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We had every intention of being out for most of the day. Jemmy was still reeling from her news, but she still managed to do her research and found a city an hour west of us that had a lot of retail shops and a huge three-story mall. It looked like we would be able to find everything we were looking for.
The guys had a list of things we needed for the rucksacks. Terrance and Marcel were being secretive in their preparations. They already warned us that they weren’t going to take it easy on us, and I didn’t expect them to. I was actually getting excited, myself. I hadn’t used my gifts, except for yesterday, in weeks.
After breakfast, we all loaded up into the three Tahoe’s to take all eighteen of us and took the hour drive into the city.
“It’s amazing. I didn’t realize how cut off we are until we came here,” I said as I watched the tall buildings pass us.
Troy draped his arm behind my seat and kissed my cheek. “I miss the city.”
Troy was originally from New York City and made it known to me, before, that his goal was to live in the city once more. He wanted a penthouse. He thrived in the hustle and bustle of city living.
“We should find a Koreatown. I miss Sue’s cooking,” Rachel stated.
Sue was the housekeeper and family friend we had. She had cleaned the house for us and sometimes treated us to her amazing Korean cooking. I had experienced Chinese food and sushi when on daddy-daughter dates with my dad—whom I later found out was my uncle—before meeting my connections. After experiencing Korean food, I believed an Asian child lived within me, because I loved everything Asian.
“I miss Sue,” Ella piped up from the back.
“Dad got her a job with another family, but I hear she misses us too,” Jaxson tried to sound buoyant as he looked back at Ella.
“Koreatown is five blocks from this shopping center,” Jemmy said cheerfully.
That was enough to get everyone out of the funk that we had been in. We all missed Sue.
****
“Seriously, $180 for a set of sheets?” I gaped at the price tag on the shelf.
Jace shrugged. “That’s what we slept on at home.”
“Well, I did like our sheets at home,” I said a bit reluctantly as I added some additional sets into the cart for Will, Beth, Sierra, Gavin, and Cora.
Jace came up behind me and kissed the side of my neck. “Are you going to share my sheets with me tonight?” he asked as goosebumps erupted on my skin.
“Mmm,” I groaned. “I’ll think about it. I slept with you last night, and I don’t want the guys to think I’m playing favorites.”
“We need to get some time alone…soon,” he growled in my ear.
“I agree,” I giggled. “Now cut that out so I don’t try to jump your bones in the middle of this store.”
Jace chuckled as Ella came over with a purple and yellow quilt, complete with butterflies and flowers. “What’s jump your bones?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly flushing red.
Jace barely contained his laughter as he looked over at Ella. “Did you want that, poppet?”
Ella rolled her eyes at us and held it out to him. “Is forty dollars too much?”
Even though we hadn’t had to worry about food in a while, she still asked about prices, and sometimes I found hoarded food in her room. She remembered what it was like to be hungry, and she always worried we might have to go without again, even though there was no indication of it being a possibility.
“Put it in the cart, squirt, and let’s get you some sheets to go with it,” Jace swooped her up and ran with her back down the aisle.
She admitted a high pitch giggle. She never had any positive male role models in her life. Our dad had died before she’d even met him. Heidi was too selfish to bring any decent men into our life. Now she was surrounded by them, and it warmed my heart seeing how good Will and all my guys were with her and the other children.
It wasn’t like they were acting to impress me, nor was it ever forced. They all equally paid attention to them. Whether it was to read them a bedtime story or play a game with them. Remy took Micah to the gym with him almost every day because my tall and skinny brother wanted to bulk up. Alex idolized Jaxson, so he was often his shadow, and Jaxson never lost his patience with him.
Micah and Patrick were looking at bed in a bag sets on the opposite side of where I was standing. I could see Micah was struggling with the shopping excursion as well. He had been living on the streets for the last five years. I could see him mentally thinking about all the other things he could purchase with that amount of money. I still did that, and I never experienced living in a box or under a bridge as he had.
You don’t have to worry about that anymore, get whatever you like, I told him gently. I communicated with him using my gift of compulsion. If I had spoken the words out loud, I knew I would have embarrassed him.
