Designed to Love Read Free

you safe at all cost. I want
a guarantee that you'll go to sleep and wake-up by my side every
day," he says, squeezing my hand.
    Romancing
DNA, I think as an unwarranted tear slowly trickles down
my cheek. I let out a big sigh and watch the mile markers on the
freeway whiz by trying to make sense of Bernie's warnings. It
seemed like such a preposterous theory that I wondered why Ronan
would even bother bringing it up to me.
    "Look Ronan, my parents and brother are
dead. Claire and I attended their funerals. I just can't buy the
conspiracy theory," I finally reply. "And besides, if my
relationship with you is a threat to me then so is my relationship
to Claire. Would you have me disown her as well?"
    He shakes his head no. I choose my next
words carefully.
    "I refuse to live my life in fear Ronan. It
was my parent's decree to live life to the fullest. My dad used to
say, 'You're not truly living if you're riding a train that's
standing still. If you want to ride the train of life, then you
have to be willing to jump on and off while it's moving; even if it
means getting hurt.' So, are you willing to let me jump?"
    His brows furrow and his whole body seems to
tense up as he concentrates on the road ahead. I can tell he's
struggling with the question.
    "Say it. Say you're willing to let me jump,"
I cheer him on, trying to lighten the mood.
    Finally, without saying a word he rolls his
eyes in defeat, and raises his right hand. Imitating a train
engineer, he pulls a make belief cord, and to my delight lets out
the perfect imitation of a locomotive steam whistle.
    ***
    "Please make sure they don't push Claire too
hard," I whisper in Ronan's ear as the others load their suitcases
in Brandon's plane, preparing for their trip to Nevada.
    "Cat, she has five pairs of eyes watching
out for her, she'll be fine. I promise," he says with
confidence.
    The logical side of me knows he's absolutely
right, but the emotional side of me wants to insist she stay home
with me. I haven't seen Claire this happy since before the death of
our parents. She's no longer solely my responsibility, and now she
is thriving under the care of the six other adults in the house;
six adults who all have adopted her in some way or another. Jason
and Alisha treat her like a daughter. Elizabeth and Michael are
like a favorite aunt and uncle. Brandon and Burke are her
adventurous older brothers, and Ronan will officially be her
brother-in-law in a matter of a few months. I think she's fondest
of him, maybe because she sees how happy he makes me, or maybe it's
because she knows he loves her like I do.
    "She wants me to remind you that she wants a
horse for her birthday," Ronan says, laughing softly. Claire had
made her birthday wishes known to all of us, making sure she had
all her bases covered. It really was pointless for her to continue
reminding me, as if I were the final decision maker in the matter.
The others were already searching the western United States for the
perfect breed, then arguing when they couldn't agree on one. Still,
it made me feel good that she still considered me as a person of
authority.
    Jason, Michael and I wait on the back deck
watching Brandon take off from his private airstrip. He makes a few
circles around the house, than flies east disappearing over the
horizon. Michael puts his arm around my shoulder, giving me a
comforting squeeze. He hated giving Elizabeth up for the next three
days, too. Ronan's kiss lingers on my lips and my body still feels
warm inside, like after drinking hot cocoa while standing in a snow
storm.
    "I'll be with you every night," he had
whispered, insinuating that he would remotely travel to the Freeman
house.
    "Humph, a lot of good that does me," I
reminded him with a less than enthusiastic attitude.

CHAPTER TWO
    RONAN
    The flight to Nevada takes us a little over
four hours, accounting for the one hour time difference. There is a
military helicopter waiting for us, just as Bernie said there would
be and the flight