Chapter One
Three months earlier
J. L. Mitchell took a nervous sip of her drink and looked around at the people relaxing on the large patio. This dinner at Dan and Mia Romeo’s house in San Antonio was to celebrate Cole’s agreement to join the Phoenix Agency as a partner. Rarely were all the original partners available in one place at the same time, unless on a critical mission. But tonight they had gathered to meet him and JL. Five archetypal alpha males—the partners in the Phoenix Agency—and their extraordinary wives. She was impressed with the effort the women as well as the men made to make them feel comfortable and part of the group.
Cole had given her the whole scoop on the agency. After building their reputation slowly, Phoenix was now known for providing security and training in the private sector, and for executing ops for the government that had to fly way, way below the radar. JL had heard the details of their hostage rescue of Kat D’Antoni’s sister and the people she worked for from a Mexican drug cartel. Of Summer Arsenault’s rescue from an insane billionaire who wanted to sell her psychic healing services. Of Phoenix’s capture of the men behind the theft of a huge shipment of arms to a private corporate contractor in Iraq.
They were men of honor, of integrity, who believed without reservation in what they did. Their invitation for Cole to join them as a partner was a testament to their high opinion of him. When he’d asked JL what she thought, she couldn’t in good conscience do anything but urge him to accept. If only she could get rid of the tiny thread of fear that kept wiggling through her, choke it back, and give him her full support.
We are defined by our past.
One of her university professors had been fond of saying that, and she couldn’t agree with him more. If only the defining moment in her own past had been a positive one. Then she wouldn’t feel the need to rein in her feelings for Cole, to hold back from making a stronger commitment.
He had been low-key but at the same time more insistent lately about wanting her to move in with him permanently. To stop running back and forth between the ranch where she’d grown up and his place. She did spend a lot of nights with him. God knew she hadn’t been able to keep from falling hopelessly in love with him. And now she’d shared this important step with him. Which in itself brought back memories she did her best to keep buried. Memories she worked very hard to put behind her, as well as the fear keeping her from making a permanent commitment to him. She didn’t know whether she could handle the pain of loss twice in her life.
On the ride to San Antonio, she’d tried to hide a growing case of nerves. She was okay with meeting new people, and she certainly felt at ease with the Romeos after their visits to Clayton to see Cole. But she worried how the rest of them would accept her and what they’d think if they knew about her so-called special gift. She was getting better at putting up shields, especially since . . .
She took another sip of her drink, steadying herself. Not so much because as she’d met each of the men their aura had jumped out at her. She had expected that, and after Seattle, actually wanted it. Had needed to satisfy herself that Cole wasn’t walking into a situation that would be dangerous from the start. She hadn’t put up her shields, wanting to see their energy so she’d know Cole was doing the right thing. The air around them had shimmered with mixtures of red and pink, indicating strong-willed and highly disciplined people. They would expect the same high standards from others as they did from themselves, and they seldom deviated from their values and morals. She saw the same aura surrounding Cole. It gave JL a good feeling about his decision to join them.
What she hadn’t expected—and what shocked her—was the tinge of purple dancing around each of the women. Purple indicated psychic ability. Could these women have gifts? All five of them? And, around Mia, she saw a tinge of blue. Clairvoyance. Summer’s aura held a hint of turquoise, the sign of a healer.
No. Hardly possible. I must be reading them wrong.
For the most part, she did her best to hide what some people called a gift. When she’d discovered her ability to read auras, she’d tried to shy away from it. Set up a mental block. Wipe it from her brain. But then she began to research it and discovered whether you wanted it or not, it was there. A part of you. As a scientist, it had taken a lot of getting used to. Then she had to learn how to control it.
She never discussed it with anyone, certainly not with Cole. Not anyone since Seattle. Not since—
Don’t go there.
But maybe, she thought, if these women also had psychic abilities, it would be okay to bring it up. She blinked and tried to pull up her shields before everyone at the table invaded her senses. She listened quietly as the discussion flitted from one subject to another, a lot of it dealing with what the different wives were doing. They were all so fascinating, just like their husbands. They had careers covering every field from famous author to art historian to dog trainer. Yet, despite being part of a high-energy operation, they all seemed very laid-back and at ease. JL guessed that was important when the situations they went into were no doubt very tense.
“So tell us a little more about your work, JL,” Dan said. “It sounds very interesting.”
She blushed at their enormous praise when Cole gave them a thumbnail description.
“I’m only a lab rat,” she said, trying to deflect the accolades. “Nothing special.”
“Hell, no,” Cole objected. “JL was working in a lab in Seattle when she decided she liked Texas better after all, packed up, and came home. The ranchers were all worrying about growing seasons during droughts and asked her if she might want to work on improving the quality of the grains they raise.”
“Wow,” Kelly Latrobe said. “It’s impressive you know how to do that.”
JL shrugged. “It’s what I do. Like each of you is an expert in a particular field.” Then she blushed again. “Not that I’m saying I’m any kind of expert or anything.”
“Don’t hide your light, darlin’,” Cole urged and looked at everyone. “The local branch of the Cattlemen’s Association came to her with the idea after I moved back home. Everyone was excited about it, so they reached out to the national organization, too. And they bought into it, since drought hits every state at some time or other. Grant Summerfield, the president of the Texas association, came up with a building to use, and they raised enough to fund the lab she needed.”
“Expensive proposition, I’d think,” Troy Arsenault commented.
JL nodded, her discomfort easing a little. “Because of the importance of the project, though, each state group provided funds and committed to more as we go along.” She rubbed her cheek. “My dad almost lost the ranch a few years ago because of drought. No rain, not enough grain. He had to sell off a lot of the herd at a loss. It’s taken a while, but he’s back on his feet. I’d like to make sure he stays that way.”
“So it’s personal for you,” Faith remarked.
“It is. And we don’t have a lot of staff—me and one lab assistant is all. Most of the money has gone for the equipment and materials.”
“I’m sure if you’re successful the ranchers will all be very grateful,” Mark Halloran put in. “Some of our clients who own ranches say a drought-resistant grain would revolutionize cattle ranching.”
“The best part,” JL went on, “is if it works, we’re going to patent it and then lease the patent around the world. And in Third World countries, we’ll make it royalty-free.”
“I’d imagine you have a lot of private interests sniffing around, offering you big bucks to develop it for them,” Mark commented.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Cole told him. “Some of those offers have sounded damn near like threats. I finally convinced Miss Independence here to let me put a guard at the lab 24-7. She tells me I’m overreacting.”
“And you are,” JL insisted. “These people are a lot of bluster. I know their type. They think if they throw enough money at something, it’s theirs. They’ll get tired of hitting the wall with me and go away.”
“We hope.”
“You must be so excited to be part of something like this,” Summer Arsenault said.
“I am.” JL frowned. “I hope like hell I can come up with the correct formula. I’d hate for this to be a bust.”
Cole gave her a quick hug. “My money’s on you, darlin’.”
“Okay, folks.” Mia Romeo rose from her seat. “It’s almost time for the bugs to come out for their evening parade. I think we’ll have dessert inside.”
“They’re pulling out all the stops for you,” JL whispered to Cole as they helped carry dishes inside.
“You think I’m doing the right thing?” he asked.
She hesitated for only a brief moment. This was so right for him. Her feelings about his safety couldn’t come into play. She’d have to deal with them, somehow. Folding the shawl she’d borrowed from Mia, she set it on the counter and smiled at him. “Absolutely.”
After moving back from Seattle, it had been a natural decision for her to stay at the ranch with her dad. Then she’d run into Cole, and now, two months later, their relationship had grown into something serious. She wished she could wipe Seattle out of her mind and give him the commitment he wanted. He was being very patient with her, giving her the time and space she needed. Even including her in this process.
Dan was his longtime friend from the marines, and his offer of the position as the head of the new Phoenix branch they wanted to open had flattered Cole, no doubt about it. But he’d insisted on discussing it with JL.
“It’s a major change in my life,” he’d told her. “I’m hoping you’ll be part of everything going forward, so your opinion counts here.”
Dan had been persistent, calling Cole several times and making trips to Clayton to discuss the offer in person. Twice, he’d brought his wife, Mia, with him, and each time Cole made sure to include JL. She really liked the couple and the obvious affection they had for each other. The tall, compelling, olive-skinned man with the muscular body had a don’t-mess-with-me look in his obsidian eyes, except when he watched his wife. A petite woman with a fall of sun-streaked brown hair and eyes the most vivid green JL had ever seen, Mia’s adoration of her husband was equally as obvious. JL tried hard not to envy their connection, wondering whether such a thing was possible for herself and Cole.
“We all agreed we need to expand our operation to serve our clients in the West and the Far East,” Dan had explained during those visits. “Three of us have homes here because we managed to marry hometown girls, but the main office is still in Maryland. Kat and Mike have their home there, as do Rick and Kelly. And we all still operate out of that location.”
“Doesn’t that make it hard on your wives?” JL had asked. “Mia and the others who live here?”
“We all adapt.” Then he’d grinned. “And when we’re back from a mission or a meeting, the homecomings are off the charts.” He’d turned serious again. “That’s why we’d like you to head that operation, Cole. Base it at your ranch. You’re exactly who and what we need. You’ve got the military experience, and you know this area of the country. And you’re damn smart. If you agree to join us, we’d call this part of the agency Lone Star Phoenix.”
“What about your partners?” Cole had asked. “Don’t they want to meet me first? Check me out?”
Dan had laughed. “They know what a hard-ass I am. If I want you this badly, that’s good enough for them.”
After the last meeting, Cole had gone over everything with JL, asking her opinion and telling her how important her input was. “You’re going to be a part of whatever happens next to me, right?” he’d asked when he told her about it.
“Of course.” She’d wanted that more than anything, even if a part of her had warned her to be careful of history repeating itself.
The fact he’d wanted her involvement in this offered proof of his feelings.
What more do I need? Is anything ever guaranteed?
Even as the ever-present tiny thread of unease wiggled through her, she reminded him he had an excellent foreman and ranch manager.
“Remember,” he cautioned, “Abe’s retiring, and Hardy Rogers is taking over.”
“But Hardy’s worked for you for more than ten years. Abe himself recommended moving him up.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “I have to keep that in mind. Besides, I may be setting Abe up to be the security at LSP, like Harry Monroe is in Maryland, but I’m pretty sure if I’m gone he’ll be peering over Hardy’s shoulder, too.”
“Which I’m sure Hardy will love,” JL teased.
Cole waved a hand in the air. “Those two guys work together so well I don’t foresee a problem. What about leaving the ranch with my foreman when I’m called away? Do you think that will work?”
“Abe ran it efficiently and profitably all the time you were overseas, fighting for Uncle Sam,” JL pointed out. “If this is what you want to do, the ranch will be in good hands anytime you have to be away.”
He’d explained to her as much as he could about the situation he’d walked into. Told her Phoenix was a private-ops agency that did everything from international security to hostage rescue. And she was thrilled her input was important to him.
She was still hesitant about how far to take this relationship. Her invisible scars hadn’t yet healed. But little by little she and Cole were working into something important.
Connecting with the sexy rancher and former Force Recon Marine was a definite high point in her life. Ten years as a leatherneck had honed him into a lean, well-muscled, tough six foot plus of alpha male. Hard, dark-brown eyes, the color of molten chocolate, looked as if they’d seen way too much for his years. They stared out at the world from a lean, chiseled, square-jawed face. Even in the worn jeans and boots he wore running his ranch again, she could still see the warrior.
Yet in the darkness of his bedroom, in the heat of passion beyond anything she’d ever known, those same hard eyes burned with a hungry flame. And those same muscles flexed as his hands played her body like a finely tuned instrument.
“We’re not kids,” he’d said more than once. “I’ve seen more of life than I ever wanted to. I need to look to the future.” With a smile, he’d added, “And I want that to include you.”
She wanted it, too. More than she’d admitted to him. If only she didn’t still struggle with the scars from a disastrous former relationship. With pain she had never been able to quite bury. She had never told anyone what had happened, not even her father whom she was very close to. Sometimes she felt like chains bound her to the past, preventing her from fully embracing the future with this wonderful man. He wouldn’t wait forever. And she didn’t want to lose him.
But this new opportunity for him had brought it all back, and she hadn’t quite wrapped her head around it.
She and Cole were still testing their relationship, but when she managed to bury the uncertainties clinging to her from her past, she knew he was the man she wanted in her life. And this opportunity? It had to be exactly what he needed to cure the restlessness plaguing him. An opportunity to use the skills and discipline he’d learned over the past ten years.
Sitting here tonight, letting the conversation flow around her, seeing Cole so at ease with everyone, only reinforced that belief.
This is a good place for him to be. A very good place. I wish I could tell him how I know. And that I could somehow put my past where it belongs.
As soon as they finished dessert, Dan moved around the table, refilling everyone’s wine glass before sitting down again and lifting his own in a toast.
“Here’s to the newest member of our team,” he said, “and the head of Lone Star Phoenix.”
“We’re real glad Dan talked you into this,” Mark Halloran drawled, then looked at JL. “We’re happy to welcome you, too. We like to think of ourselves as a family, and we’re glad the two of you will be part of it.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I appreciate that.”
“This won’t put a crimp in your ranch operation, will it?” Troy Arsenault asked Cole, then chuckled. “Dan did tell us you were getting kind of restless, sitting around on a horse.”
There was general laughter.
“No.” Cole shook his head. “Somehow, after all those years in the sandbox and the Hindu Kush Mountains, running the ranch turns out to be a little tame for me. Besides, I’ve got a great manager and foreman. He did things so well while I was gone, he almost doesn’t need me anymore.”
Rick Latrobe leaned forward in his seat. “Dan explained Lone Star Phoenix—or LSP for the sake of brevity—will be based at your ranch, right? Laid out for you what we need? That won’t cause any problems?”
“No. Like I told him, we’ve got plenty of empty space to throw up a steel building to house whatever equipment we need. And the office at the house is big enough for any communications equipment you want to put in it.”
“What about a target range?” Troy asked. “Is there enough room for that? We’re hoping to train new agents there, too, as well as provide firearms training for corporate clients. Will that endanger the cattle?”
Cole shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve allocated the farthest parcel of land for Phoenix, far enough away from the ranch operation but easy to get to by horse or ATV. The acreage immediately adjacent to it is too rocky and barren to graze cattle. We’ve never used it for anything, so it’s ideal for this.”
“Well, we’re really glad to welcome you both into the group,” Faith Halloran told them, tucking a strand of rich sable hair behind one ear. “The agency holds a special place in my heart. Mark would have died in a terrorist camp in Peru after his Delta Force mission was compromised if these guys hadn’t rescued him.” She grinned. “In fine style. Blew the camp all to hell, too.”
“Yeah, but remember, darlin’”—Mark draped his arm across his wife’s shoulders and leaned his darker head closer to hers—“if not for your gift, they might never have found me.”
JL looked from Faith to Mark, something funny doing a little jig in her stomach. “Gift?”
The women exchanged glances, and she wondered what that was all about.
“Go ahead and tell her,” Mark prompted. “If she and Cole are going to be part of this family, they need to know everything.”
Faith let out a sigh. “Please don’t freak when you hear this, but Mark and I are able to communicate telepathically. Have been ever since we were teenagers.”
Faith Halloran had a psychic gift? JL felt something shift inside her. How weird was this, coming at her out of the blue? She had never shared her own ability with Cole. Never even spoken of it to her father. Would she finally be with a group of people she could open up to? Maybe get some help? Or feedback? At least an explanation. And not be looked at as a curiosity.
It struck her she felt more comfortable with these people than she had with anyone ever in her life. Was it the paranormal element? Or the fact each of the women were so comfortable in their own skins, they could relax and be themselves? The same way she needed to do. A tightness deep inside her begin to ease.
“That’s how he got a message to me about what happened,” Faith went on. “And how we located him.”
“It’s what saved my ass,” Mark added. “The government tried to bury the whole disaster, but I reached out mentally to Faith.”
“Who was a damn bulldog until she found us and got us to rescue your sorry self,” Mike D’Antoni noted.
Everyone laughed, and Mark gave Faith an affectionate squeeze. JL saw the same connection between them she’d seen right away with the Romeos. With all the couples tonight. A bond shimmering in the air like the auras surrounding them. Again she wondered whether she could have that with Cole and realized how much, despite all her reservations, she really wanted it.
“Actually . . .” Dan cleared his throat. “It’s a funny coincidence, but all our wives have particular psychic gifts.” He looked first at JL, then at Cole. “Hope that doesn’t change your mind about joining us.”
Not mine. But if I say something, what will Cole think?
She lifted her wine glass and swallowed some of the crisp liquid, hoping to calm the sudden excitement surging through her. As a practical scientist, she had never before really believed in serendipity. But now? Maybe everything did happen for a reason. And maybe it would help quiet the past she couldn’t quite bury.
“Why would it?” Cole’s question jerked her back to the conversation. “Even the government is using psychic talents these days when they can. Still doing a lot of experiments, as I understand it.”
Mike D’Antoni nodded. “Especially in Kat’s area. Remote viewing.”
JL shifted her gaze to Kat D’Antoni. “I’ve heard of it, but I’m not sure I understand it.”
“Remote viewing is a mental ability,” Kat began, “allowing what’s called a perceiver—a viewer—to describe or give details about some place unreachable to normal senses due to distance, time, or some kind of shielding. The perceiver, if he or she gets a clear picture, can even describe a location on the other side of the world that he or she has never visited.”
“That’s amazing,” JL said, excitement rippling through her. This was the last thing she’d expected to learn about tonight. She was beginning to believe in karma. Her dad always said things happened for a reason.
“Or,” Mike picked up, “even describe an event from long ago. Or an object in a locked and sealed room. All without being told anything about the target. If the perceiver gets any information, so much the better.”
“Mia is precognitive,” Dan told them. “She gets visions and images. Sometimes only piecemeal or in some kind of object code. But she helped avert a real disaster with one of our clients when someone tried to steal a piece of classified technology.
“Summer’s gift is psychic healing.” Troy picked up his wife’s hand. “She has an amazing touch.”
A faint blush crept up Summer Arsenault’s cheeks. She seemed to be the quietest of all the wives. “Honey, that’s mild compared with what everyone else does,” she protested.
“Not to the people you save,” he objected.
“Kelly has the most unusual gift,” Rick grinned. “Hers comes wrapped in a dog.”
JL stared. “Excuse me?”
Kelly Latrobe laughed. “I have a Caucasian Ovcharka. They are believed to have psi abilities, and I know for sure mine does.”
“Weird thing, though,” Rick went on. “Usually they connect with only one person. But Xena somehow attached herself to me, too. Saved my life on a dangerous mission.” He grinned at his wife. “Now Kelly’s breeding them for individuals and matching them up selectively with clients.”
“In addition to training guard dogs,” Mia added.
“As a matter of fact,” Dan put in, “we’ve been getting a Psi Department organized for the agency to utilize these gifts when needed.” He looked at his wife. “Mia, with some help from Faith, has just about got it going, and they’ve worked on a couple of cases with us.”
“I run my remote viewing consults through the agency,” Kat D’Antoni put in. “Plus I’ve been interviewing other viewers to find those with talent strong enough for us to use.”
“My aunt Vivi has been working with Mia and two other precognitives we may sign on to refine their abilities,” Faith added. “To help them reach for their visions and better interpret them. Everyone needs training to be able to use a skill properly.”
“I always had trouble with a lot of my visions,” Mia explained. “Sometimes they were very hard to interpret, coming in bits and pieces. But the Lotus Circle has graciously shared some programs to interpret them with Andy. And Vivi has been teaching me how to interpret them myself.”
“That department has been of enormous help in resolving a couple of critical situations,” Dan added.
“We’d love to include you with us in some way, JL.” Mia smiled at her. “You don’t absolutely have to have some type of psychic ability.”
JL cleared her throat. “As a matter of fact . . .” She let her voice drift off.
Can I say it? Blurt it right out? What will Cole think?
She had ruthlessly suppressed it for so long. Ever since . . .
Don’t go there.
Cole shifted in the chair next to her, turning so he could see her face. “As a matter of fact what, darlin’?”
In for a penny, in for a pound.
“I do have what I guess is a gift.” The words seemed to fall out of her mouth with a will of their own. She fiddled with the napkin in her lap, afraid to look directly at Cole. “It’s untrained and unused, but . . .” Again her voice trailed off.
Cole shifted in the chair beside her, but before he could say anything, Faith jumped in.
“What type of gift, JL?” she wanted to know.
“I, um, read auras.”
And it’s really more of a curse than a gift.
JL took a small sip of her wine, suddenly unsure of herself. She glanced up at Cole, not sure what she’d see on his face or in his eyes. Was he okay with this? Should she have told him first? Astonishment, but she expected that. And something else . . . pride?
He winked at her and draped his arm over her shoulders then glanced around the table. “Seems like I’m bringing a little something extra I didn’t even know about to the party.”
Dan gave her a curious look. “Auras? How does that work?”
“Well . . .” She chose her words carefully. “An aura is the energy field believed to surround every living being, including plants and animals. Most of the time, the aura is seen as layers of color around the subject. And the intensity of the layers varies with the object or person as well as with the reader.”
“How long have you had this ability?” Kat asked her.
“I discovered it in college while taking a course dealing with psychic gifts. The professor had us doing little experiments to see if any of us had any.” She shrugged. “I have to admit, at first it scared me a little and was kind of unpleasant.”
“In what way?”
JL paused and took another swallow of wine.
More ways than I want to explain right now.
“I found it really weird looking at people,” she explained, “and seeing these shimmering clouds of different colors around them. I kept thinking I needed drops in my eyes.”
Cole chuckled. “I’ll bet it was difficult for a pragmatist like you.”
“Have you done anything with it since then?” Faith persisted.
“No.” JL shook her head. And I don’t intend to. “I can’t exactly control it, so I try to keep it locked away. If it suddenly pops up, I’ve learned to focus on something complex to distract myself. Put up shields.”
She had let the barriers down during the fateful coffee date at Red’s Diner because she had to get a real feel for Cole. The golden glow around him told her all she needed to know, so she shut down again.
“I can’t imagine suddenly seeing people you know—and even those you don’t—surrounded by shimmering colors,” Mia commented.
“You bet.” JL gave a shaky laugh. “I’m glad you understand.” She glanced around at the table. “What about the rest of you? What did you do when you discovered your gifts?”
“Mine was the easiest,” Kelly answered. “I knew all about Xena’s abilities and how to mentally link with her when I got her.”
“Good thing, too,” Rick added. “Without that and her bonding with me, I’d probably be dead.”
“I learned to deal with mine early on,” Kat told her. “And how to refine and focus it. I use it to do a lot of consulting.”
Troy Arsenault’s wife, Summer, spoke up suddenly. “If you think reading auras is weird, try being a psychic healer.”
“That’s right.” Troy picked up her hand and held it in his. “People being what they are, the public treated her like some kind of freak.”
“I always told my, um, patients an unbreakable rule was no publicity. But—”
“But some people can’t keep their mouths shut,” Troy finished for her. “We put a stop to that in a hurry.”
Cole was curious. “How?”
“Well, you can’t change human nature, but you can effect an attitude adjustment. A little pressure on the media like the threat of a lawsuit. A little muscle from the cops to back up what we said. And any cases she takes now? The people have to sign an absolute nondisclosure agreement, or they are liable for damages.”
“Isn’t it so sad,” Mia said, “that we have to do things like that?”
“People are people,” her husband pointed out to her. “With all their flaws.”
“That’s one of the reasons I try my best to ignore my ability,” JL said. “I can’t do the work I’m involved with if any kind of weird mud sticks to me.”
“I think most of us feel the same,” Kelly said. “That’s why we’re glad the guys decided to create the Psi Department. It gives us a place to share as well as see how our special skills can be utilized.”
JL’s head spun. The last thing she had expected when making this trip tonight was to find people she could share her secret with. People who didn’t think she was a curiosity, whose opinion of her wouldn’t be adversely affected when she told them. Even—no, especially—Cole didn’t seem to be thrown by it. And that surprised her the most.
She realized suddenly Faith had spoken to her again.
“Sorry.” Her cheeks heated. “Just sitting here trying to absorb all of this. And your reactions to me.”
Mia laughed. “We’ve all been there and done that. Even got the T-shirt.”
Faith picked up the thread again. “Mia and I have worked to harness our particular profiles. If you think you might be interested in exploring yours further and learning how to control it, I can introduce you to my aunt Vivi. She and the Lotus Circle really taught me how to focus my telepathic powers.”
“And she really helped me with my precognition,” Mia chimed in.
JL frowned. “Lotus Circle? You mentioned that before.”
“Yes. Aunt Vivi is probably the best one to explain that to you. Would you like—”
“Hold it, ladies.” Dan held up his hand. “I know you’re excited about this, but let’s give the poor woman a chance to breathe here.” He looked at JL. “Don’t let them overwhelm you. We’re all aware having a psychic gift can be frightening. But if you decide you want to learn more about yours, get in touch with Faith. No pressure. Okay?”
Slowly the tension eased from JL’s body.
“Okay.” She smiled across the table. “And really, thank you for your interest. I guess I’ve been afraid of exploring it any further. Or even admitting to anyone I had—it.”
“As we all have been at one point,” Summer told her in a soft voice.”
JL looked at Cole, sitting beside her so relaxed. “I think maybe Cole and I should talk about it before I decide what to do. I’d love to be a part of this with you, though, if you can give me a little time.”
“No problem,” Faith told her.
The conversation returned to details of getting Lone Star Phoenix up and operating. And then it was time to leave.
“Give what we said some thought.” Faith gave JL a hug. “We’d love to include you in what we’re doing.”
“I will. And thanks again.”
In the SUV, heading home, Cole reached for JL’s hand and squeezed it. “You’re okay with all this, right?”
“Of course. I think this was made for you.”
His thumb brushed over her knuckles. “So we can have a private celebration at my place tonight?”
“Oh?”
“I want you naked in my bed, so I can really show you how I feel.
She lifted his hand and kissed it. “You’re on, cowboy.”
She waited to see if he’d ask her about the little bombshell she’d dropped tonight. When he didn’t, she sensed he’d wait patiently for her to bring it up. He understood her so much better than anyone else in her life. Maybe if they’d gotten together before this, she wouldn’t have so much baggage—stuff she had yet to even tell him about.
She wanted this relationship more than she’d ever wanted anything. She had to deal with the past, though, before she could embrace it completely. Meanwhile, she could embrace him. Thoughts of what lay ahead once they reached the ranch sent tremors of anticipation shivering through her.
I won’t screw this up. I won’t.