Beginning of my 4th book in a series

 
    Evan stood staring out his bedroom window at the manor of which he was now the owner.  He had been through a lot in the last month or so.  As if dealing with Gibson Hart’s convoluted will wasn’t enough, Evan had found his own three younger sisters. 
    Megan, a corporate executive, had made her way to Merlin from New York when Evan had called her to tell her that Gibson had named her as an heir in his will.  Maya, who had travelled here from a little hick town in Louisiana, after being raised by a Wiccan witch who had looked something like a voodoo queen.  And then there was Emily.  Emily whom was still Evan’s paralegal, and with whom Evan had been in love with for years.  That is, until he had realized that the two of them were related. 
    Evan shook his head in disgust.  The whole damn case was…frustrating.  How could anyone be expected to pull so many people together and force a screwed-up will, such as this one, to work?  Evan just didn’t think it was possible. 
Ticking off his fingers, one at a time, Evan began to review the recent events that Gibson Hart’s will had forced to occur.  First, the girls, his sisters, had all shown up in town.  Evan shook his head recalling the events leading up to Megan and Maya’s arrivals. 
    Flipping out another finger, Evan counted the bombing that landed his sister, Maya, in the hospital in the first place---and eventually led to the discovery of the triplets.  Not only that, but all three girls share the same medical diagnosis:  Graves’ disease. 
    Fast forwarding through the events, Evan ticked off the night that Jake and Megan visited Gibson Hart’s ranch.  And then they barely made it out alive after taking some items--namely the letter, and the sapphire, ruby and emerald necklaces. 
    Next was the comparison of the girls’ backgrounds.  It amazed Evan how similar they were.  Two of the three had been in foster care.  Only Emily had had anything that resembled a normal life.  But, she had also lived with a family that was not really hers, either.
    All of the girls had had weird dreams.  About a bow-legged cowboy watching them, Evan mused.  Somehow the jewelry tied into the dreams, too.  The same necklaces that Jake and Megan had taken…One made of sapphires, one of rubies and one of emeralds, all laced with diamonds around the edges.  And, all three girls had strange dreams about their best friends, all of whom had been murdered. 
    Still ticking things off on his fingers, Evan did not forget to count his poisoning.  And the recent sudden, shocking deaths of Alaina, and Edgar, his great-aunt and great-uncle could not be forgotten either.  Of course there was more, but what else could possibly happen? 
    Evan shook his head.  He didn’t want to open up that possibility.



    Dominic had been having a hard time sleeping lately.  It was nearly All Hallow’s Eve, and with less than two weeks to go, he and Evan had a shit-load of problems to solve yet.  Dom stood looking out of Evan’s office window, thinking.  Evan had inherited billions of dollars, not to mention an impressive royal title.  It was a royal title that outranked all others in the world.  And Dominic was now in charge of managing everything for him.  He sighed.
      Stepping away from the window, Dominic ran his hand over the days’ stubble on his face.  He hadn’t bothered to shave in a few days.  And he was thinking about not doing so for a while yet, either.  That, Dominic imagined, would depend on what would happen later on.  He sighed. 
      Pulling his thoughts together, Dominic decided he’d better get his act together if anything was going to get accomplished anytime soon.  Deciding that the first order of business was food, Dominic called down to Hannah. After he had asked for his breakfast to be sent up to his room in the manor, Dom decided to take a shower, too.   
    I think it’s time to drop in on Em…I haven’t seen her for a day or two.
    Dom smiled to himself.  Just thinking of Emily made him feel good all over.  He’d never felt like this before about anyone…while he was afraid to admit he was in love with Emily, he thought perhaps he really might be.  Dominic shook his head.  No time to think about that right now.  It was time to focus on the matter at hand…and that wasn’t love…
    Shaking his head, Dominic began to clear his head, and concentrate.  The pile of papers on the desk behind him weren’t going to magically disappear.  No matter how hard he wished they would.
    Heading for the shower, Dominic decided he would clear his mind of all thoughts in there so that he would be able to think more clearly when he was done.  Striding quickly into the massive, elegant bathroom adjoining Evan’s office, Dominic stripped down and walked over to the huge marble shower.  Turning on the shower he smiled to himself, taking note of the multiple jets of water that came spraying out of the walls at different angles. 
    As the water pulsated out of the walls, and all over his body, Dominic felt the tension begin to slide right out of him.  Closing his eyes, Dominic imagined Emily standing next to him, holding him.  That thought did not displease Dominic at all—and made him wonder what it would be like to wake up next to her every day.  Taking the loofah in his hand, and automatically scrubbing, Dominic pondered.
    There’s that love thing again.  If I’m thinking about her—waking up beside her every day, is that because I’m lusting after her, or because I’m in love with her?
    Aimlessly scrubbing, Dominic managed to scrub most of his body when he suddenly realized that he hadn’t been scrubbing his body.  There was another pair of hands there, with his, on the loofah.  Female hands.  Shocked, he turned around quickly.  And found nothing.
    Confused, Dominic scrubbed his face with the loofah, hard to try bring himself back to reality.
    What the hell?  Please don’t tell me that this shit is starting up again already.  I was so hoping for a break from it for a while.
    Sighing, Dominic rinsed off, and shut off the jets.  Opening up the doors, he stepped out onto the heated marble floor, and pulled a huge Egyptian cotton towel around him.  Pleased that it was still warm from the heated bar, he tucked it around his waist, and grabbed another to towel off his head.

    Picking up a pair of sweats and a tee shirt that he’d left in the armoire a few days before just for this specific purpose, Dominic dressed quickly.  He knew there was a lot to be done, and he had no intention of letting Evan down.  Combing his fingers through his hair, Dominic slipped on a pair of warm slippers, a fuzzy robe, and walked back down the hall to the office.
    Opening the office door, Dominic found his breakfast ready and waiting for him, along with a huge pot of coffee.  Pleased, he poured himself a cup.  Sitting down for a few moments, Dominic gathered his thoughts as he plowed through the food.  Fifteen minutes later, totally satisfied, Dominic picked up the phone, and rang the kitchen to thank Hannah for the wonderful breakfast.  Putting down the phone, he stood up, stretched and walked across the room.
    Standing behind the massive hand-carved desk, Dominic pulled out the majestic leather chair, and slid into it.  Picking up his favorite pen, he began to make a list on a fresh legal pad.  Taking his time, Dominic probably spent about a good half hour making out his list.  Finally satisfied that the list was done to his satisfaction, Dominic pushed back from the desk and sighed.  Stretching, he looked up, and turned his head to gaze out the window.
    That’s odd.  When did it suddenly get to be so dark?  I didn’t think I’d lost track of time so badly.  I must have, though. 
    Looking over at the clock on the wall, Dominic realized that he wasn’t confused, but that something was up again.  He’d come in here at almost noon.  Knowing that he’d been working for less than an hour or so, something was wrong.  Dominic also knew the weather forecast was supposed to be for the high eighties today, and sunny.  Pursing his lips, he picked up his cell phone and dialed.
    “Adele?  Yeah.  It’s Dominic.  Yeah.  Something’s up, I think.  Yeah.  I know.  I mean, have you looked outside lately?”
Suddenly, the roof came off of Evan’s office.

    Adele couldn’t hear a thing at first, but a very loud whoosh, and very nearly felt as if her ear was going to be blown out.  Holding her cell phone away from her ear at a full arm’s length, she used her other hand to open up a window to look for Dominic.  She knew where he had been.
    Brian and Coen stood immediately beside her, looking at the scene, totally dumbfounded.  Suddenly, they disappeared.
    “Dominic, talk to me, will you?  Are you all right?  Dominic, answer me dammit.”  Adele decided to try the normal route first.  “C’mon, Dominic.  Answer me so that I know you’re all right, and I don’t have to do anything stupid to come save your ass, and embarrass you.”
    Tapping her foot, waiting impatiently, Adele could not stand the noise coming from the phone.  Looking intently at the window that she’d magically opened, Adele knew other forces were back at work again. 
    “Dammit all, why can’t you just fucking stay away, Elena?  I had so hoped you had actually really died this time.”

    As Evan walked into the room, he heard Adele say the words out loud—and watched her double over in pain, as if she’d been punched hard in the gut.  Running to her, Evan picked Adele up.  As he did, she calmed down, and seemed to perk up.
    “Are you all right?”  Evan cradled Adele in his arms gently.  “You looked as if you took a pretty nasty hit just a second ago.”
    Adele tried not to choke.
    “Mmm.  I did.  That was your mother, trying to pay me back for my comment.”
    “I thought she was dead.”
    “Well, so did the rest of us, but evidently not.”
    “How do you know it was her, Adele?”  Evan’s eyes skewered Adele’s.
    “How do I explain this?”  Adele pursed her lips momentarily as she searched for the right words.  “Mmm.  OK.  Each person, each witch or wizard or magical being has their own stamp to their power.  Elena’s is very distinct, and cannot be duplicated by anyone.  Does that make any kind of sense to you?”

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