Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

such a terrible burden, Elle.”
    “We all do,” Sarah said. “We need to have more compassion for one another. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never given any thought to how Elle must feel knowing things about us we don’t want known.” She looked at her youngest sister. “It must make you feel different and alone, just as Abigail does with her gift. And Libby. Everyone wants something from Libby everywhere she goes. There’s no respite, not even here when our home should be a refuge.”
    “Each of us has to be careful with our magic,” Kate said. “And Abbey, all of us have made mistakes.
    We can’t be perfect, no matter how hard we try.” She flashed a brief smile at Hannah and Joley. “Some of us don’t even want to try.”
    Joley gave a small salute. “Way to go, sister!” She held up her palm for Hannah to high-five.
    “That would be us,” Hannah agreed.
    Sarah tapped Hannah’s foot. “Keep it up, smart one—Mom and Dad are coming home for the wedding and they might have a few things to say to you.”
    “No one would dare rat me out,” Hannah said complacently.
    “Just so you know, Hannah, and everyone else who might have retaliation and vengeance on their mind,”
    Joley said, “the house let Aleksandr in the other night.”
    A collective gasp went up and the sisters all stared at Abigail. She covered her face. “I know. I know.
    Something had to have gone wrong. We didn’t work the spell right and it failed.” She lifted her face. “I had the doors to my balcony wide open, maybe that was the problem.”
    “Oh, Abbey,” Hannah said, “I’m so sorry.”
    “It just can’t be him. I don’t care what the prophecy says and I don’t care whether the house let him in or not. I don’t want to see him or speak to him or have anything whatsoever to do with him,” Abigail declared.

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    “Oh, no,” Sarah said. She glanced at the phone and made a face.
    As if on cue, the phone rang.
    “Don’t answer it,” Abigail said. She looked at Sarah. “It’s him, isn’t it? It’s Aleksandr.”
    Sarah nodded.
    “Let it ring,” Abigail instructed.
    “I don’t mind telling him to go fry himself,” Hannah volunteered. “And I could over the phone.”
    “Hannah,” Sarah warned. “You wouldn’t want to do anything you would regret. Abbey, answer the phone.”
    Abigail would have refused had it been any other than Sarah, or Elle, but both had the gift of “sight” at times. She picked it up. “What do you want?”
    “Nice to hear your voice too. Meet me in half an hour at McKerricher Park.”
    “I’m not going to meet you anywhere, Sasha.”
    Aleksandr sighed. “Do we have to do this every time? I don’t have time to argue with you. Meet me there in half an hour. We’re going kayaking, so dress appropriately. The weatherman is predicting four-foot swells so we might get lucky and be able to investigate along the coast for caves the smugglers may be using. They had to have hidden their boat somewhere and I’m going to find out where.”
    “I’m not going.”
    “You know the coastline better than anyone. I can’t go alone, Abbey, and you know it. This has to be done.”
    “Take Jonas or Jackson, his deputy. They both know the coastline. Or better yet, call the coast guard.
    They’ll help you out.“ Abigail rubbed at her throbbing temple. Why was it every time she heard his voice she lost her resolve?
    “Abbey, we’ve already wasted too much time. If we don’t go now, the ocean could be too rough tomorrow. I’ve got a car already waiting at the harbor so we can kayak along the coastline at least as far as Noyo. You don’t want me to go alone. It’s dangerous and I could get lost. I’ve picked up a couple of ocean kayaks and if we leave now the ocean is relatively calm and we can get this done.”
    “I really detest you, Sasha. You know darn well you aren’t going to get lost following the coastline.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ll be there in forty minutes. And next time don’t call me.”
    “Fine, I’ll just pick you up next time and save myself the argument.” He hung up before she could reply.
    Abigail slammed the phone down and glared at Sarah. “He’s impossible.”
    “You caved, Abbey!” Joley was horrified. “You just agreed to everything he wanted and he wasn’t even all that nice about it. What is wrong with women when they fall in love?” She and Hannah and Elle