Chapter Three
"Trina, I don't understand why you're so upset." Molly put her finger to her lips before she put her phone on speaker so that Wiley and Elisi could hear.
"Because something isn't right about her. I touched her when we had breakfast at the diner, and she blocked me. But not before I saw something."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. It was confusing. Busy, like lots of tiny explosions of light and streams of energy and—and all mad scientist or something. I can't describe it, but it wasn't normal, and I don't think you and Wiley should be involved with her."
"Okay, so you saw light? How can that be bad?"
"Because it wasn't normal. Molly, I know what I saw, and it was—abnormal. Reese isn't normal."
"You know, speaking for myself, I know being pregnant has an impact on my ability to pick up on things. Maybe the same is true for you?"
"No."
"Are you sure? Remember, a couple of weeks ago when you were sure Mica was talking shit about you when what she was really doing was starting the ball rolling on the baby shower?"
"That's not the same. I don't want—"
"I know. You don't want Wiley to get hurt. Or me. And we appreciate it. But you know Wiley wouldn't team up with her if there were something wrong. He does know how to pick up on that stuff. So do I and neither of us have any reason to mistrust her."
"Well, you might be sorry about that, so don't say I didn't warn you. Mathias too. I tried to tell him, but she has him thinking with his—"
"He's a grown man, Trina and who he sees isn't our business."
"But he's family. And besides, he's not the same as he was."
"Hold on. I’m putting you on speaker, so Wiley can hear." She nodded to Wiley.
"What do you mean he’s not the same?" Wiley asked.
"I mean he’s more like us, but his old pains are coming back. Not like before, but they’re not erased anymore. I didn’t really heal him, I just patched him."
Wiley looked at Molly and shook his head. "This is a conversation for later, in person. But regardless, it’s not for you to interfere in his relationships. Any of them."
"Not even if I think—"
"No, honey, not even."
"Fine, whatever. I don't want to argue about it. I'll talk to you later."
She didn't give him time to respond. Molly hit the end button on her phone and looked at Wiley and then her grandmother. "Well?"
Mercy's gaze went to Wiley. "Trina's fears are not entirely unfounded."
"What does that mean?" Molly asked.
Wiley nodded at Mercy, and she replied. "His emotions and scars from a terrible time in his life have returned. He is dealing with it, and I do not believe he is in any psychological danger, but Trina is right. She patched him, and now the band-aid has been ripped off, revealing the scar that will always be a part of him. Now he’s learning to live with his demons."
"And she’s right about Reese," Wiley said. "Reese isn’t technically normal. She's a genius, and her brain doesn't process like ours."
"At the risk of sounding redundant, what does that mean?" Molly asked.
"Think of us as computers. We're laptops with only a couple of gigabytes of memory, a processor that's only a gigahertz and an operating system that isn't streamlined. Reese's mind is like a supercomputer, with nearly limitless memory, total recall and a processor that can kick the crap out of all the competition. She sees in dimensions and never has to write or take notes. She calculates mentally and has complete schematics in her mind."
"And she needs all that mental umph because?" Molly asked.
"That's the real question, isn't it?" Mercy added.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Wiley agreed. "And here's what I can tell you. She's brilliant, driven, will help us get this venture off the ground and make a success of it, and I know I can trust her."
"That's enough for me." Molly reached for his hand.
"And me," Mercy agreed. "But I doubt you'll find Trina as malleable."
"Probably not, but with luck, she'll at least trust me."
"And what about Mathias?" Molly asked.
"He's a grown man and can take care of himself. Worst case scenario is that one of them will lose interest before it goes anywhere and the other will feel rejected."
"Are you sure that's the worst case?"
Wiley gave her hand a squeeze. "I hope it is, but who's to say? They're adults and can take care of their own affairs, and it's not really any of our business, is it?"
"No, it most certainly is not." Mercy stated. "And on that note, I have a lunch date with Netta and Nellie Mae, so if you'll excuse me?"
"Sure. Have fun." Molly agreed, and once Mercy left, Molly looked at Wiley. "There's something you're not telling us about Reese, isn't there?"
"Yes."
"And you don't think you can trust me with whatever it is?"
"Baby, I know I can trust you, but it's not my story to tell."
She nodded and gave him a smile. "Have I told you today how much I love you?"
Wiley stood and pulled Molly up and into his arms. "Hmm, refresh my memory." As he embraced her, his mind turned to the subject of their conversation. He had far less worry about what might happen to Mathias than he did about Reese.
No one realized just how fragile that super-brained Amazon could be.
*****
Reese sat in the field on a worn blanket with her legs crossed beneath her and hands in her lap. Bees buzzed by the thousands in the air around her. She was rarely stung. Most creatures could recognize when they were, and were not, being threatened, and she posed no danger to the bees.
Since she'd taken over Penelope Harlow's place, she'd spent a good bit of time sitting in the same spot, letting the bees and butterflies become accustomed to her presence. Around her were thousands of flowering plants, some host plants for the butterflies and other nectar plants that attracted both species and provided nutrition.
Reese had dozens of miniature video cameras set up in weatherproof housings. She could start their recording functions with her cell phone. Right now, the cameras were recording. Tonight, while the rest of the world slept, she would study the footage to see if there were patterns she hadn't recognized.
As she observed the activity around her, another part of her mind turned to a completely unrelated topic. Mathias Gray Horse. He got to her on a visceral level, and that was highly unusual. Reese enjoyed being with men, socially and sexually, but she'd never had this kind of primitive reaction to a man. It was as if some previously hidden primeval female instinct had suddenly sprung to life.
That bothered her, and because it did, she'd come up with an excuse for her strong reaction to Mathias. It'd been a while since she'd had sex, and sexual release was good for her mental processing. Mathias was a man who appealed to her sexually. Reese wasn't a small woman and didn't get hot and bothered about men who weren't physically bigger. She also didn't like men she classified as "soft fucks."
It sounded awful but wasn't really. She wasn't a woman who would ever tolerate a man deliberately trying to hurt her, but she also wasn't a woman who wanted a man to hold back. Regardless of what people said about Mathias, she was betting he was a man who knew how to give a woman what she needed.
And right now, Reese was about as needy as she'd ever been.
Thoughts of Mathias triggered something inside her that made it difficult to remain motionless. She stood, and that's when she saw him, standing at the edge of the field. Reese smiled, picked up her blanket and walked over to him.
"What brings you here?"
"You." Mathias smiled.
"Should I be flattered or afraid?"
"Maybe a little of both. What were you doing out there?"
"Watching. Learning."
"Learning what?"
"Their patterns."
"Do they have patterns?"
"Of course. There's a pattern to everything. A rhythm, a pace, relationships and models–a kind of blueprint. If you can understand it, then you know how to work in concert with it."
"Is that your goal?"
"I suppose it is. What about you? What's your goal?"
"To figure you out."
"Why on earth would you want to do that?"
"Because my sister is concerned."
"About what?"
"You."
"Why would I concern her?"
"Because Trina, Deacon's daughter, said there's something abnormal about you."
"Abnormal." It wasn't the first time someone had assigned a label to her, and she'd had a lot worse that abnormal. "I see. And what do you think?"
"That you get to me and not many people do. And it's not just a sexual thing, although that's off the charts. There's something about you that makes me curious, and I'm rarely that."
"Really? How sad."
"Well, maybe curious is the wrong word. Interested fits better. Or fascinated."
"I can live with that. But you're still curious about Trina calling me abnormal."
"Maybe. Is she right?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"I told you, I'm smart."
"Abnormally smart?"
"Yes."
"Brag or fact?"
Reese smiled. "No brag. I didn't do anything for it, I was just born that way, so it's not like something I achieved. And how would Trina know? Is she like her uncle Wiley?"
Mathias looked away, and Reese pressed. "So, she is. Can she heal like Wiley?"
"Yes. She healed me."
"Of what?"
"We're not ready for that conversation. Back to you."
"There's nothing more to say. I'm smart. You're sexy. And we both want something from the other. Maybe it's just physical, and maybe it's more, but we'll discover that in time."
"Will we? And where do we start?"
Reese stepped up close to him and could feel the heat that radiated from him. She purely loved the fact that she had to look up to meet his eyes. "I would say, right here and now, but as good as I'm betting it would be, I don't want to rush it. I'm not hot for many guys, and it's a treat to feel this way."
He touched the side of her face, tracing along her jawline and then down her neck to the top of the tank top she wore. Reese didn't protest when he hooked his finger in her shirt and tugged. She took a step toward him and tilted her head back a bit more.
For a few moments, they merely stood there, gazes locked. Then he leaned down and kissed her. The gentleness of it shocked her. And sent hunger clawing through her. How was that possible? She wasn't known for her gentleness—in giving or receiving. It wasn't her thing.
At least not until now. How had he inspired so much desire with such tenderness?
"I'll be hard when the time comes," he whispered against her lips and damn if that didn't just about take the strength right out of her legs. "Are we still on for Friday?"
It would take something catastrophic for her to break that date. "Oh, you better believe it."
"Good. See you soon."
"Yes indeed."
He smiled, turned and walked away. She watched him and laughed when he looked over his shoulder and said: "Caught ya."
"No shame," she admitted.
He laughed and resumed his walk. Reese watched until he got into his truck and drove away with a parting wave.
Wow, Mathias Gray Horse was proving to be way more than she had anticipated, and she couldn't wait to see what was next.