The Switch by Debra Kayn (desktop ebook reader TXT) 📗

The breeze coming off the river washed over her. Goosebumps covered her, and she rubbed her arms, approaching the two lumps in the sleeping bags. Not even the tops of their heads were visible.

She reached down and wiggled the closest body, then the second. "Get up, boys. It's late.  You're sleeping the day away."

She peered around the large deck. Trip had mosquito netting from the deck roof down to underneath the wooden slats of the floor. With the rush of water underneath them and the chatter of birds in the nearby trees, she couldn't blame them for sleeping longer than normal. Trip's house provided them an oasis with the perfect accommodations.

"Come on, guys." She shook them again until both of their heads popped out of the top of their warm cocoons. "Trip has cereal for you. You need to roll up the bags, eat, pick up any messes, and get ready to go. Make sure you thank him for letting us stay."

Kenny stuck his head out of the bag. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"It's different with adults." She smoothed his bangs off his forehead. "Trip isn't a boy. He's a man friend."

Zach rolled over and looked at her. "It's cool to have him around."

The boys never gave their opinion on the other men she'd dated. But she also had never carted them over to someone's house and let them spend the night.

Being in Avery Falls, alone with no one else she knew, she'd changed. Whether it was Trip or growth in her ability to open up to others, the change felt good. It felt right.

She whispered, "Yeah, I think so, too."

Inhaling deeply, she straightened. "It's Saturday. We should get out of here and go home. There are things we need to do, and then you two are free to do whatever you want this afternoon."

"I want to follow the creek and see where it goes." Kenny sat up, pushing himself out of the sleeping bag.

"Remind me, and I'll send you on a scavenger hunt like Grandpa Gene used to do with me." She ran her hand down Kenny's warm cheek. "He always sent me places to discover and always included some kind of local history. I'll try and remember some of the areas he'd pick on our way home, so you can explore all you want."

Zach groaned and got up off the deck. "My back is stiff."

"Welcome to camping." She laughed, knowing how ridiculous she sounded when they had more comfort at Trip's house than when they were sleeping on the floor at home.

Home.

She hadn't called Grandpa Gene's place that yet, but suddenly it felt like Avery Falls had become their home. They were thriving, and all of them loved being here.

As the boys talked and rolled up their bed, she went inside and found Trip putting spoons in four empty bowls sitting on the bar of the kitchen island. She went right to him and finished helping him pour cereal.

"You're wonderful." She hugged his middle. "I enjoyed myself."

"Me, too." His deep voice rolled over her.

As the boys came in, talking and asking questions, she stood beside Trip with her bowl in her hands, eating and not tasting a thing. There was an ease between Trip and her sons that enthralled her.

She'd never seen the boys interact with a male figure, in such an intimate fashion, before. They acted different. Held their bodies different. And talked different around Trip than with her.

Fascinated and pleased, she took the moment for what it was worth and savored it.

Trip patiently answered them while eating. The genuine interest in his gaze and his body language showed he was giving them his full attention.

If she wasn't careful, she could quickly fall in love with him.

Chapter Twenty One

The handler slipped out of Eight's cell. Trip's stomach rolled, and he braced against the cramp that threatened to bring his protein shake up. All morning, he'd felt like shit.

He looked down the line. Prez was also having a hard time showing any indifference. Having never had a cold or sickness, he could only think what was happening to him had to do with the changes they'd all witnessed in each other.

"The trials we ran came in satisfactory. But there's still some hesitation when it comes to their reaction times." The handler jotted a note on the file. "We're going to extend the same dosage for two weeks and retest. Understood?"

Prez stepped forward. "Yes."

"The controller will, at that time, reevaluate each one, and if everything is as it should be, we'll start their physical training."

Trip worked out the timeline. That would put them in the middle of summer at the peak of the tourist season.

The handler raised his gaze. "Any notable changes for you?"

"No," said Prez.

"Physical output more or less?"

"Same."

The handler nodded, checking off on Prez and moving to Keenan, asking the same questions. Trip's body stiffened. He was experiencing hesitation. Instead of blindly answering the handler, he had doubts about what they were doing.

Something was wrong, and an emotion he could only describe as fear took up space in his head. He was more afraid of them finding out their program was failing.

He and the others would disappear. The controller would remove them from the program. Because the information they had and their bodies contained proof of the program, all they had to do was switch them, and they'd cease to exist.

What he thoughtlessly believed about the program, he now doubted.

The originals were no closer to figuring out why it was happening, and it was too dangerous for them and the men in the cells for them to let the controller or handlers know what was going on.

The town needed Avery Falls Motorcycle Club. Without them to run everything, it would fall in despair.

They needed to find out what was behind the changes. If it was the program failing or they were failing the program.

Their lives were more than the DNA altering and programming they'd each gone through. The skills