“Of course it is. You know we’re happy to have him.”
Tracy smiled, having gotten the answer she knew was coming. As they walked out of the back of the church, she stopped to talk to her sister Gaylynn for a minute. “Are you and Zach coming to Sunday dinner?” The family had always used the term “Sunday dinner” for lunch after church. But sometimes they called it lunch. The words had become interchangeable in their world.
Gaylynn nodded. “Yeah. Only two more times as unmarried people.” She grinned over at Zach, who had a silly in-love expression on his face. Zach was a policeman there in Bagley.
“Am I right that Heather is flying in on Friday to go to Marti’s graduation, and then staying until the Monday after the wedding?”
“Yup. She’s doing it all at once. Michael can’t get away, so she doesn’t want to be away from him any longer than necessary.”
“I can understand that.” Tracy glanced at Steve, who was right there beside her. “You remember Steve.”
“I remember when you kissed the mirror pretending it was him,” Gaylynn said casually, watching as her sister’s face lit up like Rudolph’s nose. “I guess I shouldn’t have said that in front of him.”
“I already knew,” Steve said softly. “Tracy confessed.” He didn’t add that she’d confessed to trying to kiss her hand as well, because he didn’t know if her sisters knew about that.
“Well?” Gaylynn asked. “Who’s the better kisser? Steve or your mirror?”
“I think it’s time for us to head to Mom’s for lunch,” Tracy said, taking Steve’s hand and pulling him toward the entrance to the church. “Oh, and Gaylynn?”
“Yeah?”
“I owe you big time.”
Gaylynn laughed softly as she watched her sister leave the church.
“Is your family always like that?” Steve asked. He’d been an only child, and his father hadn’t been given to teasing. It was an odd dynamic to him.
“Yup. If someone’s not teasing someone else, it means they’re mad at each other. It’s how we all communicate.”
He smiled. “I think I like the way your family is.”
“I do,” Tracy said softly. “I can’t imagine us being serious with each other.” She thought for a moment about telling him how she and all her sisters had received strange powers the year before, but she decided against it. She wanted to keep that just among family for a little while longer.
Steve drove the short distance to her parents’ house, knowing the way well. Bagley was just small enough that everyone knew how to get everywhere. It was nice, but it was tough as well. There were no secrets in a town so small. “Are you sure Marti’s not going to be there? I remember picking you up for something when we were in high school, and she stood there telling me that I should make sure to carry a condom just in case you attacked me.”
Tracy blushed profusely. “She must have said that before I came to the door.”
“Yup. I was so embarrassed I almost left on the spot. She couldn’t have been more than twelve.”
“It seems like you only picked me up for one thing, and that was the school’s production of West Side Story. So she would have been thirteen. I was seventeen, and she’s four years younger than me.”
“She’s rotten.”
“She’s totally rotten. She’s not here this weekend, but when she comes home next weekend, she’s going to have a huge bag of laundry for Mom to do for her. I swear that girl is the worst of the worst. I love her, but she makes us all crazy.”
“You don’t bring your laundry home to your mom?”
“No, I have a washer dryer in my garage, and I do all my laundry myself. Shocking isn’t it?”
“You know what’s really shocking?” he asked.
“No, what?”
“We’ve been together for more than an hour this morning, and you haven’t kissed me yet. I need those kisses to keep me going.”
“Oh, really?” Tracy grinned at him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “That’s all you get until after lunch. If I go into the house right after kissing you, Dad will know immediately and get onto me. He’s mean like that.”
Steve smiled. “Would he get onto you for kissing me, or would he tease you for it? There’s a big difference, you know.”
“I know, and he’d tease me. Which is something I totally don’t need today. I’m playing it cool, because it’s only the second time we’ve gone out together. I have to seem like nothing flusters me.”
“You do?”
“Well, I’d like to. I doubt if it will work, though.”
He smiled, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Okay, let’s go be cool in front of your family as they torment us.”
“Sounds fun, huh?”
Zach and Gaylynn walked up to the house as they got out of Steve’s truck. “Wow, that took you guys as long as it took us to walk. Did you stop for a make-out session on the way?” Gaylynn asked, knowing it would embarrass Tracy.
“Nope. We drove straight here.” Tracy refused to get her feathers ruffled by her sister, who was a pain in her butt. Actually, she loved Gaylynn, but she was doing her best to annoy her, and Tracy had to remain unbothered. If Steve hadn’t been there, it wouldn’t have been a problem at all. With Steve, it was a little harder.
Steve looked over at Zach. “You’re the new cop in town, right?”
“I’ve been here about eight months, so I don’t know if new fits . . .”
“Oh, trust me it does. In five years, you’ll still be the new cop. This town is one that thinks of anything that’s happened in the past thirty years as new . . .”
Zach shrugged. “I guess I’m the new cop forever then.”
“Well, until your retirement party, at least,” Steve grinned at the other man. “Are you ready for lunch?”
Zach nodded. “I’ve gotten used to their teasing. My family is very much the same. I just don’t like it when it’s Gaylynn’s turn to make dessert, because then I’m stuck playing Atari for an hour while she’s off with her mom.”
“Don’t worry,” Tracy said. “It’s my turn this week.”
Zach grinned over at Steve. “It looks like your initiation is going to be a good one.”
Steve asked no questions. He was afraid to.
Chapter Four
When they got into the house, Gaylynn actually stayed in the kitchen with her mother and Tracy, while Zach and Steve went to the living room. Candice was in there with them as well as Rebekah and her fiancé, Jeremy.
Gaylynn waited until the others were out of earshot before turning on Tracy. “When did you and Steve start seeing each other? I had no idea!”
Tracy got down the ingredients she needed to make blueberry scones. She only made Irish desserts when it was her turn to make dessert for family lunch because she wanted to practice on them all. She felt like the scones were just about perfect, but this week she wanted to see Steve’s reaction. It was amazing how quickly he had filled her every thought.
Gaylynn huffed. “Come on, Tracy!”
Tracy looked over her shoulder at her sister and shrugged. “He came into the dealership last night to buy a truck. After I sold it to him, he suggested we go out to celebrate. I just got enough extra to put money down on my pub, so I went for it. We talked during dinner and decided to try dating. It’s that simple.”
“Decided to try dating? You two? You should have dated in high school and gotten married right after. Everyone thought so. I still can’t believe you two waited this long.”
Tracy shrugged. “I thought he had a crush on Rebekah. It’s not easy to date someone when you think they love your big sister.”
“I guess not.” Gaylynn shook her head. “I can’t believe you ever fell for that. It was obvious he was head over heels for you way back when.”
“It wasn’t obvious to me.” Tracy carefully measured out her ingredients, wanting the scones to be perfect. “I think we’re finally at the right time to give the relationship a try. I wasn’t ready
for something permanent in high school, and I don’t think it’s possible for Steve and me to do something temporary.”
Gaylynn smiled at her sister and nodded. “You know, I think you’re right. You and Steve just belong together.”
“I wonder if Heather would say that,” Tracy said with a wink.
Their mother looked back and forth between the two of them. “That’s not the first time I’ve heard one of you wonder if Heather would approve of a relationship. Why does Heather’s opinion about relationships matter so much all of a sudden?”
Tracy and Gaylynn exchanged a look, and Tracy gave a slight nod to her head. Gaylynn leaned on the counter and said softly, “Remember that night when Dad had us all over to show us new gadgets, and there was a weird zapping sound, and then we lost power?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with Heather?”
Gaylynn plodded on, explaining what they all knew they should have told their mother long ago. “Well, that night, all of us got weird powers. I know it doesn’t make sense, but Heather’s power is the ability to tell if people belong with one another. She sees their auras, and if they blend to a pretty color, she knows the two people belong together.”
Their mother blinked at her. “You mean to tell me that Heather could tell if two random strangers should marry?”
Gaylynn and Tracy responded together, “Yes!”
“So what are the other powers? You said you all got them.”
Gaylynn glanced at Tracy. “In for a penny . . .” Tracy responded.
“All right.” Gaylynn took a deep breath. “Jessica has the ability to dream things as they’re happening. Like if she were napping right this moment, she could see us standing in the kitchen talking about this.”
“There’s no way!” Mom looked skeptical.
“It’s true,” Tracy said softly. “It’s weird, but it’s true. We think we have the latent powers, because we’re McClains, and the zap made them all come out. We’re not sure, of course, but that’s what we think.”
“Okay . . . what about you, Gaylynn?”
“When someone tells me a story, I see it happening as they tell it. So if one of my clients comes to me and says they’re being unfairly interrogated by the police for something, I can see if they’re really guilty or not.” Gaylynn shrugged. “It comes in handy in my line of work.” Gaylynn was a mental health counselor.
“I can see how it would.” Their mother shook her head. “And Rebekah?” she asked, naming her daughters in birth order.
“Rebekah can look at a person and diagnose them with anything wrong with them. So like if I had a really sore throat today, she could tell me if I was getting the flu, had a mild cold, or had strep throat. I think that’s why she’s decided to be a doctor instead of a nurse. She can diagnose so easily.”
“And you, Tracy?”
Tracy had been mostly listening and not participating in the conversation, but she answered now. “I have the ability to diagnose objects. Like Zach and Dad were playing Atari, and Zach’s controller quit working. As soon as I touched it, I knew there was a loose wire, so I fixed it.”
“That’s good for the dealership then, isn’t it?” Their mom shook her head. “This is all crazy.”
“You’re right. It is crazy,” Gaylynn said. “But it’s true!”
“What about Candice and Marti?”
“Candice can predict weather. She can tell you exactly what day it will rain and what day it won’t. That’s why we changed the wedding date. It was going to rain on our wedding day, and we wanted it to be sunny.”
Their mother blinked a few times. “I wondered why you changed like you did.”
Gaylynn smiled. “There was a reason. And Marti is a precog. She can see things that are going to happen. Just like Peter.” Peter was their cousin who had married the month before.
Barbara shook her head. “This is all so hard to take in. Are you sure?”
Both sisters nodded emphatically. “We didn’t even tell each other until the night before Heather’s wedding. We all thought we were crazy,” Tracy said softly. “But we all have powers, and they all started on the same night.”
“Very true,” Gaylynn added. “We wanted to keep it just between us girls for a little while, but I think it’s time you knew.” Gaylynn grabbed a cookie from the cookie jar that was always on their mother’s counter.
“Does your father know?”
Gaylynn shook her head. “Nope. We haven’t told him. I don’t know . . . he may have gotten a power that night, too. He has McClain blood, the same as we do.”
“I think he would have told me that,” Barbara said, going back to peeling potatoes. “I can’t believe my own daughters were saddled with the McClain curse!”
“Curse?” Tracy asked. “I’ve never heard it called that.”
“All of Peter’s older brothers called it the curse. Only the youngest is usually saddled with powers, and they get all the responsibility. The McClain curse.” Barbara dropped the last potato into the water and started it boiling. “Unbelievable.”
“Well, I don’t think any of us feel cursed, Mom,” Tracy said. “I certainly don’t. My power isn’t a big one, but it’s fun. I always know when it’s something I can fix on my own or if I need to call a repairman. Usually I can see what needs to be done to fix it. I guess I should really be a repairwoman myself.”
“I like the idea of you having a pub. You don’t need to be hiring yourself out repairing things.”
Tracy laughed. “I love the idea of the pub too much to switch directions now.”
“Good girl.” Their mother seemed a little off as she continued preparations for the meal. “Are you going to tell the others that I know?”
“Yup. We always planned to tell you. We just weren’t sure when. Now we know it’s time,” Tracy said. She put the scones in the oven and went to sit at the table.
“Gaylynn, make yourself useful and set the table,” their mother said, switching back into all-business mode. She had a family to feed, even if all seven of her daughters weren’t there.
Steve looked a bit shell-shocked when he came into the dining room after sitting with the others. Tracy hid a grin, vowing to ask him about it later. She had no idea what had been said, but she was sure it was something outrageous. The people involved were all McClains, after all.
When they left her parents’ house a couple of hours later, Tracy looked at Steve. “What happened?”
“What didn’t happen?” Steve shook his head. “Your dad gave me the third degree, asking for every bit of information about me from my social security number to the number of cattle on the ranch. They all teased me. I was expected to play Atari, but no one ever bothered to ask me if I wanted to play. No, it was my responsibility to play.” He sighed. “It was good, just a bit overwhelming.”
Tracy grinned over at him. “I can understand that. My family is truly overwhelming when there’s a big group of them together.”
“Yes, they are!” Steve sighed heavily. “I say we go to the zoo to forget about them.”
“The zoo? What made you think of the zoo?”
“Well, we both like animals. And I want to try out my new truck on the highway.”
“So we’re going to San Antonio? To the zoo? What if I’d rather do the Riverwalk?”
He shrugged. “Then we’ll do the Riverwalk. I just want to get out of Bagley and away. Just for a little while.”
“You must feel like you’re tied to the ranch sometimes.”
“I really do. I love the idea of spending a day away. I know San Antonio is only an hour away, but I want to be somewhere—anywhere—else.”
“Then let’s go to San Antonio.” She loved the city. It had so much of Texas’s history, right there in one city. “Should we do the Alamo?”
He wrinkled his nose. “I think we went at least four times as part of school field trips. Nah, let’s do the Riverwalk, and we’ll have dinner on it somewhere. And we can do that boat ride that tells
the history of the Riverwalk.”
“Works for me. I love the boat ride, and the Riverwalk is fun. We can even do a little shopping at the purple store there if we want.”
“I should have known you’d want to go to the purple store.” He shook his head. “Why do all women love purple so much?”
“Because it’s the prettiest color! Do you need another reason?” she asked.
“I guess not.” He pulled onto the highway, and they headed for San Antonio. “Thanks for not minding a quick trip. Just sounds like fun to me.”
“I’m up for it. I have Sundays and Mondays off, so it’s a good time for me to escape. I use Mondays for errands. I love having a weekday off.”
“It doesn’t bother you that you have to work Saturdays?”
“Not usually. And when I need a Saturday off, I can always trade shifts with someone, or give away my hours even. I’m giving away the next two Saturdays, for graduation and wedding. Everyone wants to work Saturdays because they’re the best money days. Makes it easy for me.”
“So you then get two three-day weekends in a row. Nice.”
“I think so.” She leaned back against the headrest. “I’ve been putting in long weeks forever. It’s time to get time off and enjoy it. I thought about taking all of next week off to spend with Heather, but then I decided that just the three days would be enough. If we were all together for that long, we’d be ripping each other’s hair out. I love my sisters, but we fight when we’re together too much.”
“I can believe that,” he said with a grin. Having been someone who observed her for years, he knew that she wasn’t always perfectly in accord with her large family.
“Hey, do you want to be my date for the wedding? I’m in the wedding party, so it would really be for the reception, but I would love to have you there.”
“Sure. That’s two weeks, right?”
“Yeah, on that Saturday, so really more like thirteen days. Gaylynn and Jessica seem so much in love. I’m thrilled for them.”
“I’m glad. Well, sounds like something I’ll be happy to go to then. Weddings can be fun.”
Tracy (Seven Sisters Book 5) Page 3
