Chapter 6

"Time for dessert everyone," Jazz said, as she brought a large dish while Shonda had everything else.

Shonda put plates in front of everyone while Jazz cut the dessert and placed pieces on everyone's plate, including hers and Shonda's, which were in front of the places they were going to sit.

When Kip received his portion, Shonda handed him a napkin and a fork, and Kip immediately dug in as the dessert Jazz had come up with, which looked very irresistible.

"Let me know what you think," Jazz told Kip, who nodded, even as he dug in and took his first bite.

"It's great," Kip said once he had chewed and swallowed. "I am now sorry there's no bakery where Zara and I live."

"The closest bakery is in Houston," Zara told him, "and that's a long trip just to pick up some sweets that'll be gone in just a few days. If we happen to be in the area, it's one thing, as we'll make sure we stop by, but to make a separate trip, especially on a regular basis it's just not very practical or feasible."

"As I said, too bad," Kip said regretfully as he took another bite. "I suppose I'd better enjoy this piece then."

"That won't always be the case you know," Dave told him with an understanding expression. "You will have to move somewhere else every generation and there's a bakery in a lot of different cities in the US and even a few in Europe. Every time we move somewhere new Jazz always starts up another bakery, which is then taken over by one of the family that inherited her magic when we move again. There's also a few of our children that started up their own bakeries when there wasn't one for them to take over, because somebody was already running it or there wasn't one in the city they decided to settle down in."

"I just didn't move somewhere for this generation that had one close enough for it to matter," Zara said. "We'll live in a lot of different cities in our lifetime and a lot of them have bakeries and there's a few cities that even have two in different areas of the city. I had to go where I was offered a job and while I had a lot of different offers, I had never been to Celina Texas before, so that was part of the reason I decided to move there. I didn't think about there being no bakery close by when I took the position and have since regretted taking it, because there isn't one. On the other hand, I wouldn't have met you if I hadn't taken the position in Celina, so I'm also grateful." "You see there's a silver lining in almost every situation," Shonda told her goddaughter. "I know," Zara said smiling. "Believe me, I'm beyond grateful that I took the position now.""

"I hadn't thought that far," Kip admitted.

"Of course not, even if you have magic like my family does you didn't know immortality existed before I told you," Zara said. "It's going to take you awhile to absorb everything, not about the magic, but about the fact that you'll live practically forever now."

"Which is so far out there that it takes awhile for anybody to absorb the fact that something so fantastical can exist," Dave said.

"Technically, magic falls into that category too," Shonda said, "but since you've always had it, it doesn't seem unusual to you, but immortality is a different matter."

"Well, if magic can exist, then I don't know why immortality can't," Kip said with a shrug. "I know it's not quite the same thing, but still, it's similar, as they both deal with a paranormal."

"And the paranormal category is broad and deep," Jazz added. "I know most people don't believe that anything supernatural is real, but all the history in the books that have been written and the movies and TV shows that have been made had to come from somewhere. There had to be source material for all the supernatural elements that most people don't believe exist. I mean there are a ton of books and movies about werewolves and vampires and being able to see the future or other supernatural abilities like being able to teleport from one place to another or to shape shift."

"There was also a series of movies in the late 20th century about immortals called Highlander because it was about Connor McLeod who was immortal," Shonda remembered. "I'm not sure if there's been anything similar since then, but they're probably has been."

"I remember those movies," Jazz said with a reminiscent smile. "Of course, I saw them years before I met Dave and learned that immortality wasn't just a fantasy but real, but that wasn't the point of bringing it up."

"You're saying that there has likely been incidents where people knew the supernatural existed way back in say the dark ages," Kip said understanding what Shonda had meant by bringing up a movie about immortals created in the late 20th century.

"We know that magic users went underground near the end of that period, but who's to say there wasn't other incidents that is the source of the materials about the paranormal," Shonda said. "Maybe somebody saw a shifter transform into their animal shape just for example.

"Or maybe someone saw a werewolf transform during the full moon and lived to tell about it instead of dying because the werewolf killed them, since it's not like they keep their minds in that state. Well, not before the potion was invented at any rate," Jazz added. "That's where a lot of legends and myths come from. Somebody seeing something that wouldn't be considered normal and then writing or telling stories about it's until it gets put into a book."

"Those stories then spread, which is where legends and myths come from," Shonda added.

"They also get exaggerated over many hundreds of years, to where it is all, but impossible to know truth from fiction," Aaron said.

"It doesn't really matter, but I can't help being curious as all. I know there are likely stories about immortal beings out there just waiting to be found," Kip said.

"Now you've gotten his curiosity up, as he got his history degree for a reason," Zara said smiling. "Though I do understand his ability probably has something to do with his interest in history since he can sometimes see the memories that are attached to objects."

"You two are very similar in that way," Dave commented with a bemused look. "You've always liked searching through reams of paper for the tiniest clue to how a family line came to be."

"The fact I can actually talk to ghost only helps, which is one reason I got interested in history in the first place," Zara agreed.

"Just like I got interested in history, because of my ability so you were right about that," Kip said. "I'm only glad it doesn't happen every time I touch an object or I'd be wearing gloves, even in the heat of summer, which would be very odd to anybody who didn't understand about psychic gifts and also make my hands sweat."

"Zara is just one of our many children that didn't inherit my bakery magic," Jazz said. "My magic is definitely the dominant gene since you're the only one that got the ability to see spirits and there's only been four that got the ability to heal and so forth."

"I'm actually glad I'm the only one that's gotten the ability to see ghosts since it's not exactly very comfortable being looked upon as odd to have supposedly imaginary friends. They weren't imaginary to me, but they were to everybody else."

"You'll just have to teach your children not to talk to ghost when anybody else is around since they're bound to get your gift," Kip said. "Of course, some of them will get my gift too and likely your mother's bakery magic as well, as after all, you still have the gene for it, even if you didn't inherit her gift."

"I'd rather them have your gift or mom's and not mine personally," Zara said

"There's no way you can control what gift a child gets, Zara," Shonda told her goddaughter understanding in her expression.

"Believe me, I'm well aware, that I can't control what gift our children receive, though I wish I could, as I wouldn't wish the ability to talk to spirits on a child," Zara said. "Now if the gene didn't activate until that child was a teenager then that would be one thing, but unfortunately, that's not the way it works.

"Your childhood was particularly hard on you and I'm sorry about that," Dave told his daughter with sympathy in his expression.

"Seeing ghosts is a hard gift to inherit, we realize that now. If only we'd had some warning, we might've been prepared to deal with it," Jazz said. "If it happens again we'll be better prepared. Also, some of your children, as it's just been mentioned, are bound to get your gift whether you want them to or not."

"Believe me, I know," Zara said dryly.

"A great many of them will also likely get my bakery magic as Kip has already realized, which is subtle as you well know. Most gifts are subtle, but being able to see and talk to ghost is not so subtle unlike most special gifts."

"So long is our children remember not to talk to spirits wherever someone can see them..." Kip said.

"You can try to tell them not to talk to ghosts in public, but children a lot of times don't listen if anybody should know that we do," said Shonda dryly looking at Jazz who grinned back. "Though I admit that none of Aaron and my children have such a troublesome gift."

"And ghosts often seem solid enough to be real and you have no idea you're talking to one until someone asks why you're talking to yourself," Zara said.

"We'll deal when that day comes," Kip said.

Everybody in the room, nodded approvingly at this. They were all really beginning to like Christopher Whitethorn, as he was more calm than most they told about immortality and magic, but there was a reason for that.

~~~Kip and Zara~~~

"So what was your first experience talking to a ghost?" Kip asked after they had gotten back to Celina Texas the same day they'd left. They had taken an early morning flight and now it was 7 o'clock in the evening. They were due back to work tomorrow.

"The library," Zara said immediately. "We were living in Montana then. Me and my siblings were taken to the library for storytime. The library we went to was a very old building that was built sometime in the 17th century and old buildings tend to be ghost central. Most old buildings have at least one or two ghosts, some have a lot more. Ghosts always produce extreme cold when they manifest, so when you feel a draft, that has no explanation a lot of times that means there's spectral activity. Of course, there is no way to prove that without the right equipment or the ability to see a specter. Sometimes ghosts can affect the physical world if they're strong enough, knocking pictures off the wall or items off a desk or shelf that kind of thing."

"That's why your office was so chilly when I first entered," Kip realized. "I wondered why your office was so much colder than the rest of the building, but I understand why now."

"Yes, Jerry was standing right in front of my desk, as we were talking. I'm sorry you couldn't see or talk to him, as he was quite a gentleman who was married and had several children before he signed up for the war. I know he missed his wife and children when he didn't pass into the light when he died. He told me that he felt like he had a task to complete, though he wasn't entirely sure why he felt that way until he met me. Jerry always watched over me ever since I started the job of the historical society and he thinks of me like a sister.

"He was always telling me it was past time for me to settle down and even when I told him that I hadn't met my mate yet and explained on several occasions what I meant he didn't really understand," Zara shook her head smiling, as she remembered.

"If he was born during the era of the Civil War, it's not surprising. He doesn't understand the supernatural, as I doubt he ever encountered anything that would be considered such," Kip suggested.

"Probably not," Zara agreed. "He was a silversmith, and while intelligent the supernatural was beyond his experience."

"Just like Paul Revere was a silversmith during the revolutionary war," Kip said.

"It was a popular profession during both wars," Zara said with a nod to Kip's point, "and yes, I can see the similarities. It's still a popular profession, even today. After all, silver jewelry has to come from somewhere and other stuff made out of that metal. A lot of it's mass produced I know that, but not the really expensive stuff."

"Yeah, you're right," Kip agreed.

"I know it's mostly silver plated nowadays and that real silver cost the moon and then some, but still, you do need silversmiths as well as goldsmiths and jewelers," Zara said.

"Yeah, there are a lot of metalsmiths still around for the people that can afford that kind of quality," agreed Kip.

"Anyway, back to my story. I ran into this old woman that I thought was dressed pretty oddly for the century in which we lived, but she appeared solid and not see-through. I suppose if I had really studied her, I would have guessed she was a ghost, but I was still very young at the time. It wasn't until the librarian came searching for me and asked me who I was talking to that I realized that the old woman was a ghost. I made up some excuse and I don't think that the librarian believed me, but she led me back to my siblings who had begun to get worried about me.

"I've learned since then that some ghosts can be pretty solid the stronger they are while others that are weaker are more see-through. Traditional ghosts in other words and the most common."

"They knew I had to be somewhere on the property, as I wasn't stupid enough to leave, but still no matter how young I was at the time, children have disappeared from libraries and other public places before, so it was possible I had been taken.

"I don't even remember what excuse I gave the librarian now, not that it really matters one way or the other, but still, I remember talking to old Mrs. Hartfield and I looked her up on the Internet once I got home."

"What did you discover?" Kip asked curiously enthralled with his mate's story.

"That she'd been dead for well over 70 years when we had our conversation, which is why her clothes struck me as odd, because the styles had changed since she had died," Zara said.

"So did you realize you could talk to ghost after that?" Kip asked.

"Not at the time, I just passed it off as well, not my imagination precisely, but just an odd incident that would likely never happen again. I was only six at the time. It never even occurred to me that ghosts would be a part of my life, even once I was grown, as I figured, it had been an isolated incident. I didn't even mention it to my parents, though my siblings certainly did and I had to come up with an explanation for my disappearing act."

"Did they punish you?" Kip asked and Zara shook her head.

"No, because I didn't come to any harm," said Zara, "but I was scolded for not telling anyone where I was going. Since I was only six, however, and children are known to be curious, I had to promise to tell somebody where I was going next time. Even though I was only six I still remember what happened to this day.

"They explained that I could have been kidnapped and considering what my family was, if those kidnappers had discovered my immortality or my magic then my mother and my aunt would have had to take action and track down to take their memory once I was back at home of course. They didn't say what else could've happened to me, as I was still so young that they didn't want to frighten me by talking about being raped by grown men who should know better or sold into slavery in some Third World country.

"I could tell how relieved they were that I was safe, though, as I was always incredibly perceptive, even as young as I was, and I didn't understand the relief at that time because of my age."

"I can just imagine you as a little girl. I bet you were adorable," Kip said smiling. "I certainly hope our oldest daughter looks just like you."

"All children are adorable," Zara said, blushing at Kip's compliment. "And as for oldest daughter, looking like me, I'd rather her look like you."

Kip was a handsome man with his blonde hair and green eyes

"There's little chance of that with your dark good looks," Kip said. "You're kind of genetics just tend to be stronger than mine. Not that I'm not saying we won't have a few children with blonde hair or green eyes, just that the majority of them will probably look more like you than me. So when did you realize that your ability was to talk to ghosts?"

"Not for several years actually. I think I was around nine or ten," Zara said after a few seconds of searching her memories. "I always seemed to be talking to myself, but it never occurred to mom or my aunt that I could be talking to a spirit. They just thought I had an imaginary friend. One that I would outgrow once I was older."

"Didn't your mother say that she didn't realize that the ability to talk to spirits was part of her families genetics," Kip asked. "If that's the case, it's no wonder that your mother didn't realize for awhile that you were actually talking to ghost, because she isn't on the same wavelength that you are that allows you to see spirits of all types."

"And she's also very busy at her bakery, so I'm not surprised that it didn't occur to her sooner," Zara agreed. "As for Aunt Shonda, that ability does not run in her family line at least as far as she's aware of anyway."

"Nice save when you said at least not that she is aware of," Kip laughed grinning.

Zara simply grinned adorably at him. "Yeah, who knows if that ability might pop up in her family someday just like it did in mine. It's not like my mother or my aunt know everything that is to know about their family history and that information is no longer available so they can't look it up."

"We'll see I suppose," Kip said. "Looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow?"

"I kinda am and I'm kind of not," Zara said using her hand to show Kip that she was kind of 50% ready to go back to walk in 50% not. "Don't get me wrong, I love working for the historical society. As my parents have already told you, it was my ability to talk to ghosts that put me on my career path, but I just enjoy spending time with you without having to fill out countless reports or approve a disapprove request for putting homes and businesses on the historical register. I know paperwork is computerized these days, but it's still a pain to have to do. At least I can't get finger cramps from signing endless physical paperwork, which is good in my opinion."

"I do understand," Kip said, "and I do enjoy spending time with you, which is a given, considering we're mates, but I'm ready to dig back into research."

"You haven't been working there that long though, so there likely will come a time when you feel like you need some time off and not just a day, but a week or more," Zara said.

"That's what they call a vacation, sweetie," Kip told her grinning.

"Yeah, that's what they call it," Zara said laughing at Kip's rejoinder.

She felt so happy now it was nearly surreal and unreal as she hadn't felt this lighthearted in a very long time. Her life was so much better since she had met one Christopher Whitethorn and she couldn't wait to marry him and start having those children, but everything in due time, as there was plenty of it, so there was no rush.

"I suggest we get some sleep as you're right we have to work tomorrow. You're welcome to join me in my bed if you like."

"You know what that will lead to," Kip said and Zara nodded, smiling.

"You'll have to get up early to go shower and change at your apartment, but it's doable if you're interested," Zara suggested with a smile and a wink.

"Of course I am. I might be tired tomorrow, but it will be well worth it," Kip said a grin spreading across his face. He was looking forward to making love to his mate for the first time, and he knew Zara was too. "Let's get undressed and into bed."

"Happy to. You don't even have to worry about getting me pregnant until you're immortal so you won't need to use a condom, which is a good thing considering you don't have any on you or at least I'm assuming you don't," Zara said,

"You're right I don't. Still, it's nice to know that piece of information," Kip agreed, even as he and Zara kissed dramatically leaving him with a goofy grin before Zara showed him where the bedroom was.

The two of them shed their clothes in seconds and made love for over an hour before they finally drifted off to sleep quite content curled around each other.

~~~Kip and Zara~~~