The relief on her face was monumental. She needed to control these funky new powers of hers, but the pressure was getting to her. Physical therapy, speech therapy, plus her sessions with Julian were wearing her out, and her savings were almost depleted. She might lose her apartment soon. “Jamie will be pleased.”
“Yeah, he will. You’re doing good, pumpkin.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. “I’m so tired, Jules.”
He wrapped his arm around her and rested his head against her poor, scarred scalp. “I know.” He mentally cursed Jim for ditching her once again. She might be twenty-two years old, but hers was a beautiful soul, one Jim would come to appreciate if only he’d allow himself.
The mental link between himself and Chloe was unusually strong. The side-effect of the spirit healing, their ability to see through each other’s eyes, was something he’d never anticipated. “Any unusual dreams?”
She shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah.”
“Tell me.”
She sighed. “Two becomes one, one becomes three. Bear knows the way, but Fox holds the key.”
He blinked. “Oh shit.”
“Yeah. It was so freaking weird. One minute I’m in the middle of a mate dream where Jim is being all sweet to me. The next, there’s this huge freaking white fox staring at me, grinning. He spouts that riddle, drops a key at my feet and takes off running. What the hell, Jules?”
“Well. Um.” Wow. He’d never heard of a non-Kermode having that deep a connection with the spirit world. If Fox himself was speaking to her… “Could you do me a favor?”
“Hmm?”
“Shift for me.”
Her brows rose. “The doc told me to wait for a bit, that I could damage the unhealed portions of my hull.”
He almost smiled. She’d meant skull. “I forgot about that. Okay, we wait to check my theory until after you get the okay from Jamie.” He tugged his braid and thought about what Fox had told her. “Two become one, one becomes three?”
“Nope. Two becomes one. With an s. I got the impression that was significant for some reason.”
She was probably right. The person who received the vision usually understood the nuances better than anyone except the person it was intended for. “Who do you think Fox was talking about?”
“I have no idea. Me, maybe? Jim, since I was dreaming about him? Jamie, because he and that rat bastard physical therapist were torturing me a few hours before?” She shrugged. “You, because you’re a Bear? I’m not sure, but I have a bad feeling about it.”
A knock on the door interrupted them. “I’ll get it. You stay put.” Julian stood up and answered Chloe’s door. “Hey, Ryan.”
Ryan snarled at Julian. “Why do I smell my baby sister all over you?”
Julian rolled his eyes. “Welcome to Casa de Luv.” He stepped out of the way and let Ryan pass him, shutting the door behind the Grizzly. “Hey, pumpkin. Grumpy’s here.”
She giggled like a madwoman as her brother picked her up and blew raspberries against her neck. It was good to see her acting like a twenty-two year old girl instead of a wounded old woman. “Stop it, Ryan! Stop!” She began beating him on the head and shoulders, hitting him as only a sibling could and live to tell about it.
Ryan settled her back on the sofa. “How was your PT?”
She grimaced. “The man could give lessons to Genghis Khan.” She scowled at Ryan as he settled in next to her. “And what is this I hear about Eric giving Cyn shit?”
Julian’s ears perked up. Was the problem with Eric worse than he’d originally thought?