The Clumsy Clairvoyant

by S. E. Babin

  Marissa looked down at the baby. "I'll make sure of it." She stepped into his embrace, squeezed him once, and brushed a soft kiss over his cheek. When she stepped away, tears rolled down her eyes.

  She stepped up onto the porch and took the suitcase one of the witches rolled up to her. "You have a furniture delivery scheduled for next Tuesday," the woman said. "Courtesy of the Comey sisters."

  Marissa whispered her thanks, waved at all of us and took her baby inside to her brand new home.

  All of us let out a collective sigh and slowly turned to load up in the van again.

  "A vehicle," Lucas murmured whenever the door had shut behind him. "She needs one."

  "She'll have one," Morgana said. "I have a friend who will drop one off to her in a few days. It's an older model, but it runs like a dream."

  Lucas gave her a considering stare, as did I. Morgana had a story. An epic one. Whoever the person was who'd harmed her had molded her into something terrifying, yet surprisingly gentle. I hoped if Colin got involved with her, he would nurture that rather than make it worse.

  The trip home this time went surprisingly better as most of it was spent in contemplative silence.

  When we made it home, Lucas asked Morgana to drop us both at my house.

  "Round two?" I whispered, though when I heard the witches snicker, I knew I hadn't been that quiet.

  Lucas chuckled. "How about a nap first?"

  "A vampire boyfriend who wants a nap? You are the antithesis of every fiction book I've ever read. You should be ashamed."

  Lucas stretched, his shirt pulling up to expose the bottom of his abs. My mouth went dry and I noticed two of the witches shamelessly ogling him. "Am I now?"

  "Partially," I grumbled.

  The van pulled into the driveway and we got out. I thanked the sisters again, though Lucas was more contemplative, possibly gauging the unfriendly atmosphere concerning him.

  I unlocked my door and immediately slid out of my shoes. "That was the longest day ever," I groaned as I padded over to collapse on the couch.

  "I'm starving," Lucas said, but he made no move to the kitchen. He slumped into my reading chair and sighed.

  I had to snicker. "Who knew a road trip would knock a vampire out?"

  Lucas snorted. "A hostile road trip more like it. I kept wondering if all of those witches were armed with stakes." He frowned. "Or if they were getting their fireball spells ready to hit me in the back."

  "Yeah," I agreed. "They really hate you."

  He sighed. "That's because I was a giant asshat to you." He patted the small area next to him.

  "I won't fit."

  "You will if you lay right on top of me."

  I burst up from the couch and snuggled right on top of his chest. He stroked my hair. "You're my favorite thing, Grace Banner."

  Tears sprang to my eyes. I wasn't sure what to say. "We had a rough start, didn't we?"

  "Oh, I don't know. It's one of those stories we can tell people when we're ancient that will never get old. The powder keg and the match's love affair."

  "Should we look into the future?" I asked, my eyes drifting shut as I relaxed against him.

  His heartbeat picked up and thundered beneath my ear. "No, Grace. Never. I want to know each day only as it happens. I always want to be surprised by you. I want to hear you color my world with creative curses and burn me with your love."

  I raised my head up. "Love?"

  Lucas raised one eyebrow. "Don't you?"

  I narrowed my gaze. "I see what you're doing here, Mister. You're dipping your toe into the water to gauge the temperature. I'm not falling for that."

  He laughed at me. "Well, it couldn't hurt to try. Although a declaration of love would certainly be nice. I've had a difficult day."

  I dropped my head back down on his chest. "Poor little vampire baby."

  "Grace?"

  "Hmmm."

  "I'm a commitment phobe."

  I sighed. Here we go...

  "But I don't think I'd want to live another day in this world without you bitching me out."

  I snorted with surprise and followed it with laughter. "I don't bitch you out all the time."

  "Only when I deserve it."

  "And sometimes when I think you deserve it. Which may not be when you think you deserve it."

  "So we're agreed then that you do a lot of bitching?"

  "Shut up, Lucas, and continue telling me how amazing I am."

  "If you think bitching is amazing, I'm not sure how to continue this..."

  I poked him in the ribs.

  "I value your thoughts, your opinions, your ability to forgive when I've screwed up catastrophically. I appreciate how willing you were to step up and help Marissa even when you thought the worst of me. You're everything I've ever wanted in a woman even with your sailor mouth."

  I sighed. "You're terrible at this."

  "Duly noted." Lucas' arms tightened around me. "What I'm saying is that I love you. From the moment you stepped out of your bedroom dressed like Punky Brewster's worst nightmare, you had me. It just took me a whole lot of assholish behavior to realize it."

  I lifted my head and sighed. "You idiot. I love you too." I dropped my head back down. "But I'm not sure I want Colin at our wedding if we ever get married."

  "Good luck with that. He's been waiting on the sidelines for months trying to whisk you away from me. He'll be in the front row ready to object during the vows."

  I groaned. "Let's not get married then."

  Lucas squeezed me tighter. "That's what elopements are for. Or rope if we need to tie him down."

  "I like the way you think."

  Epilogue

  Eight weeks later

  The vision woke me up out of a sound sleep. I jolted upright in bed, startling Lucas and knocking over the glass of water I usually kept on my nightstand.

  "Shit," I muttered, though it came out garbled because of my dry mouth. I swung my legs out of bed, grabbed my cell and dialed Helen Reaper.

  She answered, but I knew I'd woken her up.

  "This is Grace Banner. I don't know what the hell is happening, but something is opening up over this town. And soon." I unlocked the front door and stepped outside. Everything looked normal.

  "What? What did you see?"

  "Some kind of rift, Helen. And it didn't look good. Whatever it was, there are...things coming out of it." I stepped off my porch and looked for anything amiss.

  "Shit," she muttered. "It's happening sooner than I anticipated."

  I remembered the vision I'd given her months prior. Things roamed the streets. Battles took place everywhere. It was a deadly, apocalyptic scene. But I thought we'd had a lot more time.

  "Whatever this is, you won't be able to handle this yourself."

  "I know," she said. "I've extracted...promises from certain people for help. I hope I can count on you if I need to. We can't fight this on our own."

  My husband came outside, his footsteps light. He wrapped a hand around my waist and pulled me closer. "I'll do what I can."

  I wasn't sure what that would be, though. My hand gently swept over the front of my gown and down the brand new swell of my stomach. It was just barely there, but I knew what was happening.

  Lucas and I were having a child. I hadn't told him yet. In fact I wasn't sure how I was going to. This happened before we were married and against all odds. The vision I'd had did not bode well for the state of our town, but it was the only place I'd ever lived and the only place I ever wanted to raise my children.

  "That's all I can ask. Go back inside. We still have some time."

  "Call if you need us, Helen."

  "Thanks."

  We disconnected and I wrapped my arms around my husband's neck. He ran his hand through my hair and placed a kiss on my forehead.

  "How do you feel about the name Rhys for our first child?" I asked.

  His brow furrowed. "Already thinking about that?"

  I gave him a soft smile. "Well.
..in about six months we're going to have to figure it out."

  Lucas' eyes went comically wide. "Grace?"

  My smile grew wide. "Yes?"

  His gaze drifted to my stomach and back up to my eyes, a questioning look in them.

  "Holy...crap." He lifted a tender hand to my stomach and touch the tiny bump there. "My mother is going to be ecstatic." He crushed me to him. "Hold me. I think I'm going to faint."

  We stood that way for awhile.

  "I was thinking more like Maximum Rex Enzo Marsh II."

  "No," I said. "Your naming privileges are revoked."

  "That was just my first try," he squawked.

  "It was a terrible first try."

  He slid an arm around my waist and led me back inside. "Maybe we can keep practicing."

  "On the name?" I asked.

  "Nope. On the babymaking."

  "Mmmm. It's a little too late for that."

  He nuzzled my neck. "It's never too late for practice."

  With a growl he swept me up into his arms and carried me back into the bedroom.

  For the rest of the night, Lucas Marsh made me realize how true it was that practice made perfect.

  Also by S.E. Babin

  The Goddess Chronicles

  The Dedicated Matchmaker