"No," he said softly. "I tried to give you a gift. A child. A human child. He's a boy."

She sucked in a sharp breath and fingered a folded piece of clothing that lay on the bed. She shook her head. "My son died …"

"Yes. But this child will be your son as well."

Carmella's eyes stung as she picked up some of the clothes and put them away in her chest of drawers.

"And I suspect that the infant will come sooner than I expected."

She stared at him. ...