Page 5 of Dead Sure
“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.”
“Whatkindof 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.
