Chapter 16

It was the end of June, and Jayce’s little brother, Luca, was graduating from high school. Mrs. Fierro had invited Kristine to attend, and it did happen to fall on her latest three days off. As kind as it was for her to be included in their family event, Kristine just didn’t feel right attending without Jayce.

She supposed she could go with him, letting him ride like a parrot on her shoulder, but looking like a pirate wouldn’t exactly blend in. Instead she suggested that she visit with Jayce at their home, keeping him company while everyone else was gone. Jayce must be about fourteen years old mentally by now, so they might be able to have a decent conversation.

Before the family left for Boston Latin High School, Mr. Fierro took the front-door key off his key ring and handed it to Kristine. “If you need anything or just feel like going out for a walk, please lock the front door.”

“Wow,” Luca said. “You must really trust her, Dad.”

“I trust her just fine. It’s the rest of Boston I worry about walking in and helping themselves to our priceless treasures.” He laughed.

“Come on, Antonio,” Gabriella said. “We’re going to make Luca late for his lineup. We need to leave now.” She surprised Kristine by walking over to her and kissing her on both cheeks. “Thank you for staying with Jayce. I know he appreciates it.”

Kristine thought if he appreciated it so much, he’d probably show up. He was nowhere to be found. “Where is he?”

“In the basement, dear. He tries to fly outside sometimes. So we close the door when he goes down there to eat.”

That seemed odd to Kristine. “Isn’t he old enough to understand that you want him to stay in?”

Gabriella sighed. “Jayce was always the rebel.”

Antonio snorted and said, “And how. Where’s Luca?”

“Already outside. I saw him leave while your backs were turned,” Kristine said.

“Come on, Gabriella. You’re the one who wanted to get going, remember?”

“Yes, yes. We’ll see you in a couple of hours, Kristine, dear.” And with that, she hurried after her husband and closed the door behind them.

Kristine had better let Jayce out. She strode over to the basement door and opened it.

Jayce must have been waiting at the top of the stairs because he flew out immediately and landed on her head.

She giggled. “I’m glad to see you too.”

He hopped onto her shoulder and leaned in, laying his cheek against hers.

Encouraged, she looked forward to a conversation with him. A real conversation.

“Let’s find your board so we can talk.”

They started in the living room, looking all around for the thing. “Damn. They must’ve put it away,” Kristine said when she couldn’t find it. “Do you know where it is?”

Jayce did his best to shake his head. Basically, he looked at her with his right eye, then his left, and then his right again.

“I’m sure it’s around here somewhere.” She moved to the dining room and tried opening the drawers at the bottom of the hutch. All she found was silverware napkins and tablecloths. “Not here.” She moved on to the kitchen and began looking in drawers and cabinets there. No luck. “Well, without going through every room in your house, I guess we just better enjoy being in each other’s company.”

He hung his head.

“What, you don’t like my company?”

He squawked and took off, flying in a circle around her. Then he landed on her shoulder again and leaned in to touch her cheek.

“I love you too.”

She stroked his feathers. He made a different sound this time. Almost like a coo. Perhaps they could communicate a little bit if she learned some bird-speak.

“I’ve been thinking… One of us is going to have to compromise if we’re to be together.”

He squawked.

She wished she knew what he meant by that, but for now she’d just elaborate on what she said and perhaps that would give her more of a clue.

“If we want to stay with the fire service and each other, one of us will have to start completely over. I was thinking, since you’re already a lieutenant, and I just took the lieutenant’s exam in New York…”

She didn’t have a chance to finish her thought. Jayce took off and squawked, squawked, squawked as he flew around the room.

“Are you upset because I took the lieutenant’s exam? Or that I think I should be the one to make the sacrifice?”

He must’ve been totally frustrated and distracted because she hadn’t really given him a way to answer both questions at once. He flew into the wall.

Kristine gasped and jumped up. By the time she reached him, he was already on his feet.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t phrase that correctly. Are you upset because I took the lieutenant’s exam in case I stay in New York?”

He took off again and squawked as he circled the room and then slammed into a different wall.

“Jayce! Are you doing this on purpose? Or do you just not know where the walls are?”

He righted himself and turned his head to stare at her with his right eye. She slapped herself upside the head. “Oh crap. I did it again. We need to come up with a code. How about if you look at me with your right eye for yes and your left eye for no? I’ll try to remember to ask one question at a time.”

Jayce just stood there, not looking left or right. Sheesh. What did that mean?

“This isn’t going very well, is it?”

He looked at her with his right eye.

“Okay. Maybe we can do this. First, I should tell you everything that’s been going on. Then we can make some decisions, if you feel you’re ready to do that.”

She waited for him to look left or right. He took the neutral position, facing her head-on. Well, she hadn’t really asked a question.

“Okay, here goes. First off, my mother is engaged to a dragon she met here in Boston. She’ll be living with him in the apartment building next door to the B and B. If she were returning to New York, I wouldn’t be able to leave her. It’s hard enough to trust this man she just met—correction, this dragon she just met. So, that means I would either live alone in New York and visit you periodically, or—”

Again, he didn’t give her a chance to finish her thought. He squawked his head off and flew around the room, this time smashing into a window.

“Damn it, Jayce! Knock it off.” She thought about what she just said, and before he knocked his head off, she quickly amended, “I mean, stop it! Sheesh!” If a teenage human brain hasn’t fully developed, a teenage birdbrain must really be a problem!

He took off again, but she was having none of it. She grabbed the afghan off the couch and tossed it over him like a fisherman tossing his net, trapping him and letting gravity take him to the ground. He squawked once as if surprised.

What now? She couldn’t just leave him there. But it was for his own good. Before he knocked himself out or did some serious damage. “I did this because I can’t let you hurt yourself.”

He just resumed squawking and thrashed under the afghan.

How could she make him more comfortable and yet not let him out completely? She wondered if she crawled under there with him whether he would welcome her presence or peck her eyes out. “Jayce would never hurt me,” she muttered. With that hope, she crawled under the afghan, making sure she didn’t create any spaces big enough for him to get out.

When she finally managed to wiggle her whole body under it, she sat up and let her head be a tent pole. Jayce stepped toward her and opened his wings once, as if stretching his arms. Then he waited quietly.

Kristine was afraid to say anything at all. At least anything that might set him off. He must’ve been a rough teenager. She wondered if he had smashed his fist into a wall when he was really pissed.

“Are you all right?”

He looked at her with his right eye.

“I imagine a normal—I mean, ordinary bird could have broken a bone or suffered head trauma…or worse.”

He just sat there in the neutral position.

“You scared me.”

He hung his head.

After a brief silence, she said, “I’m so sorry. You wouldn’t be in this situation if it hadn’t been for me and my vigilante justice.”

He looked at her with his right eye, then the left.

She chuckled. “Yes and no. I get it.”

He hopped over, jumped up onto her leg, and then he cocked his head.

“Ah. You want to know if I’ll lift the blanket now?”

He turned his head to look at her with his right eye.

“I will if you promise not to lose your cool again—no matter what. Got it?”

He bobbed his head.

“Okay.” Here goes. She gathered the afghan and threw it off. Thank goodness he stayed where he was.

She thought of a way to pass the time without letting her big mouth get her into any more trouble. “Would you like me to read to you?”

He bobbed his head and then used his right eye to signal yes. Lucky for her, she’d loaded up her phone with some great books.

“I’ll be right back. I just have to get my phone out of my backpack.”

What would a teenage boy want to read? She had a great variety of books from breezy chick lit to dark thrillers. Maybe he’d like a young adult novel?

They spent the next three hours engrossed in the start of a wonderful series. Before she realized how much time had passed, the Fierros—all of them—arrived back at the house.

Dante greeted her first with a saucy, “Hey, beautiful!”

Jayce flew onto her shoulder as if to stake his claim. The other brothers said hello but didn’t try to goad Jayce. There’s a smart-ass in every bunch. “Don’t worry,” she whispered to Jayce. “I’m all yours.”

When Mr. Fierro Senior stomped into the house, she knew something was wrong.

Gabriella had to run to keep up with him. “Calm down, Antonio. Luca’s young. He doesn’t know what he wants yet.”

Antonio whirled on his youngest son, who entered the house last, and practically roared. “Oh, he knows what he wants all right. He wants to be a cop!”

“For Chrissake, Dad. You’d think I want to sell drugs or guns without background checks. I want to be a peace officer. At least I’d get to go home every day.”

Antonio mumbled under his breath, “Not to my home, you don’t.”

Luca tipped up his chin. “Fine. I’ll move out.”

Gabriella intervened by inserting herself between the two of them. “Now, stop it. Both of you, before things are said that can’t be taken back.”

The wind went out of Antonio’s sails. “You’re right, hon.” He glared at his son. “We’ll discuss this later.”

Luca breezed by them and disappeared into another room. Jayce flew off after him.

“If you’re worried about a little family drama scaring me off, don’t be,” Kristine said. “Jayce and I had our own little drama, and I’m still here.”

“Oh?” Gabriella said, wringing her hands. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing we can’t work out in a few more weeks. Let’s just say that teenage Jayce wasn’t much easier to deal with than four-year-old Jayce.”

Gabriella burst out laughing and left the room. Her laughter followed her all the way to the kitchen.

Antonio smirked. “You got that right.”

* * *

Kristine and the elder Fierros had agreed that waiting until Jayce shifted to human again before the two reunited would be a smart idea. So she had returned to New York and worked her shifts. Since Jayce had to wait in phoenix form for another six weeks, Kristine arranged to take summer classes and finish her degree early. She missed Jayce terribly and was ninety-nine percent sure she’d be moving to Boston—even if it meant giving up her firefighting career. It wouldn’t hurt to have the degree, no matter what she did.

She spent her off hours sorting through her belongings and donating what she didn’t want. If anyone was going to make the sacrifice, she wanted it to be her. His family obligations were important to him, and now her only family would be in Boston too. She just had to be sure Jayce could get his job back—and that he still wanted her.

Apparently Antonio was close to the chief, and his friend had assured him that Jayce would be welcomed back as soon as he recovered from his—ahem—coma.

Finally, the day came when she could see him again. She had the next three days off and wanted to spend every one of them with Jayce.

She boarded the train for Back Bay Station, and the three-hour trip seemed to take ten. Then she grabbed her backpack and, for the heck of it, donned her Fitbit before running to the Fierros’ home in the South End. She may have banged on the door a little too enthusiastically because she heard Jayce’s voice calling out, “I’m coming. I’m coming. Hold your horses.” It was the most beautiful sound she could have imagined.

He threw open the door, and with a grin on his face, he spread his arms wide. She jumped, and he caught her, pulling her inside and then spinning her around.

Without putting her down, he fused his lips to hers. She practically melted down his body until her feet reached the floor. When they finally managed to pull apart, she asked, “Where are your parents? I want to say hello.” Then she whispered, “Before we get too carried away.”

With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “They’re off looking at colleges with Luca. We’re alone.”

“Did he decide to go to college instead of the police academy?”

Jayce closed the door and then grabbed her hand, speaking as he led her toward the stairs. “They’ve reached a compromise. He’ll look at colleges that have a good program in law enforcement. If he still likes it when he gets out, they won’t stop him, and he’ll be in a better position for promotions. My parents see promotions as meaning desk jobs, but Luca sees them as a way to become a detective faster.”

“Everybody wins,” Kristine said.

When they reached the basement, Jayce lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the L-shaped sofa. He threw off the pillows and laid her down. Then he crawled over her like a predator eyeing its prey.

Lowering his weight upon her, he asked, “Am I too heavy?”

She stroked his muscular biceps, enjoying the feel of their hardness under her fingers. “Well, I wouldn’t want you sitting on my head or shoulder anymore. But I think I can handle the weight like this.”

He grinned, looking at her with a soft glow in his eyes, and lowered his head to capture her lips. She threaded her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and opened her mouth to welcome his tongue.

Heat sprang up between them as their passion flared. They had both been waiting so long for this.

Jayce unbuttoned Kristine’s jeans, and she returned the favor. They pushed, pulled, and scrambled out of their clothing until everything hit the floor except for Kristine’s fitness tracker. She checked the number and said with a sly smile, “Let’s leave this on, just for fun.”

Jayce seem to understand what she wanted to do. The device would measure how many calories they’d burn by how much energy they’d expend. He laughed and then proceeded to devour each of her breasts like a starving man. She arched and moaned as the sensations created a visceral tug all the way to her core. Her womb fluttered and produced a feeling she’d never experienced with anyone but Jayce. “I love you,” she murmured.

He lifted his head and stared into her eyes as he said, “I love you too. So much more than I realized.” Then he crawled further down her body, planting kisses on her hot skin along the way. When he reached her pussy, he licked the folds and at last zeroed in on her clit.

Kristine almost jackknifed off the couch. He flicked her clit with his tongue until she came apart, screaming. There were no words to describe the ecstasy she experienced with him. Her chest was heaving as she gasped for breath.

Jayce grabbed his T-shirt. “Lift up your pretty bottom for me.” She barely had the strength to move but managed to elevate her dead weight on rubber legs.

He stuffed his shirt beneath her and crawled up over her body until they were nose to nose. Then he kissed her again and positioned his cock at her opening.

He entered her reverently, pushing himself all the way to the hilt. His erection was long, thick, and hard as a spike. She moaned as she welcomed all of him. He began his rhythm of thrusts, and she matched it. Meanwhile he bore down on her clit with his pelvis.

The fluttering sensations started up again, and she lifted her hips to make the connection again and again. The ancient dance followed its natural course, each body rocking and connecting with the other as deeply as it could.

Kristine’s sensations built again, and before she knew it, she was on the precipice of another climax. As her orgasm exploded, her spirit took off and flew. It felt as if she had left her body.

When she finally returned to earth, she could hardly describe what had just happened.

Instead of worrying about it, she watched Jayce’s reaction. He stiffened, and his eyes scrunched shut. His mouth open, he jerked into her several times. Then he let his head drop down, and he panted. When he finally lifted his face, he was grinning at her.

After only a brief respite, they made love again—and again.

When at last they were spent, Jayce asked, “What does your Fitbit say?”

Kristine checked the device on her arm and noted the number had changed dramatically. When she analyzed what that meant, she said, “We just expended enough energy to climb twelve flights of stairs.”

Jayce laughed. “In other words, we just fucked each other up a high-rise.”

Kristine joined him in laughter and hugged him close. “I love you so much, Jayce.”

Jayce lifted his upper body enough to stare into her eyes. “I love you too. I’ll love you forever.” He carefully withdrew and moved to a kneeling position. “Marry me, Kristine.”

Oh my God. When she could speak, she said something totally lame. “Don’t you think we should clean up first?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to wait another minute. I’ve wanted to ask you since the night we went out on my boat.”

She sat up and linked her hands behind his neck. His arms went around her back automatically. She paused for a moment to think of some poignant words. Jayce lifted his eyebrows, waiting.

“I will.” It wasn’t very eloquent, but it seemed to be what he wanted to hear—and, in essence, what she wanted to say.

He grasped her close and whispered, “I’ll do everything in my power to make you as happy as you’ve just made me.”

* * *

Eventually, Jayce and Kristine got off the couch and decided to eat something before they starved to death.

Since he knew where everything was in the kitchen, Jayce offered to cook. Most firefighters knew how to prepare meals, since they rotated the responsibility of keeping their coworkers fed.

Jayce wanted to impress her with his cooking skills, but he didn’t believe in wasting food, so he looked for the items that might expire before his parents returned. “How do you feel about an omelet? And what do you like in it? Meat? Veggies?”

Kristine sat at the kitchen table and rested her chin in her hand. “I’m easy.”

Jayce turned around and flashed her a grin. “I like that about you.”

She chuckled and didn’t contradict his deliberate misunderstanding. He started pulling things out of the fridge: leftover steak, cheese, a green pepper, a red onion, and mushrooms.

“Can I help?” Kristine asked.

“Sure. You can wash the veggies while I whip up the eggs and season them with spices.”

“You use spices?” Kristine asked.

“Yeah, don’t you?”

Kristine shrugged as she wandered over to the sink. “Do salt and pepper count?”

It sounded as if she wasn’t used to fancy fare. He’d hold back on some of the more exotic spices. Jayce found a colander and stuck it in the sink for her, piling the veggies in it.

“Wow. Are we feeding an army?”

He chuckled. “I could eat like one.”

“Maybe I can make a salad with anything that’s left over.”

“Now you’re talking.” He grabbed a head of lettuce out of the fridge too.

They worked easily side by side and soon had not only a couple of fabulous omelets but also a crunchy salad to accompany them.

Kristine had already set the kitchen table and placed their salads beside their forks. Jayce brought the omelets over. As they ate, Jayce realized he had a few important things to tell her. He didn’t know if he was supposed to yet, but if she was to be his wife, eventually she would have to know.

“Babe, I need to fill you in on a few things I learned recently. My dad had been trying to tell me some important stuff for a while, but we kept getting interrupted. So, eventually he had a captive audience—specifically, quiet Miguel and me when all I could do to interrupt was squawk. These are secrets, closely guarded by and known only to the heads of the family. Can you swear to me you won’t tell anyone?”

She stopped chewing, swallowed, put her fork down, and asked, “Are you sure you want to tell me? Of course I can keep a secret, but I’m not the head of the family.”

“You will be. We will be. As well as Miguel and Sandra. My father had thought it would be Ryan and his wife—and then he had to disappear because of that whole dying-and-funeral thing. Then he thought it would be me and my wife after I married because the leader’s wife is an important part of the checks and balances in any decision-making process.”

“So…Miguel and Sandra?”

“There for opinions only.”

“Okay… How often do these decisions need to be made? Is it a daily thing? Are we expected to micromanage everyone’s lives? Because that would suck.”

“No. If something important comes up that the individual can’t handle, he or she can call a family meeting. The head of the family makes any huge decisions that affect the others. Everyone is supposed to abide by that decision…not that I always did.”

“And what am I? Your conscience? The tiebreaker?”

He smiled. “Not exactly. It was decided long ago that leaders need to talk things over with a more neutral party, just to be sure the decisions they make aren’t rash or a knee-jerk reaction. I’ve been told I can be a bit impulsive.”

Kristine smirked. “You don’t say…”

“Be nice.”

She giggled. “Sorry. So is that why Miguel has an opinion?”

“While I was incapacitated, Dad realized it would be nice to have a backup. He had been thinking of putting the two of us in charge together anyway. Miguel and I are very different, and we’d balance each other. Plus, if I never married, I would need Miguel and Sandra to intervene if necessary.”

“Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Ha! I haven’t even scratched the surface of the paranormal secrets. I’m glad you’re sitting down.”

She raised her brows, obviously anticipating a surprise. He wouldn’t disappoint.

“As it turns out, Boston is teeming with paranormals. And not just us. For instance, a lot of cops are werewolves.”

“How do they handle the full moon?”

“The people in charge of scheduling are usually werewolves themselves, and they have day jobs. We’re supposed to keep our para identities under wraps, so it gets tricky. But the mayor and chief of police are in on it. Some of the district fire chiefs know too.”

“Okay. What is it you want me to know?”

“Well, because Boston is a hotbed of paranormal activity, it’s the favorite hangout of a goddess who keeps an eye on us. Not just any goddess…the Goddess. Gaia, sometimes known as Mother Nature.”

When Kristine didn’t react, Jayce thought either she was taking it well or she didn’t believe him at all. He continued on, hoping she wasn’t just humoring him. “Gaia not only likes her seasons in Boston, but she protects her humans from us. If they knew about the paranormal population, they’d freak.

“She watches what we’re doing, making sure we don’t reveal ourselves even by accident. She used to be very upset about a paranormal bar in the area, but now we have a more private place to socialize. In fact, the paranormal club is in the building next door to the B and B where you were staying.”

“Uh-huh,” Kristine said, almost sounding bored.

“No, really! My father and Ryan have been in it…and they’ve met Mother Nature herself!”

She smiled and said, “So have I.”

After a stunned silence, Jayce asked, “Seriously? How? When?”

“She helped me get you out of the fire in the mansion. Amber is a modern muse and got me into the cellar, but she didn’t know how to save you. She brought Mother Nature. It was Gaia who told me to incinerate you with my breath. If I hadn’t known you were a phoenix or that this older woman was Mother Nature, I wouldn’t have been able to go through with it.”

Suddenly the Goddess appeared with her arms folded in front of her white toga. “Older woman? I’ve been told it’s very difficult to guess my age.”

Crap.

The Goddess laughed. “Don’t worry about it, dragon, I’m trying out this odd communication style you call humor.”

Jayce let out the deep breath he’d sucked in without realizing it.

“Actually, I can appear to be any age I like. Of course, the truth is I’m older than dirt…literally. One of my muses said that to me—and I let her live. I must be mellowing.”

Jayce turned to Kristine. “You don’t seem very alarmed. You’re not even nervous.”

Kristine shrugged. “If this was your big secret, I’m not really worried. Mother Nature has been very kind to me.” Kristine rose and walked over to the deity. “I never had the chance to thank you. I appreciate how you helped us when Jayce was in trouble.” She reached out her hand, and Gaia just looked at it.

The goddess rolled her eyes and then took Kristine’s hand and shook it. “You should know, dragon, that when you do something to impact nature, there’s always an effect.”

Kristine straightened her posture. “Oh? What did I affect?”

One side of Mother Nature’s lip rose. “Well, now you owe me a favor.”

Jayce worried. What kind of favor will she be expected to do for a goddess? Whatever it was, it was his fault. Hopefully, he’d be able to help her with it.

“As a matter of fact, phoenix, you can help by encouraging her to take the job I’m about to offer her.”

“Job?” Kristine asked.

“Yes, yes. As you know, I’ve recruited a few modern muses to take care of technology that didn’t exist when the original nine, now useless, muses were created millennia ago.”

“Amber told me something about that.”

“And you were able to keep all of that a secret. I believe I can trust you, dragon. I’m prepared to make you a modern muse.”

Kristine took a step back. “Me? What can I possibly help you with?”

Jayce rose and put his arm around Kristine’s shoulder. “Whatever it is, she gets a choice in the matter. Right, Goddess?”

Mother Nature crossed her arms and frowned. “She does. You don’t.”

Okay then…

Gaia clasped her hands behind her back and began pacing. “Getting back to my current problem. I have noticed that everyone seems to be walking around blathering on these little rectangular devices. What the hell are those things?”

“Smartphones?” Kristine asked.

The Goddess looked impatient. “This isn’t a quiz. Just tell me.”

Kristine cleared her throat. “It sounds as if you’re describing a mobile phone…or a radio. Firefighters use radios to stay in touch with each other during a fire. Cops use them in a similar way. But if you’re talking about something more common, it seems as if everyone has a cell phone.”

“Yes. I’ve noticed you using both devices expertly. That’s why I would like you to become my muse of wireless communication.”

“Really?”

“No. Not really.” After a brief pause, Mother Nature snorted. “Of course, really. Do you think I recruit muses for sport?”

“No. Not at all. I’m just—overwhelmed. It sounds like an awesome responsibility, and I’m flattered, but what would I have to do?”

“Damned if I know. It seems that everyone is delighted with the thing until it doesn’t work. Especially during emergencies. Then they throw them across the room.”

Kristine blanched.

“Maybe you could keep them working just a little bit longer until the emergency is over or inspire inventors to make better ones… And not only that,” Gaia continued, “I notice they can be quite a problem when concentration is required. They can distract a driver and cause an accident. You could whisper, ‘Hey dumbass. Put down the phone and pay attention!’ Or—you know what I’d really like?” Her lips thinned, as if her frustration were growing simply by discussing the subject. “If people would set them down once in a while and have a conversation with the person right in front of them. You can just whisper in their ear, ‘Turn off the damn phone and pay attention to your date, idiot.’”

Kristine quickly covered her mouth and looked like she might be hiding a smile.

“Can she think about it, Goddess?” Jayce interjected. Even if the deity got mad at him for interfering, he was going to look out for his bride-to-be. Like it or not.

The Goddess looked at the ceiling and sighed. “Why does everyone have to think about it? I offer the greatest of compliments, and the job comes with some incredible new powers, but still they have to ‘think about it.’”

Jayce was about to explain the necessity of making informed decisions, taking one’s time, going over the pros and cons—all the things his father impressed upon him—when Kristine put her hand in his. “I’d like to talk to Jayce and Amber first. Can you give me a day or so?”

“Sure. She’s one of my best modern muses. Well, actually, she’s one of my best muses period…since nobody gives a crap about the arts anymore. Damn fucking shame, if you ask me.”

Kristine nodded solemnly. “I’ll be sure to get in touch with her right away.” Then she turned to Jayce. “Oh, you were in the middle of telling me something important. Was there anything else I should know?”

“Uh, no. I think we covered it.” Jayce thought about how his little family drama paled in comparison to the news Kristine had just received.

“Oh, Gaia, wait!”

“Don’t care.” Mother Nature disappeared before Kristine got another word out.

“Jayce, I just remembered Amber’s wedding! She’s probably already in Ireland, planning for the big day.”

Jayce smiled and squeezed her hand. “There’s this great modern convenience called a cell phone…”