“All right. I understand that. So someone will mark the girls by becoming a part of their skin. I think that it is much safer for them all if there isn’t a physical being with them that could be seen.” Aurora agreed. “When they go their separate ways, I’m going to miss them like crazy, but when they leave here, what will become of them?”
“If you mean will they move to other states, they more than likely will not. Lynette will become a doctor of small children. A great one, as a matter of fact. Hanna will be a leader of shifters everywhere. Not just with shifters, but humans as well. Melissa will be a teacher. One that will be able to keep her students safer than they could be at home.” Allie asked if there would be other children. “Yes. Only one birth from you, I’m afraid. I know that Harper would like it to be different, but there is a reason for this. The overpopulation of such a magnificent creature would diminish their beauty and rarity. But the children that you have with Sampson will be pure of heart and pure of blood.”
“I like that.” Aurora told her that the children of two creatures like them should be special. “Thank you for that. It’s nice to know after all this other crap that I can still be nice.”
Aurora laughed, and Allie joined her. They talked about different things as they sat there. The faerie army seemed to have slipped away. But for whatever reason, Allie thought that they were only seconds away and ready no matter how lax she thought she might be over the years.
When Aurora left her, Allie sat there for a while longer. The smell of fruit still warm from the sun had her smiling. The sight of woodland creatures kept her enraptured—a couple of deer, a large moose that she’d been warned about being here, as well as squirrels and even butterflies.
Walking back to the house to get going to her parents’ home, she thought about her life of late. There wasn’t a thing she’d change since meeting Sampson, and she was glad that her family finally had peace. Her parents would rest in their places at the cemetery easier now that they no longer had to look down on her with Howie and the other two around.
Allie did have her doubts about Howie killing himself. She didn’t know who had killed him, but she was all right with that too. It had taken her a few hours to realize that she was glad no one had asked her about it. Nor had they informed her after the fact as to what they’d done. Howie was gone, and that was the way it should have been.
Thinking about what Able had told her about the way the trial might go, she was happy that she’d not have to worry about Howie being put into an institution to harm others, which she was sure he would have done. Nor did she have to worry that he might be released early or escape. It happened all the time in movies, and she didn’t figure they were far off the mark on how it happened. Howie would have done anything to get out, then killed her and Sampson. Or at least he’d have tried to kill them.
The girls were still out when she got home. Getting into her car so that she could bring back anything she wanted from her old home, she drove to her parents’ house. It was just the way they’d left it that night when they’d gone to bed. The only thing different was the bedroom where they’d been killed.
The police had taken pieces of the carpet, mattress, as well as the curtains when they’d arrived that morning. Allie had already had the entire house cleaned when she’d decided to go back there soon after the deaths. She’d not have to deal with any of the furniture either, she thought. Only the couple of pieces that she had stored in the barn that she wanted.
As soon as she arrived, she sat in her car and let the memories of the place flow over her. Trying to forget the night they were killed hurt her a great deal, but she was still able to think of them in a good way.
She was walking up to the house when she realized that the plants had been taken care of all this time, as well. The house smelled of cleanser, but that wasn’t a bad smell. Twice a year, Mom would have a cleaning crew come in and clean every wall, window, and floor until it shone. Taking a deep breath to let the scent linger a little longer, Allie headed for the living room to begin there.
The boxes that she’d had delivered were almost all full when Sampson joined her. She had gone from the living room to the bedrooms in the few hours that she’d been there. A moving van was coming to take all the things that she didn’t want or need to a shelter here in their town, which would make sure they were given to people in need.
“How much more do you have to take care of?” She told Sampson that she had one more bedroom, as well as the garage and basement to tackle. “Good. I’ll come back with you tomorrow with the girls, and we’ll get it done. I noticed that you put all the Christmas ornaments aside. I’m glad you did that. We don’t have a single one at our house.”
“I didn’t think we would. Also, there is my parents’ clothing that I’ve made arrangements to have donated. Most of my mom’s jackets are going to the nursing home, and they’re going to cut them down for blankets. They were excited to get them.” She got into her car while Sampson stood over her, looking down at her. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You know that, don’t you?”
“So long as you realize that I wouldn’t have survived much longer had you not come into my life.” With a quick kiss, he got into his car. Tonight was going to be a good time.
By the time she got home, she’d spoken to Sampson through their link several times, to Hanna and Melissa three or four times, and Lynette more than anyone else. The kids were excited to be having dinner as a family tonight. She was too.
Before You Go…
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Kathi Barton, a winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement award as well as a best-selling author on Amazon and All Romance books, lives in Nashport, Ohio, with her husband, Paul. When not creating new worlds and romance, Kathi and her husband enjoy camping and going to auctions. She can also be seen at county fairs with her husband who is an artist and potter.
Her muse, a cross between Jimmy Stewart and Hugh Jackman, brings her stories to life for her readers in a way that has them coming back time and again for more. Her favorite genre is paranormal romance, with a great deal of spice. You can visit Kathi online and drop her an email if you’d like. She loves hearing from her fans. [email protected].
Follow Kathi on her blog: http://kathisbartonauthor.blogspot.com/
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Samson Page 16