Chapter Ten
Tansy’s heart was beating in her ears. What did all of this mean? She felt her heart rate quicken with her breathing. This couldn’t be happening. She had to be dreaming or something. She was meant to be a drifter for the rest of her days, running from whatever was chasing her. Now they were telling her she was destined to be with some foxen? She wasn’t destined to be with anyone, she was her own person.
Glancing between Crew and Caylan, she darted for the office door and ran through the building towards the Receiving Desk. She needed to get out of here and clear her head.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, where’s the fire girl?” A short, dark haired, curvaceous woman asked, holding up her hands to stop Tansy from running into her.
When Tansy stopped herself from knocking into the woman, she noticed two little haired heads poking out the top of the wrap she had on, “I am so sorry! I just… I’ve gotta…”
The woman took Tansy by the hand and guided her to a chair just as Tansy’s vision started to go black.
Tansy woke up in a sweat covered panic. Sitting up she looked around the tent where the rest of her platoon was sleeping. She kept having that dream. The dream about him. The one with the brown eyes. The only one who made her feel safe in this world. He called to her, but who was he? Why did he feel so important?
“Have that dream again, O’Connor?” the soft feminine voice that belonged to Eickhoff came from her left.
Laying back down on her cot, she sighed, “Yeah. This is getting ridiculous. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks.”
“Maybe it’s your mind trying to cope with the stress from what happened to Andrews?” Eickhoff suggested.
“Maybe that’s it,” Tansy said, forcing her mind to relax enough that she could go back to sleep.
“I don’t know what happened. One minute she looked like a caged animal, the next she was limp in the chair I helped her into,” a woman’s panicked voice said, coming through the brain fog from the episode she just had.
“This happened yesterday on our way down the mountain. I think she is coping with PTSD and it’s causing some problems when she gets overwhelmed,” Caylan said from Tansy’s side.
Cracking her eyes open to see who was standing around her, Tansy felt embarrassed. To have a panic attack like that in front of just Caylan was one thing, but in front of a whole group of people? That was downright mortifying.
“Well hi there, Sunshine. How you feeling? You scared me!” The dark haired woman exclaimed from her other side.
“My head hurts. Could I get some Aspirin and a bottled water?” Tansy asked, trying to sit up.
“Beckett! Could you get the poor lady some water?” Trevor asked, hovering near the dark haired woman, “Tansy, this is my wife and mate, Ella. These are our twins, Track and Treena.”
“Nice to meet you.” Ella smiled down at her, bobbing back and forth on her feet to keep the twins she was carrying asleep.
“Same. Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but whatever everyone is selling around here, I don’t want any part in it. I’m a loner. I do better that way. All this nonsense about be having sisters and being someone’s soul mate or whatever you called it? It’s obviously all some weird cult, and I don’t need to get involved,” Tansy said, pushing herself to her feet.
Trevor and Ella exchanged a look before Ella spoke again, “I can understand how you’re feeling a little overwhelmed. I was in your shoes not that long ago. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll leave the boys to whatever they think they need to do?”
“Ella…,” Trevor started to say before Ella hushed him.
“You boys figure out whatever you need to figure out, okay? I’m gonna take Tansy shopping for some clothes and maybe a bottle of wine. Sound good?”
“Fine,” Trevor muttered.
Man, for such a small person, she sure can get her way when she wants to.
Caylan stepped forward and gave Tansy a pleading look, “I want to talk about all of this. Please don’t run before we get the chance.”
Tansy looked away, “I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t you worry, big guy. I’ll take good care of our girl,” Ella said as she patted Caylan on the chest and headed for the door. “Well, are you coming or what?”
“Yeah, I’m coming,” Tansy said, looking behind her at Caylan’s sad brown eyes as they walked out the door.
What a weird coincidence that his eyes look so much like the ones from that dream.