Softly at Sunrise by Maya Banks Read Free Book Online Page A

turned one last time and stared at the empty shell of a house. It had no power over her any longer. She was free of it and the memories it housed. She could let go now and focus on the future.
“Why don’t we follow you to the new house so you can drop off your car, and then we’ll all ride together in my SUV,” Sophie suggested.
“Sounds like a plan,” Rachel said.
“I’ll ride over with Rachel,” Shea volunteered. “We’ll see you guys in a minute.”
Shea climbed into the passenger seat of Rachel’s Honda Accord while Rachel slid behind the wheel.
“Is Sam keeping Charlotte tonight?” Rachel asked as they pulled away.
Shea chuckled. “He and Nathan are both on babysitting duty. It’ll be interesting to see if Sophie’s phone starts blowing up in an hour.”
“Speaking of, can you grab my cell and send Ethan a text telling him what we’re doing? It’ll save time if I don’t go in and explain.”
“Sure.”
Shea picked up Rachel’s phone and brought up Ethan in the text messages and promptly froze.
“Uh, Rachel?”
“Hmm?” Rachel made a questioning sound, not looking away from the road as she turned out of the neighborhood and onto the highway.
“Look, I wasn’t prying or anything. It’s kind of right here and impossible to miss.”
Rachel went still. “Oh crap. I completely forgot. I wasn’t even thinking.”
“Does that mean you are pregnant?” Shea asked hesitantly.
Rachel sighed. “Yeah, I am.”
Shea sent her a dubious look. “You don’t sound happy about it.”
Rachel lit up with a smile. Not happy? Never in a million years.
“I’m over the moon,” she said softly. “We both are. I just hadn’t planned to tell you or anyone else this way. We only just found out. It was quite a shock. When I first suspected, I wanted to wait until after the first trimester in case…”
“I understand,” Shea said.
“But then we went to the doctor and I’m further along than I thought. And…” She glanced over at Shea and bit her lip to keep from shouting it out. “We’re having twins.”
“Oh my God, Rachel!” Shea screeched. “Holy shit. Twins? Are you serious?”
Rachel nodded, beaming the entire time. “But you can’t tell anyone yet. We want to wait for just the right time. And honestly I need a few days to adjust to it myself before I hit the family with something like this.”
“Oh Rachel, I’m so happy for you and Ethan,” Shea said with a dreamy sigh. “I know how much this has to mean to you. Oh my God, I’m so excited! I’m going to be an aunt!”
“You’re already an aunt, dork,” Rachel said, laughing.
“Yes, but Charlotte was already here by the time I came along. This will be the first time I was here from the very beginning.”
Rachel reached over to squeeze her hand. “I’m glad you’re here with us, Shea. I wish Grace could be here more often.”
Shea’s expression didn’t fade a bit at the mention of her sister. Grace was married to Rio, one of the team leaders of KGI, and they lived in Belize when Rio wasn’t off on a mission.
What made the sisters so unique is that they both had telepathic abilities and could communicate from great distances.
“I talk to her daily,” Shea said cheerfully. “It’s almost like having her here. And Rio brings her when he goes out on a mission. He hates the idea of Grace and Elizabeth being alone.”
Elizabeth was the pre-teen girl that Rio and Grace had adopted after her father had been killed in the mission that brought Rio and Grace together. Rio was insanely protective of them both. But then all the men of KGI had protective streaks a mile wide.
As they began the drive over the bridge where Rachel had once nearly plummeted over, her palms grew sweaty on the steering wheel, and it was instinctive to accelerate while staying to the far inside lane.
By the time they got across, the steering wheel was damp under her palms.
It was her hope that one day she could conquer her fear of that bridge, but the mere sight