Gifted Connections 3

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It felt weird packing without any of the uniforms I had become accustomed to wearing. For once, I wished we had time to go shopping for ski appropriate weather. The guys already reassured me that the ski resort had shops attached to it. It was two miles away from the cabin campground but still convenient.

“I don’t know,” I said sympathetically. “We’re going to work really hard to get our Grandma as quickly as possible.”

“And your mom,” Ella added. “She’s really good at hiding,” she said glumly.

I paused as my mind added things up. “Is that her gift?”

Ella nodded. “She can hide a lot of things. Herself. The people around her. The house she’s staying in.”

I frowned. If she could…cloak, why wouldn’t she have cloaked herself out of the situations she had been in before? If she knew CPS was on the way to take me, why wouldn’t she have cloaked us?

“Can I see the pictures you’ve been drawn pertaining to this mission?” I asked.

“She already gave them to Megan and Will,” Alex explained as he came into the room eating some of the cookies Drake had made. “Why does Kade get to go but we can’t? What happens if you’re not home in time for Christmas? This is our first Christmas together as a family.”

I knelt down and hugged him. “Pops says Kade is old enough to make the decision, and he’s caught up on all his school work and then some. You guys still need the one on one teaching and you can’t miss that much school. I’m going to try really hard to come back in time. I was really looking forward to it, too!”

“Why do you even need to get them? They never wanted us,” Alex said morosely.

“Ms. Cornwall might have information we don’t want getting into the wrong hands,” I explained to them.

“It’s so stupid,” Ella muttered as she flopped down on her back dramatically.

“Ella, Alex, the ice cream sandwiches are done,” Jaxson came into the room with one in his hands.

That seemed to snapped them out of their moods somewhat as they stood up and ran out of the room.

“Almost ready?” Jaxson asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and held his ice cream sandwich out to me.

I took a bite of the homemade ice cream sandwich and moaned. “Just about. That is amazing.” I threw the rest of my stuff in the bag and took his hand. “Let’s go. I need one too.”

Jaxson chuckled. “The movie’s in and we’re ready to start it when you are.”

I walked out into the living room and was surprised to see the couches pushed back and air mattresses blown up. Most of the guys were already on the air mattresses. I grabbed my ice cream sandwich from Drake and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Then I went into the living room and climbed in between Remy and Noah.

“Are we ready?” Jace asked as he picked up the remote. Ella was curled into him, playing with the drawstring of his hoodie.

“Yes,” I said enthusiastically.

We decided to have a movie night with just my siblings tonight. They had all taken the news of us leaving with Kade pretty hard. Micah still had a sullen expression on his face. They all wanted to go but we didn’t think it was wise to take all four of them. I still had my reservations with taking Kade, but Pops and Megan thought there was no harm with us accompanying them.

“The boys got to pick,” Ella said in exasperation. “I wanted to watch Moana.”

“You got to pick last time,” I gently reminded her.

The movie started, and I snuggled in closer to Remy as he draped an arm around my middle. I reached out to link my hand with Noah. This was exactly what I needed after the bombshell that had been dropped on me tonight.

Will had to bring in some of his own personal vehicles to the base for our use. They didn’t want to leave those remaining with no means of transport if they needed it for another mission or for their down time.

Remy pulled up in my jeep, and I gaped at it.

“We’re taking it?” I asked in barely concealed excitement. I had been tense all morning, and I hated the thought of not being able to see my siblings for Christmas. It didn’t help that Micah, Alex, and Ella were withdrawn and upset.

“Might as well start learning. We’ll have your license by January,” Remy gave me a lopsided grin as he got out of the jeep. He handed me the keys and a driver’s ed manual.

I slipped the manual into my laptop bag and went to put my bags in trunk. The trunk wasn’t the most spacious but it was enough to fit my bags and Remy’s.