want in my life.”
She glanced at Koda and then away. “So far there hasn’t been an indication and my mom swears she had her talent or whatever you want to call it from the time she was born, so I should be safe, but I worry. I don’t want to hear some squeaky voice in my head.”
It was like being back in group therapy at the VA, he thought grimly, listening to the really bad ones try to explain what was happening to them. Or talk to someone who wasn’t there. Only with those wounded in war, he’d been understanding and patient. With Renee he leaned a whole lot more toward pissed and disappointed.
“You are afraid you’re going to start talking to animals, too?” He tried to sound like he was listening instead of fighting anger and he was pretty sure he failed miserably. “Dammit, Renee, I’m serious.”
“So am I.” She slid off the stool and glared at him. “I didn’t want to tell you and you insisted it would be fine, yet here we are. You think I’m lying. Or if you do believe me, you’re now worried that I’m taking a train to Crazytown.” Frustration sharpened her tone. “I’m serious, too, Jasper. This is real.”
She turned and ran for the bedroom. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he gave her a few minutes to get herself together. By the time he followed her, she was already dressed and was throwing her things into her tote bag.
“We have to talk,” he said, wondering when it had all gone wrong. He liked her. He liked being with her, and now this?
“What are we going to talk about?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I knew better and I did it anyway. Well, fine. Now you know. You can believe me or not.” She faced him. “If you have any feelings for me at all, do me one favor. Don’t say anything. I don’t want my life here messed up like it’s been messed up everywhere else, okay? Just keep your mouth shut and everything will be fine.”
He wanted to point out it wasn’t fine now and that they still had to talk and he honest to God had no idea what to say.
Part of him wanted to demand she take it back and explain why she would play such a stupid joke on him, but the rest of him knew it was worse than that. The rest of him knew she believed what she was saying. And if that was true, where did it leave them?
“I’m going to go,” she said.
She grabbed her things and walked out. Jasper told himself to go after her, but he couldn’t. Or he didn’t want to, and in the end, weren’t those the same?
* * *
AS SHE DROVE down the mountain, Renee chastised herself. She’d been stupid. No, she’d been what was stupid times a zillion to the millionth squared. She’d made a fool of herself in front a man she really liked and now she had nothing. No guy, no sex and the very real possibility that her life was about to blow up in her face.
She let herself into her apartment and dumped her clothes, then got undressed and stepped into the shower. When the water was flowing over her, she gave in to tears as she worried that she’d screwed up everything.
What had she been thinking when she told him? That he would be fine with it? That he would laugh and say “Hey, that’s cool. What do you want for breakfast?” It didn’t work like that—it never had. What if Jasper told people? What if she lost her job? What if once again she had to pick up the pieces and start over? Because it had happened again and again and again.
At six, her friends had loved that her mom knew what their pets were thinking but in high school it had meant being a freak. Later... Well, she didn’t want to think about that.
She washed her hair and rinsed the tears from her face, then stepped out to start her day. Her stomach was in knots and her heart was heavy to the point of weighing her down.
The potential for disaster was going to follow her for weeks. She would never know if or when Jasper was going to repeat what she’d told him and then what? She loved Happily Inc. Pallas was talking about making her a partner. Everything could be