“Nonsense. I can handle that myself. You need to work and I need to make a few phone calls. But I would like to have dinner later, if that’s all right.”
Renee wasn’t sure if her mother was really busy or if she was giving her kid an out. The former was acceptable and the latter made her feel crappy.
“Dinner is required,” Renee said lightly. “Then I’ll show you around. You’ll love the town. It has a great history and the people are so friendly.”
“We are,” Pallas assured her.
“Then it’s a date,” Verity said.
They rose and Renee walked her out to her car. She hugged her mother, promised to call her later, then watched her drive away. As she retraced her steps, she told herself to be happy for her mother. The show was such a wonderful opportunity. Maybe no one she knew would watch it or put together the fact that Verity and she not only looked alike, they shared a last name. Uh-huh. That was likely.
Pallas was waiting just inside the main doors. “Your mom seems nice. I’m jealous.”
Renee had met Pallas’s mother. Libby was a stern, difficult woman who obviously preferred her son to her daughter. It was not an easy relationship.
“She’s great,” Renee said, thinking that except for the whole animal thing, Verity was fantastic. “After my dad took off, it was just the two of us. She’s always been there for me.”
“That’s nice. I’m glad she’s going to be around for a while. I look forward to getting to know her.”
As Renee had no idea what to say to that, she simply nodded. “Uh-huh. So I’m going to get to work.”
“Sure, but if you want to go hang with your mom, you should.”
“And that makes you the best boss ever.”
Pallas laughed.
Renee retreated to her office where she paced and mentally screamed and paced some more. The truth was her mother was in town and nothing was going to change that. Nor was the show going away, so Renee would simply have to deal.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, although if Jasper’s reaction was anything to go by, she wasn’t holding her breath on that one.
“Renee?”
She jumped and spun only to find Jasper standing in the doorway to her office. What was going on? Did she suddenly have the ability to make anything she thought of appear?
“I’m thinking of a million dollars,” she murmured under her breath. “I’m thinking of a million dollars.”
Jasper’s look of concern deepened. “Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not. I’m really not.” She glared at him. “Let me guess. You want to talk about it. You want me to admit I was lying about all of it, which you think is a really crappy thing to do. You don’t believe me at all. Which is fine because you know what? She’s here. My mother just showed up. Poof. One second she wasn’t here and the next—”
“You’re saying she transported in or something?”
“What? No! She drove, you idiot. I’m saying—” She shook her head. “Never mind. That’s not the point. She’s here because she wanted to tell me about getting a show on Animal Planet. That means everyone is going to know. Everyone. So telling you was just a practice session and we all know how that went, but who cares because you think I have a screw loose and...”
A thought formed. Of course. Why not?
She looked at him. “I will meet you at your place in an hour. I’ll bring my mom and then we’ll see who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”
He frowned. “Renee, I’m really worried about you.”
“I’m sure you are. That’s nice. An hour. Then if you’re not convinced, we’ll make an appointment with the doctor of your choice. Fair enough?”
“Sure.”
She ignored his patronizing tone and the fact that he still didn’t believe her. It didn’t matter now. She would convince him the only way she knew how. At the very least, she was about to have the satisfaction of watching Jasper eat his words. Metaphorically, of course.
* * *
RENEE KEPT HER attention on her driving as they headed up the mountain. Beside her, Verity looked out the window and admired the scenery.
“I can’t believe how different the topography is up here,” her mother said. “We’re only a few miles from town, but it’s totally different. How wonderful to live so close to the mountains.”
“It is nice. I don’t get up here often, but I really should make more of an effort.”
She could start camping, she thought, holding in a laugh. Or hiking. Maybe she could commune with the wild animals. They could tell her about buried treasure or an abandoned gold mine. Only they didn’t talk to her, they spoke with her mother and now everyone was going to know.
Renee had yet to find her zen center on the topic—obviously—but she was going to have to get there eventually. After years of ducking and weaving, of hiding, pretending and twisting the truth, the family secret was going to be exposed and then...well, she didn’t know what was going to happen.
“So who is Jasper?” her mother asked. “Dare I hope you’ve met someone?”
Renee wanted to bang her head against the steering wheel. She’d been so intent on showing Jasper she wasn’t a loon that she’d acted without thinking and now she had to tell her mother that she and Jasper were...were...
“We’re friends,” she said cautiously. “He has a dog, Koda.”
“Friends? What kind of friends?”
“The kind who don’t fall in love and get married. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Renee, you have to get yourself out there. You have to be willing to risk your heart again.”
“No, I don’t. You haven’t. You haven’t been with anybody since Dad left.” She paused, realizing she actually didn’t know all that much about her mother’s love life. “Not anyone special enough to tell me about.”
“That’s different. I’m fine. You’re the one I’m worried about.”
“I’m fine, too.”
Her mother looked at her. “Not everyone is going to be frightened of me,” she said gently. “You need to give people a chance to surprise you.”
Renee held in a sigh. “That’s the problem, Mom. They rarely do.”
* * *
JASPER HAD NO idea what was going on. He didn’t want to believe Renee was unhinged, but she’d been acting strangely ever since telling him she believed her mother could talk to animals.
Nothing about the past few hours made sense. They’d had a great time together the previous night. The sex, the conversation, all of it. They’d laughed, they’d gotten to know each other better. Was she reacting to that? Was she so scared of getting involved that she was putting up barriers to keep them apart?
He didn’t think that was possible or even likely and if she didn’t want to see him anymore, why not just say so instead of inventing such a weird story? It wasn’t like her at all and that was what troubled him the most.
He glanced at his watch. She should be here any minute, he thought, admitting he was unexpectedly nervous about seeing her. He didn’t want there to be something wrong with her. He wanted them to go back to what they had been. He liked her and liked what they had—he didn’t want to lose that. But in the end, it might not be up to him.
He heard a car pull up and hurried to the front door. Renee got out, along with an older woman who looked enough like her for Jasper to believe it was her mother. Verity Grothen was about her daughter’s height, with a similar build. Her hair was darker, her eyes blue, but they definitely came from the same gene pool. While Verity was casually dressed in jeans and a flowy blouse thing, Renee still had on her work clothes.
“You made it,” he said, moving toward them. He held out his hand to Renee’s mother. “I’m Jasper.”
“Verity.” She smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
They shook hands, then she glanced p
ast him and raised her eyebrows. “Who is that handsome boy?”
“That’s Koda,” Renee said, leading the way inside. She hesitated just before reaching Koda, then seemed to steel herself before petting him.
So she wasn’t afraid of dogs in the traditional sense, Jasper thought, not sure if the news was good or bad.
He and Verity went inside and followed Renee into the family room. Koda eased in behind Jasper, as if not sure what to expect.
“Renee tells me you’re an author,” Verity said easily. “While I’m sure I’ve heard of you, I have to admit, I don’t read suspense novels. I prefer a little less violence and death.”
“Makes sense.” He wasn’t sure what to do. Stay standing? Sit down? Bolt?
He motioned to the sofa, then said, “Can I get you something?”
Renee ignored him. “Mom, could you talk to Koda, please?”
Her mother’s looked sharpened, but she nodded and sank to the floor, then called Koda over. The dog crossed to her before sitting in front of her. Their eyes met.
Jasper didn’t know what was about to happen. Renee wouldn’t look at him and from the tension he saw in her body, he knew she was on the edge.
He returned his attention back to Verity and Koda. They just stared at each other for a few seconds, then Koda whined and lay down while Verity stroked him. She nodded, as if she were getting information and wanted the dog to know she understood. Which wasn’t happening, he reminded himself. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t—
“He’s a sweet boy,” Verity said, looking at Jasper. “He belonged to an older woman who got very sick. Koda says she went away. I don’t know if that means they had to move her into a nursing home or if she died. She made her son promise to look after Koda, but instead he dumped him somewhere that frightened Koda. He was lonely and scared and starving when you found him.”
“Everyone knows how I found Koda,” Jasper said, trying not to sound disappointed in the badly done show. “The touch about the old lady is nice but—”
Renee glared at him. “Just listen,” she snapped.
Verity looked between them before continuing. “He still misses her, but thinks she would approve of you, Jasper. He wasn’t sure, at first. You almost didn’t keep him, but he’s glad you did. He likes living here. He likes the forest and the house and how you whistle for him when he’s gone too long exploring. You have nightmares and at first they frightened him. He would get on the bed to calm you. Now he knows you’re going to be okay. Sometimes he wakes you up so you stop screaming, but most of the time he only has to bump your arm to settle you. If he does wake you, he pretends he has to go out so you don’t know it’s really to help you.”
She paused and looked at Koda. “He says you work too much and should take more breaks and you need more people in your life.” She smiled at Renee. “He likes you and wishes you weren’t so scared of him. He would never hurt you.”
Jasper sank into a chair, unable to grasp what she’d told him. While she could make up a bunch of crap about Koda’s former owner, there was no way she could know about the nightmares or the fact that Jasper had almost not taken Koda or how much he worked or any of the rest of it. No one knew. No one except Koda himself.
No, he thought, shaking his head. It was a trick. It had to be. Only it wasn’t and with a certainty he couldn’t explain and that sure as hell didn’t make sense, he believed her. He believed her!
Holy crap—Verity could talk to animals.
He looked at Renee. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She rolled her eyes. “Really? Because I did tell you and you said I was lying. You thought I was insane.”
She was right. He’d gotten angry because he’d been disappointed. He’d thought she was playing him. But she hadn’t been. She’d been telling the truth and based on what he’d just heard, he had no choice but to believe her.
“I didn’t get it,” he admitted. “I mean I know you said the words, but this is incredible.”
He glanced at his dog, not sure what to say to him. “Is he happy?”
“He seems to be.”
All this time Koda’d been thinking those deep thoughts and Jasper hadn’t known. He returned his attention to Verity. “How does it work? Do you hear words or get impressions or what?”
“There are some words. The ones the animal knows. Koda knows his name. It was Buddy before, by the way, but he likes Koda. The rest of it is feelings or images. I see what they see, feel what they feel. It’s a one-way communication. I can’t ask questions. They tell me what’s most on their mind at the moment.”
“Is it all animals or just some?”
“So far, it’s been all animals. Domesticated animals are easiest. I’ve tried to communicate with wild animals, but everything is a jumble. We need a joint frame of reference.” She rubbed Koda’s ears. “He’s a very good boy. You were lucky to find him.”
“I was.”
And now being a pet owner suddenly seemed like a much bigger responsibility.
Renee watched him cautiously. “So you believe me?”
“Sure. You heard what she said. How could I not believe you both?” He thought about how he’d acted before. “Man, I was a jerk. I’m sorry. It was just too incredible. But it’s real.” He grinned. “Damn.”
She didn’t seem convinced. “You seem okay with it. Are you sure?”
He thought about the question, wanting to let it all sink in. Was it unexpected? Of course. But the world was filled with things he had to take on faith—things that were real but that he couldn’t see. Like gravity and quarks.
“Your mom can communicate with animals. That’s fantastic.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”
“Renee, I’m not going to get upset. I think it’s a great gift.” He looked at Verity. “You’re really lucky.”
“That’s what I think, too.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
RENEE WASN’T SURE what to make of everything that was happening. Jasper had invited them to stay for dinner and Verity had agreed. Not that Renee minded—she enjoyed Jasper’s company and was relieved he seemed to be accepting of what he referred to as “Verity’s gift,” but she wasn’t quite ready to let go of her concerns. There had been too many consequences of the truth coming out for her to believe everything was going to work out so easily.
Jasper defrosted some hamburger patties. There were buns in the pantry and plenty of pasta salad left over from the night before. Verity helped with the prep work while Renee set the table.
Koda watched her and she had to fight the urge to ask her mom what he was thinking. If she had to guess, she would say he wanted to know if she finally accepted him. Not that she had a clue. So far she was blissfully unaware of animal thoughts, which should have allowed her to relax. Only she kept waiting for that to change and it wasn’t a comfortable thought.
When they were seated at the table, Jasper continue to pepper Verity with questions about her “gift.”
“Can you turn it off?”
“Not really. I still hear thoughts, as if someone is standing next to me, having a conversation.” She smiled. “It can get tiring after a while, which is why I’ve never had a pet at home. I need to be able to get away.”
Renee added mustard to her bun. “Why are you so accepting? A lot of people have trouble believing in what my mom can do.”
“Because of what she said. I was wrong before. I should have believed you, Renee. I’m sorry I didn’t. What you said sounds far-fetched, but it’s real.”
He added pasta salad to his plate, then glanced at Verity. “I don’t know how much Renee told you but after I got out of the army, I had pretty bad PTSD. I had different kinds of treatment. For some of it, I was in a hospital setting. Some of the guys there saw things. The doctors said they were hallucinations, but now I wonder
if all of them were. Maybe they had a gift, too, because of their injuries or something.”
“That’s very open-minded of you,” Verity said. “Not everyone can see it that way. There have been problems, especially for Renee.”
“Mom, don’t.”
“It’s all right, darling. Jasper should know.”
“No, he shouldn’t.”
Verity ignored her. “Renee always wanted to study fashion. She was interested in the business end of things, working with the designers. While she was in college she got an internship with a famous fashion designer.”
Renee sighed. “I was his assistant for the summer and I was perfectly happy to change directions. Marketing was a better fit for me.”
“What happened?” Jasper asked, looking between them.
“I came to visit her,” Verity said. “I was so excited. I’d never been to New York before. She took me to her office and gave me a tour.” She paused as tears filled her eyes.
“Mom, it’s okay.”
“It’s not. I’m so sorry.” She sighed. “I met her boss, who was a hideous little man with a Pekinese dog who was wonderful. She told me he was having an affair with three of the other interns and wanted me to warn Renee that she was next.”
Renee turned to Jasper. “When my mom gets information, she can’t help blurting it out. She not only told him she knew about the affairs, she told him off for taking advantage of college-age students and threatened to tell his wife.”
“I couldn’t help myself,” Verity admitted. “I was so angry. Unfortunately, my temper cost Renee her internship.”
“I wouldn’t have stayed after learning that.”
Verity picked up her wine. “It wasn’t that she quit, it was that he ruined her reputation, telling lies about her so no one would hire her. And it’s all my fault.”
“You told the truth.” Jasper looked furious. “He was the scumbag. I hope you told his wife.”
Verity shook her head. “I didn’t, but I heard later they split up so maybe she found out.”
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