Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

You can’t be near us and not have us feel it.”
    Abigail shook her head. “I did something so stupid. So wrong. I don’t know how to tell you. I used my gift in a way that I shouldn’t have and a man died. He didn’t deserve to die, but he did. I’ve always known I couldn’t wield what was given to me. It was always more than I could handle. I blurted things out in school and kids were hurt by it. Teens got in trouble, and even last Christmas look what happened.
    I knew better than to use it, but I wanted to please him. I wanted to be so much more in his eyes.” She covered her face with her hands.
    Carol slipped her arm around Abigail. “You aren’t the first Drake to be overwhelmed with the power we wield. It’s such a terrible responsibility. Have you read the prophecy? Really read it? I think each of you girls should. It was written several hundred years ago and serves as both a warning and a foretelling.”
    Hannah waved her hands and candles leapt to life throughout the downstairs, flickering and dancing.
    Scents wafted through the house, mingling together to provide a semblance of peace. In the kitchen the teakettle whistled merrily. Hannah jumped up, her tall, elegant body encased in pencil thin blue jeans and an oversized white silk shirt. “I’ll make you a cup of tea, Abbey, something soothing.”
    “Thanks, Hannah,” Abigail replied, managing a smile. Next to Libby, Hannah and Elle were the most empathic of the sisters.
    “I think we all avoided reading the prophecy too closely when we made the pact to stay independent,”
    Sarah explained. “I was fifteen at the time and we all thought getting married meant being under a man’s thumb. We were watching all our friends in school turn silly and giggle and basically act like idiots and none of us wanted to be like that so we swore off relationships.”
    “Not just being under his thumb,” Kate clarified, “but making fools of ourselves. We felt our friends were changing who they were and what they believed in just to have a boy like them. And we grew up with the boys—they just weren’t all that attractive as boyfriends to us.”
    Carol fluffed her hair and winked at Abigail. “I should have taken you girls in hand a long time ago.

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    Being a woman is just plain fun, and flirting is half the fun. And it shouldn’t have prevented you from studying the prophecy. I have a few things to say to your mother when I see her.”
    “We read the part about the gate swinging open in welcome and so we padlocked the gate and put the prophecy in with the journals,” Kate admitted. “And we didn’t say a single word to Mom about our pact.
    She was pushing us to learn the language in some of the journals and that was so annoying.”
    “At the time,” Sarah qualified. “Since then, we’ve learned a few hard lessons about why we should have listened to her.”
    Hannah returned with the cup of tea. “This will help, Abbey. I worked on the combination of herbs and I think it really relaxes and helps soothe.” She pushed the teacup into Abigail’s hands.
    Abigail forced a faint smile as she looked up at her sister. If there were favorites within a family, Hannah would be everyone’s. Abigail felt closest to her and she was fairly certain her other sisters felt the same way. It wasn’t that Hannah was saintly, not by any means; Hannah had a definite mischievous streak, but she was so compassionate and caring. And her painful shyness made it necessary for them all to stay connected to her in order to allow Hannah the freedom of a career. No one had thought when she’d first taken a modeling job that she would soar to the top and become such a success, but they were all proud of her, especially knowing what it took for Hannah to appear in public. “Thank you, Hannah, even the aroma is soothing.”
    Carol glanced at her watch with a small frown. “I’m going to have to cancel my meeting so we can finish this talk.”
    “What meeting?” Sarah asked curiously. Carol hadn’t been back in Sea Haven more than a day.
    “I belong to the Red Hat Club, dear, and we’re having a bit of fun today. I was so pleased that they had a chapter here in Sea Haven. It will give me a chance to reestablish old friendships. I want to get to know all the ladies in town again. We can wear our red hats and purple shirts and walk barefoot on the beach.
    Inez Nelson is very involved and