming at the milk man who short-changed her.”
    “It can be very intimidating, I would imagine, in the right circumstance.” With one last tug on her hand, they cleared the hill. “I believe we have arrived at the shore of Lake Michigan.” He glanced at her, and attempted to vanquish the smirk he knew lurked on his lips as she gasped for breath after the hike. “Now you may rest.”

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Because of their arrival at the touristy part of the beach, the souvenir stands and food shacks were about to close. Edwin bought bags of snacks and bottled water on the cheap. While Hannah snuck into the bathhouse for a shower, he scouted out a spot around a curve of the beachfront that was hidden from the prying eyes of park rangers. If someone from the park’s department found them, they’d be thrown out until the