Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

Sarah informed Kate when she frowned. “You must have seen him a few times. He doesn’t ever say much, but he looks lethal. He came to Sea Haven with Jonas when he returned from the Army.”
    “Jackson’s a good man too,” Matt said.
    Kate hadn’t met the deputy because she hadn’t been back long, and she tended to wrap herself up in the cocoon of her own world. “I take it Jackson isn’t from here original y.”
    “No, but he often came to Sea Haven on leave with us. He had no family and nowhere else to go when he left the service, so we asked him to come back with us. This town is friendly and tolerant, and Jackson needs tolerance. He’s family to us. As for Jonas, you have to understand him. I saw him go in under heavy fire to drag a wounded man out of a battle zone. He carried that man for miles on his back. And Jackson…” He broke off, shaking his head. “I know Jonas watches over you al .”
    “Like a hawk,” Sarah interjected dryly.
    Matt shrugged. “Maybe it’s because he real y cares about al of you.”

    “Don’t worry about our relationship with Jonas,” Kate said. “We al love him dearly, even when we want to conjure up a spel to turn him into a toad.”
    Matt cleared his throat, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and sat back in his chair. “Can you real y do that?”
    Kate exchanged a mischievous grin with Sarah. “You never know about the Drake sisters. Real y, Matthew, Jonas is intertwined deeply with our family. He always seems to know when something is wrong. He’s sensitive to things not seen with the human eye.”
    Sarah leaned toward Matt. “You felt it last night, didn’t you, when you were in the fog with Kate, and we joined with her? You knew something was wrong.”
    Matt sighed. “I don’t know what happened last night, but I sure as hel don’t want Kate facing anything like that again.” His gray eyes smoldered with something dangerous as he looked at Kate. “I didn’t like the way the fog seemed to be attacking you.”
    Sarah gasped. “What do you mean attacking her?”
    “Nothing came at me,” Kate denied hastily. “Real y, Sarah, it was just throwing Christmas decorations around and Matthew was actual y hit a few times. I was never touched.”
    Sarah looked at Matt steadily. “Why did you think it was after Kate?”
    “I stepped in front of her to protect her. The wreaths were thrown, but not very hard in the beginning, yet when Katie began to talk to it, whatever it is, the Christmas wreaths were thrown much more forceful y and with greater accuracy.”
    “Were you hurt?” Kate looked suddenly anxious, coming up on her knees on the bed to look at him. “Libby’s the best at healing, but Sarah….”
    “I’m fine,” Matt said, but wished he didn’t have to admit it. She looked incredibly beautiful leaning toward him with her hair tousled and her eyes enormous with concern for him.
    “Kate—” Abbey stuck her head in the room—“Gina over at the preschool says something’s wrong, and she needs you. I could hear the children crying in the background. I told her you weren’t wel , but she said it was an emergency. She said she needed your help. I’l go if I absolutely have to go.”
    Abbey was clearly apprehensive about going in Kate’s place. Matt looked at Sarah. “What does Kate have to do with the preschool?”
    “Haven’t you noticed Kate has a gift for calming people with her voice? She’s able to bring peace to even the most distressed person or situation,” Sarah answered.
    “Is that what your lives are like? People need you, and it doesn’t matter if you’re tired or not, you just go to them.”
    “We were born with certain gifts, Matt,” Kate said. “We’ve always known we were meant to serve others. Yes, it isn’t always easy, and al of us have to have ways of protecting ourselves but when we can help, we have to go.”
    “How do they know to cal you?”
    Sarah smiled. “You were older than us, Matthew, ahead of us in school, so you real y weren’t around when our talents began to develop. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, but you didn’t witness what we could do the way other people in town did. Jonas has always connected with us in some way, so it was easy enough for him to believe.”
    “Kate?” Abbey prompted.
    “I’l go. Give me a few minutes to shower and have a cup of tea.”
    Matt fol owed her to the bathroom door. “I don’t like this, Kate. You look fragile to me. I think Sarah’s right. You