Lucas smiled, leaning in to plant a kiss on Joss’s cheek. “Things were going long, but they were going well, so we figured it’d be safe to bow out. That’s the beauty of being the boss, I suppose.”
Morgan elbowed Lucas in the side. “Co-boss.”
“Boss’s assistant.” Joss winked as she ushered them into the house. “Everyone’s already downstairs.”
Lucas didn’t suppress a grin as he glanced at Morgan. “We know.”
Joss tossed a look over her shoulder at Lucas as she led them past the living room and kitchen. “Aren’t there protocols in place about spying on a person’s house.”
Lucas shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it spying. It was more like verification.”
Joss laughed as she began descending the stairs to the basement. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’ve been entrusted with shaping the world.”
Lucas laughed too. “I know, right?”
The basement hummed with conversation, punctuated by shrills of laughter. Joss made her way into the room unscathed, but Lucas wasn’t as lucky: As soon as he stepped off the last stair, a dark-haired boy collided with Lucas’s legs.
“Whoa, there, buddy. Where you think you’re going?” Lucas looked down at the kid, grinning.
The boy’s blue eyes darted from Lucas to Morgan and back again and a smile lit up his face. “Lucas! Morgan!”
Lucas scooped the boy up in his arms and spun him around, eliciting a squeal of pleasure. After completing several revolutions, he passed the boy to Morgan.
“Hey, Henry,” Morgan said, planting a kiss on his cheek.
Henry wiped his face, his expression twisting into the kind of grimace that is only adorable on a six-year-old . “Sister cooties!”
Henry’s protestations caught the attention of several people in the room. Chelsea and Dylan looked up from the couch they were sitting on, their faces lighting up when they saw their daughter at the foot of the stairs. Taking Lucas’s hand, Morgan led the way to where her parents sat. As they crossed the room, she smiled and waved at Wen and Corbin, who leaned against the counter in the kitchenette, and at Ris, who was being chased by a gaggle of children.
“I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Dylan said, standing to embrace her. “I’m glad you did.”
Morgan was unable to do much more than smile before Chelsea pulled her into a hug. “Hey, Mom,” she murmured, feeling the wonted swoop in her stomach at the nearness with her mother. Their decade together could not erase the one they spent apart, but they were trying. Though she loved the fact that her parents had been given a second chance to have a life together, Morgan couldn’t help feeling out of place in it, despite Chelsea’s best efforts. As their embrace ended, Morgan stuffed these thoughts to the back of her mind, offering Chelsea a smile.
Her mother moved on to hug Lucas and Morgan said her hellos to her aunt Ashleigh and uncle Wes, who shared the couch with her parents. On an adjacent couch sat Greg and Ellie, their six-year-old daughter Micah sprawled across their laps.
Ellie grinned. “We’d get up to say hello, but…”
“How was Manhattan?” Greg asked.
Morgan sighed. “Completely exhausting. But completely worth it. Yesterday I sat in on a conference about new medical treatments being developed with the help of Seers and Knowers. Apparently being able to determine whether a treatment will work before you even start testing it is pretty helpful.” She grinned. “It’s a brave new world, my friends.”
Greg shifted forward, jostling Micah and causing her to stick out her tongue. “Did you hear any numbers about how many New Naturals are manifesting around the world? I saw a statistic on the news the other day and I wanted to see if it was accurate.”
“Was it huge?” Morgan asked, a smile touching her lips. “I mean, the programs in place that are helping the common access abilities are reaching more and more people every year. But that’s not where the biggest upswing in numbers is coming from. You know what it is? Kids.” Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on Kevin, her parents’ elder son, who turned nine at his last birthday. “Kids born after we gave Orrick’s energy to the common have a statistically higher probability of manifesting abilities without any outside guidance or training.”
Ellie rubbed Greg’s back, winking at Morgan. “Good. Looks like we can retire.”
If Greg heard his wife, he chose to ignore her. “Now, when you say ‘statistically higher,’ do you happen to remember the exact numbers?”
Morgan opened her mouth to respond when Lucas arrived at her side, sliding his arm around her waist. “I’m sure she does, Greg, but my beautiful wife here made me promise to save her from any form of shop talk tonight.” He spun Morgan around and pointed toward the bar. “Look! There’s Joss with a tasty, refreshing drink for you.”
Morgan leaned toward Lucas and pressed a kiss to his lips. “What would I do without you?”
He shrugged. “Die of thirst, most likely.” He nodded toward Greg and Ellie. “I’ll catch up with you two later.”
Morgan crossed to her cousin, nodding a thank you after relieving her of the glass she proffered.
Lucas motioned to the gift bag he still held. “Is there a mountain of presents somewhere that I should add this to?”
Joss pointed to a small table set up near the kitchenette. “Over there, by Wen.” Her eyes softened as she said his name.
Lucas nodded and made his way toward where she indicated. Halfway across the room, two girls barred his progress, refusing to let him pass unless he let them ride on his feet. Morgan smiled as Lucas made a production of pretending to sneak past them before finally giving in to their demands. The girls squealed with delight and sat on his feet, wrapping their legs around his ankles and interlocking their fingers behind his knees.
Morgan raised her chin toward the brunette girl on Lucas’s left foot. “I can’t believe Daphne’s that big. She’s, what? Five?” She shook her head. “That doesn’t seem possible.”
Joss laughed. “You’re telling me. How am I old enough to have a five year old kid?”
“Right?” She smiled at Joss, taking a sip of the drink in her hand. “And is that Maggie on the other foot? Wow, she’s a giant.”
“She’s seven. Doesn’t seem possible, does it?”
Lucas finally arrived at the table with the presents, exaggerating his final steps for effect. Daphne and Maggie giggled with delight. After placing the gift bag on the table, Lucas clasped hands with Wen and Corbin and the three launched into conversation. As if drawn by a magnet, Greg made his way over to the them and joined in.
“What do you suppose they’re talking about?” Joss asked, though her tone indicated she already knew the answer.
“Shop talk, as always. If I start to go over there, stop me, okay? I made Lucas promise to keep me from talking about work. I want to have a relaxing day spending time with my favorite people in the world.
“You got it.” Joss watched the men for a moment before shaking her head. “You’d think they could stop talking about work for an afternoon. Especially Wen.”
“Yeah, it’s not like it’s his kid’s birthday party or anything.” She laughed. “What can I say? It could be worse. He could be obsessed with talking about football or something like that. I’d rather have him talking about policy and New Naturals any day.”
Morgan tipped her glass toward her cousin. “Amen to that.” Sipping her drink, she glanced around the room. “Where is the birthday girl, anyway?”
“Upstairs.” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and checked the time. “Actually, she’s been up there a while. I may have to intervene.”
Morgan raised an eyebrow. “Intervene?”
“We went to visit Wen’s folks last weekend and they gave Evie her birthday presents early, and she just had to show them off to Kellen and Lia when they got here.”
Morgan grinned. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure Kellen and Lia are Evie’s favorite people.”
Joss mimed pulling her heart from her chest. “Only two and already wounding her mama. I should go get them. Now that you’re here, it’s time for cake and presents.” She waggled her eyebrows as she headed toward the stairs.
Morgan crossed to Lucas who was gesticulating broadly as he talked with Wen, Corbin, and Greg.
“Worldwide, crime statistics are down,” Lucas said as Morgan stepped beside him.
Wen shrugged, holding his hands up innocently. “I’m just saying, I don’t think we’re ever going to live in a world that’s a hundred percent crime-free.”
“I’m not saying that either—”
“Good, then you two agree,” Morgan said, cutting Lucas off. She offered him a smile. “Why don’t we stop talking about work for at least a little while. Joss says we’re doing cake soon.”
Lucas gave a dramatic sigh. “Well, I guess. But only because there’s cake.” He stepped behind Morgan and slid his hands over her stomach.
Morgan looked toward the stairs and saw Kellen slowly making his way down. Beside him, holding on to his finger, was Evie, a look of concentration on her face as she stepped down each stair. Catching Morgan’s eye, Kellen smiled.
Conversation in the room dropped to a murmur as Evie reached the basement floor. She looked up, a wide grin revealing dimples in her generous cheeks. “Cake!”
Joss laughed, making her way around Kellen and heading toward the kitchenette. “If you’ll all move to the table, we’ll get this show on the road.”
Morgan took Lucas by the hand and led him to the long table at the far end of the room. Henry was the first one there and he took a seat in the center, insisting that Morgan sit on his right and Ris on his left. Corbin settled to Ris’s left and glanced down the table toward Morgan.
“I’ve gotta look out for your little brother. He’s constantly trying to steal Ris away from me.”
Morgan shrugged. “Can you blame him? He knows a quality girl when he sees one.”
Once everyone was seated, Joss and Wen approached, Joss carrying a cupcake and Wen carrying Evie. The room broke out in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” as Wen settled Evie into her highchair and Joss set the cupcake before her. After a bit of coaching from both her parents, Evie managed to blow out the flames of the two candles stuck in her cake. She then lost no time in grabbing them and trying to lick the frosting off the bottoms.
Plates of cake and ice cream sailed into the room, landing in front of each person at the table. The children all cheered, the way they always did at such a display of ability. Lucas began shoveling cake into his mouth immediately, but Joss cleared her throat. Reluctantly, Lucas set his fork down, offering her his attention.
“Wen and I wanted to say thanks to all of you for being here to celebrate Evie’s second birthday. But we’re not the only one’s celebrating today. Lia, you have an announcement?”
The adults at the table turned toward Lia while the kids dug into the food in front of them. Lucas pouted at Morgan, who rolled her eyes.
Lia bit her lower lip, color rising in her cheeks. Beside her, Kellen gave an encouraging nudge. A smile creeping over her face, she held up her left hand, pointing with her right at the ring taking up residence on her fourth finger.
Ris squealed and everyone applauded. Even Evie, whose face was smeared with frosting, paused in her destruction of the cupcake to put her hands together.
Morgan rose from her seat and walked around the table to embrace Lia and Kellen. “Congrats, you two.”
Kellen laughed. “Yeah. It’s about time, right?”
Lia shrugged. “You can’t blame a girl for wanting to be sure she’s found the right one.”
Kellen gaped at her. “Right one? Woman, I saved your life!”
“So did Lucas. You don’t see me marrying him.”
Morgan laughed. “She’s got a point.”
Kellen shook his head.
“Alright, alright,” Wen called, holding his hands out toward Greg, Corbin, and Lucas. “Pay up, boys.”
“Wait, you guys had a pool going?” Lia asked.
Wen laughed as Greg slapped a handful of bills into his palm. “Hell yes, we did. And I just won.” He inclined his head toward Kellen. “Thanks, K. You’ve just made me a wealthy man.”
Kellen grinned. “Well, consider that your best man gift. Unless you really want a pair of cuff links or something.”
“Best man?” Wen asked, not concealing a smile. He crossed the room and embraced his oldest friend. “Of course, man. It’d be an honor.”
“You say that like I was asking.”
The room erupted into wedding-related questions—had they set a date, had they selected their colors? Morgan listened as she ate her cake, her eyes moving from person to person around the table. Kevin and Henry were the first to get up. Fueled by sugar, they began running around the basement, chasing each other with foam swords. Daphne, Micah, and Maggie started playing a game with a plastic city street, making tiny people go in and out of stores and drive up one street and down the other. After Joss wiped her face and hands, Evie ran, screaming, to the couches and started climbing onto and off of them, giggling madly. Ellie, Joss, and Ris cornered Lia, giving her wedding planning tips, while Greg, Wen, and Corbin gently ribbed Kellen about how he didn’t deserve a girl as good as Lia.
Lucas leaned in close to Morgan, planting a kiss on her cheek. “All this work we do? The summits and the policy and the politics? Days like this remind me that it’s all worth it.”
She smiled, turning to face him. “It amazes me how different the world they’re growing up in is from the one we grew up in. And how much more different the world will be for our kids.”
He glanced toward her abdomen. “Yeah. About that…”
Morgan looked around the room, peace settling over her as she watched her family and friends. She Felt the joy and excitement in the room settle over her like a blanket and she smiled, happy to be here with the people she loved. Placing a hand on her stomach, she murmured, “We can tell them later.”
THE END
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To find out more about her books, visit Madeline at www.madelinefreeman.net
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Love Paranormal?
Check out the Shifted Series.
Fear is a part of everyday life, but most people have pressed down that fear, convincing themselves that they are safe.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
There are dangers lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike at any time. But there are a vigilant few who know where the dangers are, and they travel from town to town vanquishing evil.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Madeline Freeman lives in the metro-Detroit area with her husband, her cats, her sister, and her sister’s cat. In her spare time, she reads, sews, rides her bike, and watches way too much TV on DVD. She also loves anything to do with astronomy, outer space, plate tectonics, and dinosaurs.
Join the mailing list for information about new releases! (http://eepurl.com/DARP5)
To find out more about her books, visit Madeline at www.madelinefreeman.net
Visit her author page on Facebook (http://facebook.com/madelinefreemanbooks)
Follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/writer_maddie)
Table of Contents
Title Page
Awaking
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirtee
n
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Seeking
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Becoming
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Epilogue: Ten Years Later
Also by Madeline Freeman
About the Author
The Naturals Trilogy Page 67
