Gifted Connections: Book 2(59)

“I want to earn that trust,” Collin said passionately. “I know I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve any of this, but I want to try.”

I scrutinized him for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s not just me you will have to win over. You hurt a lot of us with this deception, not to mention what you’ve been doing behind Drake’s back,” I said quietly.

Collins eyes grew wide, before he looked down at his feet. “We were at a party together one day, and we both got toasted. She came on to me, upset that Drake was talking about his connection again.” When I went to speak he held up his hand. “I’m not excusing our behavior. It wasn’t right. I should have told her if she wanted to continue to be with me, she needed to break up with him. I haven’t talked to her since all of this went down, but I know I need to call it quits.”

“You need to tell him,” Remy said resolutely as he came around the corner dressed in a pair of running shorts (despite the chilly weather outside) and a hooded sweatshirt.

“Did you?” Collin didn’t look like he was being confrontational, but he was calling Remy out.

Remy scrutinized him. “We tell him today,” he stated resolutely.

Collin looked down at his feet but nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“She’s pregnant,” I pushed my thoughts onto Remy. “At least that’s what Ella told me once.”

His eyes widened for a moment as he turned to me. “Going for a run? Want to join me?”

I nodded, “That sounds great.”

We left the house, and I fell into step with him. “Whose baby is it?” he asked as we got away from the house.

“Collin’s,” I stated. “At least that’s what Ella told me. Although, not all her predictions came true.”

He grunted. “Don’t they have those fetal DNA test? If she says she is, we can tell Drake we think she should get one taken.”

I sighed. “He might. I don’t know if the results would matter all that much. He has barely talked to me since I returned. I’m not sure if he’ll stop loving her. This time.”

“He will,” Remy said with conviction. “Maybe not right away, but you are our connected. He won’t be able to deny it for long, especially now all the connections have been made.”

“Does it feel…different?” I asked mystified.

He nodded. “I can definitely feel it now, and I’m sure all the other guys do too. I almost feel…invincible.”



When we got back, most of the house was up. Jaxson, Noah, Rachel, and Jemmy were known to sleep in on the weekends. The children were already up watching cartoons. Micah was in the middle of the ‘puppy’ pile up, and I knew he was happy to have found his family.

Drake was setting out the ingredients for breakfast, and I jumped in to help him, although I was in desperate need of a shower. “I think I need to go grocery shopping today,” he smiled wryly as he opened the refrigerator.

“Well, we kind of doubled in size,” I giggled. “Sorry about that.”

He looked at me with an inscrutable look. “There’s nothing that you need to be sorry about. I’m sorry if I’ve seemed…distant. I knew you would come one day. I had hoped, but now that reality is here, I’m trying to adjust.”

“Because of Rose,” I stated.

He nodded.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just continued to fry up the sausage and bacon while Drake began making eggs. He had already asked the children how they like their eggs, so he was beginning with theirs.

I was dishing out the bacon and sausage on the plate when a cool voice said from the doorway. “Well this looks cozy.”

I stiffened knowing that voice immediately. I turned and saw Rose leaning in the doorway to the garage. She was wearing one of her skin tight miniscule outfits. If she was pregnant I couldn’t imagine she was that far along, or maybe she just had good genes. I couldn’t see any signs of a baby bump.

I stiffened when I looked down at her hands. A gift bag was clutched in her hands. I eyed it, thinking it look suspiciously like one of those gift bags you gave an expectant mother at a baby shower. A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

Drake had a look of panic and guilt on his face as he turned around. “Hey,” Drake hedged. “What are you doing here?”

She glared at me. “The question should be, what is she doing here, and why are you making breakfast together?”

Drake sighed. “I think we need to talk.”

“I’ll finish here,” I informed him as I took over making the eggs.

I knew how everyone else took their eggs, so it wouldn’t take me long to make them. Drake gave me a grateful smile before he motioned for Rose to follow him.

It wasn’t long before I heard yelling from the other room. I dished out plates for the kids. I didn’t want them to hear anything that may be coming from the den.

“Time to eat,” I gently bade them.

They didn’t hesitate as they quickly got up and took their seats at the bar. From Alex’s haunted look, I could tell he was no stranger to yelling and it still made him uncomfortable. I turned off the stove, thinking the other eggs could wait to be cooked. I went back out into the living room. The staircase leading down into the living room and hallway to the den was now lined up with the inhabitants of the house. Remy, Troy, Collin, and Jace came up from the basement where they had been working on a new training program.