by Ciana Stone
Less than a minute later, Trina said she needed to go, and that's when Reese saw her opportunity and took it. "Wiley, I was hoping I could speak with you and Molly about the butterfly farm. If you have time?"
"Sure. Why don't you ride over?"
"That'd be great thanks. In fact, I think I'll head back to the gym where I left my truck. Charli?"
"Yeah, I'll walk with you."
Reese pulled money from her pocket and placed it on the table and waved Charli back when she reached for cash. "I got it this time."
"Thanks."
"You bet." Reese looked at Trina. "It was nice to meet you, Trina. I hope to see you again. Molly? You sure I won't be intruding if I come over?"
"Of course not. Elisi has been dying to talk to you about the different host and nectar plants. She's been researching online and has about a thousand questions."
"Okay, great." Reese liked Mercy Little Fox and hoped Mercy would take an active role in what Wiley and Molly were starting. "I'll see you in a bit."
As they walked, she and Charli chatted about the town, what Wiley and Molly were doing and made plans for their next workout. As soon as they reached their vehicles, they bade each other a good day and headed in separate directions.
Wiley was standing in the driveway, leaning with his forearms on the opening of a car window when Reese parked along the curb. He looked at her then spoke to whoever was in the car. After a moment he stepped away, and the car backed down the driveway.
Reese got out of her truck and saw Trina behind the wheel of the car. Wiley met her in the driveway. "Let's walk back to the site."
"Is Molly coming?"
"She said she wanted to put her feet up for a bit."
"Oh, okay."
They headed for the backyard and then to the property beyond. There was a crew hard at work on two houses. Wiley had already told her that he wanted the houses finished first and she understood that he wanted to settle his family, so he could then focus his attention on the venture.
Venture. That's what they called it, and she found it fitting.
"So, what's bothering you?" he asked as they walked.
"I think I should be asking you that question."
He looked directly at her. "Trina has—insight."
"Just spit it out, Wiley. She's like you."
He nodded. "Yeah, she is."
"You should've warned me."
"You handled it."
"Obviously, not well enough. What'd she say?"
"That you're not what you seem, and you have a lot of secrets."
"And?"
"That's it. Apparently, your walls are ironclad."
"Just like you taught me. So, what did you tell her?"
"That everyone has secrets, and I agreed that you don't seem anything like a bug geek, but a lot of people's appearance doesn't fit the jobs they have."
"You sure know how to package a lie, Wiley."
"It's not a lie."
"No, I suppose not, but I'd feel better if we gave her some secrets that would satisfy her, and then I stay well out of her reach."
"You've got more than Trina to worry about here. Molly and Mercy are just as strong."
"And they're both too considerate and honorable to enter without asking."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I'm a genius, remember? And I was trained by the best."
"Flatterer."
"Just a fact. Look, we can honestly play the bug girl thing. I did win a scholarship, and I do have a doctorate in entomology."
"Along with a few other things."
"That doesn't matter. We have an opportunity here, Wiley. To make a difference."
"I know. Trust me. And I get that we can't take a chance on anyone finding out what else we're doing so we stick to the script."
"Agreed."
"Which brings me to something we need to discuss."
"What?"
"Mathias Gray Horse."
"What about him?"
"The way I hear it, he has a date with you."
"And?
"And you think that's wise?"
"Why? Is he like you and Trina?"
"No."
"Then what's the issue?"
"Reese, he's a good man."
Reese stopped, feeling a little offended by his statement. "And?"
"And—look I'll just say it straight out. You're not exactly a woman who's known for commitment."
"Kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?"
"Until recently, yes."
"And what if Mathias is my Molly?"
"Is he?"
This wasn't a conversation Reese wanted to have with Wiley. Once upon a time, she had eyes only for him and swore that one day she'd make him fall in love with her. Then she grew up and realized that what she had with him was more valuable than a lover. Wiley knew more about her than anyone alive and understood the question about Mathias was not a simple one.
"I don't know, Wiley. All I know is that he gets to me and you know that doesn't happen to me very often, so I'd like to see if there's something besides me just wanting a man who isn't a soft fuck."
"To put it bluntly."
"When have I put it any other way?"
"Never. And I appreciate the honesty."
"When have I ever been anything else with you?"
"Never."
"And I never will."
"I know that, Reese. It's why I asked you to come. And in case I haven't been clear, I appreciate you saying yes."
"When have I ever said anything else?"
Wiley smiled. "You want to see what they've gotten done?"
"Actually, I'd like to go talk with Mercy."
"You're not uncomfortable with that?"
Reese shook her head. "No. She knows I'm as honest with her as I can be, so there's no need for me to fear her. And besides, I'm learning from as well as teaching her."
"Some things never change."
"Like?"
"Your insatiable curiosity."
"It's what you love about me."
"Yeah, partly. Okay, head on back and tell Molly I'll be there shortly. I want to speak with the contractor."
"Sure. See ya."
"Yep."
Reese backtracked and knocked on the kitchen door. Mercy opened it. "Good morning, Reese. Come in."
"Thanks. Are you busy?"
"Not particularly."
"Great. Molly said you have some questions."
"About a thousand. Want a cup of coffee?"
"Always."
"Then have a seat, and I'll get the coffee and my list."
Reese smiled and took a seat. Being around Mercy was calming. She felt mentally relaxed, and that was a rarity for Reese. Her mind had raced as long as she could remember, gathering data, storing and shifting and piecing things together even when she wasn't consciously thinking about it.
She didn't know why and at this point in her life it didn't matter, but there were times when the constant mental activity became too much. She feared being pushed in directions she didn't want to go, in the attempt to still her racing mind.
Being with Mercy brought a blessed stillness and allowed her to relax. And that's when the creative side of her brain kicked in. Backed by the mental processing that had driven her nearly to madness, creation happened.
And right now, she very much needed to find that stillness, so she could give birth to the final piece of the puzzle.
Chapter Three
"Trina, I don't understand why you're so upset." Molly put her finger to her lips before she put her phone on speaker so that Wiley and Elisi could hear.
"Because something isn't right about her. I touched her when we had breakfast at the diner, and she blocked me. But not before I saw something."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. It was confusing. Busy, like lots of tiny explosions of light and streams of energy and—and all mad scientist or something. I can't describe it, but it wasn
't normal, and I don't think you and Wiley should be involved with her."
"Okay, so you saw light? How can that be bad?"
"Because it wasn't normal. Molly, I know what I saw, and it was—abnormal. Reese isn't normal."
"You know, speaking for myself, I know being pregnant has an impact on my ability to pick up on things. Maybe the same is true for you?"
"No."
"Are you sure? Remember, a couple of weeks ago when you were sure Mica was talking shit about you when what she was really doing was starting the ball rolling on the baby shower?"
"That's not the same. I don't want—"
"I know. You don't want Wiley to get hurt. Or me. And we appreciate it. But you know Wiley wouldn't team up with her if there were something wrong. He does know how to pick up on that stuff. So do I and neither of us have any reason to mistrust her."
"Well, you might be sorry about that, so don't say I didn't warn you. Mathias too. I tried to tell him, but she has him thinking with his—"
"He's a grown man, Trina and who he sees isn't our business."
"But he's family. And besides, he's not the same as he was."
"Hold on. I’m putting you on speaker, so Wiley can hear." She nodded to Wiley.
"What do you mean he’s not the same?" Wiley asked.
"I mean he’s more like us, but his old pains are coming back. Not like before, but they’re not erased anymore. I didn’t really heal him, I just patched him."
Wiley looked at Molly and shook his head. "This is a conversation for later, in person. But regardless, it’s not for you to interfere in his relationships. Any of them."
"Not even if I think—"
"No, honey, not even."
"Fine, whatever. I don't want to argue about it. I'll talk to you later."
She didn't give him time to respond. Molly hit the end button on her phone and looked at Wiley and then her grandmother. "Well?"
Mercy's gaze went to Wiley. "Trina's fears are not entirely unfounded."
"What does that mean?" Molly asked.
Wiley nodded at Mercy, and she replied. "His emotions and scars from a terrible time in his life have returned. He is dealing with it, and I do not believe he is in any psychological danger, but Trina is right. She patched him, and now the band-aid has been ripped off, revealing the scar that will always be a part of him. Now he’s learning to live with his demons."
"And she’s right about Reese," Wiley said. "Reese isn’t technically normal. She's a genius, and her brain doesn't process like ours."
"At the risk of sounding redundant, what does that mean?" Molly asked.
"Think of us as computers. We're laptops with only a couple of gigabytes of memory, a processor that's only a gigahertz and an operating system that isn't streamlined. Reese's mind is like a supercomputer, with nearly limitless memory, total recall and a processor that can kick the crap out of all the competition. She sees in dimensions and never has to write or take notes. She calculates mentally and has complete schematics in her mind."
"And she needs all that mental umph because?" Molly asked.
"That's the real question, isn't it?" Mercy added.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Wiley agreed. "And here's what I can tell you. She's brilliant, driven, will help us get this venture off the ground and make a success of it, and I know I can trust her."
"That's enough for me." Molly reached for his hand.
"And me," Mercy agreed. "But I doubt you'll find Trina as malleable."
"Probably not, but with luck, she'll at least trust me."
"And what about Mathias?" Molly asked.
"He's a grown man and can take care of himself. Worst case scenario is that one of them will lose interest before it goes anywhere and the other will feel rejected."
"Are you sure that's the worst case?"
Wiley gave her hand a squeeze. "I hope it is, but who's to say? They're adults and can take care of their own affairs, and it's not really any of our business, is it?"
"No, it most certainly is not." Mercy stated. "And on that note, I have a lunch date with Netta and Nellie Mae, so if you'll excuse me?"
"Sure. Have fun." Molly agreed, and once Mercy left, Molly looked at Wiley. "There's something you're not telling us about Reese, isn't there?"
"Yes."
"And you don't think you can trust me with whatever it is?"
"Baby, I know I can trust you, but it's not my story to tell."
She nodded and gave him a smile. "Have I told you today how much I love you?"
Wiley stood and pulled Molly up and into his arms. "Hmm, refresh my memory." As he embraced her, his mind turned to the subject of their conversation. He had far less worry about what might happen to Mathias than he did about Reese.
No one realized just how fragile that super-brained Amazon could be.
*****
Reese sat in the field on a worn blanket with her legs crossed beneath her and hands in her lap. Bees buzzed by the thousands in the air around her. She was rarely stung. Most creatures could recognize when they were, and were not, being threatened, and she posed no danger to the bees.
Since she'd taken over Penelope Harlow's place, she'd spent a good bit of time sitting in the same spot, letting the bees and butterflies become accustomed to her presence. Around her were thousands of flowering plants, some host plants for the butterflies and other nectar plants that attracted both species and provided nutrition.
Reese had dozens of miniature video cameras set up in weatherproof housings. She could start their recording functions with her cell phone. Right now, the cameras were recording. Tonight, while the rest of the world slept, she would study the footage to see if there were patterns she hadn't recognized.
As she observed the activity around her, another part of her mind turned to a completely unrelated topic. Mathias Gray Horse. He got to her on a visceral level, and that was highly unusual. Reese enjoyed being with men, socially and sexually, but she'd never had this kind of primitive reaction to a man. It was as if some previously hidden primeval female instinct had suddenly sprung to life.
That bothered her, and because it did, she'd come up with an excuse for her strong reaction to Mathias. It'd been a while since she'd had sex, and sexual release was good for her mental processing. Mathias was a man who appealed to her sexually. Reese wasn't a small woman and didn't get hot and bothered about men who weren't physically bigger. She also didn't like men she classified as "soft fucks."
It sounded awful but wasn't really. She wasn't a woman who would ever tolerate a man deliberately trying to hurt her, but she also wasn't a woman who wanted a man to hold back. Regardless of what people said about Mathias, she was betting he was a man who knew how to give a woman what she needed.
And right now, Reese was about as needy as she'd ever been.
Thoughts of Mathias triggered something inside her that made it difficult to remain motionless. She stood, and that's when she saw him, standing at the edge of the field. Reese smiled, picked up her blanket and walked over to him.
"What brings you here?"
"You." Mathias smiled.
"Should I be flattered or afraid?"
"Maybe a little of both. What were you doing out there?"
"Watching. Learning."
"Learning what?"
"Their patterns."
"Do they have patterns?"
"Of course. There's a pattern to everything. A rhythm, a pace, relationships and models–a kind of blueprint. If you can understand it, then you know how to work in concert with it."
"Is that your goal?"
"I suppose it is. What about you? What's your goal?"
"To figure you out."
"Why on earth would you want to do that?"
"Because my sister is concerned."
"About what?"
"You."
"Why would I concern her?"
"Because Trina, Deacon's daughter, said there's something abnormal about you."
"Abnormal." It was
n't the first time someone had assigned a label to her, and she'd had a lot worse that abnormal. "I see. And what do you think?"
"That you get to me and not many people do. And it's not just a sexual thing, although that's off the charts. There's something about you that makes me curious, and I'm rarely that."
"Really? How sad."
"Well, maybe curious is the wrong word. Interested fits better. Or fascinated."
"I can live with that. But you're still curious about Trina calling me abnormal."
"Maybe. Is she right?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"I told you, I'm smart."
"Abnormally smart?"
"Yes."
"Brag or fact?"
Reese smiled. "No brag. I didn't do anything for it, I was just born that way, so it's not like something I achieved. And how would Trina know? Is she like her uncle Wiley?"
Mathias looked away, and Reese pressed. "So, she is. Can she heal like Wiley?"
"Yes. She healed me."
"Of what?"
"We're not ready for that conversation. Back to you."
"There's nothing more to say. I'm smart. You're sexy. And we both want something from the other. Maybe it's just physical, and maybe it's more, but we'll discover that in time."
"Will we? And where do we start?"
Reese stepped up close to him and could feel the heat that radiated from him. She purely loved the fact that she had to look up to meet his eyes. "I would say, right here and now, but as good as I'm betting it would be, I don't want to rush it. I'm not hot for many guys, and it's a treat to feel this way."
He touched the side of her face, tracing along her jawline and then down her neck to the top of the tank top she wore. Reese didn't protest when he hooked his finger in her shirt and tugged. She took a step toward him and tilted her head back a bit more.
For a few moments, they merely stood there, gazes locked. Then he leaned down and kissed her. The gentleness of it shocked her. And sent hunger clawing through her. How was that possible? She wasn't known for her gentleness—in giving or receiving. It wasn't her thing.
At least not until now. How had he inspired so much desire with such tenderness?
"I'll be hard when the time comes," he whispered against her lips and damn if that didn't just about take the strength right out of her legs. "Are we still on for Friday?"
It would take something catastrophic for her to break that date. "Oh, you better believe it."
