by Jaclyn Weist
“If I get ahold of that boy … Where did he go? And what did he mean by ‘future queen’?”
“I have no clue. I give up on making sense of anything. I’m going to take a shower.” I walked into the bathroom and made the water steamy hot so I could try to forget everything that had happened.
Mom had pulled out some chocolate and turned on a movie on her laptop by the time I came out of the bathroom. She handed me the bag to grab a piece. She seemed to know exactly what I needed at the moment. I just wished I had Beth and Jared there with me.
I sent a quick text to Jared, hoping he’d answer this time.
Hey. What’s up? I miss you!
It wasn’t until an hour later that I got a message back.
I hope this gets to you. Things are good. I miss you too. I hope you’re not having too much fun without me.
I couldn’t help grinning as I typed back to him.
I’m having all kinds of fun, but I’d have more fun if you were here.
I waited to hear back.
It’s always more fun when I’m there. ;) Eoin told me you got attacked by a mermaid. Is that true?
Yeah, she was scary. I managed to get her stuck in the drain, though.
Visions of Cam’s face came to mind, but I pushed them away. Jared was all I needed, and I was finally hearing back from him.
I can’t wait to hear that story. How have your games gone?
I smiled. He loved sports as much as I did. They’ve gone well. We lost two. But guess what. I keep having leprechauns and fairies showing up to help me.
Ha ha. Oh, that’s awesome. I wish I could be there to see it. Hey, Uncle Jerry just caught me texting instead of making cupcakes. Better go. I love you!
Love you too! Tell Beth hi for me.
Okay.
That night, I went to sleep with a smile on my face. Jared wasn’t with me, but it still helped knowing that he was waiting for me at home.
When the alarm went off the next day, I rolled over and yelped. Eoin stood there staring at me. I turned off the alarm and stretched.
“What are you doing here?” I yawned.
Eoin shrugged. “I came here to see where we’re going next.”
“Ireland. Maybe you can find some friends there.” I rolled out of bed and grabbed some clothes.
Eoin sniffed. “I don’t even know where to look for them.”
“Doesn’t your family live there?” I asked, surprised.
“Well, yeah, but I haven’t been out much.”
“Maybe you should while you’re there.”
Eoin shrugged. “I guess. I just want my da and mammy back.”
“I’m sorry.” I looked at the clock. “Oh, I need get ready. Wake my mom, ’kay?” I went into the bathroom to change and gather up our stuff so we could leave. I laughed when I heard a shriek from my mom, and opened the door. “Good morning, Mom. Rise and shine.”
Mom glared and stumbled toward the bathroom. “That was not how I planned to wake up this morning.”
“What? I thought everyone wanted a leprechaun alarm.”
“He dropped a frog on my head.” She tried to glare again, but laughed instead.
I looked over to where Eoin was opening the drawers. “He dropped a frog on you?”
Eoin looked over and grinned. “Hey, you told me to wake her up. You didn’t tell me how.”
I packed my clothes and checked under the bed to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. “You never told me how you know Jakob.”
Eoin squirmed. “I don’t know him well. Just stories. But as a warning, he’s worse news than Ethan.”
“Oh, that helps.” I paused and looked over at him. “He called me the future queen.”
“He said that?” Eoin nearly dropped a drawer on his foot. “Oh, dear. Things are worse than I thought.”
“What do you mean?” I’d been hoping it was just a pickup line.
“I’ll tell you later. I need to go find out a few things first.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
JARED
Jared picked up the last of buckets of frosting and loaded them in his truck. He needed to hurry and get them back to the bakery so he could meet his mom. She was insistent that they were going to go shopping for college when he got home. He still had another couple of months before he had to leave, but he couldn’t argue. Besides, it would be nice to know it was done.
Jared drove back to Burley and delivered the supplies to the bakery, then hurried home to find his mom and Abby in the kitchen eating snacks.
“Hey, Mom. Sorry I’m late. I had to pick up supplies.” He grabbed a drink and granola bar.
“It’s fine. Jerry called me to let me know. We’ll leave in just a minute.” She picked up her plate and moved to the sink and stumbled, grabbing the counter to hold herself up.
“Mom!” Jared took her by the arm and walked her to her chair. His heart beat rapidly from fear. He knew his mom wasn’t feeling well, but she’d never done this before. “Are you okay?”
His mom smiled weakly. “I’m fine. I just got up too fast.”
“Mommy’s owie.” Abby patted her on the arm.
Jared knelt down in front of his mom. “You’re pale. I’m going to call Dad.”
“No! No, I’ll be fine. Don’t call him. I just … maybe I should go to the doctor right now.” She smiled and tried to stand again. Jared held her up around her waist and walked her to the door.
“Abby, get your shoes on. I’m going to take you to play with Maddie and William.” Jared pushed down his panic, trying to stay calm for Abby. He’d get Mom to the doctor and call Dad on the way.
Jared would’ve taken his truck, but he needed a seat for Abby, so he helped his mom into the minivan. After buckling Abby into her car seat, he drove over to the Crenshaws’, hoping Adam would be up for one more toddler to play with.
He pulled in and turned to his mom. “I’ll be right back.”
His mom laughed weakly. “I’ll be fine, Jared. Stop worrying so much.”
Abby unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out. “I did it all by myself.”
“Good girl. Now you behave for Adam, okay?”
“Okay.” She skipped up the steps.
Jared knocked on the door, and it was a minute before the door opened. Maddie stood there, staring at Abby. “Hey, Maddie. Can I talk to Adam?”
“Sure.” She pointed behind Jared. “Why did you bring Abby here?”
“Because—” Jared looked up when Adam came to the door.
“Maddie, I told you—oh, hey, Jared. What’s up?”
“Listen, my mom is sick. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but I’m taking her to the doctor. Can you watch Abby? Please? I’ll take Maddie and William off your hands later.”
“Of course. Dad should be home soon.”
Relief flowed through Jared. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.”
“Any time. Good luck.” Adam opened the door wider to let Abby in. Maddie was telling her all about Muffins and the dolls they could play with.
Jared ran back to the car and climbed in just as his mom got off the phone. “Did you get an appointment?”
“Yeah, they’ll see me now.” Her eyes had dark circles under them, and she seemed to be sweating.
“Okay.” They were headed toward the center of town when his mom’s head leaned forward, like she’d fallen asleep. “Mom? Mom!” Jared panicked. He did a quick U-turn and headed straight for the hospital. He clenched his jaw, trying to keep himself under control. She’d be fine. She had to be fine, right? He kept a hand on her head so it wouldn’t jerk when he turned corners. It was all he could do not to panic.
Jared pulled into the ER entrance and hopped out of the van. He ran around to the other side of the van, and had his mom out of the car before the attendants could get there. She was a lot lighter than he’d expected, and that only made him worry more. She had to be okay.
Jared carried her inside and up to the front desk.
“M
y mom needs help.” He couldn’t help the shakiness in his voice.
They had a gurney for her within seconds, and he set her down gently. They wheeled her back to a room and Jared followed behind, then watched them check her heart rate and oxygen. The nurse put an oxygen tube on her, and handed Jared the paperwork to fill out.
“I—is she going to be okay?” Jared asked. He couldn’t think clearly enough to write anything down except her name.
The nurse knelt in front of him. “Your mom will be fine. She’s anemic, and just got a little dehydrated. We’ll do some other tests, but she’ll be better in no time.”
Jared felt like he’d been punched in the face. “What do you mean, she’s anemic? How do you know that already?” His voice caught.
The nurse smiled. “This isn’t the first time she’s been in. It happens sometimes when people get as sick as your mom is right now.”
“But that makes no sense. She’s anemic because she’s sick?”
“Maybe she should tell you what’s going on herself.” She stood and went to the door. “We’ll be back in a bit, okay?”
The other nurses finished what they were doing and left the room. Jared listened to the beep of the monitor for a minute, afraid to wake his mom. The doctor was supposed to be in soon, but as far as Jared was concerned, it was taking way too long.
“I’ll be okay, Jared.” Her voice made Jared jump.
“I thought you were unconscious. What’s going on? Why are you dehydrated?” Jared moved closer to the bed.
She closed her eyes. Jared wondered if she’d fallen back asleep, but then she kept talking. “I’m pregnant.”
Jared’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“I’m a few months along, but I haven’t said anything because I’ve had a lot of problems.”
A new baby? But Jared was just getting ready to leave for college. He ran his fingers through his hair. This was crazy. “You’re sure?”
His mom laughed. “Of course I’m sure. I’ve done this a few times.”
“A few? But there’s just Abby and me.” The pained expression on her face made Jared’s stomach drop.
“Haven’t you ever wondered why there’s so much space between you and Abby?”
Jared stared at her. “I guess so. I never thought much about it.”
“Your dad and I tried many times, but I just couldn’t get past a few weeks. We were thrilled when Abby came along. We were planning on being done … but then I found out a couple of months ago that I was pregnant again. With everything going on between you leaving with Megan to go fight those creatures, and then graduation, I didn’t want to say anything. I had to be sure.” She closed her eyes again.
Jared tried to digest everything she’d just said. Why hadn’t he noticed? He knew she was weak or sick, but he’d never asked. He felt awful he hadn’t taken better care of his mom. And now he was leaving for school in a couple of months.
“How long have you been pregnant?” he asked. She couldn’t be too far or he would’ve noticed, right?
“Five months.” His mom put her hand on her belly.
“What? But that’s …” Jared rubbed his hand over his face. He should’ve noticed.
His mom laughed. “It’s not your fault. I wear loose clothes on purpose, and besides, I don’t usually get big until closer to the end. I told you, I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
“But … you’re almost done. You should’ve told me.” He couldn’t help feeling a small flare of anger. She was his mom, and had kept so much from him. She hadn’t been so secretive with Abby, had she?
“I’m sorry, Jared. I just didn’t want you to worry.” She licked her lips. “I guess I didn’t do a good job, did I?”
Jared shook his head. “No, but then, I didn’t do a very good job of noticing something was wrong. So, do you want me to call Dad?”
His mom nodded. “It’s probably a good idea. Then I want you to go home to take of Abby.”
Jared made the phone call and explained what happened. His dad cursed and told him he’d be there as soon as he could. He hung up, and Jared stared at his phone.
“Jared?” His mom’s voice made Jared jump.
“Yeah?”
“I thought I told you to go get Abby.”
“You did, but … I don’t want to just leave you here. I’ll stay until Dad comes.” He could see her start to protest and quickly added, “I’ll leave right after. I promise.”
She smiled. Her face had more color in it than before, but Jared could see she was still exhausted. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Jared listened to the sounds of the hospital outside the door. Announcements over the loud speaker, gurneys rolling past, and the beeping of his mom’s monitors. His mom’s breathing soon became slow and steady, and he was grateful she could get some sleep. A new baby? It was just … weird. Good for Abby to have someone to play with, but weird.
The door opened, and Jared’s dad followed the nurse in. He looked more scared than Jared had ever seen him. He pushed past the nurse and hurried to the bed. Jared moved so his dad could sit. The noise had made his mom wake up, and she blinked.
“Sorry for waking you.” Jared’s dad kissed her before sitting down on the chair Jared had just left.
“It’s all right. I was resting until you got here.” She smiled weakly.
Jared backed toward the door. “I’ll be back later, okay?”
His mom nodded. “Thank you again. Love you, sweetie.”
Jared’s dad stood and pulled Jared into a hug, surprising him. There wasn’t much hugging in their family.
“Thank you, son. When you said she collapsed . . .”
“I didn’t know what else to do, so I came here.”
“You did exactly what you should have done.” Dad pulled away and sat back down. “Why don’t you go get Abby and head home? Tell the Crenshaws thank you.”
“Okay. Bye.” Jared waved and left the room. He pulled out his phone and checked it to find a message from Adam, saying they needed more diapers for Abby. Great. He typed a quick text back and hopped in the van, then headed over to the Crenshaws’.
Maddie opened the door before Jared got to the porch. “Hi, Jared. Abby’s crying because I called her stinky, but I didn’t try to be mean.”
Jared laughed. “I’ll take care of it. Thanks for playing with her.”
“You’re welcome. We had fun playing house. Except William didn’t like it, and went to play trucks with his friend next door.” Maddie made a face and skipped inside, shouting Abby’s name.
Adam came to the door, holding Abby’s hand. “How’s your mom?”
“She’s … fine.” Jared couldn’t bring himself to tell Adam about his mom’s pregnancy. He wanted to tell Megan first. He picked up Abby and gagged. Yeah, Maddie was right. “Thanks again for watching her. I hope everything went okay.”
“She played with Maddie the whole time. It was no problem. But hey, a couple of guys are getting together to go see a movie tonight. Want to come?”
Jared looked down at Abby. “I’d love to, but I don’t know when Dad will be back. Maybe next time.”
“Oh, right. Should’ve thought of that. See you later.” Adam closed the door, and Jared took Abby to the van. He got her seatbelt buckled and headed home.
There was one good thing about being at college when the baby was born. Jared wouldn’t be around when it was time to change diapers.
MEGAN
Here we were in Ireland, and I hadn’t had to sleep in a single cave or prison—yet. It was rather nice. It was also good that I’d arrived by plane, and not by dragon or leprechaun … although Eoin had sat in the chair next to me on the flight. He’d kept his eyes closed the whole time, but at least he was quiet.
The land was green, and the familiar smell of trees helped calm me. It was crazy, but I had actually missed this place. Eoin sat next to me on the bus with his nose pressed against the window. I hoped we could find at least one leprechaun while w
e were here so he could have a friend. He just seemed so lonely.
Coach Peterson had decided to do some sightseeing before heading to the hotel. He knew time would be short, and a few of the stops were on the way anyway.
The other girls gasped as we pulled up to Blarney Castle, but all I could do was hold in a groan. I still remembered how worn out I’d gotten from climbing those walls just a few months before. They scrambled to climb off the bus and ran up the path.
The castle rose ninety feet in the air, and it was old, rough stone. Ivy covered the walls, and it was a lot more alive than when I’d been here in January. Tourists would climb the stairs and bend over backward to kiss the stone.
This was one time I was thankful that Mom was afraid of heights. She gave me a good reason to stay down on the ground while everyone else went up to kiss the Blarney Stone. It was awesome and all, but I’d been told that if I—or anyone else with magic of any form—were to kiss the stone, it would destroy fairy magic. That wasn’t exactly on my list of things to do.
“You’re not coming?” Coach Peterson asked, surprised.
I shook my head. “I’ll pass.”
He grinned. “You don’t like heights either, huh?”
“I’ve been here before. I know this place pretty well.” Too well. I was tired just thinking about it.
“Okay, well, we’ll be back soon. You two stay out of trouble.” He laughed at his own joke and followed the girls up to the trail.
“Should we go shopping?” Mom asked.
I hopped up. The others would be a while, so I didn’t want to just sit here. “Yes, let’s go. I promised Beth a couple of things.”
We wandered through the gift shop, and I helped Mom pick out gifts for the twins. I found a red dragon figurine that reminded me of Adam’s dragon and decided to get it for him. It could go by the one he’d given me for Christmas.
Eoin walked behind us, looking at all the little trinkets. He was a lot quieter than usual, but I couldn’t ask him what was going on until we weren’t surrounded by people. He stopped at a vial of gold flakes and stared at it before shaking his head and moving on. I picked it up and put it in my basket to buy. He needed to start his pot of gold somewhere, right? The little guy had really grown on me, and it hurt knowing his parents were missing.