Heather had no trouble completely immersing herself in a novel by Jude Deveraux while she waited for supper. She sat in her room, in a big overstuffed chair in the corner, and she read and read. Finally, around five, there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, she saw Mrs. Muir.
“Enjoying your book?”
“I am. It’s delightful!”
“Good. I thought I’d let you know that we’ll be eating in about forty-five minutes. I assume you don’t want your hair to be all flat from the snow.”
Heather caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror over the dresser. She sighed. “Yeah, I think there are some things that need to be done about that.”
“Come down when you’re ready,” Mrs. Muir told her.
Heather was a little nervous about meeting his sisters, because she knew just how snarky young women could be. She fixed her hair until it was as big as any self-respecting eighties woman would make her hair, and then she fixed her makeup. She wanted to look just perfect.
She changed into a pair of jeans and a nice pullover sweater, and then she was ready. Hurrying down the stairs, she went to the kitchen and found Mrs. Muir putting the finishing touches on supper. “Do you want to carry this into the dining room for me?” she asked, pointing to a big bowl of mashed potatoes.
For the next few minutes, Heather played kitchen lackey as she waited for the others to arrive.
The first to get there was Michael, accompanied by his brother Joshua. Joshua had a green aura around him that wasn’t nearly as appealing as Michael’s blue. “You must be Heather. I swear, you’re all Michael has talked about since he got back from Texas.”
“I hope he managed to say some good things,” Heather said softly, a smile on her face.
“Only good things. It’s good to meet such a perfect woman. I hear you have sisters!”
Heather laughed. “I have six sisters. Do you want to go all the way to Texas to meet them?”
“Not particularly!”
She grinned at him. “Well, that’s where my sisters are.”
Michael walked closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We looked at the old saloon in town today, and she agrees it would be good for a dance studio.”
“Wonderful. Just know we’re all willing to do the work if you decide you want to renovate,” Joshua said.
“Thank you!” Heather was already liking this family, and Joshua looked a lot like Michael except for the strange hue to his skin.
The door opened then, and in rushed another man who looked like the others. She realized then she didn’t know his name, so she waited for someone to introduce them.
Michael looked at his brother. “Amos, this is Heather. Heather, this is Amos.”
“Nice to meet you, Amos.” Heather was very aware of Michael’s arm locked around her shoulders. It was obvious he was keeping her from his brothers. She wanted to laugh, because neither of his brothers was right for her. Amos had a yellow hue to his skin.
“You too. With as high on a pedestal as Michael has you, I hope it didn’t hurt when you fell off.”
“My angel wings saved me,” she quipped, winking at Amos, who laughed.
“Keep her!” Amos told his brother. “She’s what you need.”
“I agree.”
When the door opened again, it was a woman with a man and two children in tow. “Karen, this is Heather. Heather, this is my sister Karen. Her two little ones are Katie and Kurt. Her husband is Ken.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Karen.”
“You too! I’m so excited you’re finally here. When we first heard that Michael was staying in Texas because of some girl he’d met, I wanted to fly down there immediately to meet you, but that wouldn’t have been smart. I would have had to find a sitter . . .”
Heather grinned. “I would have felt like a zoo specimen. I’m glad you waited.”
“So . . . if you open that dance studio . . . what are the ages you’ll take?”
“I do two and up at my studio at home. Are you wanting to put them both in dance?”
“I was thinking I would. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for Kurt to learn to be graceful.”
“Do you live in town?” Heather asked, already liking this sister and wanting to get to know her better.
“I do. Ken is the high school football coach. We sure need a cheerleading coach . . .”
“Well, we’ll see if I end up coming here. If I do, we can discuss it.”
Karen glanced over her shoulder at Ken. “That’s a yes!”
The door opened, which thrilled Heather, because she had no idea how to respond. In came a petite brunette with a huge blond man. “Everyone, this is Scott. Scott, this is my sister, Karen, my brothers Michael, Amos, and Joshua, and my mother, Berniece. Oh, and this is Karen’s husband, Ken, and her two, Katie and Kurt. And you must be Heather!”
Heather smiled at the newcomer. “It’s nice to meet you, Isabelle.” She felt Michael’s gaze on her, and she gave a slight shake of her head. She hoped that he would know that meant Isabelle didn’t belong with Scott.
“It’s time to eat!” Mrs. Muir announced. “Let’s all head into the dining room, and we’ll play Trivial Pursuit after.”
During dinner, there was a lot of joking and teasing. It reminded Heather of a family meal with her own family, and that was good. She felt right at home.
Heather hadn’t been in this room yet, and over the table was a picture of the family all together. Michael couldn’t have been more than sixteen. Mr. and Mrs. Muir were in the center in the back, and their hues blended perfectly. She truly had the man of her dreams, and she’d given up years of their lives together. It made her realize she didn’t want that with Michael. When he asked her to marry him, her answer would definitely be yes.
As soon as the meal was over, Heather stood up to help clear the table. Despite the objections of the other women there, she helped, and when the table was cleaned off and all of the food put away, they all sat down to play Trivial Pursuit.
Michael stood up. “Picking teams. I’m a captain. Amos and Josh are captains. And Kurt, you be a captain. I’m picking first, because I’m the bossiest, and I pick Heather.”
“That’s a surprise,” Isabelle said, rolling her eyes. “Who didn’t see that coming?”
Everyone ignored Isabelle, and it was obvious that she was usually ignored, because she had no trouble with it. Once the teams were divvied up, they rolled the dice to see who would go first. Berniece decided to be the referee instead of playing because the teams would be uneven, and she knew her children needed a referee.
For Michael and Heather’s first question, they were asked who composed the ballet Swan Lake. Michael immediately looked stumped, but Heather calmly answered Tchaikovsky. When Isabelle, who had read the card, told them they were right, Michael calmly looked at Heather. “Would you marry me?”
Heather swallowed hard, before nodding. “You know what? I think I will.”
Michael pulled out the ring he’d had in his pocket all day and held it out to her, and she gave him her hand, so he could slip it on her finger. Then he gathered her to him and kissed her in front of everyone.
“Romantic proposal,” Isabelle said with a groan.
Heather grinned. “It was perfect for me. Surrounded by family. What more could I ask for?”
“You should make him get down on one knee!” Karen said. “I’d love to see that!”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Heather said softly. She rested her head on Michael’s shoulder, thrilled.
“When?” Michael asked.
“Christmas. It’s always been my favorite holiday. Let’s have a Christmas wedding.”
“In Texas?” he asked, knowing that would be her preference.
She nodded. “I want all of my sisters there. And your family, too!”
Karen looked at Ken. “I have a feeling we’re going to Texas for Christmas.”
“I guess we are,” Ken responded.
&
nbsp; The game was completely derailed as they all started talking about wedding plans. Mrs. Muir was excited to be part of it, and she insisted that she go to Texas a week before the wedding to help put finishing touches on everything.
As everyone else talked, Heather and Michael drifted into the living room and sat together on the couch, snuggled close. “Are you sure you’ll be ready to marry that quickly?” he asked. “I’m not complaining, because I want you here forever starting right this second, but I don’t want to do all the work to get ready and then have you realized you’re not prepared.”
“Don’t worry about me. You just get my studio ready and plan to be in Texas for Christmas. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Can my mom stay with you? She’s not kidding about going a week early.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. She can stay with my mom, and I have a feeling they’re going to be best friends really fast.”
“That works.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I can’t believe we’re really getting married.”
“I can. I knew you were my destiny from the moment I set eyes on you.”
“You and me both. I love you, Heather. I plan to make you the happiest woman alive.”
“And I love you. I plan to make you the most tormented man alive.”
He laughed at that. “I’m already there.”
Epilogue
Heather stood in the center of a circle comprised entirely of her sisters. It was the night before her wedding, and she was supposed to be having a bachelorette party, but they’d voted instead to watch movies and talk. So far, no movies had been put into the VCR.
Heather finally decided to broach the subject that had been bothering her for months. “Do you guys remember when Dad called us all over to the house to look at his new cell phone? And when the power went out? Did anyone else feel . . . well . . . changed after that outage?”
“I did!” Jessica said. “Weird stuff has been happening to me ever since. I keep having dreams that stuff is happening, and then I find out it happened at the exact moment I dreamed it!”
Heather grinned. “I can look at two people and tell if they’re meant to be together or if they should leave each other alone.”
“That’s so cool!” Gaylynn said. “I’ve gotten to the point that when people tell me stories in counseling sessions—or any other time for that matter—I can picture what they’re saying . . . like, I see a playback of whatever they’re talking about. And if they’re lying, I see what’s really happening!”
“Oh, that’s neat!” Heather said.
“I can touch someone and know exactly what’s wrong with them,” Rebekah said. “It’s so weird!”
“I can touch things and know what’s wrong with them!” Tracy said. “If someone brings the dealership a used car, I can touch it and know how much the repair costs are going to be. It’s coming in really handy!”
“That would be great for your job!” Heather shook her head. “We all changed, didn’t we?”
Candice bit her lip. “I can sense the weather. Like, I can tell you exactly what weather is going to happen for the next week.” She grinned at Heather. “Don’t worry, it’s not going to rain on your wedding day.”
“That’s not what the weatherman said!” Heather frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I’m so much better than a weatherman. I’m always right!”
All of the sisters turned their attentions to Marti then. The baby of the family, who had always been coddled. What was her power?
“I know when things will happen. I’ve looked it up, and they call me a precognitive. It’s crazy, but I know so many different things. I mean, I’m not shown everything, but I’m shown enough that I feel safe to say I’m a precog.”
Heather shook her head. “Has anyone told Mom and Dad?”
There was a chorus of nos. “Do you think we should?” Heather asked. “I mean, those things happen in our family. No one would be terribly surprised, especially since there are seven of us.”
Marti frowned. “I like having it just our secret, you know? It feels good that we have this special thing bonding all of us together as sisters.”
Jessica nodded. “I agree. I think it should just be us knowing . . . at least for now. If we need to tell the parents and the rest of the family at some point, we will, but for now . . . I feel good knowing that it’s just us.”
Heather looked around, seeing that all of her sisters were nodding. “Well, I did tell Michael, just so you all know. I knew we were meant to be together from the moment I set eyes on him.”
“As long as the rest of us can borrow that power from you when we need it, I think that’s perfectly fine,” Gaylynn said with a wink.
They all laughed. When they’d quieted down, Heather said, “I want you to know how much it means to me that all of you are here for my wedding. That you’re all standing up with me. I know it’s going to be the biggest wedding party in the history of wedding parties, but I don’t care, because my sisters will be there with me.”
Marti yelled, “Group hug!” and they all swarmed around Heather, hugging her at the center of their enormous hug.
“I feel squished!” Heather finally complained.
“Such a tender moment, and she ruins it,” Jessica said, shaking her head.
“Well, would you want to be squished?” Tracy asked.
“I wouldn’t,” Candice said.
“Me neither!” Rebekah agreed. “I think we all need to not squish our sister before her wedding day.”
“Are you nervous?” Marti asked softly.
Heather shook her head. “I know he’s the right man for me. I know I belong with him, and his family is amazing. I mean, I hate to leave Texas, because I have always been here with the people I love, but now there are new people I love.” She took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is I’m going to miss you all terribly, but I’ll still visit and y’all can visit.” She brushed away a tear. “I love you guys.”
This time Marti didn’t have to call for the group hug. It was spontaneous.
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Heather (Seven Sisters Book 1) Page 8