Rourk (Keegan's Chronicles Series Book 4) (3 page)

CHAPTER 4   

Keegan waited anxiously at the gate. She missed her younger brother something fierce. Even though she would never admit it to his face. There was an unwritten rule: siblings rarely allowed their true feelings to show. They hid them behind trash talking and pretending like they just didn’t care. But she knew Thaddeus loved her as much as she loved him. As far as families went, she was beyond lucky.

Her heart rate sped up a bit when a sea of people came down the hallway. She scanned the crowd, but didn’t see him anywhere. He’d better not have missed his flight and not told her.
Maybe, he is still getting his luggage.
Although, he usually only traveled with a carry on. One of their father’s crazy rules. Or maybe it wasn’t even his flight.

“Keegan!” A voice that sounded familiar, but deeper, caused a grin to spread across her face.

She spun on her heel and Keegan was surprised she had to look up. Somehow, he had managed to get behind her without her noticing. “What the hell have they been feeding you?” Keegan pulled her brother in for a hug. Last time she had seen him, they were barely the same height. Now he was at least 5’9”, which was about the average height for a male elf, and he was only sixteen. His shoulders were broader and his voice deeper. The only thing that appeared to be the same was his impish grin, and the same blue-green eyes as her own. Her brother was beautiful, but she would never tell him that. He would think she was crazy or making fun of him, but it was true. There was something about his face that made you want to stare. He’d always appeared older than his age because of his gift. He’d been born an old soul. Strength and wisdom had radiated off him at an early age. When she was younger, she’d been sort of jealous of his gift. He was so important to their society of elves, but now she was awed and saddened by his gift. Being a seer was a heavy burden.

She pulled back to get a better look at him. His auburn hair was slightly longer and tousled, sticking up all over the place. But it looked stylish and not messy on him. He was wearing a loose pair of faded jeans and a distressed white long johns shirt with a Batman T-shirt over it. “You look more like dad the older you get.”

“And you’re still as ugly as you always were.” He shifted his backpack and draped his arm around her shoulder as they merged in with the crowd.

“Missed you too.” Keegan narrowed her eyes at him, and pulled one of his pointed ears.

“You know I’m just messing with you.”

“I know.” Keegan wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a squeeze.

“So why did you finally decide to visit? I’ve only been bugging you forever.”

Thaddeus shrugged. “Just felt I should be here.”

Keegan stopped in her tracks, causing someone behind her to mutter a curse as they nearly slammed into them. She turned towards her brother. Her heart dropping to her toes. Those words coming from her brother were not something to brush off. “Thaddeus, I don’t like the sounds of that. Is something going to happen to Rourk?” She tried to brace herself for his answer, but she was trembling.

Thaddeus tugged her forward. “You’re blocking traffic. And as far as I know, nothing is going to happen to Rourk.”

She drew in a relieved breath. “Then it’s me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so vain. The world doesn’t revolve around you, Keegan.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?”

“Nope. Just enjoy your visit with your brother and don’t over-analyze it. It’s good to see you, by the way.”

“You too.” Keegan sighed. She knew her brother wasn’t going to tell her anything more. She had to trust that if there was anything he could do to prevent something bad happening in the future, he would do it. He’d done it before for her, and she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. He claimed that his visions were not always reality. They were just one potential outcome, and sometimes just changing one moving part could change everything. And not always for the better.

It put her mind at ease when he told her nothing was going to happen to Rourk. Slightly. Her brother’s gift was a burden, and she wasn’t going to add to it by bugging him even more. She would just enjoy the time she had with him.

Letting him off the hook, she switched gears. “So what’s been going on with you? Any girls in your life?”

They stepped outside, and the crisp air hit their face. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining, but it was overcast. Keegan smiled; even the gloomy Seattle weather couldn’t dampen her good mood.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Well, there is this one girl that I met at the library, Emma. We’ve been chatting, but nothing more than that.”

“What does she look like?” Keegan had no idea what her brother’s taste was in girls, but she also knew it wouldn’t matter once he met his chosen. His ideal mate had been predetermined, probably before his birth, so anyone between now and then would just be filling in time.

“She’s petite, long blonde curly hair and athletic figure. Human.”

“Interesting.”

“Not really. So how are Anna and Tommy?”

“The usual. Madly in love and crazy as loons.” Keegan laughed as she pulled out of the parking spot.

They caught up on family gossip on the drive to her house. She was excited for him to see her first home with Rourk.

After giving him a quick tour of the small house, Keegan started a fire, and then ordered a pizza. They sank into the couch with sodas and chips.

“So have you gotten any better at shielding your gift?” Keegan asked curiously.

“Not going to happen. I’ve just accepted it’s how my brain and body works.”

Keegan took a swig and wiped the corner of her mouth. “That sucks.”

“Yeah, but I guess if I could turn it off, I might miss something important.”

“Still, it has to be hard.”

“It’s all I know.” Thaddeus set his soda down on the coffee table, not bothering to use a coaster.

“How’s Warrick? I see him on Skype once a week, but it’s not the same as actually watching him grow up.”

Thaddeus shook his head and grinned. “That boy is giving mom and dad a run for their money. He’s a handful, to say the least. When I went to leave, Warrick kept using the wind to shut the car door before I could get in. I almost missed my flight, because he didn’t want me to leave.”

Keegan covered her mouth, laughing. “Gods, I miss his little face.”

“Mom says he’s worse than the two of us combined.”

“I know! I can’t believe he got kicked out of kindergarten and Mom has to homeschool him. I can’t even imagine how that is going.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to know. Mom’s about ready to pull her hair out.”

“Any more progression with his gift?”

“I guess that’s one way to say it.”

Thaddeus sat back on the couch, looking relaxed. “It’s a powerful tool, controlling the elements. Or I guess you could say having no control of the elements. You should hear the weather man. It’s hilarious. Unexplained flooding, cold front moving through in July, a twister in December.” Thaddeus chuckled. “Anytime he gets overly excited or angry, the weather changes. The news is blaming it on Mother Nature and global warming, when really it’s an out-of-control six year old. Dad doesn’t know what to do with him. None of his normal tricks are working.”

Keegan felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Her baby brother was growing up, and she was missing it all. “I wish I were there to witness it. I’ll have to come visit soon.”

“You really should. They all miss you.” He paused for a beat. “The house is so quiet now. I almost even miss your horrible singing.”

Keegan’s eyes widened in mock surprise, and she held her hand to her chest. “Really?” She belted out a couple of lines from her favorite song, and Thaddeus glared at her.

“Okay, maybe I wouldn’t go that far.”

Keegan nudged his shoulder. “We should sing a duet.”

“That will
never
happen.”

“Pizza.” Thaddeus jumped to his feet seconds before the doorbell chimed.

Having Thaddeus visit helped get her mind off how much she missed Rourk. Just thinking his name brought the pain back to the surface. He’d only been gone two weeks, and it already felt like a lifetime.

Keegan looked up and noticed her brothers face looked paler than usual. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I kinda did.” He set the pizza down on the table and dropped into the chair.

“Wh—“ Keegan stopped herself once it hit her what her brother meant. “Did you tell him?”

He shook his head no. “I know you think I’m a horrible person, but you don’t understand. Move one piece of the puzzle and you never know what you will change. What can be set in motion. Gods, why did I have to be born with this hell?” He dropped his head into his hands.

Keegan was momentarily stunned into silence. Thaddeus never let his emotions show. He was the master at keeping his face still. It was strange to see his walls collapse before her eyes. “I don’t think you’re horrible at all.”

She sat in the seat next to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. You can’t save everyone.”

“I know that.” He snapped.

“What’s his fate?” Keegan asked, not meeting his eyes.

“I shouldn’t even be talking to you about this.” Thaddeus grumbled.

Keegan sat back in the chair. She could clearly see the anguish in his face. She couldn’t imagine living with that every single day of her life. “I understand. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Slowly, he lifted his head. “Gun shot to the chest. He’s going to deliver a pizza to a party…It’s an accident. But if I told him not to deliver to that address, not only would he think I was crazy and probably call the cops, but someone else could get sent in his place to deliver. Someone whose time isn’t up.” 

Unconsciously, Keegan pulled on the hem of her dress, and said softly. “Life is as long or as short as it needs to be.”

Thaddeus looked down at his hands. “It’s not always easy to remember that.” He leaned across the table and flipped the pizza box open. “Especially, when it happens to someone you care about.”

Was she reading more into his words then he meant? Maybe he was referring to the time when Keegan’s life had been in the balance. Keegan pushed the thought aside and thought about the boy who would lose his life and the family that would grieve for him. And then her thoughts shifted back to her own family.

“I worry about Nanny. She’s getting older and seems tired when we talk.” Keegan said sadly.

“She’ll be around for a while.”

She turned in surprise. Her brother had never been so open with her before, and it was making her nervous. “Why are you telling me?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought you might find comfort in it. Call her more often, enjoy the time you have with loved ones. Corny, I know. I guess just seeing that young kid and knowing his life is going to come to an end tonight made me sentimental.” He pulled another slice of pizza and plopped it on the plate.

CHAPTER 5   

Keegan shuffled into the kitchen the next morning, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The dreary Seattle weather made it nearly impossible to crawl out of bed in the morning. The steady rhythm of rain drumming on the roof was made for staying in bed, but the wonderful aroma of coffee made getting out of bed bearable.

Mornings made her miss Rourk the most. He’d always come home from his morning workout in time to wake her with breakfast, and they would usually stay wrapped in each other’s arms until he had to go back to work. A flush rose to her face at the memories. Because they were separated so often, when they were together, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Last night they had chatted for a while before she went to bed. As far as she was concerned, time could not pass nearly quickly enough. She wanted him back by her side. Her heart literally ached for him. She ran her hand along the cool stones encircling her neck.

In the morning, Rourk would be going on a mission into the mountains, which meant she probably wouldn’t hear from him for days. She was grateful to have her brother to keep her company. It was nerve-wracking for her when she couldn’t talk to him.

Thaddeus was already wide awake, sitting in the living room flipping through channels. Athen's head resting on his leg. The fire place crackled, and Keegan pushed her sadness aside. She wanted to make the best of her brother’s visit. Who knew how long it would be before they saw each other again?

Making her way to the cabinet, Keegan pulled out a mug and filled it with coffee, sugar, and milk.

Keegan yawned and turned towards the living room. “Do you want another cup?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Thaddeus replied.

She grabbed a bagel, and rested her hip against the counter as she waited for it to heat up. Then she slathered it with peanut butter before she made her way into the living room.

“Hey.” She dropped onto the couch and laid her head against his shoulder, wrapping her hands around the warm mug. He stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed. Surprisingly, he didn’t push her away. The older they got, the easier it seemed for them to get along.

“Anything you want to do today?” Keegan asked as she propped her feet on the coffee table, and took a sip of her steaming coffee.

“I’d like to see Tommy at some point.”

“And Anna.”

“Sure, and Anna.”

Thaddeus would never admit it, but he and Anna had formed a bond working together to get Keegan’s bond back with Rourk after the dark magick had severed it. He probably wanted to see Anna, but was using Tommy as a cover.

“What did you want to see Tommy about?”

“Nothing that concerns you. Just guy stuff.”

“Do you want me to invite them over, or should we meet them somewhere to eat?”

“I hate your cooking, so we’ll go out to eat.”

Keegan rolled her eyes. “That’s fine by me. We can meet them at Java Diner— it’s nearby. Best hash browns in town.”

“I need to talk to Tommy alone. It’s personal. So you’re going to have to keep Anna busy so she doesn’t tag along.”

“Everything okay with them?”