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alternative pursuits.  “You earned yourself some major uncle points.”  She eyed Matt, putting weight behind her easy words.  “Thanks.”
    Mia romped over, barely managing to avoid sleeping Kenna as she peeled around the tree.  “I smell chocolate.”
    Nell happily threw her brothers under the bus.  “I think they ate the last brownie.”
    Jamie and Matt didn’t miss their cue.  “Did not.”
    A snicker popped out of Mia’s cheeks, aided by Jamie’s totally over-the-top look of innocent dismay.
    Nell grinned at her daughter.  “You should have tried growing up with them.  They never left anything good to eat.”
    Jamie rolled his eyes as Mia laughed.  “You didn’t have to live with a big sister who tried to turn you into a trio of frogs every time your mom wasn’t looking.”
    She’d only tried that once.
    Mia’s giggles were legion now.  “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
    Jamie glared, aggrieved.  “ Pink frogs.”
    “Did you ever make it work, Mama?”
    “Nope.”  Nell shook her head.  “Moira told me it didn’t work because frogs are really smart and they all hid every time I started my magic.”
    Jamie grinned.  “Probably because they didn’t want to be pink.”
    It was like being eight all over again.  “Probably because they didn’t want to be you .”
    “Children, children.”  Retha stepped over to the tree and winked at Mia.  “When they’re acting like this, you need to send them to their rooms with moldy socks for dinner.”
    Mia’s hands wrapped around her ribs as more giggles squirted out.  “I don’t think Nathan packed any of his socks.”
    Nell hid a snort.  Barely.  Nathan’s feet had turned into pure teenage boy lately.  Nobody went into his room anymore.  Which might be the point.  The kid had probably figured out a moldy-sock spell.
    Jamie looked suspiciously amused.  And guilty.
    Nell grinned up at them, ruffians all.  Summer was the very best.  Especially if there were more brownies.
     

Lauren stared at her husband, not comprehending.  The sun had barely crept into the morning sky.  She clutched her coffee, hoping for cup-to-skin caffeine.  “We need to do what?” 
    He swung at imaginary things in the air.  “We need to find a field.  Someplace to play baseball.”
    Sure—those were plentiful in the rainforest.  She struggled through the deep fog of not-quite-gone sleep.  It had been a long, late night.  Again.  “We need to do this right now?” 
    “Yup.”  Her husband’s eyes gleamed with overgrown-boy enthusiasm.  “Daniel’s gone to chat with Téo and find equipment, and Aervyn’s porting whatever we can’t source here.  Our job is to scout a location.”
    She had no idea how she’d been nominated Sullivan most likely to find a baseball diamond in the middle of the jungle, but her brain was beginning to work out a couple of muddled details.  This was no innocent ball game.  “What’s going on?”
    “We’re playing baseball.”  Dev took a swing through the air again.  “A game where everyone has teammates and sometimes things don’t go according to the rules.  And some people who don’t know what their feathers mean yet might have a chance to figure it out.”
    Aervyn had been a little quiet last night, watching his sisters fire dance with their feathers.  And he hadn’t been the only one pondering the meaning of their little bit of parrot.  Lauren slugged down more coffee.  “You’re meddling.”  A behavior the men of Witch Central firmly attributed to women and small children.
    “Nope.”  Twinkling eyes belied the word.  “We’re playing baseball.” 
    Like hell they were.  Lauren considered.  “Isn’t a water fight easier?”  There was lots of water nearby.  And lots of witches who would have fun dumping it all over everyone.  Baseball sounded hot.  And sweaty.
    “A baseball comes fast and hard.  And there’s only one thing to do with it,” said Devin quietly, eyes