She stayed up in her apartment, and I went down to check on the kids. Winifred was teaching them how to count to ten using little candies. It made me smile. Her methods were the same when we were cubs. Jim had taken a long time learning how to count to ten.
“Did you have a good breakfast?” Winifred asked without looking away from Aden’s counting.
“Yes. A good night’s sleep seemed to help.”
“Good. Perhaps you’d be willing to play a game with these two when we’re finished so I can talk to Michelle.”
I want to be sure she understands what we’ve put into motion and why we’re concerned that it’s been a month since Richard’s death. Perhaps, given that information, she’ll be willing to tell us more about Blake.
I nodded so Winifred knew I understood her.
“I’d be happy to play for a while.”
I helped Liam with his counting then entertained the kids while Winifred was upstairs. It didn’t surprise me when she returned not long afterward and told me there was no news to share.
Near lunch, I excused myself from their sandwich-making fun to plan a special moment for Michelle. She’d stayed up in her apartment the whole morning, and I didn’t want her to withdraw from me again.
Up in the rafters of the garage, a small patio table and two chairs waited from before I’d left. I pulled them from storage, dusted them off, and carried them up to the third floor. The rain fell softly as I set two places out on the porch. I kept things simple with sandwiches and tea, then went to knock on her door. Through the glass I saw her sitting in the kitchen, her head bowed over her tablet.
I knocked on the door, and she looked up in surprise. There was no fear in her eyes, though. I smiled and motioned for her to come out onto the porch. When she stood and winced, I was glad I’d thought to make lunch for her.
“Hungry?” I asked as she looked at the table behind me. She nodded, and I went to hold out a chair for her. “I heard what Nana said about trying to find Blake.”
“I have premonitions.”
I finished pushing in her chair then sat across from her. My first thought was that my mother wasn’t alone. My second thought was to wonder what she had seen that had her telling me now.
“Did you see what happens if we go to your old address?”
She glanced down at her sandwich before answering.
“No, I don’t have those kinds of premonitions. Mine are about the stock market.”
Stock market? I couldn’t hide my surprise.
“I know,” she said. “Not very interesting. But think of what you could gain by controlling someone with my ability. The money. Power.”
“I don’t want money or power. Just you.”
She blushed and picked a bit of meat from her sandwich.
“Blake’s tasted that power. If your laws can’t control him, what makes you think finding him will help? All it does is expose us. He will go straight for Liam and Aden. Through them, he can control me again.”
Are you listening to this? I sent Winifred.
I am. We need to find Blake. But we won’t involve her any further.
“Nana won’t ask again,” I promised. Then, to lighten the mood, I grinned and said, “Want to spike your tea?”
Winifred yelled at me from the first floor, and I chuckled. Michelle smiled slightly, too, and picked up her sandwich, finally taking a bite. It was only a few minutes before another question started bugging me.
“Why did you tell Sam which stock to invest in? Why not just keep it to yourself?”
She set her sandwich down slowly.
“I don’t have a choice. The information comes to me every seven days. It plays in my head like a market ticker but with just one stock on repeat. If I don’t share the information, it makes me twitchy. The longer I hold it, the more painful it becomes until I’m a mess. Blake figured that out. It became another way for him to control me. I have to share the information with someone. As soon as I do, the countdown to the next premonition resets.”
The headache the first week she was here and her weird reaction on the porch when she’d overheard Winifred speaking to Sam made more sense now.
“And that’s why you didn’t want to tell me.”
The premonitions didn’t just provide wealth, they provided a way to physically control her through her own pain. How had Blake prevented her from sharing the information? A gag? Tied hands? I wanted his blood.
Keeping my expression calm, I nudged her glass. “Drink.”
She barely managed a sip before she set the glass aside.
“There’s more,” she said. “I told you a little about what Blake said the night before I ran. That he wanted me to bite one of his men. Before that, he talked about evolving my abilities. When you asked if I saw what would happen, I meant it. I don’t have those kinds of visions. But since coming here, something has changed. I’ve gotten glimpses of people. Girls like me, mostly. I don’t know why. Those visions don’t work like the stock ones. They don’t repeat.”
I wanted to be angry. To shake with rage. But her anxious expression kept it all in check. I reached for her and wrapped my hand around hers.
“We’ll figure this out. Please, let some of the worry go. Trust us to keep you and your brothers safe.”
She nodded, squeezed my hand before letting go, then picked up her sandwich.
****
For the rest of the afternoon, I kept an eye on Michelle. She didn’t withdraw into her apartment again. Instead, she went to Winifred’s and joined in on the number fun. When Jim came home, Michelle helped cook dinner and hung around for some cards afterward. The three were relaxed when she finally said it was time to get to bed. I didn’t suggest I sleep on her couch again, although I really wanted to. I could see that she didn’t need it, and I didn’t want to push my welcome.
But, come first light, I let myself into their place just to check on them. They were all sleeping peacefully. The boys woke before she did. Not unexpected. She was probably still catching up on sleep. I left a bowl of cereal on the counter for her and took the kids downstairs.
When she finally joined us, we were already on our third board game of the morning. She smiled and sat on the floor by Winifred’s coffee table. We spent the rest of the morning, and most of the afternoon, there having fun.
Yet even as we laughed and played, I was thinking ahead. Michelle had told me she had two secrets. One would test my loyalty and one would give me power over her. She’d shared both with me. There were no secrets standing between us anymore. No reason we couldn’t move beyond friends.
Will you watch the boys tonight? I sent Winifred.
Of course. Do you think she’ll agree to go?
I glanced at Michelle. She grinned at Liam and asked for a four. She loved her brothers as much as any mother would. And leaving them was just as hard for her.
Jim caught my eye and winked a second before he groaned and his stomach rumbled.
“Aden ate half my lunch. Can I have a snack, Michelle?”
Aden giggled and shook his head in denial.
“I’ll see what I can find,” she said, standing.
“There should be chips at my place,” Jim said with a grin.
I followed her to Jim’s kitchen and watched her open several of Jim’s cabinets before pulling her away from her search. She turned in my arms, smiling up at me. I loved that face. Gently, I set my hands on her cheeks, feathering my thumbs over her skin and lips.
“Do you know you’ve been here a month?”
Her smiled faded with each swipe of my thumb, and her scent sweetened.
“Let me take you to dinner tonight. Please.”
Her pulse skipped and she slowly nodded.
“Wear the dress,” I said, stepping back to open a nearby cupboard. The chips were right inside. I took them and waited for Michelle to walk with me.
Her steps were slow as she followed me.
“I’ll watch the boys,” Winifred said for Michelle’s benefit. I began to doubt Michelle even heard, until she nodded.
“Could we leave in an hour?” I asked her while handing Jim his chips.
Michelle frowned slightly. “Sure.” She began backing away, then turn and ran up the stairs.
I glanced at Winifred.
“Nerves most likely. Probably because of the dress.”
“Why?” Jim asked, beating me to it.
“It’s more daring than I would have picked for her.”
“Daring how?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see for yourself.”
Jim stretched and patted Aden’s head.
“Be right back.”
He was out the door before I could catch him. We raced up the stairs and I caught him by the ankle. We fell a few steps, and we each wrestled for our own purpose. His was to get away. Mine was to reach the landing first.
“Boys! I suggest you both stop, or you will lose dessert.”
The warning in Winifred’s tone had me delivering one last punch to Jim’s thigh. He bit me in return.
“Damn it,” I said quietly. “Go find something else to do.”
“No way. Annoying you is more fun. Come on. Let’s see what fancy clothes you brought home with you.”
He followed me into my living room, leaving the door open behind him. We could both hear Michelle moving around in her apartment, mumbling under her breath. Jim grinned at me.
“You going to shower first?”
“And leave you without supervision? No.” I shoved him toward my room just to ensure he didn’t go bother Michelle.
“What if she needs help with a zipper or something?”
“Then I’ll help her. Not you. If you want to be useful, call the restaurant for a reservation.”
He pulled out his cell phone. While he spoke to someone, I opened my closet where the only nice clothes I had were hanging. Dark dress pants, a sport coats and a thin grey V-neck sweater. I took the sweater from the closet.
“You’re going to sweat in that thing,” Jim said when he hung up.
“Nope. It’s one of those thin ones, not the kind Mom tried making us wear during the holidays.”
I tugged my current shirt off and put on a clean white tee, then the sweater. Jim sat on my bed and waited as I finished changing.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“Yes and no.”
“Want me to give you a pep talk?”
“Depends on your idea of a pep talk.”
“Don’t stare at her chest, and if you do, put a protective hand over your baby maker.”
“I should have said no.”