Courage

  Camie stood abruptly and paced restlessly behind one of the couches. "What about Olivia's brother?" she asked.

  Nobody answered right away. It was obvious that everyone wanted to think there would be no more encounters with the Olanders.

  "I guess we were hoping Rafe is dead," Victor finally admitted.

  "Me too," she agreed. "But…what if he's not?"

  Force glided up to his feet and tracked her down, pulling her into his arms. "If he's not, we'll just have to deal with him when he turns up."

  "In the meantime, we don't really know," Victor said. "He could turn up next week. Or we might not see him for years. Or we might not see him at all! We'll just have to keep our guard up…without giving into fear."

  Victor was right of course. And as for the fear factor, I didn't think it was going to be a big issue for the pack. They're a team that could deal with any kind of threat. And if things were to get really bad…well they've always got Courage.

  Since then, I've become a card-carrying member of the Greystone pack. I was voted in before we left for the ranch. Back home, Chaos and I finished stringing the wire out on the northwest quadrant and moved most of the herd over there. Mom and Dad got back from Europe and met Courage and offered him a small salary, which he totally earns. School will start up in a few weeks; I'll be a sophomore. Jess and I are working on the eighteenth issue of Zombie Cantina.

  But other than that, nothing much has changed.

  I understand now about my magic and why those wishes I made when I was a kid came true. I even agree with Courage that I shouldn't be too hard on myself because I was so young when it happened. But I still go to church every Sunday, because I still have plenty of things that I need to be forgiven for. And plenty of things to be thankful for.

  Like our escape from Olivia's prison.

  And for Courage.

  I'm not saying I think God was wholly responsible for bringing Courage and me together…but I'd like to think he had his hand in there somewhere. Maybe it's even his way of telling me I'm forgiven. So, I go to church. For redemption and to give thanks. And to be there for the kids in my Sunday School class.

  And maybe…just maybe, I'm a bit more of a believer than I used to be.

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  About the Author

  Hi! I'm Taylor Longford and I live with my family in Colorado. I don't have red hair like my heroine, MacKenzie Campbell, but I do drive an old Jeep Cherokee with 340,000 miles on it. I've rolled it once and it looks like crap but it still goes fast! Maybe I'll be able to afford something a bit nicer one day. In the meantime, I'm hoping to finish the Greystone Series with Havoc's story in 2016.

  You can find Taylor at:

  Website: www.taylorlongford.com

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Taylor-Longford