“Right here,” he said from behind me. “I saw Lavinia storming her way inside when I was sitting on the porch, and figured I should come see what was going on.”
Timothy grinned at me. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I nodded. “Of course, I am. If I back down now, we won’t ever have the opportunity again.”
Uncle Nathan took a seat, he didn’t look pleased.
“I have one favor to ask all of you before I begin. Please, just listen to everything I have to say before forming an opinion and remember who raised us.”
Uncle Henry winked at me and I knew I had his approval before he even knew what I had to say.
“Fine, go on,” Uncle Nathan pressed.
My hand reached for Timothy as we took our own seats at the table. He was my rock, and I needed his support more than I needed our family’s approval.
“You have all had a hand in raising Maggie, Timothy, and myself into adults I hope you are proud of. You gave us the freedom and trust to travel the islands when we asked, and helped us through every stage of our life, especially when some of us needed it most. Now, we’re asking you to trust us again.
“The three of us would like to visit the mainland for a while. It might be a month, or it could be a year, but there is life out in the world that we would like to explore, and we hope to have your approval in order to do so. All of you are more than aunts and uncles to us, you’ve been parents as well for as long as we can remember, and your support would mean the world to us.”
The speech had been longer, and more fact filled in my head, but as I spoke and saw the tears pool in Alice’s eyes and the tension roll through Nathan, I knew I had to wrap it up quickly before they completely lost it.
“Why?” Uncle Nathan asked.
“Why not?” I countered. “We are young and smart. We know about the good and the bad in this world. Shouldn’t we explore it now while we still can?”
Uncle Henry nodded. “She’s right. If we tell them no, then it’s the same as us saying we failed, and they’re not capable of doing this on their own. I for one don’t believe we failed in raising these kids well, and if they feel like they’re ready to head out on their own, then I approve.”
Silence descended on the room and I glanced at Timothy. Sweat beaded on his forehead, the nerves were getting to him. He hated confrontation, and I felt bad for doing this, but the reward was worth the risk of being told no.
Not that we really needed their permission. We were adults and could leave at any time, but like Uncle Henry had said, they’d raised us better than that. There was no way I would ever disrespect them by just taking off. There had to be at least a happy medium for us all.
Standing, Uncle Nathan glanced at Evander. “Would you be escorting them to the mainland?”
“I think I could manage that. We have livestock to pick up from there, and I planned to leave in two weeks.”
“Evander knows enough about the port towns to help us find housing and land on our feet,” Timothy added, when I failed to remember that had been part of my speech.
Evander nodded. “I do, and I know Katie has been asking about the areas as well. We could stay a few extra days. Confirm everything is safe.”
Aunt Nia leaned forward. “I have loved you from the first moment you saw me and accepted me into your life without question or judgement. You were the light in my life, in all of our lives, when we were surrounded by darkness. Letting you go and not knowing when you’ll be back is not an easy thing to do.”
My chest tightened with emotion. I had tried to remain strong because doing something on our own was important to me, but I knew leaving them would be just as hard on my heart as it would be on theirs.
“With that being said, I say we all agree they can go with one condition,” Lavinia added.
“What condition would that be?” Aunt Alice asked.
“That we all take turns visiting them once every other month. They can still have their freedom and we can have our peace of mind that nothing terrible has happened to our children, because no matter whose roof they slept under, they matter to us all.”
My chest loosened and even my own sadness disappeared. Aunt Nia’s plan was even better than my own, because then we would have the best of both worlds. We could have the freedom to explore while also knowing our family would still be with us.
“I think I can agree to that, if the rest of you do,” Uncle Nathan offered, and I squeezed Timothy’s hand even tighter, waiting to hear what the rest of them had to say.
“Well, I’m not one to argue with my wife, so if she believes it’s a good idea, then so do I,” Uncle Jameson added. “Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve been to the mainland, and it would give us a good reason to visit.”
Evander grinned. “The fact that they’re trusting me to take you and get you settled, means I’ll agree no matter what.”
Lavinia groaned. “No, we trust Katie. She has to go with you, or whatever I said before is no longer valid.”
“I don’t believe her.” Evander winked.
Neither did I, because even though Evander did what he wanted for the most part, he’d been just as essential to our family as the years passed.
Aunt Alice was the last to speak and before she did, she stood from the table, coming to our side. Timothy jumped to his feet and I followed, seeing Alice wrap her arms around us.
“I love you, both of you, and Maggie. If this is what you want, then I won’t hold you back or make you feel guilty, but just know that if you don’t come back eventually, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth.”
I laughed. She may not have made us feel guilty, but her threat was real and we both knew it.
“We will be back, I promise,” Timothy assured.
Eventually, I added mentally. The world was much bigger than our string of islands, and Timothy didn’t know yet, but we would see as much of it for as long as we could. If there was anything my life so far had taught me, it was that life was short.
None of us knew how much time we had to do the things we desired and with the permission of those I loved most, the love of my life and our best friend at my side, I planned on making sure we made the most of the opportunities we were given.
We would have happiness no matter where we went, so long as we were together and we knew our family supported us, because for me, that was the most important part of life.
Love and family.
Connect with the Authors
Connect with Heather Renee:
Reader Group:
Heather Renee’s Book Warriors
Author Page:
Heather Renee Author
Newsletter:
http://smarturl.it/HeatherReneeNL
Connect with Lela Grayce:
Reader Group:
Lela’s Moonlighters
Author Page:
Lela Grayce Author
Newsletter:
http://hyperurl.co/zblvii
Also by Heather Renee
Raven Point Pack Series - Complete
YA Paranormal Romance - Wolf Shifters
Shades of Fury
Shades of Magic
Shades of Deceit
Shades of Secrecy
Shades of Vengeance
Shadow Veil Academy - Complete
YA Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Delayed Admission
Deadly Declaration
Daring Provocation
Blood of the Sea Series - Complete
YA Paranormal Romance - Vampires
Crimson Horizon
Pale Horizon
Obsidian Horizon
Standalone
YA Fantasy - Fae
Marked Paradox
Guardian Fae - Coming Soon!
YA Urban Fantasy - Fae
Of Dreams and Sorcery - January 2020
Of Blood and Sacrifice - February 2020
Also by Lela Grayce
Lunar Medallion Series
/> Areion
Syclla
Child of Water
Child of Earth
Blood of the Sea Series
Crimson Horizon
Pale Horizon
Obsidian Horizon
About the Authors
Heather Renee is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in Oregon. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels with a mixture of adventure, humor, and sass. Her love of reading eventually led to her passion for writing and giving the gift of escapism.
When Heather’s not writing, she is spending time with her loving husband and beautiful daughter, going on their own adventures. For more ways to connect with her, visit www.HeatherReneeAuthor.com.
Lela Grayce lives in rural Wyoming in a small college town. She works for a non-profit organization and loves what she does for the company. She is married to her best friend and hero. By day she is a working mom and wife but by night she is lost in dreams, moonlight, and delusions that she is, in fact, Batman.
Blood of the Sea Omnibus Page 50
