by Kaitlyn Hoyt
Scared. So scared.
I reach down and pet her lightly on her back. “It’s going to be okay.” When I finish my sentence, the power goes out and the room plunges into darkness. All the electronics stop running. The house is eerily silent. I snuggle closer to Colton and tighten my grip on Olive.
“Okay, night time,” Emma says. I laugh, but that actually seems like a good idea.
However, the loud thunder thinks otherwise. I can feel Colton laugh as I jump again. Besides the lightning striking outside, the room remains dark. Loud creaks let us know the damage the storm is having on the forest surrounding us. The house moans against the impact from the strong winds. I wish I could do something to protect the forest, or stop the storm, but the cell is too big for my magic.
We all just sit in silence, waiting for the storm to pass. When the thunder lessens, I am finally able to relax a little. I snuggle into Colton’s side and let myself get comfortable. I drift to sleep, knowing that if anything happens, he’ll wake me up.
“You might want to fix her clothes,” Liam whispers beside me. “You know that Larkin will have something to say if he wakes up and sees her like that.” I feel a hand brush against my thigh, pulling the edge of my shorts down a little, then against my stomach, fixing my shirt. I move a little, but don’t open my eyes. Colton’s chest rumbles beneath me. “He only does it because it gets a reaction out of you and makes her blush.”
“Ahh, so it’s the girls again. Always the last to wake up,” I hear Bragden say.
“And you might want to be quiet; we don’t need three tired, cranky girls wreaking havoc on us,” Logan says.
“Especially that Ryanne,” I mumble against Colton but still don’t move. “I hear she can be a hassle sometimes.”
“Especially her,” Bragden says. I slowly open my eyes and find everyone still in the positions they were last night…sort of. I scoot off of Colton and let him stretch. I’m sure it’s not very comfortable to be stuck in the same position all night. All the guys are awake. Emma is still asleep in David’s lap with her head resting against the armrest. Natalie is curled up into Liam’s side, also still sleeping.
I run a hand through my hair and stretch myself. Looking over my shoulder, I see Tom in the kitchen making coffee. The power must have come back on sometime during the night. My eyes move over to the far window, and I see that it’s still cloudy but doesn’t appear to be raining anymore. Olive isn’t sitting in my lap like she was when I fell asleep last night. My eyes scan the room looking for her, but I don’t have to look far. Apparently, I move too much in my sleep because Olive moved over to Colton’s lap.
I push myself off the couch and walk over to the back door. The storm knocked down trees and scattered them haphazardly across the yard. We’re lucky that none of the larger ones fell because they would have hit the house. I open the backdoor and step onto the porch. A cool breeze hits me, and goosebumps instantly spread across my skin. Taking a couple more steps out, I look toward the beach. The beautiful beach is covered with debris. Tree branches and random pieces of trash line the shore.
“Come back inside. It’s chilly out here.”
“I could clean this,” I inform Colton. It will take a lot of magic, but I’m sure that I can do it. This land is so pretty. It’s sad that something Mother Nature creates could bring so much damage to such a beautiful area.
“That would take too much magic,” Colton says as he starts to pull me back inside.
“So…? I pass out for a couple minutes; at least the yard would be clean.” When I am back inside, I shiver. I didn’t realize how cold it was outside. Colton wraps his arms around me, surrounding me with his body heat. “Wow, it’s really c-c-cold out.”
“Why would you pass out?” Liam asks me.
“She wants to clean up all the debris in the backyard and on the beach with magic,” Colton answers while still trying to warm me up. I’m not as cold anymore, but I’m still shivering. It went from sweltering heat to chilly over night.
“I could do it,” I mumble. Colton steps away from me and walks upstairs. What is he doing? I walk over to the couch and sit back down beside Liam. Emma and Natalie are both awake now, but they both look incredibly tired. They are sitting up, but neither seems to be looking at anything in particular. Conner laughs at his sister while David tells Emma to go back to sleep. She leans back and rests against his chest but doesn’t go back to sleep. Colton comes back downstairs and hands me a sweatshirt of his. Gratefully, I thank him and put it on. Because he is so much taller than me, the sweatshirt hangs down to my mid-thighs, completely covering up my shorts, and the sleeves swallow up my arms, but it is incredible comfy and warm.
Tom calls Colton into the kitchen. When he walks over, I lean against Liam’s shoulder and close my eyes. I didn’t think I was that tired until I feel myself falling again. Sleep has pulled me under again, and I don’t have the energy to fight it.
“Hey, it just shows they trust me. I don’t see any of the girls crawling to you, Larkin,” I hear Liam say.
“That’s because they’re intimidated by my masculinity.”
“Umm, I’m sorry, but I’m more masculine than you, and they still talk to me,” Bragden says.
“No, Ryanne pranks you. There’s a difference,” Larkin replies.
“Not really,” Bragden mumbles.
“Shut up guys, you’re too loud,” Emma grumbles. Emma is definitely not a morning person. Hearing that she is awake helps wake me up as well. I move a little and push myself into a seated position before opening my eyes. Rubbing my eyes with the sweatshirt sleeves, I look back at Liam and apologize. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says while giving Larkin a look. “You weren’t the only one to fall asleep on me.” Larkin rolls his eyes. Natalie is still asleep with her head on Liam’s lap and her feet in Logan’s. No one has really moved from where they were earlier.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“It’s ten,” Tom calls out from the kitchen. Thanking him, I push myself off the couch and go upstairs. I need a shower. Entering the bedroom, I see Colton pulling a shirt over his head. I can’t draw my eyes from his bare chest as he slowly pulls the shirt down. I knew he was fit, but actually seeing him is different. Wow. If my mouth were open, there would be a puddle of drool on the floor. He laughs as I continue to stare. Hearing his laugh, I pull my eyes from his now clothed chest and look down at the carpet, blushing.
Seriously? It’s like he’s photoshopped. I giggle at my own movie reference: Crazy, Stupid, Love. “Sorry, I should have knocked.”
He walks across the room and stops in front of me. I tear my eyes away from the ground and look up at him. Placing his hands lightly on my hips, he leans down, and I think he is going to kiss me, but he leans slightly to the right instead. “I like it when you wear my clothes,” he whispers in my ear. He lightly kisses the sensitive spot behind my ear and steps away from me, leaving the room. My knees feel weak as I exhale loudly and stare at the door for a couple seconds. Yep, definitely going to drive me crazy.
After getting dressed in my jean shorts and green Kermit the frog shirt, I throw Colton’s sweatshirt back on. It covers my shorts again, but I don’t care. It is warm, smells like him, and is super comfortable. Everyone knows I’m not one for fashion anyway. I exit the room and head downstairs. I can hear Emma and Natalie in their room, probably getting ready, so I knock on their door. Emma answers and pulls me inside.
“Help me with this. Don’t you think Liam and Natalie would look cute together?” she asks me. Natalie is sitting on the bed, shaking her head.
Even without reading anyone’s mind, I know that Liam and Natalie have something going on. Neither one of them will admit it though. Natalie watches Liam when he’s not looking, and he does the same to her. “I think they would actually. He’s got the whole dark vibe, while she’s all light and chipper all the time,” I say smiling at Natalie.
She laugh
s and jumps off the bed, exiting the room. “You know leaving the room doesn’t make the conversation disappear,” Emma yells after her.
“It doesn’t. Trust me,” I tell Natalie as we catch up to her in the hallway.
“At least think about it. Ryanne could tell you if he thinks anything about you,” Emma suggests. I can do that, but I don’t want to read anyone’s mind, especially not Liam’s. Liam’s my protector. I don’t want to invade his privacy like that. It doesn’t feel right unless I absolutely have to. Natalie should be able to get a read on his emotions.
“Please don’t do that,” she says urgently as we walk through the living room and into the kitchen.
“Do what?” Larkin says behind us. All of us scream and whip around. The guys in the kitchen laugh at our reactions.
“Three for one. Score one for Larkin,” he says giving me his arrogant smile. I shake my head at him but decide that I don’t want to retaliate right now. That’d be too expected. Emma walks over to him and hits him on the chest. “Ouch,” he says, but I can tell that that did not hurt.
Natalie walks around the table and sits down between Liam and Conner. Emma laughs as she takes her seat beside David, which elicits a glare from Natalie. “I told you that the conversation doesn’t stop just because you leave the room. She’ll do that all day,” I warn Natalie without giving away any information to the guys.
“Thanks for the heads up,” she says.
“What’s going on?” Colton asks as he walks to the back of my chair. Emma smiles at Natalie again.
Natalie glares at Emma, but says, “Nothing. Nothing is going on.” All the guys are looking between the three of us.
“I hate being out of the loop,” David mumbles.
“Honey, how would you know what being in the loop feels like?” I ask David. He smirks and sticks his tongue out. Good to know I’m not the only immature one here.
“Not fair. I was going to say that. He’s my honey!” Emma says. I start laughing as she pouts. Colton chuckles behind me. I arch my head back and watch him as he laughs. His laugh is growing into one of my favorite sounds, as cliché as that sounds. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. My cheeks redden at his display because I know everyone is watching us.
“Aww, she still blushes when he kisses her,” Emma says, “Though I’m sure he’s done more than just kiss her on the forehead.” Colton laughs behind me while my blush deepens.
“No sex,” Tom says as he enters the kitchen and refills his coffee mug. I am absolutely mortified, but a movie quote pops into my mind.
I turn to Emma. “Don’t have sex because you will get pregnant and die!”
“Mean girls!” She turns toward David, gloating.
“Come on, Ryanne. That’s not fair. I don’t watch those movies,” David says, groaning.
“Maybe you should start,” I tell him. “I mean, it’s not my fault if you can’t keep up with me. I could go on all day, man,” I say while leaning back against the back of the chair.
“I see what you did there,” Colton whispers in my ear.
“I would never intentionally change the conversation like that. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say. I glance toward the window again. “Can I please go clean up the yard? It’s going to drive me crazy. I keep thinking about the mess out there.”
“Ryanne, you know how much magic that’s going to take.” He’s just worried that I’m going to get hurt from using too much magic.
“Fine, then I’ll only clean the backyard with magic and clean along the beach normally. Oh, David could help make a pile with his magic.” I look over to David. I can’t get the littered yard off my mind. I don’t know why, but my mind is telling me to go clean it up. It bothers me how easily something so beautiful can be destroyed. Colton seems to understand because he slowly nods. I jump up and walk to the back door. Instead of taking the stairs, I jump onto the railing and flip off, landing perfectly on my feet.
Natalie yells, “Ten!”
I look over my shoulder and do a final presentation pose, before skipping along the side of the house to the backyard. The beautiful yard is full of twigs and branches. The strong winds ripped the leaves from the trees, littering the moist ground below. Three large fallen trunks are dispersed across the backyard. I hear footsteps behind me as everyone follows me into the backyard. The large trunks are going to take the most amount of magic to move. They have to be moved with magic because of their size.
“Where should I move those large ones to?” I point to the three large trunks. Tom looks around and tells me to make a pile against the house. He says that he can use them as firewood later on. If we don’t use them, the people who own this house can.
Colton walks up behind me, wraps his arms around my waist, and hugs me. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks one last time.
I open my mouth to reply but fall into another vision.
Chapter Nine
When I open my eyes, I’m standing in the middle of a small kitchen. I don’t recognize my surroundings. The room has little dull green tiles on the wall and white wooden cabinets that stand out against the smooth tiling. Simple appliances line the cream marbled countertops. An island sits in the middle of the kitchen with a glass bowl filled with gala apples on top. I love gala apples. Mini pendant chandeliers hang from the ceiling. French doors are located to the left of the centralized island, leading to the private beach outside. Above the sink sits a small open window; its blinds swaying with the slight breeze. The colors of the room contrast perfectly with the deep wooden flooring.
I walk up to the island and check the mail lying on its surface. Everything is addressed to Mr. Colton Wagner. This is Colton’s house?
“Ryanne! Come back here,” I hear a deep voice yell from outside. Dropping the mail back on the island, I walk over to the small window above the sink and look out. I watch as a different Ryanne runs toward the house, giggling. A very wet Colton is laughing and chasing after her, kicking up sand in the process. She’s fast, but not as fast as I am now. She hops up the stairs and runs through the doors. Her eyes scan the kitchen looking for somewhere to hide. Leaning casually against the counter, she tries to calm her rapid breathing.
Colton slowly enters the kitchen. Water is dripping off him as he stands in the doorway staring at her. I watch as my grin widens upon seeing him. He looks older now, possibly in his mid-to-late twenties. Wow, he ages well. His hair is a little shorter than his current style, and he has the slight stubble on his chin he always gets when he doesn’t shave. Wearing a light green buttoned shirt and khakis, his muscled physique is still obvious. I like this laid back attire he’s wearing.
I look toward myself. I look pretty similar to what I do now, just slightly older. My hair is still as curly as my current style, and I’m not wearing any make-up. I look to be around twenty-six years old. I’m wearing a short white sundress that actually makes my pale skin look slightly tanned. My long hair is moving from the slight breeze that’s coming in through the window behind me.
Colton walks toward Ryanne. “Since you’re pregnant, I’ll let you get away with doing that.” I’m pregnant? I look down at her stomach. It’s hard to tell through the loose material of the dress, but it is more pronounced than usual. Oh my gosh, she’s pregnant…with Colton’s child. Colton and I will have a baby...a family.
He continues toward me until he is standing mere inches from me. I watch as Ryanne tilts her head up and gives him a sly grin. She closes her eyes as he shakes his head and makes it rain droplets on her. With her head tilted back and her eyes closed, I watch her smile grows as the water falls onto her skin. Hearing her light giggle, Colton grabs onto her hips and pulls her against his chest. I watch as he slowly leans down and kisses her smiling lips. She completely melts under his touch. It’s nice to know that that doesn’t change anytime soon.
She laughs as he pulls her closer. Colton lifts her up and places her onto the kitchen counter. Wrapping her arms around Colton’s ne
ck, she whispers, “I love you, Colton,” against his lips.
“Love you too, Ry.” He touches her stomach and leans down, “and I love you too.”
I come out of the vision and look around the yard. Two sets of arms are wrapped around my waist, holding me up. I support my weight and lean slightly forward, giving Colton a break. “Thanks,” I tell him as I take a step away. He is watching me with concern. I glance behind me and see everyone else giving me a similar look. I shake my head, “It wasn’t one of those.”
“What did you see?” Liam asks me.
I smile but shake my head. I don’t want to share this vision with anyone. I feel like it is meant for me only...and possibly Colton. I make sure to not look at Colton; otherwise they’ll be able to guess what I saw. “Ugh, more secrets. She’s trying to hide a smile. Look at her,” Emma says.
I’m not doing a very good job at hiding my smile. I glance up at Colton and meet his green eyes. He’s watching me, trying to decipher what I saw. I bite my lip and try really hard to keep my glee down but to no avail. I giggle and smile widely. At least for now, I know that nothing is going to happen to me or Colton. I’m going to do everything it takes to make sure that vision is unchanged.
I want that life.
“Well, I guess I’d rather see her smile when she comes out of a vision and keep it a secret than come out of one injured, and I have to heal her and see everything that happened,” Logan says.
Colton is still watching me, but I ignore him for now. I take a step away from him and assess the yard. David walks up and places a hand on my shoulder. “What are you going to do?”
“I was going to use magic to pick up the larger ones and then if I still feel fine, I’ll start picking up the smaller ones. I want to move the big ones against the side of the house.” I point to where I want to move them.
“I’ll help with the big ones. It shouldn’t take as much magic if both of us are trying to move them.” That seems like a good idea. I turn around and tell Colton that he should go stand with everyone against the house. I don’t know how much magic to push toward the wood. It is easier to call small things to you. The heavier it gets, the harder it is to move...obviously. Colton sighs but listens and moves to stand near Emma.
