“And I only found the courage to leave because of Meg,” Creed muttered to himself. Then he looked up from the spot on the floor where he’d been staring and scanned the faces watching him. “Escaping Williams and becoming a part of the Winter Clan was the best decision I ever made.” He lifted his chin slightly.
The others echoed his sentiment.
“I believe in this family. This is where I belong.” Farrow squeezed Alik’s hand.
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Sloan agreed fervently.
Margo smiled widely at the three young adults. “You gave up everything you knew to step out on faith when you chose to live and fight beside us. Theo and I are thankful for each of you.”
Turning back to Kylie, she asked the question that hung obvious in the air. “Well, Kylie? What are your plans?”
Kylie glanced nervously at Evan before shrugging. “What are my options?”
“I see two options for you,” Theo began. “You have burned your bridge back to Williams, so basically you can either go it alone—I mean, we would gladly take you back to the States and you could start fresh there—or you could join us.”
Kylie opened her mouth to respond, but Theo put his hand out to stop her.
“Choose carefully, kiddo. Think it through. Both paths have pros and cons. As difficult as it may be to establish yourself—find a job, a place to live, food, clothing, transportation—choosing to stay with us puts you smack-dab in the middle of our deadly fight. Our enemies would become yours if you align yourself with us. So maybe you should mull it over for a while before you decide.” Theo shrugged. “In the end, the choice is yours.”
Kylie closed her mouth and nodded solemnly.
Margo moved to stretch and grinned at her legs as they responded easily. “It’s gonna take me awhile to get used to being able to do this again.” She finished the last part of her sentence in a yawn.
Theo smiled affectionately at her. “Why don’t we try to get a couple hours of sleep? We’re going to need it tomorrow.”
Everybody looked up at the shuddering sound made by unrelenting gales as they shook the villa to the core.
“Stay near the interior walls of the house. The sandstorm isn’t ready to let go yet,” Creed scowled at the windward walls, planning to reposition some sturdy pieces of furniture against them before settling himself near the parents.
The room cleared as everybody waved goodnight and found refuge in the kitchen and hallways.
Theo had settled Margo in the corridor on the sofa cushions and had returned to the living room for a throw when he saw Creed dragging a dresser from one of the bedrooms.
“You need sleep too, Creed.” Theo frowned at the young man.
“Yes, sir. I just wanted to reinforce this wall.”
“You know we’re going to get her back, right?”
Knowing exactly who he was talking about, Creed’s chest rose and fell as he took a calming breath.
“I know that’s the plan, sir.”
“She’s a smart girl. She’ll find her way home,” he added reassuringly.
After learning of the secret plan Evan made with his sister, Creed was barely holding himself together. Thoughts of leaving the family in search of her were blaring through his mind all night.
“I hope so.”
“I have faith in her. Don’t you?” Theo let his question hang in the air for a moment before turning to leave. “Sleep well, son.”
Creed shoved the dresser into place and stood leaning against its bulk, head hung low before sighing deeply and walking back to the rug in the center of the room. Gracefully, he moved to the floor and laid back, using his arm as a pillow. Inside, images of Meg flashed through his mind’s eye as tormenting as the sandstorm raging outside.
35 I’ve Missed You So
Meg closed her eyes to the scenery blurring past the Cadillac’s passenger window.
Though they had traveled for an hour in a comfortable silence, she wasn’t sleepy, but she was determined.
Gaining access to her emotional plane used to take her so much effort, no longer. She closed her eyes and willed her psychic spirit to fly. Instantly, she saw the psychic world—a black palate with colorful signatures speckled like stars on a clear night’s sky.
First, check your enemies, she told herself.
Knowing better than to dip into Arkdone’s signature, she thought of people who would most likely be near him. Meg considered her options and chose to start with Ermos. His mind was simple making him very easy to read.
She propelled herself across the emotional sky with the mental picture of the man who followed Arkdone like a shadow. He wasn’t difficult to find. He was thinking about his “master’s” injured hand. Then he thought about the untouched breakfast getting cold on the galley cart. He was listening to Arkdone’s every word, trying to anticipate what he might need. Meg listened in, frowning at a particular line the Senator spoke. Something about “devils.”
“There’s a pack of bottled water on the seat behind you, if you’re thirsty,” the gentle grandfather offered, interrupting Meg’s concentration.
Meg’s consciousness was yanked back to her body instantly, but without missing a beat she responded, “I am thirsty, now that you mention it. Can I get you one, too?” She moved to reach behind her seat.
“That’d be great, thanks,” he smiled happy that he could help the girl who seemed so lost.
A quick glance at Hugh’s arthritic hands, and Meg thoughtfully opened the bottle’s top for him before passing it to him.
She took a long draw on her bottle and slipped the cap back on. She had more work to do.
Okay, Williams. What are you up to? she thought, closing her eyes again.
His signature was located almost instantly. Meg hoped it was because she was so familiar with him, and that it had nothing to do with their shared DNA. The thought made her feel like vomiting. She never had wrapped her head around the reality that Kenneth Williams, the sick monster, was her biological father.
She swallowed hard at the bile threatening the back of her throat and focused, just to get the task over with. Williams was also on a plane. He was deciding whether to contact Senator Arkdone. He was hoping to form an alliance against them with the political snake. Meg could hold it no longer. She had gleaned enough and was starting to tire for her efforts, but she still had one more person to reach out to.
Glad to be away from Williams’ sticky black signature, Meg flung herself back across the sky searching for her last contact.
His vibrant, royal blue signature was crisp in her mind as she searched.
My Creed.
Meg felt herself quiver with anticipation as she felt herself pulled toward him, the one who never failed to give her strength, even in her darkest hours.
And then she saw him. All the other signatures floating around like gnats on the pathway disappeared in his glow. His blue signature surged with sheer joy when she got close enough to reach out and caress his energy with her own.
Meg giggled aloud at the pure love she felt pouring between them.
My Creed, her heart hummed.
A thousand miles away Creed whispered reverently, “Is it really you, Meggie?”
Still beaming joyfully, Meg projected a collage of images to him—memories they made together. Pictures of private moments only they would know.
She felt him shaking with equal parts of fear and elation. Without hesitation she wrapped her blanket around all his doubt and worry, as she’d done in the past. She felt him sigh with relief as she tossed the bundle into the sky with a prayer.
She felt blessed to have a gift that could ease his heart.
She sent him an image of the ranch in Texas, lingering at the barn where he’d proposed to her.
Home!
It was the message she needed to send, and Creed understood perfectly.
Creed’s eyes opened. It was still dark, but the sounds of sand-filled sheets of wind no longer rocked the villa. He sprung to his feet
and hurried to the front door in three long strides. He unlocked the bolt and looked outside. A fine haze of sand powder still hung in the air, blocking the stars and moon, but that was to be expected. The storm was over.
He looked at his watch, debating the hour, but decided it was more important that he share the news of Meg than to let the family sleep.
Absently, he wiped at the joyful tears leaking from his bright-blue eyes as he hurried to wake the parents. Now that the storm had let up, Williams was just as mobile as they were. They had to keep moving. Besides, they had a plane to catch!
36 Kid-Speak Doesn’t Come Naturally to Everybody
“Alik, how do sandstorms happen?” Danny had been watching the still dusty air as they drove through the early morning to meet Jacobi and Trainer at the airport. Their flight had just received clearance from the tower. The family was up and mobile thirty minutes after Creed woke the house with the news of Meg.
Theo had put Alik and Farrow in charge of Danny, positioning them together in the back seat with Maze. Before they’d loaded up, Margo had donned gloves and carefully covered the seats with several layers of cloth, worried residual oils from Alik’s pepper spray would find their way to cause more harm.
The drive had started with everyone talking at once, reinvigorated by Danny’s gift and the five hours of sleep they’d managed to get the night before. Danny’s question came as everybody was quieting down, lost in their thoughts.
“Well, in desert regions, during certain times of the year, strong winds are created when the lower atmosphere heats, causing it to become unstable. The heated air mixes with the upper atmosphere in the troposphere where it’s pushed downward. Even stronger winds are produced, kicking up the sand until there is zero percent visibility and a massive amount of destruction to both nature and structure,” Alik quoted lines of a text he’d read years ago.
Danny stared wide-eyed at his brother before blinking once—confusion clear on his face.
Having listened to the exchange, Farrow slugged Alik slightly in the ribs.
“What Alik’s trying to say is that sometimes it gets very windy in deserts and the wind makes the sand fly into the air.” Farrow looked pointedly at Alik. “Isn’t that right Sergeant Search Engine?” She was fighting hard to hold back her laughter.
“Well—sure. You could say it like that, I guess,” he said sheepishly.
Danny smiled at Farrow’s version before continuing his inquisition.
“Why does Maze snore?” he asked, reaching out to stroke the soft, silver fur between the coydog’s ears.
Maze, who had been quietly panting, huffed resentfully once before letting the little boy continue.
Alik grinned at his sister’s best friend before reaching down to pat him affectionately on his side. “Well, Danny. Canines depend on their respiratory—”
“He means Maze has been around a lot of dirty air that bothers his breathing. Remember the bad pepper spray all over Alik—and the sandstorm—?”
“Right,” Alik blushed and cleared his throat self-consciously. “He’ll stop snoring once we’re back home in the clean Texas air.”
The brakes squeaked loudly as Theo pulled into a parking spot at the moderately busy airport.
“Okay, everybody. You know the drill,” Margo said lifting Danny onto her hip. “Move fast, stay together and keep an eye out for any bad guys.”
“Or girls,” Farrow added under her breath.
“Especially those.” Margo winked.
The family moved like a well-oiled unit toward the building. Waiting for them just inside the sliding doors were their pilots—heads together, deep in conversation.
Jacobi caught sight of the family first and stared slack-jawed at Margo.
“What?” Trainer frowned as he turned to see what caught his captain’s attention.
Both men stood abruptly.
“Dr. Winter,” Jacobi stared at the woman who had been wheelchair-bound last he saw her.
“Captain, Trainer,” Margo shook hands with both men who continued to openly stare.
“You’re walking!” Jacobi announced.
“I am,” Margo smiled but offered no further explanation.
An empty pause hung in the air—the pilots expecting to hear what happened and Margo unwilling to go into any details right then.
“Right, so,” Jacobi broke through the juncture with humor. He motioned to their traditional Egyptian clothing and grinned. “So I see you had time to go shopping. Did you get us T-shirts? Coffee mugs? Hats?”
“Don’t mind him. He slept in his tie,” Trainer rolled his eyes, while inwardly thankful for his friend’s mastery of discretion. Trainer redirected the conversation. “We have both flight and security clearance. Your friends from Homeland Security sure can make things happen.”
Evan and Sloan exchanged meaningful glances, remembering the interrogations clearly.
“Our gate is over here. We’re ready when you are.” Jacobi pointed to an exit leading outside to the tarmac.
Creed had been scanning the room warily. Margo hesitated long enough to lock eyes with him. From the start, Creed had acted as the family’s sentinel. His guard never let up. In Meg’s absence, he had stepped up as the closest thing they could get to safeguarding the family. She trusted his opinion completely.
Creed nodded once. The room was clear.
“We’ll follow you, Captain,” she motioned toward the door.
Once outside, Danny shifted his weight in Margo’s arms to reach for Alik. Margo smiled as she passed the little guy to his brother. They had just reached the ramp stairs that led up to the doorway of the plane. “Hold onto the railing, son,” she mothered.
Alik exchanged looks with Danny. “Was she talking to you or me?”
Danny just grinned and hugged his brother as they ascended the stairway. Maze maneuvered the steps easily, carefully passing Margo, and reached the top in seconds.
“Why does mom worry so much?” Danny asked in Alik’s ear.
“That’s a really smart question, kid,” Alik smiled as he held Danny in one arm and the rail with his other hand. “I asked her the same thing when I was about your age.”
Alik had reached the top of the stairs and looked back to see Creed and Evan walking around the underbelly of the plane, checking for anything amiss. Farrow grinned up at him from the stairs. Cole, Sloan, Kylie and Theo were close behind.
He ducked into the jet and put Danny down so he could manage the low ceiling. The little boy darted down the center aisle to find Maze. Alik followed, deep in thought.
“Well?” Danny prodded. Alik was fastening his little brother’s seat belt and getting licked in the face by Maze.
He gently pushed the coydog away. “What’s gotten into you, buddy?” Alik teased the devoted canine.
Danny flopped his legs impatiently against the too big seat. “Well? What did she say?”
“Oh,” Alik smiled. “She said she worried about us because a piece of her heart was in each of us and she hurt when we hurt.”
Danny’s large blue eyes blinked in wonder. “A piece of her heart is in me?” His little mouth hung open. “Doesn’t she need her heart?”
“Of course she does. That’s why she worries over us.”
Danny slowly shook his head before looking around. “Where’s Farrow? She makes more sense than you.”
37 Welcome Home
The familiar gravel road crunched under her shoes as she walked the last hundred yards to her family’s Texas ranch.
After saying goodbye to the old man in the Cadillac back in Oklahoma, she had finished her journey to Texas traveling with a young, single mother whose moving trailer rattled behind her almost as noisily as her twin sons in the back seat.
During their time together, Meg gently worked on easing the self-doubt and pain from the woman’s recent divorce while calming the children’s worries. The evidence of Meg’s efforts was obvious by the time the woman pulled to a stop at the end of the Winter fa
mily’s driveway.
Meg smiled to herself as the minivan pulled away. The formerly troubled family was grinning and waving as the children’s Veggie Tales music poured from the open windows.
With a happy sigh, she had turned her attention back to the abandoned house and tuned into the psychic vibrations, checking for an ambush.
She sensed no one, but she was still cautious. Either Williams or Arkdone would have thought ahead to the possibility of the family returning. Either or both would have left surveillance to monitor the grounds.
The first thing Meg did was to head to the back of the house where Evan had located the control box for the solar panels he installed on the roof. He had designed and built the off-grid, renewable resource system himself during the first week they’d lived in their custom-made home. Meg smiled and shook her head at the memory of him going on and on about all the mechanics of the intricate system he’d created—conductors, batteries, charge controllers and converters—in painful detail.
“All I need to know, Ev is how to turn the blasted thing off and on. That’s it!” She remembered blurting then regretting her impatience after seeing the disappointment in her little brother’s face. He had pointed to the yellow knob her hand now touched.
Fine. Just remember: Righty, tight-y; Lefty, loose-y, he said. Right is on. Left is off. He’d shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk away from her.
Hey Ev! she heard the echo of her voice in her memory. You know I think you’re the smartest, coolest kid ever, right? Just ‘cause I can’t understand a single word you just said doesn’t mean I’m not impressed.
Evan had looked up and smiled adorably. I know ‘watt’ you mean, he winked. Laughing at his own stupid pun, he turned to saunter back into the house.
To his back Meg had yelled, Evan Winter! That was awful! But laughed despite herself when he jumped up and kicked his heels in response.
Wow, I miss that kid, she mused as she turned the knob right and listened to the system awaken with a hum.
Soon. You’ll see everyone very soon, she reassured herself under her breath.
Winter's Legacy: Future Days (Winter's Saga Book 6) Page 16