She’d donewhat?
Twenty-five: Evie
Afterthought,South Carolina
Evie yawned,pulled her robe around her, and rubbed her bedhead in the gray light of dawn. Unshaved and in hastily donned T-shirt and jogging pants, Jax didn’t look much better.
“How can anyone so small make so much noise?” Evie whispered, peering around the kitchen door jamb and wincing at the chaos.
“It’s not the noise I’m wondering about.”
Together, they admired the sight within. Well,admiredprobably wasn’t quite the word, but it was indeed an awesome scene.
“Does one jar of jam hold that much?” Jax murmured.
“Extra-large jar. Loretta really likes strawberry. The peanut butter was a pretty good feat though. I didn’t think it had been opened.” Evie gnawed a broken thumb nail and pondered waking her cousin to help with clean up, but Pris had been beyond wiped after arriving last night.
Dealing with two five-year-olds on a twelve-hour flight in economy seats was bad enough, but Pris had to do it while combating her mental barriers. Apparently, the time change didn’t bother the twins in the least. They’d clattered downstairs at daybreak.
“They really are adorable,” she whispered. With their backs to the door, the twins kneeled on the banquette of the breakfast nook. Two black heads bent diligently over the table, smearing their concoction over leftover rolls from last night.
Milk dripped off the counter from where they’d apparently climbed up to reach the coffee mugs the men always left scattered there. The gallon jug had proved too heavy for pouring, although how they’d dragged it from the refrigerator was questionable.
“Why didn’t Pris take them to her mother?” Jax rubbed his bristly jaw and straightened. “Dante is likely to raise holy hell, and I don’t really want to be around when he calls.”
Dante might be Jax’s distant cousin, but they didn’t know each other well. Since he knew so little of his far-flung family, he probably didn’t like upsetting them. Evie patted his arm in commiseration.
“Pris’s mother lives in an apartment, like Mavis. No room. And I’m guessing Pris wanted a shield of defense for when Dante arrives. Or maybe from whatever caused her to run. Her texts weren’t totally coherent.” Evie straightened too. “I’ll start cleaning up here while you shower. Then you can fix breakfast while I shower.”
“Cereal all around.” He kissed the top of her head and jogged back up the stairs.
Evie took her time examining the twins’ auras, but other than seeing hints of the distinctive Malcolm and Ives hues, she didn’t find much more. They were simply too young to have developed strong personalities.
“Good morning, my lovelies, did you enjoy your breakfast?” Evie hoped they spoke English. She grabbed a roll of paper towels to lift the worst of the mess.
Not looking in the least surprised, the twins glanced up with identical chocolate eyes just like their dad’s. They nodded happily and returned to coloring rolls with jam and peanut butter. Self-sufficient, nice.
Dressed for school, Loretta bounced down the stairs just as Evie finished scrubbing the vinyl upholstery on the banquette. She’d repositioned the twins on counter stools with bowls of dry cereal so she could clean the nook.
“Why are Pris and Jax arguing?” her ward asked, helping herself to the cereal and a bowl.
“Because that’s how they communicate. I’m surprised Pris dragged herself out of bed already.” Evie poured milk into the bowl even though Loretta could do it herself. The jug would be empty before everyone ate if she didn’t control the flow.
“Her bubble is collapsed. Is she going to live here now too? We’ll have to clear out the junk in the guest room.” Wise child that she was, Loretta happily settled in with her electronic devices and spooned in cereal between pushing game buttons.
Evie vowed not to worry about Pris’s collapsed bubble. They’d yet to discern exactly what Loretta saw when she talked of bubbles.
“Thatjunkyou want to clear out is antique. We’d have to have a garage sale, after we checked with everyone in the entire family to see if they had anything they wanted to reclaim.” Her great-aunt’s house had been a catchall for unwanted family heirlooms for decades. Evie kept meaning to do something about them but hadn’t had much incentive to do more than clear out the master suite she and Jax shared—which was why all the other bedrooms were full.
Pris had taken Evie’s old room. They’d found cots for the twins so they could sleep there too. It wouldn’t be satisfactory for long.
The twins clambered down to join Loretta in the booth. Evie grabbed their bowls before they could pull them off the counter. They watched Loretta play her handheld electronic game with such avid interest, that her Indigo Child had to turn it around to show them how it worked.
“They only have tiny bubbles,” Loretta said. “Sorta silvery.”
“Tiny because they’re young. Silvery probably means they’re related to us from way back in distant times.” Evie cleaned off her hands as she heard Pris and Jax descending the stairs, still arguing.
“It’s kidnapping,” Jax was insisting.
