Piper (Queen's Birds of Prey #4) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,57

about to bounce off the walls.” Not sure what she meant, Piper’s heart jumped when Mercy cried out with pain again that there were going to be twins. “The second baby is ready to be born. I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

It didn’t take long for the second, then the third child to be born. A daughter, then a son, and another daughter in order of birth. Their magic was strong, Piper knew. All three of them were going to be powerful beings. After cleaning them up, the babies were laid on the big bed with their mom.

“Joel is going to be such a good dad. Don’t you think?” Piper told Mercy she thought so as well. “I love him so much. And now I have three little ones that we’ll share. Miley is going to love it.”

“I’m sure she will. Where is she, anyway? I’d have thought you wanted her in here with you.” She looked away. “What is it, Mercy? Why isn’t she here with you today?”

“We had a fight. Not really a fight, but a disagreement on her being able to date. I said no, but she went to her father, and he said it was all right.” Piper asked her why he would allow her to date. “It’s not a real date, I found out later, but a bunch of her friends meeting for pizza. I swear to you, she never told me that part. That’s when she told me I was mean to her, and she was never speaking to me again.”

“May I fix this?” Mercy cried. Hard sobs that made her own heart hurt with it. “Mercy, I’m going to fix this. I promise you. I’ll have her come to tell you how sorry she is too.”

“Don’t force her into anything.” She said that she’d not. “The only reason I’m letting you do this is because I’m feeling too emotional to talk to her right now. I so wanted her here when I— Oh, Piper, she hurt my heart so badly.”

Piper held onto her sister as she cried. This was a side of Mercy she’d never experienced before. Reaching out to Grant to tell him that Joel could come in, she also told him what she was going to do next. All he said to her was not to kill the little girl.

I’m not able to, remember? He said that didn’t mean she’d not try. Yes, I might try. I’ll be around later. I’m talking to her right now.

Chapter 8

Piper didn’t bother asking to see Miley but just looked for her. When she found her down at the dock, watching the boats coming in for the day, Piper sat down beside her. She was ready to blast her when she spoke first.

“I ruined everything, Aunt Piper. Not only that, but I’d not be the least bit surprised if Mom sends me off to military school after what I did yesterday.” Piper told her that Mercy was crying when she’d left her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me anymore. I fight against everything. Even if she told me to do my homework, something I love to do, I’d just not do it because she told me to do it. Now, I’m sitting out here with no idea how I fix this.”

“Do you want to?” Miley just stared at her. “I think that is a good question. Do you want to continue to sit out here feeling sorry for yourself, or do you really want to fix this? Because from what I was told, you were a fucking bitch to the woman that not only healed you but also took you to her heart. That isn’t a way to get on any of our good sides.”

“She’s all I ever wanted in a mom. I have everything I could ever want from her too. Not just material things. I mean love, and she loves my dad too. Mom loves my dad, and now they’re going to have a baby. They’re so happy.” Piper didn’t mention that the babies had been born. She’d tell her later, she thought. “Getting ready for the new one coming, Mercy has tried her best to get me involved. And you have no idea how much I wanted to be. But a part of me felt betrayed that they’re going to all this trouble for them.”

“You think they didn’t do anything for you?” Miley just shrugged her shoulders. Piper gave her a hard slap to her face, and Miley held