After Dakota was born, Carter threw himself into his studies. He was determined to reach his lifetime wish before becoming an elder, and that required lots of time spent playing chess.

He finally received a proper law enforcement uniform and decided to take on a special case for a little extra money.

You see, a protest had broken out at city hall. Even Carter’s sister, Aly, was in attendance. However, the city officials were unsure as to what the protest had been about. They had no ideas of crimes committed by the city and wanted to hire a private detective to solve the case. Had one of their coworkers caused a scandal?

Carter spent most of his off hours interviewing the town’s citizens about the protest. An elderly member of Sunset Valley told him that it was rumored that the current city treasurer had been embezzling money from the town.

“You realize that what you are accusing the treasurer of is a crime punishable with time in jail?” Carter asked the older woman. She nodded her head, assuring him that she understood and continued to divulge the information that she had heard.

“The treasurer just spent a million dollars to redecorate his home for his new wife,” the citizen told Carter. “The school hasn’t been receiving its normal funding this year. Me, as well as the rest of the townspeople suspect something is going on.”

Carter quickly jotted down notes during each interview, determined to get to the bottom of the financial problem.

While on maternity leave, Sharon showered Dakota with praise. He’d developed a rare dry skin condition and wore gloves to help keep his skin moist. Sharon worried that the

condition would spread to the rest of his body and bathed Dakota and changed his diaper on a regular basis.

She also spent quite a bit of time working out, trying to get back into her pre-baby outfits and work uniform. During that time, she maxed her first skill-athletics.

Shouji was playful as ever and when his humans weren’t home he entertained himself by swimming in the pool or hunting for buried treasure.

Elissa spent time training Shouji, teaching him lots of tricks and how to behave well in front of guests and the rest of the family.

She also continued to study. She wanted to learn to make ambrosia so she could live to see the lives of her grandchildren and possibly her great-grandchildren.

Before too long, Sharon found herself pregnant again. The pregnancy was unexpected because Dakota wasn’t even a year old yet and Sharon felt extremely nervous about the new life growing inside her.

One evening Carter approached Sharon with good news. He’d received another promotion at the police department and was one step closer to achieving his lifetime wish. Sharon decided to break the news about the new baby.

Of course, Carter was excited for the new baby, possibly more excited than he had been for Dakota’s birth.

“I want another little boy,” Sharon told her husband and Carter smiled in agreement.

Weird things started occurring in the Greene household. The TV, guitars and computers would break when members of the house were nowhere near them.

Elissa woke in the middle of the night because of racket coming from the art studio. Entering the room she was surprised to see the ghost of her darling Madison. They

chatted and Madison told Elissa of the future he saw for Dakota and the grandchildren to come.

Dakota had just passed the year mark when Sharon went into labor. She was alone in the house and called a babysitter to take care of her first born so she could safely get to the hospital.

Elijah Parker Greene was born early, weighing 5 pounds 3 ounces. He was born with the traits Brave and Grumpy. Elijah is an Aries.

Dakota grew up while Sharon was at the hospital. He needed a serious makeover, which his mother was only to eager to give him, as her oldest still held a special place in her heart.

Even with a new sibling, Dakota spent his first night as a toddler in peacefulness. Elijah’s noisy wails which kept his parents awake, didn’t bother the eldest third generation baby.

Isn’t Dakota an adorable toddler? You’ll get to see more of him in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment or a piece of advice/constructive criticism. It’s always appreciated!