then proceeded to pile food into his mouth.
“And, you’ve already met Malachi. He’s my very favorite.” She whispered the last part, and smiled at him with a huge, cheesy smile. Malachi narrowed his eyes and huffed. “The only ones missing are Kade and James. James is the oldest and the one that usually takes your aunt on her errands. And, you’ve obviously met Kade.”
“Oh…yes,” I said, quickly digging in to my plate.
The odd thing about all of them – they looked totally different but seemed so similar. Similar, but I couldn’t really put my finger on how. Maybe it was because they were all beautiful and perfect. Or seemingly perfect – at least on the outside.
The pancakes were perfect too, light and fluffy, and had chocolate chips melted through each bite. It tasted like an extra soft chocolate chip cookie, but it was super rich with the syrup and butter soaked into it. After a few bites I had my sugar-high for the rest of the day.
“Orange juice?” Courtney asked while holding a pitcher over my glass.
“No thanks. I’ll just have water,” I said. I couldn’t put another sugary thing into my mouth.
Malachi jumped from his seat, and returned a few seconds later with a bottle of water. He unscrewed the top, and set it in front of me. Wow! These guys were well mannered. Must be an Alaska thing. Most boys I knew wouldn’t budge.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. He returned a quick smile, then sat and scraped the remainders on his plate into his mouth.
“Good morning everyone,” Henry said, stepping into the room.
“Morning Henry,” they all answered.
Henry rounded the corner, holding an envelope in his hand. He walked directly to me and bent down. Everybody stopped and became silent again, staring.
“Good morning Emma.” he spoke softly, in his awesome English accent.
“Good morning Henry.”
“Alaine wanted me to give this to you,” he said as he handed me the envelope.
I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Should I wait until I was alone, or should I just open it? What if it was private? If it was private, then Henry would probably have told me. I decided to open it, so I lifted the flap, pulled out the letter and began to read.
………………
Dearest Emma,
I am so sorry that I cannot be with you this morning. There was an emergency at the medical center and they needed my assistance. I will be back at around three, and we will talk then. Until then, please don’t wander off the property.
With love,
Alaine
………………
“Who’s that from?” Courtney pried.
“My aunt. She had to leave, but she’ll be back around three.”
“Oh goody! That means I get to show you around the place. You know… the grand tour,” she said with enthusiasm, shoveling her last piece of pancake into her mouth.
“Yeah, that’ll be cool.” I tried to seem thrilled, but it just seemed like everything that had to do with my new life, was on hold. It was frustrating, and now I had a bunch of hours to kill before I’d get my answers. Well… at least I had Courtney to keep me busy. I’m sure she had a list of things to do.
I instantly felt dizzy and that familiar feeling of euphoria slammed me. I reached for my water bottle, suddenly feeling hot and flustered, and fidgeted in my seat. I took a sip, a deep breath, and tried to calm my nerves. Malachi shot me a strange look just as a side door swung open.
“Good morning!” Kade smiled as he entered the room. He had a sparkle in his eye and a bounce in his step. Seeing his face made every butterfly in my stomach dance with happiness. Malachi glanced at him and then back to me with an inquisitive, yet unpleasant look in his eyes.
He must have sensed something between us, because he was with us all day yesterday and saw how flustered I became whenever Kade and I became too close. I’d have to learn to hide my emotions a whole lot better, because right now…I was wearing them all over my sleeve. It was pretty embarrassing,
“And, you’ve already met Malachi. He’s my very favorite.” She whispered the last part, and smiled at him with a huge, cheesy smile. Malachi narrowed his eyes and huffed. “The only ones missing are Kade and James. James is the oldest and the one that usually takes your aunt on her errands. And, you’ve obviously met Kade.”
“Oh…yes,” I said, quickly digging in to my plate.
The odd thing about all of them – they looked totally different but seemed so similar. Similar, but I couldn’t really put my finger on how. Maybe it was because they were all beautiful and perfect. Or seemingly perfect – at least on the outside.
The pancakes were perfect too, light and fluffy, and had chocolate chips melted through each bite. It tasted like an extra soft chocolate chip cookie, but it was super rich with the syrup and butter soaked into it. After a few bites I had my sugar-high for the rest of the day.
“Orange juice?” Courtney asked while holding a pitcher over my glass.
“No thanks. I’ll just have water,” I said. I couldn’t put another sugary thing into my mouth.
Malachi jumped from his seat, and returned a few seconds later with a bottle of water. He unscrewed the top, and set it in front of me. Wow! These guys were well mannered. Must be an Alaska thing. Most boys I knew wouldn’t budge.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. He returned a quick smile, then sat and scraped the remainders on his plate into his mouth.
“Good morning everyone,” Henry said, stepping into the room.
“Morning Henry,” they all answered.
Henry rounded the corner, holding an envelope in his hand. He walked directly to me and bent down. Everybody stopped and became silent again, staring.
“Good morning Emma.” he spoke softly, in his awesome English accent.
“Good morning Henry.”
“Alaine wanted me to give this to you,” he said as he handed me the envelope.
I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Should I wait until I was alone, or should I just open it? What if it was private? If it was private, then Henry would probably have told me. I decided to open it, so I lifted the flap, pulled out the letter and began to read.
………………
Dearest Emma,
I am so sorry that I cannot be with you this morning. There was an emergency at the medical center and they needed my assistance. I will be back at around three, and we will talk then. Until then, please don’t wander off the property.
With love,
Alaine
………………
“Who’s that from?” Courtney pried.
“My aunt. She had to leave, but she’ll be back around three.”
“Oh goody! That means I get to show you around the place. You know… the grand tour,” she said with enthusiasm, shoveling her last piece of pancake into her mouth.
“Yeah, that’ll be cool.” I tried to seem thrilled, but it just seemed like everything that had to do with my new life, was on hold. It was frustrating, and now I had a bunch of hours to kill before I’d get my answers. Well… at least I had Courtney to keep me busy. I’m sure she had a list of things to do.
I instantly felt dizzy and that familiar feeling of euphoria slammed me. I reached for my water bottle, suddenly feeling hot and flustered, and fidgeted in my seat. I took a sip, a deep breath, and tried to calm my nerves. Malachi shot me a strange look just as a side door swung open.
“Good morning!” Kade smiled as he entered the room. He had a sparkle in his eye and a bounce in his step. Seeing his face made every butterfly in my stomach dance with happiness. Malachi glanced at him and then back to me with an inquisitive, yet unpleasant look in his eyes.
He must have sensed something between us, because he was with us all day yesterday and saw how flustered I became whenever Kade and I became too close. I’d have to learn to hide my emotions a whole lot better, because right now…I was wearing them all over my sleeve. It was pretty embarrassing,
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