Paradox (Travelers Series Book 2) *sample chapters*

Paradox (Chapter 1)

Chapter One - Here Comes the Bride

I can’t help but continue to gawk at the simple silver ring displayed on his left hand. Is he freaking kidding me? I can pretend all I want, but I know I heard Cooper correctly, the ring on his finger is proof enough. I’m his wife. 

After revealing the big news, neither one of us have bothered to move from our spot on the outdoor deck. It’s one of my favorite areas in the house, but it’s also the stage for surprises and secrets. As of late, it appears to be the setting for all my private conversations with Cooper. Some of the moments we’ve shared I’ve enjoyed, while others, like the bombshell he just dropped, is enough to make my heart race. 

I stop staring at his ring long enough to glance up at the sky above, remembering all the times I used to gaze up to view the stars and dream about belonging to a family. Now, not only have I been reunited with my family, but I have a husband to boot. Tonight, the moon is barely a sliver, peeking through the mist of clouds rolling in. It’ll be few more weeks before it’s a true full moon, but for now the backyard remains dark, so I can’t really see Cooper’s expression as I look back at him. 

“I’m what?” I say, taking my time to comprehend his doozy of an announcement. In the last week, I’d been given a crash course into the history that is my life: the source of my telekinetic powers, having the ability to jump between realities, finding out I can also astral project, not only in the present, but through time. But this little tidbit of information is like a sucker punch to the gut. I can hardly breathe. 

I remove myself from Cooper’s hold and take a step back. “You mean you’re married to another version of Etta. Right?” This is the only reasonable explanation I can think of. It has to be. Then again, nothing I’ve learned this last week has had a rational explanation. First off, I’m not even eighteen, yet here’s Cooper talking about marriage. Second, how does this even happen? I mean, I admit to having a small – well, okay, a major crush on Coop, but married? In what reality is it socially acceptable for an almost-eighteen-year-old to be married off? 

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m married to you, darlin’.” Cooper leans in, closing the gap between us. 

This is so not what I expect to hear – still wanting to believe I heard him wrong –  and I can tell by the lilt in his twang he’s having fun delivering this bit of news. I take another step back, distancing myself from the closeness. “Me, me?” I say, pointing to myself. “Just to be clear, not another version of me?” 

“Yes, you.” Cooper takes a step forward in my direction, bridging the distance between us again. If the subject weren’t so serious, I’d laugh over our fancy footwork. It’s almost like dancing the tango, the way we keep stepping back and forth. While I can tell he’s secretly enjoying this, his expression is all serious. He’s standing dangerously close to me and his familiar scent of licorice and cloves never fails to stir up feelings I’m not quite sure I know how to handle. I’m not very experienced when it comes to sex, so my body is talking a language my mind doesn’t comprehend yet.

I push him, as well as the lusty thoughts swirling around in my head, away. “Don’t you think we could have gone the rest of the evening without any more surprises?” Just this night alone, I find out my best friend’s dad is a psychopathic military dictator in another reality, I’m the leader of some Council set to destroy my best friend’s dad, I finally locate my dad who’d been kidnapped by my best friend’s psychopathic dad, and the icing on the cake: I find out I’m married to Cooper. I feel like the whole twenty-four hours has been like this great big Kansas tornado that’s propelled me into a world I’m still desperately trying to figure out. 

“Sorry to drop such a bombshell on you.” He takes my hand. “Yeah, I heard your thoughts,” he says, before I can say that’s exactly what I was thinking. “I hope you’re not freaked out by all this.”