The Vampire's Pastry Chef (ONC 2022)

Epilogue -- Two Years Later

"Hey, Jor—isn't that your mom's boyfriend?"

Jordyn Milford looked up from the bank statement she was studying on her cell phone; if she got the asking price for her old equipment, she'd have enough to buy that new Hyundai sedan.

Lila, the new friend in their group, twisted around. "Is this the mythical millionaire I've been hearing about?"

Irene sniggered and nudged Lila in the ribs. "Wait til you see him, girl."

Jordyn rolled her eyes. She was used to random people and her friends drooling over Corbin. She got it, he was handsome, but she didn't see him as anything but Mom's boyfriend.

And the only father figure she'd ever had.

"Is he doing it today?" Patrice, the level-headed one in their small group, whispered in Jordyn's ear.

Jordyn smiled. "Yup."

The bell to her mother's bakery chimed and Corbin Westbrook stepped inside. It didn't matter where they were—heads turned when he entered a room. Tall and broad-shouldered with blond hair and killer looks, Corbin looked like a movie star—but dressed like a tenured professor. Today, he wore his usual brown slacks, white shirt, and brown sports jacket. Taking off his sunglasses, he popped them on his head and looked around the crowded store.

"Hello, ladies," he said, walking over to their table. "Is your mother in the back?"

Jordyn nodded, ignoring the obvious giggles from her friends. "She's working on a large order for a baby shower."

Corbin's lips creased in a wry smile. "Oh, she's going to love me for interrupting her."

"I think she'll forgive you."

He laughed. "Wish me luck."

"You don't need it," she told him but squeezed his elbow. "Onward!"

Jordyn watched as Corbin slipped behind the counter, greeting her mother's employees as he entered the back room. Smiling to herself, she took a sip of her iced coffee and pulled up her bank statement again.

"See?" Irene was telling Lila. "What did I tell you?"

"Where did your mom get him?" the other girl asked. "And does he have a much younger brother—or son?"

Jordyn chuckled and shook her head. If only they knew.

Patrice nudged Jordyn. "Are you up for a stream tonight?"

"Hm? No, I gotta pass. Corbin's going to take us out for dinner." She scrolled through the statement.

"I've seen you studying that for thirty minutes. You've got to have enough by now."

"If I can get enough for the old equipment I can."

Lila leaned forward. "Have you asked your mom's boyfriend for help?"

One of the rules her mother established early on was not to treat Corbin like a tall, blond ATM. "Actually, he has. He told me that I had two choices for my graduation present: ten thousand for new gaming equipment or to put towards a new car."

"And you chose the gear?" Lila exclaimed, perplexed.

Jordyn shrugged. "If I can get what I want from my old stuff, plus what I have saved from my Twitch earnings, I can get it outright."

"Smart," Irene noted, tapping her temple.

"Psst," Patrice hissed, nudging Jordyn under the table with her foot. "Look."

The door to the back swung open and Corbin and her mom walked out. Mom's cheeks were pink and wet; Corbin had his arm around her shoulder and he was smiling. Behind them, Mom's employees were clapping and cheering.

"Congratulations, Ms M!" the girls chorused as they came up to Jordyn's table.

"Lemme see, lemme see!" Irene crowed, reaching out to see the ring.

Mom dutifully extended her hand, looked up at Corbin, and shook her head. As her friends ooh'd and aah'd over the ring, Corbin reached into an inner jacket pocket and pulled out a white envelope.

"This is for you," he said.

Jordyn's eyebrows knit together. "What is it?"

"Open it."

Puzzled, Jordyn did and pulled out several sheets of folded paper. Bending back the topmost fold, she stared at the bold letters in the upper left-hand corner. What ...? Realization as to what this meant slowly dawned and she felt her throat closing up. Bursting into tears, she pushed off the chair and threw herself into Corbin's arms.

"Yes! Yes, please!" she cried, sobbing on his shoulder as he held her tightly. Somewhere, her mother was crying, too.

"What does it say?" Irene asked quietly.

"'Petition for adoption'," Patrice replied, eyes wide.

All her life, one of the things Jordyn had wanted the most was to have the kind of relationship her friends had with their dads. But for her, that was impossible: her great-grandfather was dead, her mom's parents wanted nothing to do with them, and her father had washed his hands of responsibility the moment her mother told him she was pregnant.

Then, in stepped Corbin. At first, he came around once a week to take Mom on a date and to check up on her art and talk. After a while, the one day became an overnighter, which turned into a weekend. And though he didn't explicitly move into their little house, Corbin was present almost all the time. He rarely took her mother on a trip without including Jordyn and never once treated her like a burden. If there was a school event, he was there; he gave the responsibility talk to her prom date; and at her high school graduation, presented her with a large bouquet of flowers.

One time last year, Jordyn's paternal grandmother showed up at their door, looking for "the millionaire". How she had heard about Corbin when Mom didn't even talk to her, no one knew. But there she was, suddenly interested in having a relationship with her biracial granddaughter. And Jordyn, who had answered the door, turned around and on instinct yelled for "Mom and Dad".

The look on her grandmother's face was priceless.

But now, she had a dad.

A vampire dad who drank his ethically-sourced animal blood out of a Northampton High School travel mug, but a dad nevertheless.

Lifting her head off of Corbin's shoulder, Jordyn looked at her mother. "Did you know?"

Mom smiled, tears in her eyes. "No. He kept it all under wraps."

Corbin freed up one arm to put it around Mom's shoulder. "Well, how would you two ladies like to go looking at reasonably-priced houses?"

"You're selling Ashford?" Jordyn asked, eyes widening. She loved Corbin's Williamstown mansion—her friends did, too.

"No, I'm keeping it. But I figured that we all needed to be under one roof and within reasonable commuter distance—especially with you going to Streamfield State in the fall. There's one house in Southampton with enough land to build your own little studio ..."

"Sold!" Jordyn crowed, hugging him tightly.

Corbin chuckled and kissed the top of her head while her mother rolled her eyes. Dropping his arm, he took Mom's hand, and together, the three of them left the bakery.