Intended Series Collection: Books 1-6 by Abigail Grant (best summer books .txt) 📗

had a family meeting to figure out the best course of action, but it was taking too long and every second I could feel you getting further and further away from me."

"What did you do?" I ask, feeling anxious about his story.

He chuckles a little. "I jumped in my mom's car and left. I just followed the pull of our Intended connection and kept going until I hit the tree line and couldn't drive any further. I must've been driving for a couple of hours. He took you quite a ways west of Jacksonville. From there I went on foot and, well you know the rest."

I lay back in my comfortable seat, settling in and feeling tired again. "I can't believe you found me, off of just a heart tug. I didn't even start to feel the pull until I was lying under a tree in the woods, ready to give up," I say, remembering my decision to just lay down and die.

Gavin squeezes my hand. "I grew up in this world. I knew what to do to find you, so I did it. It was almost instinct to me. You didn't know that we could find each other that way so you weren't focused on it."

I try to keep my eyes open for the drive, but my brain has a different idea.

Gavin looks over at me and smiles. He reaches over and strokes my good cheek with his fingers. "Get some rest, my love. I'll wake you when we get close."

I close my tired eyes, loving his gentle touch and drift off into a dreamless sleep.

***

I can feel featherlight kisses being placed all over my sore face. I turn over and smile as I wrap my arms around Gavin's neck. I hear a soft chuckle come from beneath his deep chest.

"Well, good morning, beautiful," he whispers to me, making my smile spread wider.

I open my eyes and see that Gavin is leaning inside the door on my side of the car. The sky is pitch black behind him, proving that it is clearly not morning.

"Good evening?" I whisper back, feeling a little disoriented from all of my recent sleeping habits.

Gavin lifts me easily from my seat and cradles me in his arms. "It's actually almost one in the morning now. You slept the whole drive, sleepy head," he says, sounding amused.

My eyes go wide as I study our surroundings. Gavin is carrying me up the front steps of his parent’s beautiful country-style home. It is so quiet, I'm sure everyone inside must be fast asleep.

"Does everyone know that you found me?" I ask him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I called them while you were asleep after we left Thrane and then again on the drive. They have been waiting for us all day, so be prepared for many hugs." He kisses me lightly on my cheek before pushing the front door open.

Before I can even adjust to the light inside the house I am being pulled from Gavin's arms into much smaller ones. Alexa wraps me in a tight embrace before pushing me to arms-length for inspection. "El! I am so sorry I wasn't there for you! I should have been by your side non-stop and been working harder with you." She hugs me again and I flinch when I apply too much pressure on my foot.

Gavin pulls me under his arm so that I can lean comfortably against him. "Lex, be gentle. She's not in the best shape right now." He practically growls at his much tinier twin.

Her eyes go wide, and she takes a large step back. "I'm sorry, El! I don't know my own strength sometimes."

I hold a hand up to her, wanting to stop the apologies. "It's fine. I would always take a hug from you, no matter the situation." I reach out and squeeze her hand. "And, what's done is done. It's completely my fault for running off, so no more feeling guilty. Either of you."

I look pointedly at Gavin as well, so he gets the hint. He rolls his eyes and guides me further into the front room. Camilla is sitting on the long couch with Kassy's fawn-colored head of hair sprawled across her lap.

Kassy is snoring softly from her Cami pillow. I smile at the scene, feeling grateful that my best friend is so comfortable with these people. Gavin helps me sit next to his mom so I can receive her soft hug.

"Thank you for taking care of Kassy while I was away." I whisper to her, trying not to wake my friend.

Camilla shakes her head at me. "She was the one running around here wanting to take care of us. She can surely keep herself busy when she is stressed."

I nod, knowing exactly what she is talking about. Kassy has always been a busy body, especially when she has a lot on her mind.

Camilla touches my hurt cheek softly. "We need to get Gram in here to look you over, sweetie."

Gavin releases me completely and stands up. "I'll go get her. You guys should probably wake Kassy. She'll want to know Aella is back safe." He smiles warmly at me before leaving the room.

I reach down and brush Kassy's hair away from her face as I whisper to her. "Wake up, little bear. Your snoring is shaking the whole house," I tease.

Kassy swipes my hand away and groans. "I don't snore, jerk," she growls at me as she turns over and blinks a few times against the soft light of the room.

She watches me for a long moment as I lean over her before she suddenly bolts to her feet. "Oh my gosh, El!" She crawls around Camilla and pulls me into a surprisingly gentle hug. "You're really here."

I can feel her body racking slightly from her soft cries. I can't help but shed a few tears of my own and just enjoy being with my best friend. A day ago, I was sure I'd never see her again and