by SM Olivier
“So…” Troy said from his position at the table. “I checked my calendar. We have two-holiday parties next week.”
“Ooookay?” Jemmy asked in confusion. “What holiday parties?”
“Not here.” Troy frowned. “My company has two jobs for holiday parties next week. Both should have a massive amount of celebrities, models, and the who’s who. Should I tell Leo we’ll be back on these jobs? Otto must be someone recognizable to most people. Ella drew him on the red carpet. The time frame in the dream seems like he would be located on the west coast, probably California. And he’s sleeping with two celebrities as well.” He coughed as he gave me a roguish look. “Well, at least one of them was.”
I wanted to pick up a pillow and launch it at his laughing, face. See if I ever tell him about my jumps ever again. “It sounds like the best option to me,” I commented slowly. “However, I think we all need to agree on the decision.”
“When are we leaving? What should I pack?” Jemmy asked giddily.
“We are going,” Troy stated matter-of-factly. “I can justify an additional seven people on these jobs but not ten, eleven, or twelve.”
“Why can’t I just go?” Jemmy whined. “Gavin and Sierra won’t mind.”
“If she’s going, so am I,” Rachel insisted.
“Me too,” Dawn said stubbornly.
“There ya go,” Troy said with a pointed look.
“It’s not fair. You wouldn’t let me go on any jobs when you were there full time. You said I was too young. Now I’m old enough, and you still won’t let me go,” Jemmy continued to pout as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You know how bad I would love to meet some of these people.” She waved one of the gossip rags up over her head.
“Well, look on the bright side,” Rachel said with an impish grin. “If Otto is famous, you’ll be practically related to him through Drake, and you can hang out with all of his famous friends.”
I groaned, not ready for that type of humor yet. Not from them. “We don’t know if Otto is famous.”
“But all signs point to it,” Dawn said smugly.
The apartment door opened and the rest of my guys, along with Micah and Kade, came walking in the door. “Did we miss something?” Noah asked in confusion as he saw all the magazines scattered everywhere.
“Just Troy being a douche and not allowing me to go with you guys to California,” Jemmy muttered.
“For reasons like that,” Troy said in evident frustration.
I could understand his ire. She knew that this was an urgent matter to discuss as a ‘family’ and she decided to spill our secret before we could explain to the guys what was going on. This was the first breakthrough we had gotten in over a week, and she was throwing a temper tantrum because she wasn’t getting her way.
“We’re going to California?” Drake asked in confusion.
“Let’s go to lunch,” I stated standing up. “We can discuss it there.”
“What did I do?” Jemmy asked in confusion.
“Troy, Jaxson, and Blake should have told them, not you,” Dawn said patiently.
In so many ways, Dawn and Jemmy were alike. They were outrageous flirts. They were brash, stubborn, and outgoing. They had the same zest for life. However, Dawn was five years older than Jemmy, so she had a better filter and processed things longer before she reacted to situations. I was hoping Jemmy would learn that eventually as well.
“I had a dream,” I started once we all sat down. “Well, I guess I experienced my first jump. I think I might have seen a glimpse of Otto’s life.”
“Otto is the name we’re calling He Who Shall Have No Name until he earns one,” Jaxson quickly interjected.
Troy and I exchanged a smile before I continued. “He was hooking up with a blonde that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen in a movie or on television somewhere.”
“Back up. What?” Noah asked mid-bite.
“I had a dream, or a jump,” I explained once more after a sigh. “In my jump, I’m a man. I can hear, smell, and feel the ocean air. I also had our mark here.” I placed my hand over my heart. “I know it was him.”
“We have two security gigs in California for affluent individuals. A bunch of A-listers will be going to these parties,” Troy explained. “My hope is we can find the girl in Blake’s jump, and she can lead us to him, or he might be there, and Drake or Blake will feel a…draw to him.”
“Did you feel tired or…drained after your jump?” Noah asked as he scrutinized me once more.
“No, surprisingly enough,” I shrugged not irritated by his concern. There was a reason we were refraining from using our gifts.
“Why California?” Remy asked crossing his arms across his chest. I could tell by the way he barely touched his food that he didn’t like the direction our conversation was going.
“In my jump, the sun was rising, we determined by when we woke up and how real it felt they had to be approximately three hours behind us. We know she’s famous, so California or New York City would be the obvious choices to begin looking, but it’s cold in New York and he wanted to go surfing,” I explained.
“How can she have jumped without making a connection? If all her additional gifts lay dormant until a connection is made, how was she capable of jumping?” Kade asked in confusion.
Maybe this conversation was a little too mature for his younger ears, but he was one of the most mature fifteen-year old’s I’d ever met. I often forgot he was younger. He and Micah got up every morning of their own accord and woke up Alex and Ella to get them ready. They would then go walk down to Beth and Cora’s and grab Nadia and Patrick to walk them down to school. Patrick was a good, bright kid but he needed nudging every now and then to do what he should be doing. Kade was definitely helping in that area.
“We already know our situation. Blake’s circumstances have never been by the book. Maybe her gift wants her to find him,” Drake stated as he squeezed my thigh under the table.
“When’s the first gig and what do they entail?” Jace asked. He and Remy had helped Troy in the past at the security firm. In fact, Jace had worked one of his ex-girlfriend’s shows as a favor to Troy in the past. Troy needed him to calm some of the high-strung models and work as an extra pair of eyes.
Troy sighed. “The first job is for a young fashion designer. She has a guest list of over one hundred people. Leo and his team will do all the leg work for both events, and we’ll be there as back up during the parties. The socialite wants all the security detail to blend in. She doesn’t want us to stick out, so it’s black tie. The second party is on New Year’s Day. It’s an engagement party for an actor and a director. Again, their guest list is pretty extensive. They want us to be seen but not heard.”
“Our first New Year’s together will be in California?” Noah said with a frown.
“Yes,” Jace stated firmly. “Let Leo know we will be his back up. Should I get Dad to have the jet on standby?”
“Yeah,” Troy nodded. “My chopper doesn’t have enough room for all of us.”
“I’ll go see him after lunch,” Jace commented.
“I don’t want to see her or talk to her,” Micah stated mulishly as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Alex looked at him hesitantly. “Did Miranda really want me? She didn’t run away from me, honestly?”
We had put off telling the kids long enough about Miranda’s intended visit tomorrow night. We also needed to inform them that we would be leaving soon to hopefully find Otto. The guys and I had them all seated around the table as we had ice cream.
“That’s what she said, yes,” I stated with censorship. I was trying really hard to keep my tone neutral and free of any of my biases. “You don’t have to talk to her.” I turned to look at Micah. “But she says she has gifts for you guys, and we thought you all should have a choice to have a relationship with her or not. No pressure. No one’s forcing you to like her or even talk to her.”
“Sometimes we have to be around people we do
n’t like, or never will like, for the benefit of others,” Remy stated gruffly as he clapped Micah on the back gently. Somehow, I didn’t think he was just talking about the current situation. He had already determined he would never like Otto, and he wasn’t going to even attempt to. He also knew we needed Otto despite not wanting him around. We were all feeling the effects of not utilizing our gifts—we were only a shell of the people we once were.
I was being forced to eat my words from over a week ago. We were all missing our gifts. None of us realized how much they were an integral part of us. We didn’t have the endurance or stamina we once had while training, either. We weren’t required to train this week, but all of us still did something daily whether it was running, lifting weights, martial arts, dancing, or any other form of cardio.
“I want to meet her, even though she’s not my mom,” Ella said, her little legs swinging back and forth under the table. “She’ll have stories about my dad, right?”
“Yeah, since they were brother and sister,” Alex said pragmatically. “I’m sure she has a lot of stories.”
I looked apprehensively over at the guys. We still hadn’t told Ella that, not only did we not share the same mom, but we technically didn’t have the same father either. I groaned inwardly. It was no surprise that Alex had “eavesdropped” in one of our heads at one point or another.
“They once were really close,” I confirmed stoically.
“Will I have to call her mom if I like her, like you called my dad, Dad?” Ella asked matter-of-factly as she popped the cherry from her sundae into her mouth.
My eyes widened.
“She’s known for a while.” Alex shrugged.
“Alex Ray,” I gave him a pointed look.
“I wasn’t looking. I promise!” Alex exclaimed. “You adults can be so obvious,” he said in a world-weary tone.
I laughed uneasily. “When did you know we didn’t have the same mom and dad?” I asked Ella.
“Since forever,” she said in an impatient tone. “Heidi found out a long time ago, and she told me we weren’t really sisters. She was mad when you tried to take me away. She wondered how she was supposed to get our money if we weren’t there.”
I sighed rubbing my eyes tiredly. “We are sisters in every sense of the word. Dad was really my uncle, but I will always think of him and love him as a father.”
“Okay,” Ella said in a bewildered tone.
I don’t know why I thought she would take it hard all this time. I don’t understand why we hadn’t discussed it before now. I felt terrible for underestimating her resiliency and emotional maturity.
“What time will she be here? Is Hazel coming, too?” Kade asked.
“We were thinking around seven o’clock,” I stated. “She probably will. She’s been wanting to see you guys, too. We’re going to make cookies, drink hot chocolate, and then watch some movies before Santa comes.”
Kade and Micah gave me a meaningful smirk. I was still trying to keep Santa alive until they asked me, and if they did, I think I would’ve told them the truth.
Ella and Alex also exchanged looks, and somehow, I thought the gig was up. When did they become so jaded? I thought seven-year-olds still believed in Santa? I don’t think I stopped believing until I was at least eight.
“Are we making peanut butter cookies?” Alex asked hopefully.
Drake nodded with a smile. “We are, along with chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, white chocolate macadamia nut, double chocolate chip, Nutella, coconut caramel, and lemon drops.”
“That’s a lot of cookies! When do we start?” Ella asked excitedly.
“The sooner, the better,” Drake stated with another fond look.
“Are we doing Christmas with everyone else tomorrow, too?” Jaxson asked as he poured more caramel sauce on his Sundae.
“We are,” Jace stated. “The Karns, Terrance, Marcel, Dawn, Sam, Rachel, Mr. Moore, and Herman will be by for an early dinner, and they plan to be gone by the time Miranda, Greg, and Harry come by.”
“Christmas morning is just going to be us, Pops, Aunt Megan, and Jemmy and her connections,” Remy added on.
“We should probably get everyone’s stocking stuffers wrapped tonight, then,” I commented brightly. “You guys wanna help?” I asked the children.
“Can we peek in our stockings?” Jaxson asked hopefully.
“No.” I rolled my eyes with a smile. “Even if you did, we agreed to wrap, evvvverything,” I said smugly. “We caught Jemmy trying to peek, so we’re onto you guys.”
Jaxson groaned. “I was going to let you peek.”
“I like my surprises!” I exclaimed. “I wasn’t going to look, even if you’d let me.”
“You’re no fun,” Jaxson harrumphed.
I laughed. Christmas should be fun.
Chapter 5
“When do you plan to leave?” Will asked as he rinsed some vegetables in the sink.
For Christmas Eve, only breakfast had been served, and lunch meats, cheeses, bread, and chips would be available all day long. For Christmas, just lunch was going to be served. We were now running on a skeleton staff, but lucky for Drake, there had been plenty of volunteers willing to work in the kitchens for both days with the promise of additional pay.
A lot of the operatives and trainers had gone home for the holidays. It was the only time of year Paul ran a skeleton staff. Everyone knew they were on call, but they didn’t care if they had the opportunity to visit their families, even if it was for a little while.
Since the kitchens weren’t going to be used in their usual capacity, we decided to utilize them. Will had still cleared the use of the kitchens with Paul, despite the fact he was technically in charge. We just had too many dishes to prepare for our army, and we didn’t want to have to cook it in three different kitchens. Our new kitchen was more substantial than our old one had been. It worked for our immediate family. It just wasn’t going to work to accommodate the additional dishes we planned on making.
“In three days,” Jace answered Will while helping Alex place cookies on a baking sheet.
It was basically all-hands-on-deck today. Everyone wanted to enjoy the downtime together. Sierra was using Drake’s recipes to mix the cookie batters with the assistance of Kade. Jace and Noah were helping the younger kids put them on the baking sheets and into the oven. Drake was preparing the prime rib, stuffing, and ham. Jaxson and I were making the macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. Pops and Remy were in charge of vegetables. Megan was making her famous butter rolls (at least that was what I was told, I had never had them).
“I’ll like to get there early to meet with Leo and the team. We also have no appropriate clothing for the parties or the weather there,” Troy stated as he walked past with the dishes we were no longer using. He volunteered to help clean up after us, along with Rachel.
“Don’t let Jemmy hear you’re going shopping without her,” Rachel joked as she wiped the counter Drake had been using. “She’s still sulking that you won’t let her go.”
“You didn’t hear anything.” Remy gave her a pointed look.
“Hear what?” Rachel asked with feigned cluelessness. She had once harbored a massive crush on Remy.
Remy chuckled. “Exactly.”
“We’ll bring her back a souvenir,” I joked as I placed our pans of macaroni and cheese into the oven.
“Am I going to get a souvenir?” Ella yelled out hopefully.
“Me too?” Alex cried out loudly.
“You guys are going to be spoiled enough,” I ribbed them with a smile, although I had every intention of finding one of those cheesy souvenir shops and getting them something small.
“Aww,” Ella whined as Alex shrugged and said okay.
“We have thirty-five more minutes on the prime rib and ham. How’s everything else looking?” Drake asked as checked on his stuffing.
“Forty-five on the mac and cheese,” I stated as I looked up at the clock. “That should give the meat time to rest.�
�
“We have about twenty more minutes left to complete all these cookies,” Jace stated as he put some more cookies on the cooling racks.
Sierra and Kade were now carefully placing some of the cooled off cookies into Christmas tins.
“I think we have enough to hand out to the whole compound,” Kade joked as he set aside another tin without closing it.
“That’s the plan,” Drake said with a smile. “We’ll see how much is left after tonight and have some for the kids to snack on the next couple of days. The rest gets handed out tomorrow.”
“Can we deliver them?” Alex surprised me by asking him. I fully expected him to complain about sharing the cookies after asking about them nonstop this morning.
“You do realize that we have left Jemmy and Dawn to stuff the stockings, right?” Rachel said as she grabbed a dirty bowl from one of the prep tables.
“Is that your way of stating that you realized the mistake of volunteering to do the cleanup?” I teased as I peeled the potatoes for the mashed potatoes.
“Uh… yeah,” she gave me a ‘duh’ look.
We laughed.
“Too late!” Jaxson teased her. “We have less than an hour left of cooking, and then a little bit of clean up, and then we’ll be eating.”
I laughed and a sharp pain assailed me. I felt nauseous, and my head began to spin wildly, pounding with a ferocity I had never felt before. I grabbed the prep table, preventing myself from keeling over and causing myself any further damage…
I was sitting on a white couch, and the room I was in was white. It looked sterile and clean too clean. I looked over to my left and saw a wall of doors leading out to the ocean. In the distance, I could hear the seagulls crying and the crash of waves on the beach. It smelled like sunshine and salt water.