I looked down to find her holding Bubbles close to her chest.
She glanced from the crying kitten to me, a mischievous look on her face. “Your hair is the same as Bubble’s is.” She smiled widely, a gaping hole where her right front tooth would’ve been.
“Yeah?” I eyed the kitten’s soggy black fur, dabbled with streaks of white and gray. “I hope not exactly like hers,” I muttered.
I barely heard Sam’s amused grunt over the sound of the dinner triangle clanking and ringing outside. Annie jumped up, startling the kittens when she shouted, “Food!”
“I’m going to eat it all before you get there,” Tavis taunted with a wink in my direction, then he rushed back out into the rain, egging Annie on in their daily bout of catch-me-if-you-can.
“You better hurry,” I goaded her, “or there’ll be nothing left for dinner!” With peals of laughter, Annie handed me the kitten and ran out into the rain, toward the farmhouse. “Stay out of the puddles!” I called after them, hoping the amusement in my voice didn’t drown out my authoritative tone completely.
I set Bubbles and Miss Potato back in the tack room with Mama and Doodle, then stalked toward the slightly opened stable door, anxious to get out of the cold and back into the warm house.
The moment I stepped outside, rain pelted me mercilessly, or at least it felt that way as it soaked what seemed like every inch of me. Quickly I pulled the sliding door shut, squinting through wet lashes toward the house. Apparently my authoritative tone needed some work, because, as I’d expected, Annie seized every opportunity to jump in the puddles on her way to the porch. Tavis smiled at me, winked, and ushered the kids inside, and all I could do was hope that Dani didn’t kill me when she saw how muddy Annie had gotten, despite my best efforts.
After latching the stable door shut, I jogged toward the house.
Heavy, quick footsteps squished behind me, and I couldn’t help the knowing grin that parted my lips. It was Jake. We were connected on so many levels now; I could sense his presence and his mind better than anyone else’s. He was no longer the mystery he’d once been, with walls and armor that kept him distant and apprehensive. Now, he was the warmth to my cold, the strong to my weak. He was the second half of me I had never realized was missing until I’d known what it felt like to lose him—to lose myself and become someone who had no memories at all. At least Gabe, genius that he was, was able to help me get my mind back, the memories that made me me.
“Evening stroll?” Jake asked as he jogged up beside me, squinting into the rain. He lifted part of his flannel jacket to shield me from the downpour.
“Yeah, it’s been such a beautiful day.” I wrapped my arm around his waist, and together we hurried to the shelter of the porch. His heat steadied my cold, trembling bones. He’d become a protective cocoon; I would never grow tired of the warmth and vitality he exuded, always making me feel loved…making me feel safe. With him, I could lose my inhibitions and my fears and, on my favorite occasions, let loose my desires.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, letting go of him when we reached the porch steps. The wood creaked beneath our urgent footsteps. I stared down at my dirt-splattered jeans and mud-caked boots. “Shit.” Using the edge of the step, I tried to scrape the chunks of mud off the bottom of my right boot. I could picture Annie now, running around the house and rolling all over the furniture, covered in far more mud than I was.
“I was checking the leaks in the shed,” Jake said as he shook out his hair. “The tarp’s holding well enough for now.” A gust of wind picked up, and I shivered. As I scraped the mud from the bottom of my other boot, Jake shrugged off his jacket.
Laughter, dishes clanking, and amiable chatter emanated from inside as everyone no doubt gathered around the dinner table, just as we’d done most nights since the winter weather had worsened. It was a tight fit to have all fifteen of us together—seventeen when Mase and Camille were around, visiting us from the Re-gen homesteads in Hope Valley—but we made it work. We were growing used to it. In the darkening gloom, I could make out bustling silhouettes illuminated behind the thin, drawn curtains.
“Not that meteorologists were right very often,” I said, “but it would be nice to know when the rain is coming and how long it’s planning to stay. A little preparation time would be appreciated.”
“Are you sure the storm wasn’t summoned?” Jake muttered.
I ran my fingers through my damp hair, the shorter strands no longer a shock as they’d grown out a little. “What?” I precariously wiped the water from under my eyes. “Why?” I momentarily opened my mind up to his, wondering his meaning and hoping to catch a glimpse, but then he glanced down at my chest, my gaze following his, and I didn’t need to know what he was thinking; it was written clearly on his face.
Jake handed me his jacket. The front of my white, long-sleeved shirt was wet, leaving to the imagination only what was hidden behind my peach-colored bra.
I glowered at him as I donned his jacket, my head tilted in a silent scold for insinuating that Tavis had brought the rain. “I’m pretty sure he had nothing to do with it,” I said dryly.
Jake’s left eyebrow rose, mirroring my expression, and his mouth quirked at the corner. “Lucky me then,” he said. He stepped closer, and although I’d planned on a reproachful response, the intensity of the base desire that burned somewhere deep in my belly whenever he was around, prevented the chiding remarks from forming on my tongue.
“I think this is the first time I’ve gotten you alone all week,” he said, his voice quiet while his mind swirled with tantalizing thoughts that made me forget about cold and hunger and our waiting friends inside the house. He wrapped his arms around me, his heat enveloping me, and he pulled me into him. Chills raked through me, making me shiver with pure anticipation.
“What about this morning?” I whispered, vaguely remembering the feel of his lips on my temple when he woke me before the sun was even awake. My eyelids flitted closed as his lips softly brushed against mine. I couldn’t remember the last time we’d been together. Everything had been so crazy, and we’d been so exhausted, it had become a rarity when we were able to lie in bed and lose ourselves in each other’s arms.
Despite the plip-plop of rain on the porch awning and the cacophony of voices inside, I began to give in to my desperation to be alone with him. Just for a little while. His hands were rough but gentle, his lips firm but pliant against mine. His stubble tickled and teased my mouth and cheeks, the sensitive nerve endings tingling to life. A small moan escaped me as his arms tightened around my waist.
“Zo,” Dani’s voice whispered in my mind. “Your dad just asked me where you are. Please don’t make me tell him you’re making out with Jake on the porch…assuming he doesn’t already know.”
With a groan, I leaned my forehead against Jake’s shoulder. “We’d better get inside,” I said and let out a thwarted breath. “Apparently they’re waiting for us.”
Reticent, I pulled away from him and opened my eyes to find Jake’s silhouette washed in a crimson haze. I blinked a few times, encouraging the desirous fog to dissipate, until I could finally refocus. I grinned. He was staring at me with lust-filled eyes, and images of us, upstairs together…alone…filled his mind.
Anxious for what was to come later, I leaned in for a final, promise-filled kiss and entwined my fingers with his before leading him into the house to join the others.
~~~~~
My bedroom was bright and open, the sunshine pouring through the window illuminating my toy-cluttered floor. Hunger rumbled inside my belly. Setting my doll down on my princess comforter, I climbed off my bed, humming as my tummy rumbled again.
Tugging down the hem of my sundress, I walked into the hall and plodded down the stairs on little legs, heading for the kitchen. The carpet tickled the bottoms of my bare feet, making me smile. I didn’t hear the usual clanking of pots and pans that I usually did whenever Daddy was in the kitchen.
“Daddy?” I stopped
in the kitchen doorway, expecting to find him fumbling around inside. But he wasn’t there. Still humming, I turned and walked into the living room. He wasn’t in his recliner in front of the television either. “Daddy?” I wondered if he’d gone to pick up Jason. Fear flittered through me, and I wondered if Daddy left me home all alone.
Then I heard angry voices coming from the back porch.
Noticing that the sliding glass door was slightly open, I walked over and peered outside. My humming ceased, and I froze. Daddy was standing on the porch with a pretty woman. Her hair was long and black, like mine. Her face was pink, and she rushed around like she was scared or upset.
Suddenly, I was standing outside with them. The woman was staring at me and looked like she might cry as she reached for me. “Come here, Zoe,” she said.
I tried not to flinch away from her touch, but I couldn’t help it. Scared and confused, I looked up at Daddy. He looked sad, too.
“You look so pretty in your dress,” the woman said. She tried to smile, and I found myself hesitantly smiling back at her. I liked her eyes. They were special and seemed familiar.
“I knew you’d come back here,” a man said. I jumped when I heard his voice, but the woman didn’t seem surprised. Her hands flew to her stomach, and I wondered if she was hurt.
I blinked, and then the man was standing next to me, like he appeared out of nowhere. He had a mustache and a smile that didn’t seem happy.
Daddy looked angry and afraid. Something didn’t feel right, and I wanted to disappear.
“They didn’t know I was coming here, Gregory,” the woman started to say. “I just needed to—”
But the man with the mustache held up the palm of his hand. “Shhh,” he said, staring only at me. I wasn’t sure why I felt scared, but I was trying not to cry. “Look how big you’ve grown,” he said and crouched down before me. He smiled a big smile, his slightly crooked teeth evoking a sudden panic that made my throat tighten. “And you’re beautiful, just like your mommy.” He looked back at the woman gripping the patio table. Her eyes were shimmering, and I noticed her holding Daddy’s arm tightly with her other hand, like she was holding him back.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Daddy said, and the smile on the man’s face fell a little. I saw something in his eyes that unleashed the tears I’d been trying not to shed. Something bad was happening, I could feel it.
“Daddy…” I began to sob. But it wasn’t Daddy who picked me up, it was the scary man.
“There, there, little Zoe. It’s okay.” He patted my leg and smiled at Daddy and the woman. They said something to him, but I was too stunned to listen. For the first time, I noticed men lining the fence of our backyard. They appeared out of nowhere, like the scary man had. There were a lot of them, but only a few had big guns. Their faces were mad and mean.
I cried louder. I wished Jason was home.
“I told you what would happen if you ever left, Anna. Did you think I was bluffing? That I wouldn’t notice…again?”
Through a veil of tears, I peered back over at Daddy and the woman. Daddy was frowning, angrier than I’d ever seen him. I called for him again, but the man’s grip on me tightened. I shrieked in pain.
“I will kill your son if you hurt her,” the woman growled, and she pointed to her tummy. “I will end your legacy.”
The man’s fingers dug into my leg, and I hit at his hand without thought, trying to get him to let me go. When he finally set me back on the ground, I ran to Daddy.
“You will not harm them, Gregory. Or I won’t hesitate to kill this child. I promise you that.” I stared at her belly. I didn’t see a baby, but her tummy was big.
“You won’t kill an innocent child, Anna,” the man said. “Me, on the other hand…” He stared at me again and smiled. “And then there’s the boy, too.”
“You leave him out of this!” Daddy shouted, and I could feel his body shaking.
The scary man’s face hardened, and I noticed his body stiffen. “Watch yourself, Sergeant. My compassion only goes so far.”
The woman pulled a needle like they used at the doctor’s office from behind her. It was the kind that always poked my skin and pinched me, but just for a minute. “So help me God, Gregory. If you hurt my family, I will kill yours.”
The scary man looked at all of us, and his voice was angrier than before. “Then there’s not much of a reason for me to keep any of you around, is there?”
“I’ll come back with you,” the woman said, reaching for him. “If you’ll just leave my family alone.”
The man pounded his fist on the patio table. “I’m your family!”
“Not if you hurt them,” she said. The woman looked angry, but she still sounded scared.
Daddy bent down to me. “Go inside, sweetheart.” He leaned in for a hug and whispered, “Hide. Until I can make it go away…hide.”
I nodded, not understanding what he meant, but wanting to hide all the same.
I didn’t know why the scary man wanted to hurt us. I didn’t understand why the woman wanted to kill the baby I couldn’t see either. But I knew the man with the mustache was evil, and I was afraid that if I looked away, Daddy would be gone, and I would never see him again.
The scary man shook his head. “I thought we agreed last time that your family was as good as dead if you ever came back. Yet here you are, again.” He clenched his fist. “I trusted you. I thought your word was worth your freedom. Apparently I was wrong.”
The sad woman took a step toward him. “I was just scared, Gregory,” she said, rubbing her belly. “You don’t understand how dangerous this is for me. I just needed to see them, needed to say goodbye.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn’t look scared anymore. “I promise, once I leave, I will never come back.”
The scary man’s eyes narrowed, and he glanced from her swollen cheeks down to her belly. “You have one more chance, darling. If you even try to leave again, if you do anything to undermine me and my mission, or our family…” He glared over at me.
“Go inside, Zoe!” Daddy yelled.
I ran toward the house, but stopped inside the door and listened, waiting. I didn’t want to leave Daddy.
“Regardless of what you do in the future, measures will be taken now,” the scary man said, and when I peeked around the doorframe, the woman looked relieved. “Monitors, in fact. And if you do misstep, even in the most minimal way, I will hurt your children and make Tom, here, watch, and you might never even know it. That, my dear, is my promise to you.”
When my eyes met Daddy’s, wide and sad, everything suddenly faded away. I was in my room, crying in his arms. His familiar eyes were empty as he stared at me. Gently, he brushed a tear from my cheek, and then everything changed again. The memory of the scary man faded away. Then the sad woman started to change. Her special eyes disappeared, her features vanishing one by one until she was faceless and frightening…until she was completely gone, too.
There were no men in the backyard, and Daddy wasn’t upset. There was no reason I could think of for why I’d been crying or why Daddy would look so sad.
2
DANI
NOVEMBER 25, 1AE
The Farm, California
With a grunt, I adjusted my hold on the box I was carrying and attempted to reach for the doorknob on the cottage’s front door. The glassware in the box, an amalgam of random glasses, mugs, vases, and bowls I’d collected from the massive—and dusty—storage room in the barn, shifted and clanked in warning.
“Crap,” I hissed. “Jason?” I called telepathically. Having my Ability firing on all cylinders was useful in so many ways, not the least of which was being able to request aid from pretty much anyone, anywhere, at any time. “Come get the door?”
“Give me a second.” He was inside the cottage, in what was slowly transforming into our bedroom in the back corner of the small house. I could sense his mind signature there. Stationary. Not rushing toward the door to let me in.
I pr
essed my lips together and exhaled with a huff. Clearly, being able to request help telepathically and receiving said help were two entirely different matters.
Gritting my teeth, I raised my right leg and used my thigh to shift my increasingly precarious hold on the box once more. It certainly didn’t help that the cardboard was damp from the drizzling rain or that, thanks to the chill in the air, I could barely feel my fingers. At least the porch’s shallow eave protected me from getting rained on further. “Unless you want a mountain of broken glass on the stoop, it’d be great if you could come get the door now…”
I could sense Jason’s movement instantaneously, and seconds later, the door swung open and he plucked a box that had been just shy of way too heavy out of my arms with annoying ease. I flexed my fingers, cringing at the uncomfortable mixture of numbness and sharp, stinging pain.
“You shouldn’t have tried to carry this in the first place.” Jason gave me a reproachful look—eyebrows raised, chiseled jaw flexed, jagged scar intensifying everything about him—before turning and heading through the cozy living room with the box. He set it on the single free corner of the rustic farm table that separated the “kitchen” from the rest of the living area. We’d found the table in the storage room—which, in all reality, put most old attics to shame with all the treasures it contained—and had relocated it to the cottage almost a week ago, during our last “moving day.”
Days off were rare on our little communal farm, and Jason and I had been setting up the cottage to be our small family’s own comfy, compact, and moderately private home for over a month now. I was more than ready to move out of the farmhouse and settle in here with Jason and Annie and my beloved German shepherd, Jack. To have my own space…to not always be stepping on the toes of every other living person I knew…to make a home with Jason…
I sighed, and after scanning the combined living room and kitchen and beautiful river-stone hearth, after taking in the columns of boxes and piles of clutter that still needed to be moved out, arranged, or put away, I felt my shoulders slump. It looked like I wouldn’t be settling in to my little piece of domestic paradise on this rainy November day. Maybe next week…
The Ending Series: The Complete Series Page 131