The Moreau Witches Trilogy
Part One
The Legacy
by Julien Gregg
Copyright © 2025 by Julien Gregg
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permission requests, contact the author by email. The link is below.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Seven
As soon as he walked into the house he could feel the energy was off. He looked at Charlie who looked at him with confusion on his handsome tanned face. Something was off. He didn’t know what it was at first but then he sensed her. Josephine was in the house. Lorette came out of he dining room and found them first.
“Charlie, Quinn you’re back from your honeymoon,” she said. “Everything here is nearly packed up. They’re moving it all to the manor. Well not the furniture but a lot of things and things have been shipped directly to the manor.”
“Why is she here?” Quinn asked.
“She’s in bed upstairs,” she said. “Dave gave her bed rest.”
“Why is she resting here in this house?” he asked.
“Because she has nowhere to go, Quinn,” she said. This made no sense to him.
“What do you mean?”
“Angelique couldn’t get flush with the loan,” she said. “She’s living in a one bedroom apartment in Keller Village. Josephine is here. Angelique says she’s your problem now.”
“That’s dramatic,” he said. “She said that?”
“She said with her powers bound she finds Josephine to be a whiny little bitch,” she said.
“Well then,” he said, looking at Charlie again.
“This is going to be bad isn’t it?” Charlie asked.
“It could be,” he said.
“Angelique is selling furniture that won’t fit in the apartment,” she said. “She’s sold most of it and is using the proceeds to start a college fund for the baby.”
“They’re operating as if I’m going to let them keep the baby,” Quinn said. “So, are we having Thanksgiving here or in the manor?”
“In the manor,” she said. “Franklin is coming.”
“That’s great,” Quinn said. “Did anyone buy a bird?”
“A big one,” she said. “Lilly and Donetta are over at the manor going through all of the food that was bought for daily living.”
“Okay,” he said. “When do we transport our patient?”
“Not until we’re no longer going to be in this house,” she said. “You still have to buy furniture like beds for one thing. The living room only has tables in it.”
“I’ll get furniture ordered and delivered,” he said. “I want it a certain way.”
“I’m sure,” she said with a smile. “So tell me how was the honeymoon?”
“It was perfect,” Charlie said. “We went snorkeling and tried to surf.”
“You failed to surf?” she asked with a smile.
“Quinn was able to stand up on his board and surf for a while,” he said. “I on the other hand could not.”
“Was the hotel on the beach?” she asked.
“Right there,” said Quinn.
“Well come in, sit,” she said, moving into the living room. “Have you decided what you’re going to do with this house?”
“I’m going to give it to Joseph and Leah for a wedding present,” Quinn said.
“That’s a great idea,” she said. “You know Joseph has absolutely nothing to do with his mother.”
“That’s sad,” Quinn said. “But Angelique brought that on herself.”
“Yes,” said Lorette. “I had no idea that Angelique was like that in the privacy of her home.”
“She was bad,” Quinn said.
“I had no idea that she was putting Joseph and Josephine through all of that, grooming them to have a powerful child. That’s always been left up to the kids if they decide to love each other then we don’t interfere. We don’t mold and push.”
“That’s exactly what she did to them,” Quinn said. “It’s no wonder that Joseph doesn’t want anything to do with her. I’m surprised he comes to visit his sister.”
“He does that,” she said. “He sits with her and talks. Then he goes home. Pierre says he’s wonderful at the store.”
“That’s a good thing,” Quinn said. “I have no idea what he’s studying at Ashdon but that job is good for him right now.”
“Leah is still waiting tables but she seems to love it,” Lorette said. “They’re paying the rent.”
“That’s good,” Quinn said. “I got them that apartment as a favor to Joseph. I figured they’d be diligent about paying the rent.”
“Are you going to ignore Josephine?” she asked.
“No,” he sighed. “I suppose I should check on her. Dave says everything is all right with the baby?”
“Yes,” she said. “Nothing to worry about. He said that Josephine needed rest because of the stress her mother put on her.”
“Well I’ll go up,” he said and got up. He walked out of the room and up the stairs slowly. He didn’t want to talk to Josephine but he knew he had to. If she was going to be living in his house he couldn’t avoid her.
“Quinn,” she said when he came into the bedroom. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Well here I am,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling pretty good,” she said. “Dave says I can get up and go to the bathroom, sit at the table there to eat my meals but I’m not to use the stairs.”
“Yes, I’ve been informed,” he said. “But we’re moving out of this house and into the manor. You’re going to have to go down the stairs eventually and then up the stairs at the manor.”
“You don’t have a bedroom on the first floor?” she asked.
“No,” he said, resisting the urge to close his eyes for a moment. “I restored it to what it was before the house began to fall apart.”
“So it looks like it came out of he fifties?” she asked, furrowing her brow.
“No, it has fixtures that look like they’re from the fifties but they’re modern,” he said. “I’m going to be ordering furniture to be delivered and then we’ll move over there.”
“Well I guess I can get down the stairs with help,” she said.
“You’ll have all of the help you need,” he said. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, I have my puzzle books and the television,” she said. “Lorette just brought me a drink so I’m good. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said and left the room.
Downstairs he started to help with what was going to the manor. He was told that the first shipment of the journals was delivered to the manor. No one had opened the boxes. They were waiting for him.
He drove over to the Manor and found all of the stuff that was shipped from the house in New York. He got Lilly to help him go through those boxes. He took one of each of the finished novels of the journals into the office and put them in the bookcase. Then he was helping Lilly go through kitchenware and taking it to the kitchen to be run through the dishwasher.
The boxes that he’d had shipped went to his room on the second floor. It was the largest bedroom and had a sitting room and bathroom attached to it. He put his towels away and the rest of his bathroom stuff. The stuff in the other boxes would have to wait for furniture to be delivered.
He went back to the other house and got on the computer to look for furniture in the antique category. He found pieces for the living room and a few for the lounge. He found beds for each and every bedroom and ordered it all to be delivered in a two days. It seemed they’d be moving into the manor in two days. He was happy about that. It would happen two days before Thanksgiving.
He had even made sure that the room he planned to put Josephine in would have a small dinner table with two chairs to go in there as well. The rooms were larger than normal bedrooms and all of what he ordered would fit. He just had to get it delivered.
“Lilly and Donetta are in the kitchen working on dinner and Charlie’s letting them,” laughed Lorette when she came into the office and found him. “Did you order furniture?”
“Yes and it will be here Tuesday,” he said.
“Great,” she said. “Then you can move in.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I got all of the stuff I shipped from New York but I need furniture to put it all on.”
“Funny how that works,” she said. “They finished the offices at Moreau Legal in Keller Village so I’m selling my condo and living here in the Bay.”
“Do you have a house?” he asked.
“We have one of the larger houses in Keller Village,” she said. “Franklin will be working out of the Keller Village offices as well.”
“Would you be interested in Angelique’s house?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “We own a piece of land just outside of town that we want to build on.”
“That’s exciting,” he said as he closed out of everything and powered down the computer.
“It would be if we could ever decide on a floor plan,” she said.
“Well that would help,” he said.
“Oh, I almost forgot that Dave wants to talk to you,” she said. “I have his number in my phone.”
“So do I,” Quinn said as he scrolled down to David’s name in his contacts. “He gave it to me after my mother’s funeral.”
“Ah,” she said. “Well you’re supposed to call him.”
“I’ll do that,” he said as he began the call. “David?” he said. “It’s Quinn I was told that you wanted to talk to me.”
“Yes, Quinn I wanted to talk to you about Josephine,” he said. “I understand that she’s at your house.”
“She is,” he said. “Was there something special that I needed to do for her?”
“No, not at all,” Dave said. “You’ll be moving to the manor soon, am I right?”
“That’s right,” Quinn said. “If the Goddess is willing it will be Tuesday.”
“All right, Josephine can walk up and down stairs if she goes slowly,” said Dave. “But that isn’t what I wanted to talk to you about. Have you noticed the baby bump she has?”
“No,” he said. “She was lying down with covers over her belly when I saw her. Why?”
“Well to be showing this soon can mean a few things but I what I think it means is that she might be having twins,” he said.
“That’s incredible,” Quinn said happily. “I would love that.”
“Well I thought you might that’s why I wanted you to call me,” he said. “I’ll be performing an ultrasound a bit early because of that baby bump. It’s just to rule out a few things.”
“Okay,” Quinn said.
“The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is her mental state,” said David.
“Her mental state? She seemed fine when I talked to her today,” Quinn said.
“Well she told me that her husband would be back from his business trip today,” David said. “When I asked her who her husband was she said it was you.”
“That’s disturbing,” Quinn said, looking at Lorette.
“I thought you needed to know this,” Dave said. “I don’t know that any of the others would tell you about this because I’m not sure she says it all of the time.”
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention,” Quinn said. “What should we do?”
“Well I’m against medication while she’s pregnant,” said Dave. “I think we’ll play it by ear. Pregnancy fills the woman’s body with hormones. That could be what’s at play here.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Quinn said. “I’ll keep an eye on this.”
“Yes, do,” said Dave. “Thank you for calling me back.”
“Thank you for telling me about this,” Quinn said. “I’ll see you when I bring her in for her ultrasound.”
“Maybe you should let Lorette or Josette bring her in, Quinn,” Dave said. “The less you have to do with her while she’s in this state the better.”
“You may be right about that,” Quinn said. “I’ll speak to Lorette about this.”
“Good,” Dave said. “I’ll speak to you soon.”
“Goodbye, Dave,” Quinn replied.
“Goodbye,” said Dave and the connection was broken.
“What’s going on, Quinn?” Lorette asked.
“Has Josephine been acting strange since she’s been here?” he asked.
“Now that you mention it she’s had this dreamy smile on her face from the moment she arrived,” she said.
“She told Dave that her husband would be back from his business trip today,” he said. “When he asked who her husband was she said it was me.”
“Mon deux,” she sighed.
“My thought’s exactly,” he said.
“Has she lost her mind?” Lorette asked.
“That’s what I’m asking you,” he said with a smile. “You’ve seen her more than I have.”
“She only got here yesterday,” Lorette said. “Angelique dropped her off.”
“That’s lovely,” he said. “She may have lost her mind due to hormones and needs bed rest due to stress. Angelique just drops her off like she’s laundry.”
“There’s no counting what Angelique will do,” she said. “I’ve lost all respect for her. Hell I lost it when she used magic to help Josephine get pregnant with your sperm.”
“That still pisses me off,” Quinn said, glaring at nothing.
“I hear you,” she said. “I’m just saying that Angelique is capable of anything.”
“Well she’s out of my life for the moment,” Quinn said. “I just have to deal with Josephine.”
“And then only until she gives birth,” Lorette pointed out.
“From your lips to the Goddess’s ears,” Quinn said with a smile. “Oh and Dave said it would probably be better if you or Josette bring her in for her appointment this week. He said I should have as little to do with her as I can.”
“Well I’m going to go up and see if she needs anything,” Lorette said. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” Quinn said as Lilly came into the living room.
“Dinner almost ready. Where husband?” she asked.
“He’s upstairs watching Giselle paint again,” Quinn said. “I’ll get them.”
“Thank you,” she said.
He went upstairs to retrieve his husband and sister. He wasn’t sure where Revanche was. He met Lorette on his way up. She told him that Revanche was with Pierre and would be for the evening. Josephine was asleep so she left her alone. He continued up the stairs and went to the room that Giselle was using. Sure enough she was painting and Charlie was watching.
“Hey guys,” Quinn said as he came into the room.
“Hey there love of my life,” Charlie said, getting up and wrapping his arms around Quinn’s neck. They kissed.
“Lilly says that dinner is almost ready,” he said.
“We’ll be down in just a minute,” said Giselle. “I just need to put these trees in.”
“Okay,” he said. “I came to tell you about dinner and I’ve done that.”
“Love you,” Charlie said.
“Love you too,” he said, kissing him again.
He went back down and took his place at the dining room table. Lorette was in her seat and Charlie and Giselle came down a few minutes later. They sat down and Donetta served plates while Lilly filled drinks.
“So what else did Dave say on the phone?” Lorette asked.
“First let me thank these two lovely ladies for the work they’ve done,” he said, smiling at Donetta. She smiled back.
“It’s a pleasure to work for you Quinn,” she said.
“It’s a pleasure to have you and Larry around,” he said. “Hopefully Lilly and Kim are helping.”
“Oh they’ve been a great help and I’ll need them when we get to that big manor house,” Donetta said with a smile.
“Tuesday, Goddess willing,” he said.
“I’ll pack,” she said and left the room. Lilly followed her.
“Now Dave said that Josephine is starting to show fairly early so he wants to do an ultrasound to make sure there are no anomalies and he thinks she might be carrying twins.”
“That would be exciting,” Lorette said.
“Twins!” Charlie enthused.
“Yes, I’m hoping for twins of course,” he said. “But I’m hoping for male twins. I want to name them after my uncles.”
“Quinn that would be so sweet,” Lorette said with tears in her eyes. “They both died so very young.”
“I know,” he said. “I want to honor them in this way. If I have two boys I don’t have to choose who I’m naming the baby after.”
“Yes, I can see that,” she said. “It would mean a lot to me and Josette if you named them after our brothers.”
“It would mean a lot to me, too,” he said. “So she has to have twin boys.”
They all laughed at that. He wanted her to have twins so he could make sure they weren’t separated at all in their lives. He and Giselle had been separated at birth and that had really sucked. He didn’t want them to feel the way that he had when he learned that he had a twin sister and had never met her.
“Did you get furniture?” Charlie asked.
“It’ll be delivered on Tuesday as long as there are no surprises,” Quinn said. “We can move Tuesday.”
“That’s great,” he said. “Then we’ll really have Thanksgiving at the manor.”
“We were going to have Thanksgiving at the manor anyway,” Quinn informed. “The Christmas tree was shipped from New York as well. We’ll put that up that evening.”
“You put your tree up on Thanksgiving?” Lorette asked.
“We put it up on Thanksgiving and take it down New Year’s Day,” Quinn said. “But we have all kinds of decorations for Christmas. It was my father’s favorite holiday.”
“Naturally,” Lorette said with a smile.
“So yeah we put the tree up that evening but we can take our time decorating the manor for Christmas,” Quinn said. “There’s a lot.”
“Any of it go outside?” Lorette asked.
“The reindeer and slay go on the roof,” he said. “But we might just use magic to do that. Come to think of it I always saw it on the roof but I never saw dad or Kim putting it up there. They might have used magic.”
“Your father could have just used his power,” Lorette said. “He was a very powerful telekinetic.”
“Yes, I read that in his journal,” Quinn said.
“Do you have his journals?” Giselle asked.
“I do,” he said. “They’re at the manor. I’m going to have them transcribed and turned into novels too.”
“I’d like to read them,” she said.
“Of course you can read them that’s why I’m having them transcribed,” he said. “I have Maria’s too.”
“You do?” Lorette asked. “I thought you’d have destroyed them.”
“People need to know all that she did,” he said.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” she said. “So you’re going to have them transcribed and turned into novels?”
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll even put the first copy on my book shelf in my office. She was a horrible woman but she was family. I’m doing the entire family journals. If the family wants to submit them.”
“Well you can have mine but I’ll write more of them,” Lorette said.
“You can hold off until you’re done writing journals,” he said.
“I’ll be dead then, Quinn,” she said with a smile.
“Well you can wait for a while,” he said, smiling back. “I didn’t think that one through and I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” she said.
After dinner she went up and took Josephine’s dinner to her. She came back down with a look on her face. Quinn watched her until she sat down across from him at the table. He wondered what had put that look on her face.
“She’s demanding to see you, Quinn,” she said.
“I’ll go up in a bit,” he said. “What exactly did she say?”
“She said that her husband had only been with her for a few minutes and she deserves more of his attention after all she’s having his baby,” Lorette said.
“Merciful Goddess,” he sighed. “Here we go.”
“You really think it’s pregnancy hormones doing this?” Lorette asked.
“I’m hoping it’s only pregnancy hormones doing this,” he said with another sigh.
He got up and headed up the stairs. He didn’t know what to do with Josephine but he would not play her husband for all of the money in the world. She had to be set straight and that was all there was to it. He’d set her straight and then go back downstairs.
“Quinn!” she cried happily. “You need to take better care of me.”
“Josephine you will stop this insanity at once,” he said. “I’m not your husband. I’m gay and married to Charlie. I love him and not you. This will never change.”
“You say such mean things,” she said. “Go away and don’t come back until you can show me the respect I deserve.”
“I think this will be the last time you see me until that baby is born,” he said. Then he walked out to her yelling his name as he went. She was crazy as a loon. There were no two ways about it.
When he got downstairs he told Lorette exactly what Josephine had said. Lorette was beside herself. She went upstairs before he could stop her. Then he heard yelling. He came out of the dining room just as Giselle and Charlie came out of the living room.
“Why is Lorette yelling at Josephine?” Charlie asked.
“Because she told me that I need to take better care of her and I told her I wasn’t her husband. I told her I was gay and married to you. She told me that I say mean things and that I should go away and not come back until I can show her the respect she deserves.”
“Oh, wow,” he said. “She’s crazy.”
“Yes but we’re trying to decide if she’s warped for real or if it’s pregnancy hormones,” Quinn said.
“Oh wow,” he said again.
“Yeah when it rains is pours,” Quinn said.
“How can she believe that you’re married to her?” Giselle asked. “You hate her.”
“Well it could be pregnancy hormones,” Quinn said. “If it’s that we just have to put up with it. But if it’s more then I’ll book her a room at the sanitarium.”
“You mean the one I was in?” she asked.
“The very one,” he said. “Do you know that we own it?”
“We do?” she asked.
“Of course we do,” he said. “We own just about everything.”
“When you put it that way it doesn’t really surprise me that Maria would throw me in a sanitarium that the family owns,” she said.
“I looked into it after we got you out of there,” he said. “There it was in the deeds. Way of Life Sanitarium was one of those deeds.”
“Isn’t the administrator family?” she asked.
“Yes, but she has no magic so the family never had anything to do with her,” he said.
“But you plan to change all of that,” she said.
“Exactly but right now I have to worry about Josephine losing her mind over a fantasy,” he said.
“I blame Angelique for this,” said Giselle. “If she hadn’t helped her get pregnant with magic then this wouldn’t have happened.”
“It might still have happened,” Quinn said. “We’ll never know.”
“Well you can’t unbind her powers, Quinn,” she said. “She’s unstable.”
“Don’t I know it,” he said.
Lorette came back downstairs. She looked angry. She looked at Quinn and shook her head. So she wasn’t able to convince Josephine that she wasn’t married to Quinn. That didn’t shock him. It pissed him off but it didn’t shock him.
“She’s digging in her heals,” she said. “She said you two were married on the beach and that Josette was her maid of honor. Quinn I think she believes it with her whole heart.”
“That’s sad if you think about it,” Quinn said. “But she has to be made to understand that I am not her husband.”
“I don’t see how we can convince her short of you and Charlie having sex in the same room with her,” Lorette said.
“Well we’re not going to do that,” laughed Quinn. “You weren’t serious.”
“No I wasn’t,” she laughed. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“Well we can’t do anything while she’s pregnant,” he said. “When she has the baby I’ll probably strip her magic and put her in the sanitarium.”
“That’s the humane thing to do,” she said. “She can’t be allowed to keep her power while she’s unstable.”
“And this may end with the pregnancy,” he said. “We just don’t know.”
“Well I know one thing,” Lorette said. “You are not going anywhere near her until she’s more rational.”
“That’s a given,” he said. “I had to resist the urge to yell at her. Lorette she really does need the low stress environment.”
“I know I shouldn’t have yelled at her,” she said. “But it just made me angry. I mean first she steals your sperm and then she gets her mother to help her with magic. Now this.”
“I know,” Quinn said. “I just don’t know what to do about it. If magic would help I’d use it.”
They were at a loss as to what to do. Revanche came home and they rehashed the night’s events for him when he got there. He was just as dismayed to learn of Josephine’s break with reality. He agreed that she couldn’t have her powers if she was unstable but he didn’t know what to do about it.
By the time that he and Charlie went to bed Quinn had given up racking his brain for things to do to make her see reality. He would just stay away from her from now on no matter how much she demanded to see him.
The next day he spent most of the day with the artists who were restoring the paintings. They had a batch of them done but just hadn’t returned them yet. He put those in his truck and took them to the house. He hung them above their name plates. Thankfully their names were typed on the sheet that was taped to the back of the canvases.
He expected to be hanging Giselle’s artwork on the walls eventually. She had several pieces to choose from. He just hadn’t asked her about it yet. He was too busy putting things away in the manor and moving tables in the living room to set them where he wanted the furniture to go between them.
He also received another round of boxes of journals that were now novels. He went through them and put one of each novel on the shelf in his office. He had a computer there now and the internet was on along with the electricity. That was evident from the air conditioning.
He located all of the boxes of Christmas decorations. Some of this stuff had to be put on the roof. Some of it went on the walls and some went on tables. There were the Clauses. Santa and Mrs. Claus were made out of catalogs, a doll head and felt. They were wrapped in bubble wrap to keep the from being crushed and placed in special boxes. He found all that he needed. He put these boxes in the hallway next to the doorways of the rooms they went in.
Then he left the manor and went back to the house. He walked into a screaming fit that Josephine was having because Quinn hadn’t been in to see her. He wasn’t going up those stairs to her either. Today it was Josette who was with her. He could hear her raised voice as well. She was going to the doctor today and Josette and Lorette were taking her. He went into the dining room and out of sight of the stairs.
They got her down the stairs but it took several minutes. Then Josephine wanted to find Quinn. Instead she came across Charlie. She gave him the rough side of her tongue for trying to steal her husband. He just walked away from her and they got her out the door and into Josette’s SUV.
“Did you hear that?” Charlie asked when he came into the dining room.
“I heard it,” he said. “And it’s unacceptable. I just don’t know what to do about it.”
“I’ll just stay away from her,” he said. “Donetta took her breakfast and lunch to her today. She treated her like a slave the whole time. Donetta came out of he room both times with a grim look on her face.”
“Well that’s not acceptable either but there’s still nothing I can do about it,” Quinn said. “I’m sorry, Charlie. I know we’re supposed to be happy right now. I never banked on this.”
“I know that,” Charlie said waving his hand to wave it away. “I’m not upset with you. And I am happy.”
“Good, because I’m so happy it should be criminal,” Quinn said. “I just don’t know what to do with the girl upstairs.”
“Is that what you call her now?” Charlie laughed.
“That or the incubator,” Quinn said seriously.
“That’s awful,” Charlie said but he giggled.
“I love you,” Quinn said.
“As I love you,” Charlie said back.
“We’ll only have to put up with this for the next six months,” said Quinn.
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “Quinn it isn’t all bad. We’re about to move into the manor and start our lives together. Josephine isn’t even a blip on my radar. I know I have nothing to fear where she’s concerned. You would never hurt her or hurt me by giving in to her. Stop worrying so much.”
“I have to worry,” he said. “I’m the heir.”
“Not to me you’re not,” he said. “I’m not a Moreau.”
“I know,” sighed Quinn. “I had a lot of heir stuff this morning. Sorry I missed breakfast.”
“I forgive you,” Charlie said and then kissed him.
Then Joseph was in the house to see his sister. He sat in the dining room with Quinn and Charlie to wait for her to come back from the doctor. He talked about school and his job. He and Leah were planning to get married and Quinn told him that he was giving them this house for a wedding present.
“That’s nice,” he said. “But can we have Mom’s old house instead?”
“Of course,” Quinn replied. “I just wanted to help you and Leah start your life together.”
“And I thank you for that but I’ve always wanted the house that I grew up in to be where I raised my children,” Joseph said. “I know that my sister is off her rocker and you’re taking the baby when he or she is born so it’s important that my children grow up in that house.”
“Say no more,” Quinn said. “It’s yours. I went by there today to make sure that your mother is all moved out. You guys can have it now. I’ll have the deed transferred into your name.”
“No loan?” Joseph asked.
“No loan,” Quinn replied. “I want you guys to start your life out of debt.”
“Thanks Quinn,” he said, beaming at him. “That’s really nice of you. Hey at least you get along with one member of my family. How’s it been having my sister in your house?”
“Not good,” he said and then went on to tell him all that had happened.
“I told her to stop that shit,” Joseph said. “It’s crazy talk. She’s definitely off her rocker. I don’t know if it’s pregnancy hormones or not but Josephine has always been a little off. I’d say she was fragile to begin with and this pregnancy threw her over the edge.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Quinn said. “I had no problem with Josephine until she did what she did.”
“I know that,” Joseph said. “You were always patient with her and I thank you for that. When I found out what really happened I was so mad at both of them. I’m still mad about it. What they did was wrong on so many levels. Quinn, you have my sympathy for what my family did to you.”
“Thank you Joseph,” he said, touched. “You don’t have to give me sympathy. It wasn’t you so don’t worry too much about it. And I’d never begrudge you a relationship with your sister or your mother. I just have nothing for them.”
“And I understand that,” he said. “I hear my mother is in one of the one bedroom apartments out by me. I haven’t seen her and I don’t want to. You don’t know what it was like to grow up with her as a mother.”
“I was raised by the daughter of a witch hunter,” Quinn said. “It may not have been the same but I get it.”
“I think you might,” Joseph said as the ladies returned.
“Quinn I need to talk to you,” said Lorette as she came into the dining room. Josette helped Josephine up the stairs.
“Well my sister is back, I’ll go up and see to her,” Joseph said. “Thanks again Quinn.”
“You’re very welcome Joseph,” Quinn said. Then he looked at Lorette.
“Those babies are growing fast because of whatever spell Angelique cast on her to get her pregnant,” Lorette said.
“Babies? She’s having twins?” he asked.
“Yes, she is,” she said, smiling. “Identical twins but we don’t know the sex. They never turned so we could see. But they’re far more advanced in gestation than they should be. She’s not even three months pregnant but it looks like she is.”
“Well I don’t know the spell they used,” Quinn said. “I know that it was dangerous.”
“Well Dave spelled her,” she said. “He’s making sure those babies survive this.”
“Good,” he said. “So when’s the due date?”
“That’s just it, Dave doesn’t know,” she said. “They’re growing too fast because of the spell. He’s more worried about birth defects. He’s ordering ultrasounds monthly.”
“Now I have to worry about this?” he asked.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He and Charlie packed up their stuff. Quinn had called the warehouse and been told that his furniture would be the first delivery of the day. That would land them at about ten o’clock. They could move in as soon as everything was set up and installed.
They went to bed that night in their underwear. They had what they’d wear the next day out but the only thing left to pack was the laundry bag. They made love but this time they flushed the condom.
The next day Quinn was at the manor in time for the deliveries. He opened the doors and let them carry it all in he house. He watched as they set up the living room. His electronics were all set up. The furniture was in place and looked great, and he had shelves to put things on in the living room.
Then they did the lounge. That was just two settees with end tables and one side table that was long. On this they placed a silk runner. Quinn had ideas for that table. They did the bedrooms next. His own room was the first of the bunch because of the king-sized bed. They put the bed, dresser, night stands and bookcase together in there and even hooked up his game consoles to his television.
In all there were ten bedrooms and each got a bed, nightstands, a dresser, and lamps. They were there for two hours setting things up. When the left Quinn tipped them very well. He walked through the house and then called Charlie to tell him to start moving everyone over. Charlie had the truck while Quinn was using his Toyota.
It wasn’t long before Kim and Larry showed up with boxes and such. They were told that their rooms were in the back of the second story across from each other. Quinn told them they were the last rooms on either side of he hall.
Then Charlie showed up with his, Giselle’s, and Revanche’s stuff. Quinn helped them put it all in the rooms it went in. Then he called Josette to tell her that she could bring Josephine to the manor but she was to go to the back of the second floor second door from the back wall on the left.
They were moved in very quickly after that. Quinn was happy to unpack boxes that had been waiting on places to put things. He had special nick-knacks that went in his room, some went in the office, and some went to the living room. He got all of the boxes unpacked, his clothes put away, and his games and books unpacked.
They had a late lunch in the dining room. Lilly made them ham sandwiches with carrot sticks. She gave them coffee and juice. She even took Josephine a plate and glass. She came back with a look on her face and told Quinn, “She bad girl.”
“I hear you, Lilly,” he said.
He had nothing to do with Josephine. She didn’t even know he was in the house. She thought he was away on business again. This was her way of explaining why he never came to see her. He didn’t worry about it much.
They had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the manor. Josette came without her husband which Quinn thought was odd. Lorette and Franklin came and Lilly and Donetta had made enough food to feed an army.
They went around the table telling everyone what they were thankful for. Quinn said he was thankful for the house but most of all he was thankful for Charlie’s love. Charlie expressed similar sentiments. Revanche was thankful for the house and for Pierre’s continued teaching. Pierre was thankful for family and friends. Lorette and Franklin were both thankful that their offices were finally done but they were most thankful because they had agreed on a floor plan for their new house. Giselle was thankful for family and the fact that she was out from under Maria’s thumb.
They had good food and great people to share it with. They were happy. They didn’t even bat an eye when Lilly took a plate up to Josephine and came down looking angry. They just ate, drank, and made merry.
They put the Christmas tree up and decorated it. This went in the living room so it could be seen from the bay window in there. There were special handmade ornaments and lots of store bought ones. The lights all worked so that was a plus. They had tinsel and garland. There were bows and bells. They put it all on the tree. It was beautiful when they were finished and it was lit up.
It was a very good first holiday in the manor. Quinn and Charlie were happy. When everyone left they gathered in the living room to watch the tree sparkle. Each of them in their own thoughts. Quinn thought about what to do about Josephine but decided there was nothing to be done with her. He’d wait until the baby was born and see what was what. That was all he could do.
In the days that followed it was only Lilly and Donetta that ever waited on Josephine. Joseph came to see her regularly and then the day came when Angelique came to see her. Quinn was of a mind to throw her out of the house but in the end he let her have her little visit. They were all aware that she was in the house and they were on edge.
She wasn’t there long that day. She sat with Josephine for like twenty minutes and then left. Quinn was happy to see the back of her as she left the manor. Of course Josephine was hard to handle after that visit. She kept demanding to see Quinn and said she knew his business trip hadn’t lasted this long. She kept telling them that Quinn was with that awful Charlie and they were plotting to destroy her marriage.
Quinn didn’t go up to calm her down either. In the end he called Dave and he came to talk to her. He told her that all of this yelling was bad for the babies. That calmed her down but for how long? Dave told them that she now looked very pregnant. He wanted another ultrasound. Quinn was worried about his babies so he agreed to have her driven to Moreau Medical the next day.
He called Lorette and Josette to come and get her and take her to Moreau Medical to see Dave for an ultrasound. They were both very shocked by how pregnant she appeared to be. Quinn and Charlie stayed in the office to be out of Josephine’s view. When they were gone the pair went to the living room.
Then Pierre was there and talking about the full moon and the best time to activate the power sync behind he house. He said that Quinn, Giselle, Revanche, and Lorette would have to help him. He said that they were the only witches powerful enough to open the sync without disastrous side effects. Quinn asked them what those side effects were and he said death was the number one.
So they agreed to come together on the next full moon. He said he’d have potion bags for the baths and for evacuation. Then he was gone and they were back to waiting for Josephine to come back from Moreau Medical. Quinn hoped that nothing was wrong with his babies. If there was something wrong he’d probably kill Josephine as soon as they were delivered.
But she came back with news that the babies were healthy if not a bit over schedule. They were boys and for that Quinn was happy. She was at least six months pregnant now and they could have a home birth but Dave would be there to make sure that it was perfect. They were all happy.
Before he knew it the night of the full moon was upon them. Pierre came with bags and potions as he’d promised. They all went to their rooms and got ready. When they were empty and bathed they met in the back yard.
Pierre had them stand at points around a circle. He began with calling the corners and then he handed a piece of paper to each of them. They had to say the spell in French because that’s the way it was written. The tilted their heads back and began to chant.
“La terre, l'air, le feu, l'eau, l'esprit nous aident. Nord, ouest, sud, est nous aident. Apportez la puissance de la Terre, apportez-la des profondeurs. Aidez-nous à apporter le pouvoir maintenant,” they said as one, throwing their arms up above their bodies and swaying in the power.
Suddenly power shot from north to west to south and to east. Each of them began to glow like beacons. Quinn could feel the immense power flowing through him and he loved it. He wanted to draw more but couldn’t move. The power flowed through them for almost an hour. Then it began to dissipate. When they were merely standing there with their arms up Pierre called the spell done.
Quinn could feel the power in the land now. It was like the power under the house in New York. The sync was activated. That made him happy. Pierre said they’d go to the beach on the next full moon to activate the sync there as well.
Suddenly Quinn was so hungry. They made their way into the house to sit at the dining room table as Lilly and Donetta brought them food. Lilly told him that Dave was in the house because Josephine was in labor. That really got Quinn’s attention. His babies were being born on the night that they activated the power sync. Pierre said that would make them very powerful children.
It wasn’t long before they heard a baby cry and then there was a pair of them. Philippe and Marcel had been born on December twenty-third in that year of two thousand. He went upstairs to see his sons. Dave handed them both to him and suddenly his arms were full of babies. He loved them so. He didn’t understand how he could love them so completely on first sight.
Josephine was slipping in and out of consciousness. Dave said it was the spell he’d cast on her. Quinn wasn’t so worried about her at the moment. He had his sons in his arms and all was right with the world.
He took the babies down to show the others. Everyone was overjoyed by their arrival even if it was way earlier than they expected them to be born. They were happy for Quinn and Charlie who quickly took one from Quinn and then they were both cradling a baby in their arms. Quinn noticed that the baby that he held had a thin red cord tied around his wrist. He wondered what that was about.
Then Dave was there with them and he asked him. Dave told him that marked the first born. So Quinn was holding Philippe and Charlie was holding Marcel. Their names were Philippe Bartholomew Moreau and Marcel Charles Moreau. They filled out the birth certificate and named them legally. Then Dave went back up to check on Josephine.
Quinn and Charlie took the babies up to their cribs in their room. They stood watching the newborn boys sleep in their cribs. They embraced each other. The family that they wanted to raise was in full view now. They had it all a great house, each other, and two little boys that they would love and nurture for the rest of their lives.
Quinn was so happy. He didn’t remember when he’d been this happy before. These baby boys now sleeping in their little outfits and diapers were his life. He loved them and he loved Charlie. He had everything right there in front of him. His life was complete now. He felt nothing but joy.
Then the babies began to cry. Quinn picked up Philippe and Charlie picked up Marcel. Lilly and Donetta brought them bottles of formula and they fed them. Then they checked their little diapers and found them unsoiled. They burped them and put them back in their cradles. The pair went right back to sleep.
That night they woke up three times. Quinn was tired but happy. Charlie sat beside him feeding Marcel as Quinn fed Philippe. On the next feeding they switched. It went on like that each time they woke up.
The next day while the lads were sleeping Quinn went off to buy them all that they would need and wrapped it all in Christmas paper. Then he got the gift he wanted for Charlie and went back home. He added these gifts to the pile that was already under the tree. It was Christmas Eve now.
Josephine asked for him to apologize. He went up to her room where she was sitting on the bed instead of lying on it. She’d brushed her hair and put on clean clothes. She looked remarkably well for having just had two babies.
“Quinn,” she said. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Your hormones were in full swing,” he said.
“Something happened to me all right,” she said. “I know that you don’t like me very much but I’d really like to be a part of their lives.”
“You’ll always be their mother, Josephine,” he said. “No matter how you came to be pregnant with them you are their mother.”
“Will you permit me to see them?” she asked.
“When they wake up again,” he said.
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