Picking up a handful of nuts from the bowl on the counter and popping them into his mouth, Gerry walked out of the kitchen and paused at the doorway. Maia stood facing the sofa, holding a basket of clothes. Placing the bulky container on the cushion, she pulled out a small white garment, holding it at arm’s length in front of her. She tilted her head. He could almost feel her smile as she stared at the tiny cotton outfit. Christ, she was beautiful, even wearing his old tattered sweatpants and stretched-out bulky sweater. And … she was his.
“You can’t have too many Onesies,” Maia called over her shoulder, tossing the rest of the pile of tiny clothes onto the sofa.
“What the fuck’s a Onesie, Maia?” Gerry scooted around the rectangular glass table trimmed in mahogany positioned between the two loveseats and walked over to where Maia stood. He grinned at the loveseat now completely covered with tiny clothes mixed in with all the multicolored pillows of red, sage, tan, blue and even a little purple that adorned each one. The gray and tan stone fireplace glowed with hot embers from the fire he’d made earlier that evening, warming the cozy two-bedroom cottage with a wonderfully romantic and homey atmosphere.
It never ceased to amaze him how Maia could make his breath stick in his throat, how perfect her body was, with her long shapely legs and firm, sculpted bottom. Her pregnancy only accentuated the radiance of her smooth skin and the sparkle in her bright golden brown eyes. Gerry smiled as his own eyes fell to the small bump below her waist. How the hell had he gotten so lucky? He decided he shouldn’t question fate but simply revel in his good fortune.
Maia sighed, picking up a tiny T-shirt with snaps at the bottom, and turned toward him grinning. “This is a Onesie.”
“Ahhh …this thing’s about as big as my hand. Are babies this small?”
“They can be at first. I’d say these will be out grown within four to six weeks.”
“So … is my daughter going to need a charge card at the tender age of one month?”
“Well … your son might, too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Gerry, this wouldn’t be such a big surprise if you’d been with me for the sonogram this morning.”
“Sorry, darlin’, I thought you understood I couldn’t get away from the bar. I was a wee bit busy, with Nick being sick and Addie away to—wherever the fuck she’s gone—ahhh … right, to Bora Bora with Cael. I’ve had to train Darcy to bartend and I couldn’t leave her alone, yet. You know I wanted to be there.” The rhythm of his Scottish accent thickened, begging forgiveness.
“I know, but it would have only taken you an hour at the most. You make it sound as if you begrudge Addie being gone. You can’t deny that Cael and Addie deserved this time away.”
Gerry walked to her, reminding himself Maia had barely turned eleven when Addie had been born. They’d grown up together, more like sisters than aunt and niece. And age hadn’t really taken hold of Maia, yet. She still looked almost as young as Addie. Good genes, he mused.
He touched her cheek. “I know it, and I know Addie is the only child of your late brother and you would do anything for her, including putting on some fancy dinner for her and Cael, when I know you’re exhausted.”
“Come on, you’re excited to see them too. I understand it’s been difficult for you to relinquish your protective inclination toward Addie. Ristéard would be proud of the way you’ve kept your promise to him. But I swear, between you and Cael, poor Addie can’t make a move without some sort of dissension from the two of you.”
“Well, I guess it’s been hard for me to let go. I must admit, at first I was a bit skeptical of Cael’s intensions.”
“Yes, and he’s proved himself way beyond any of our expectations. You know he would never let anything happen to Addie.”
In truth, Gerry didn’t think a more suitable man for Addie existed. He loved Addie as if she was his own blood. “She may be your niece, but to me Addie is like a little sister. I can’t help but want to protect her, and yeah, I miss her, damn it. With my star bartender away, I’ve needed to be at the Cliff Hanger more than I’d like.”
“After tonight, you’ll have your star bartender back and you can spend more time here at home.”
Gerry may not have had a fondness for Cael at first, but he had to admit that Addie, a very capable and talented woman, and Cael, trained by Addie’s father to protect and guide her, together had powers unparalleled to any Gerry had ever witnessed. As much as it hurt, he was resigned to letting go. Besides, he had a new little one coming to worry about. He took Maia in his arms, held her close, and brushed a wild golden-brown curl behind her ear with his finger.
“So … it’s a boy then,” Gerry said, unsure if he was relieved or disappointed.
A boy would mean the baby would not inherit Gerry’s gift of compulsion, mind altering or his telekinetic abilities, considering supernatural gifts were only passed down to a child of the opposite sex; Maia, of course, had no powers to pass on. Her brother, Ristéard received the powers in that family and he had passed his abilities down to Addie.
Lowering his hand, Gerry splayed his fingers protectively over her swelling abdomen.
“Are you disappointed?” Maia asked.
“No,” his voice softened. “No. I think I’m more relieved than anything.” The thought of having a daughter with his kind of abilities had seemed exciting but made him a bit nervous when he thought about helping her control them and hide them from unsuspecting “normal” humans. He remembered his own childhood and how it had been for him and his father, a single dad without any abilities of his own. He’d never told Gerry about any of the powers. His pop hadn’t even seemed to know anything about them. Without his mother around, Gerry had discovered his abilities on his own when he was a teenager. What a shock that had been! He smiled, remembering his friend Aiden, and how they acquired their powers at almost the same time. A surprise to each of them, considering they’d both been kept in the dark when it came to something as bizarre as supernatural abilities. Aiden had been adopted and had no idea. A coincidence that they were friends? Maybe. But thanks to Maia, Gerry believed that fate always played its part.
Regan Walsh was born, Susan Marie Whittaker, in a small town in Pennsylvania. Under the name, Regan Walsh she writes the popular paranormal-urban fantasy, Whisper Cape, series and writes young adult and mainstream under her married name, Susan Griscom.
Her paranormal playing field delves into a different milieu, abandoning vampires and werewolves, but not discounting them. Someday she might like to write a novel about vamps and those furry creatures. But for now she likes the bizarre mixed with romance. A strong hero or heroine confronted with extraordinary forces of nature, powers and capabilities gets her blood running hot.
She enjoys traveling. She hates running, but does it once in a while. Reading and writing are her favorite pastimes.
Amazon Buy for Whisper Cape (Book 1) Amazon Buy link for Reflections (Whisper Cape, Book 2)
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A quote from Susan:
I daydream often and sometimes my daydreams interrupt my daydreams. So I write to remember them. If I didn't write, I think my mind would explode from an overload of fantasy and weirdness. To the annoyance of my friends and family, my characters sometimes become a part of my world. During my childhood, I would frequently get in trouble in school for daydreaming. Eventually, my vivid imagination paid off and I had the privilege of writing and co-directing my sixth-grade class play--a dreadful disaster, though not from my writing, of course, I must blame it on the acting.
REFLECTIONS Blog Tour Schedule
Remaining Stops:
November 2 –
http://heartofawolfseries.blogspot.com/- spotlight
November 3 –
http://www.literaladdiction.com/ - review and giveaway
November 4 –
www.crazyfourbooks.blogspot.com - Interview/review
November 5 –
http://darkestaddictions.blogspot.com/ - Guest post/review
November 6 –
http://reviewsbymolly.com/ - Interview/review
November 7 –
http://readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.blogspot.com/ - Guest post/giveaway
To celebrate the release of 'Reflections', Susan is giving away an e-copy to one (1) lucky winner. Open internationally.
You must use the Rafflecopter form to enter to win.
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the second novel in her paranormal romance series, 
. Today, you will get a sneak peak of Reflections, check out the excerpt below. Also, for one lucky person, enter for your chance to win an ebook copy of Reflections!!!
