“I cannot tell you how proud I am of you, sweetie. You have grown up to be a smart and beautiful young woman with such a true heart. I only wish I had not missed it happening.” She paused before moving the subject back to fire. “Just pull some energy from me.”
“You sure?”
She nodded.
I let out a deep breath. “All right, let’s try this thing.” Closing my eyes, I tried to push everything out but one thought—fire. I heard a whoosh and felt an overwhelming feeling of heat that bordered on painful. When I opened my eyes, I was looking at a roaring fire.
“Terrific, Charlotte!” My mom actually clapped her hands, the action made her seem years younger.
“This is so much easier now! I couldn’t do it without you!” What used to exhaust me had become exhilarating.
“It is easier because you have more confidence. It is not me; it is you.”
“If you say so.”
“Okay, so maybe you are still the same Charlotte. You always used to tell me that.” She laughed. “Back to more serious business. We already know you can manipulate the weather, but let us see how far you can go.” Mom stood up with no warning, and I followed her out into the night. It was freezing.
We walked to the edge of the woods where Lawson stood with his back to us. He turned around when we got closer. Although momentarily startled by our presence, he recovered and greeted us with a small smile and a wave.
“If you are as powerful as I think you are, you should be able to use wind to move a large object.” Mom bubbled with excitement.
“Okay, how?” Since using energy came easier, I was excited to continue experimenting.
“Move Lawson.”
“Excuse me?”
“Picture wind lifting up and moving Lawson.”
“Shouldn’t we ask permission?” I whispered, looking over at Lawson.
“If you want to.” Mom smiled mischievously, a smile I had never seen on her face. “But it might be easier to just do it.”
“Okay. So I need to picture a large force of wind moving Lawson?”
“It is a little bit more complicated when you are dealing with a person you do not want to hurt.”
“What do you mean?” A knot formed in my stomach.
“You need to be cautious to direct your thoughts carefully. Only use as much force as you absolutely need.”
“Mom, I don’t know about this. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“I did not mean to scare you. Lawson is strong; he can handle being knocked around a little. Try to keep your powers in check. This is an important lesson. That fire you created inside was great, but it was almost out of control. Maybe focusing on a person will help you learn to control the amount of energy you use.”
“Here goes nothing.” I took another deep breath and closed my eyes. I sensed the surrounding forest and drew in energy before picturing a clear image of wind.
“What in the world?” Lawson yelled.
I opened my eyes. The wind I had conjured lost its power, and I watched with alarm as Lawson slumped to the ground.
I ran over immediately and took his hand to help him up. “Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry, Lawson!”
Back on his feet, Lawson moved his hands to the back of his head and surveyed the area. “I take it this was your doing?” Lawson sounded so serious, I felt a lump form in the back of my throat. I started to apologize again until I heard Mom laughing.
“What?” I turned back, and Lawson had a huge grin on his face.
“Do not take it so seriously, Charlotte. You did not hurt me,” Lawson said.
I blushed. “Oh, but still, I’m sorry.”
“It looks like you learned an important lesson today,” Mom commented.
“Not to try to move people with wind?”
“Not to lose concentration. If you focus hard enough, you will eventually be able to see without opening your eyes.”
I planned to ask for more clarification, but I heard footsteps and turned around to see everyone else on the porch.
“What’s going on?” Liam looked half asleep, his hair messy and falling into his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Calvin quickly reached my side, checking every inch of me for injury. He hadn’t even taken the time to throw on a shirt.
“I’m not the one you should worry about.” I nodded in Lawson’s direction.
“Your Essence was using me for some practice.” Lawson chuckled.
Calvin’s deep laugh startled me. It was so rich, it matched him perfectly, but it wasn’t familiar yet. I wanted to know everything about him, every habit and mannerism, and the laugh was a good start. I caught myself staring at him. His arms and chest were so strong, but not from a gym. It was from work.
“What is it?” Calvin asked, studying my face.
“I like your laugh.”
“In other words, she likes the way you look without a shirt on.” James smirked before turning to walk back toward the house.
I blushed, but Calvin caught my chin before I could look away. He kissed me gently. “I love bringing color to your face.”
I smiled at him, momentarily forgetting we had an audience.
“Let us go get some rest and let the boys stay out in the cold for now.” Mom gave me a meaningful look, and I knew we would be having a talk.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kevin
Darkness greeted me when I woke up. Memories of the night before flooded in as I held on to the end of a particularly enjoyable dream about Samantha. Letting my eyes adjust to the dark hotel room, I stretched. Thankfully, I had snagged a bed, so I wasn’t sore. After quickly getting dressed, I headed out for a run. After weeks of daily practices at Carolina, I missed the physical activity. The streets were empty, a nice change of pace from the usual. It felt so good to get out. The last few days had been stressful, so it was good to relieve some of the tension. I was pumped up from everything with the council and Samantha, and probably could have run forever if I hadn’t found myself back at the park.
I saw her just as I rounded the corner to the pond. A light haze coated the sky, but the rising sun gave enough light to illuminate the area. I stopped several feet away and just watched. She was doing some kind of yoga stretches. I had no idea someone could be that flexible, and it only accentuated her beauty. Although it made me wince thinking about how painful it would be to hold my leg up like that, I couldn’t turn away. Her eyes were closed, so I decided to enjoy the view.
“Can you feel it?” Samantha’s voice broke me out of my near trance. Did she realize I was there? “Kevin?”