Blindsided : Part 2 of the Intended Series by Abigail Grant (good books to read for adults txt) 📕

I sigh loudly, grateful that we have finally made it. "Thank the heavens!" I shout, ready to collapse.

Gavin laughs and turns back to me. He takes my walking stick from me and tosses it into the weeds. He bends down and sweeps me up, cradling me in his arms. I giggle and rest my head against his shoulder.

"All right, complainer, I'll carry you the rest of the way.” He grins at me.

“My hero!” I snuggle into his chest.

I think about how he found me out in the middle of nowhere. "How did you even know where to look when you realized I was gone?" I ask, wanting to hear his side of the story.

He shifts me higher in his arms. "When I followed you into the woods by my house, I could feel you nearby, and then the tug on my heart became extraordinarily strong, like you were moving away from me too fast. I guess that's when Thrane took you. I panicked because I knew that you couldn't have run that fast yet."

Gavin sets me down when we reach the vehicle and grabs the keys from his backpack, unlocking the car with the push of a button. He helps me into the passenger’s side and then blurs to his side. I don't know if I'll ever get used to that.

He starts the car and heads down the dirt road before continuing his story. "Buckle up.

You don't need any more injuries than you already have," he tells me, and I smile as I obey.

"Anyways, I followed for a while, but I kept losing your trail. I think Thrane must’ve known I was nearby, so he was misleading me by going in all kinds of circles."

Gavin reaches for my hand and laces our fingers together. My heart feels happy from the contact. "When I knew I wasn't going to be able to find you right then, I ran back to my house and gathered some things together, ready for a trip. I called Alexa and told her to bring Kassy to our Mom's and meet me there. We 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."

74

"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.

75

"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