Chapter 2
Tennyson
Tennyson had seen the strange conversation between Everly and Ronan while they’d been hunting for Easter eggs.
He’d also noticed how much of his daughter’s joy had vanished afterward.
He’d wanted to ask Ronan what was going on, but between keeping Ezra from eating five pounds of chocolate along with grass clippings and helping Ronan prepare side dishes for Easter dinner, there hadn’t been time.
Now, Ten and Cope were moving at light speed, trying to get the meal on the table. Ronan and Jude were wrestling with the kids in the living room, while Fitz and Jace set the table. They’d all had so much sugar that morning and needed to burn some off.
“How did things go giving Ronan his own Easter basket?” Cope asked, pulling the ham out of the oven.
Ten snorted. “He lost his mind. Ronan was so excited to run around the yard with the kids finding his eggs, that was until Ezra decided every egg he found was his.”
“That must have been hilarious.”
“It was, especially when Ronan started chasing Ezzie around the yard. Let’s just say the old man isn’t as fast or as agile as he used to be.” Ten laughed.
“Your time is coming,” Ronan said, walking into the kitchen. “Pretty soon you’ll be the one with a hip that tells the weather and whose knees snap, crackle, and pop.”
Ten bussed a kiss to Ronan’s cheek. “I already have all those things, and a few others besides. That’s why I was the one filming the kids, instead of running around after them. I know my limits.”
“Ronan, get everyone, dinner’s ready,” Cope said.
Five minutes later, everyone was settled around the table, their plates filled with ham, bread rolls, potatoes, and broccoli, which Ten noticed Ezra was dropping onto the kitchen floor when he thought no one was looking.
“What’s going on at school this week?” Fitz asked, his eyes on Aurora.
“Spelling test tomorrow.” Aurora half-growled.
“I thought you liked spelling?” Fitz wore a concerned look.
“I used to before Miss Stanton was a jerk to Everly.” Aurora rolled her eyes and stabbed a piece of ham so hard that the tines clinked on the plate.
“Wait! What?” Ronan asked. “When I spoke to Max Preston last week he said he’d spoken with Miss Stanton and there were no hard feelings.”
“Yeah, well, spoiler alert, Daddy,” Everly began, “there are a lot of hard feelings. She hates me and Aurora and Woofie because they’re my friends.”
“Wolf, have you noticed Miss Stanton treating you differently?” Jude asked, looking as alarmed as Ronan and Fitz.
“A little, but I don’t let her bother me.” Wolf turned to Everly and Aurora. “My Daddy gave me the best advice ever.”
Jude beamed, his pride on full display. “Which advice was that, Wolfie?”
Wolf cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his seat. “Fudge you! Fudge anyone who looks like you! Fudge your entire family!”
Ronan snorted. He slapped his hands over his mouth, but the damage was done. Soon the entire table was laughing hysterically. “That sounds like the kind of advice Jude would give.”
“It works too, Uncle Ronan! Ever since Daddy told me to be my own man, I’m happy all the time!” Wolf got up from the table with his empty plate and put it in the dishwasher.
“Do you think that would work for us?” Aurora asked Everly. “Fudge you, Miss Stanton!” Aurora giggled. “You try!”
“Fudge you!” Everly laughed as she spoke. “I feel much better now. Daddy, is that why you’re always saying bad words, because they make you feel better?”
Ronan nodded. “Hell, yeah!”
Everly laughed, her blue eyes glowed with happiness and what looked a lot like confidence. “I’m not even gonna charge you swear jar money for that one!” Everly hopped off her seat and followed Wolf’s lead, putting her plate in the dishwasher. Aurora was right behind her.
“No more candy until after dessert!” Cope called after them.
“Fudge you?” Cope asked, his eyes on Jude. “That was your great advice to our son? Not some parable or a fable with a moral?”
“What can I say, babe, I’m a simple guy.” Jude pressed a kiss to Cope’s cheek as he got out of his chair. “People worry too much about what others think of them. It’s not Wolf’s responsibility to like Miss Stanton. All he has to do is behave and learn.”
“I can’t argue with that, but what happens when the entire class is fudging Miss Stanton?” Cope asked, sounding serious.
Fitz and Ronan snorted. Jude simply smiled at his husband. “I gave Wolf that pearl of wisdom three weeks ago when all this bullshit with Miss Stanton started. He never told a soul until today.” Jude smirked at Cope.
“We’ll have a chat with Everly and Aurora tonight about keeping the fudge to themselves.” Ronan pointed back and forth between himself and Fitz.
“You’re awfully quiet, Ten.” Fitz said. “I thought for sure you’d be losing your mind about Jude’s advice.”
Ten sighed. “School was hell for me. Between my gift and being bullied and trying to hide who I was, I really could have used advice like that. I’m not upset about what we were talking about, but something odd happened this morning with Ronan and Everly and it’s been on my mind all day.”
“What, that little chat we had in the yard?” Ronan asked, all traces of humor gone.
“Yeah. You two were happily hunting for eggs and all of a sudden you’re talking and looking like the end of the world is near.”
Ronan nodded. “I was gonna talk to you about this tonight, but now is as good a time as any. Jude and Fitz should know what’s going on too and maybe Cope can help. Everly had a vision.”
“What kind of vision?” Ten asked, feeling his stomach drop as if he were riding a rollercoaster.
“She said something bad was coming for you.” Ronan paused, his eyes on Tennyson, “and that you’d be away from us.”
“Jesus,” Jude muttered. “What else did Everly see?”
“That’s it,” Ronan said. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”
Ten shivered in the warm room. He shook his head and tried to marshal his thoughts.
“No, I have no idea. There’s nothing going on at work or with my friends.
Our taxes are paid. I have no idea what could possibly be coming for me.
” Ten took a deep breath. His heart pounded in his chest so hard that he was afraid it would burst.
“You told Dad,” Everly said, walking into the kitchen and taking the seat next to Tennyson.
Ronan nodded. “You scared the hell out of me this morning.”
“I was scared too, Daddy,” Everly agreed. “Do you see anything bad coming, Uncle Cope?”
“No, nothing.” Cope wore a wary look. “Take my hands.” He offered one to Ten and the other to Everly.
Ten shut his eyes and focused his gift on his daughter.
Sometimes being in physical contact with Everly made his own powers stronger.
He was hoping the same would be true for Everly.
Her little hand gripped his, but Ten didn’t see anything.
He often had trouble reading himself, but usually had an inkling if something was going to happen to him.
“I’m not getting anything else,” Everly said, taking her hands back from Ten and Cope. “What about you, Uncle Cope?”
Cope looked disappointed. “I didn’t get anything either. I’m not seeing a car accident or an illness or anything like that, but I do have a feeling of foreboding.”
“What does that word mean?” Everly asked.
“It’s a feeling that something bad is coming.” Cope wore a worried look.
“I’ll keep working on it.” Everly hugged Ten and ran back into the living room.
“Fudge,” Ten muttered. “I hate Everly being in the middle of this unknown thing that’s coming for me.”
“Me too,” Ronan agreed.
“At least now you’re forewarned. We’ll all keep an eye out for you until whatever this thing is manifests itself,” Jude said, with Fitz nodding his agreement.
“Besides,” Ronan began, “you always talk about how the future is fluid. Maybe you knowing about this thing ahead of time will cause you to make decisions that change everything, right?”
“Right,” Ten agreed.
Bertha Craig always talked about the future being changeable. He, Cole, and Carson always told their clients as much. Sitting here now, with an unknown danger hanging over his head, Ten wasn’t feeling any comfort in Bertha’s wisdom.
All Ten could do now was be ready for whatever the hell had him in its sights.