Eat Prey Love by Kerrelyn Sparks Read Free Book Online

were certainly upset.
    Coco rounded the tree and approached Caitlyn quietly. She had a lost, frightened look in her eyes that Caitlyn had seen many times in her life, every time a stray kitten or puppy came to her for help.
    She sat on the bench and patted the space beside her. “Tell me what’s wrong, Coco.”
    The little girl climbed onto the bench and wiggled up close.
    The second girl, who appeared a few years older, ventured closer. “I forgot your name.”
    â€œI’m Caitlyn. And you are?”
    â€œRaquel. Raquel Gatina.” She lifted her chin proudly. “We’re from Brazil.”
    Coco’s thin shoulders shook as she burst into tears. “I want to go home. I…I’m so tired of this English. It’s hard.”
    â€œSweetie.” Caitlyn patted her on the back. “You speak whatever you like. I’ll understand.” Her comprehension would be immediate, but it would take a while before she could start responding in the girls’ native language.
    Raquel stepped closer. “Are you serious?”
    â€œTry me.”
    Coco gazed up at her. “I feel bad,” she said in Portuguese.
    â€œWhy do you feel bad?” Caitlyn asked in English.
    The girls exchanged surprised looks.
    â€œCoco’s mad at Constantine,” Raquel explained in Portuguese. “She says she hates him.”
    â€œI don’t want to hate him,” Coco wailed. “I like Tino. But it’s not fair!”
    Raquel sniffed. “Tino has family and friends. We don’t.”
    Caitlyn’s heart squeezed. “You have each other. And from what I could tell, every woman at the party loves you and wants to be your aunt.”
    Raquel frowned and kicked at the ground. “They just feel sorry for us because we’re orphans.”
    â€œTino has a mommy and daddy and a sister,” Coco whispered. “My mommy and daddy and sister are dead.”
    Caitlyn gulped. “How did that—I’m sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it.”
    Raquel perched on the bench next to Coco. “Some bad men came to our village and killed our families. They hate us because we’re different.”
    Caitlyn sucked in a deep breath. Good God. Were the girls’ families killed because they were vampires? That was unconscionable. It reminded her of racial purging. It could not be allowed to continue.
    She was struck suddenly with a moment of crystal clarity. If she took the job offered by Emma MacKay, she could work to protect innocent children like Coco and Raquel. And her niece and nephew.
    Coco tugged on the sleeve of her cardigan sweater. “Am I bad ’cause I’m mad at Tino?”
    â€œNo, sweetie. It’s normal to be envious when someone else has what you want for yourself.”
    â€œI really do like him.” Coco sniffled. “I want to be happy for him, but it’s not fair.”
    â€œI know.” Caitlyn stroked the girl’s long black hair. “But in a strange way, you can be happy that the world isn’t fair.”
    Raquel stiffened. “But it should be fair.”
    â€œThink about it,” Caitlyn said softly. “In a world that was totally fair, everything that happened to you would be because somehow you absolutely deserved it.”
    Raquel’s mouth dropped open. “We—We didn’t deserve it.”
    Coco sat up, her eyes wide with horror. “The bad men came because I’m bad?”
    â€œNo!” Caitlyn grabbed the girl by the shoulders. “You are good. You are a sweet, innocent child, and there is no way you could ever deserve what happened.”
    Raquel jumped to her feet. “Then why did it happen?”
    Tears filled Caitlyn’s eyes. “Oh, honey, I don’t know why there’s evil in the world. I think it has something to do with free will, so people can decide to be good or bad.”
    â€œI want to be good,” Coco