Knight Shift

by Paulette Miller

  Penny was going to lie, but she was standing in front of a mind reader and knew that there was no point. She dropped her fake persona and allowed her feelings for Jax to openly fill her mind. She then replied, “I wouldn’t have survived my trip without him at my side and, yes, you’re right. We fell in love, but what did or didn’t happen between us doesn’t matter now. We’ve decided to go our separate ways.”

  “But why? I felt the feelings you have for each other and they’re so strong that even Jax couldn’t block me out tonight. You can’t ignore them like they don’t exist.”

  “We aren’t love-struck teenagers. We’re adults and we made this decision together. Actually it was the only logical solution to our situation. Some of the events that we’ve shared tonight prove that fact. Our two worlds are not meant to mix...at least not in public. And I won’t live a life with someone that I can’t announce to the world that he’s mine. I’ll always love him and that fact will never change. I’ll cherish every minute I had the privilege to be at his side.”

  “But this isn’t right. Something that feels this good can’t be wrong.” Ben cringed when he caught Penny’s mind instantly shift to guilt and anger.

  She replied with an emphasized whisper, “What isn’t right is me indulging in my fantasies while I carried my family’s ashes across the country.”

  In an attempt to calm her, he said, “The moment Taylor and Tadd met your bothers, they instantly considered them family. They cared for them deeply and I’ve never heard them speak so highly of anyone, even other Changelings. To make an instant connection like that tells me that your brothers were like them—full of life. Your brothers wouldn’t want you wallowing in tears. They would want you to live on and find happiness. You can’t tell me that you and Jax don’t have a special connection. Look how your time together changed him. It’s a miracle.”

  “What you see as the new Jax has always been there. I just helped it come to the surface.” As her mind shifted to loss, she added, “He can take it from here without me.”

  Given what Ben had been feeling from Jax, he wasn’t so sure about that.

  Penny added, “Neither of us can go back to what we were before the trip; too much has happened. In fact, my entire world has changed. We both need to move forward and begin new futures. It’s just that we’ll be following two different paths.” When Penny heard her name called from the living room, she looked to Ben and said, “We need to go back and join the others. I’m touched with your concern, but I’ll be okay. For now, please promise me that you’ll keep our secret, especially from the family. This is hard enough without having to deal with everyone trying to interfere. Jax and I need more time to work through this.”

  “But...”

  “Promise me.”

  When Ben reluctantly nodded, Penny gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “As I’ve always said, everything happens for a reason, so I know that somehow this will all work out as it’s meant to be. I have to believe that.” Her words seemed to be more directed to convincing herself than Ben. She took in a deep breath, plastered on her fake smile, and headed back to the living room.

  After they finished the picture show, Penny looked at her watch and said, “Wow, I didn’t realize how late it was.”

  Taylor jumped up and announced, “I call slumber party with Peanut!”

  Tadd added, “Excellent suggestion, Bro.”

  As the twins started to argue over where the party was to take place, Penny interrupted them by saying, “Sorry boys. Although it sounds fun, I’ll have to take a rain check. I need to get home.”

  Listening to the twins continue to argue over her, Sam said, “I can lock them out of the house, if you like.”

  Penny stared at the much missed typical twin behavior and replied, “No, my needing to leave has nothing to do with them. I would love to pull an all-nighter, but I have to work tomorrow.”

  Susi asked, “You’re going back to work? It’s too soon. You’ve only been home for a week.”

  Penny replied, “Yes, but I’ve been away from the store for over a month.”

  Taylor stopped fighting with Tadd long enough to say, “But I thought you told me that between the airport settlement and your family’s insurance policies, you’re now more than financially independent. You don’t need to work anymore and can come play with us every day.”

  The thought of profiting from her family’s death made Penny nauseous. She would gladly give it all back for just one more day with those that she lost. Out loud she said, “It isn’t about the money. I need at least one thing in my life to be stable and predictable. And I actually like to work. It gives me purpose.”

  Ben asked, “Will you come back for another visit soon?”

  Penny nodded, seeing how concerned he was for her. She replied, “I promise. I’ll stop by on my next day off.”

  They all followed Penny to her car. As she walked around to the driver’s side door, she found Jax holding it open for her. She could no longer avoid his stare and, as she approached him, she locked on his eyes. Unable to pay attention to where she was walking, her graceful entry into the car ended when she tripped over her own feet. Jax caught her in his arms. Feeling his cool touch made every nerve in her body scream for more. After forcing herself to stand up straight, she stuttered out a quiet thank you.

  He whispered while giving her body a quick squeeze, “I told you that I would always be here to catch you.”

  She was grateful that she had the car door to hold on to because she instantly went weak in the knees at his words. As he helped her into her seat, he let his hand caress across the small of her back. As she slid into place and he was forced to back away, her hand rubbed down his arm. She caught Jax’s body give off a slight tremble at the fire of her touch.

  As hard as they tried to suppress their feelings for each other, their actions and reactions made it clear to both of them—and Ben—just how much they missed each other.

  As Jax watched Penny drive away, Ben felt Jax’s desperate sense of longing return. He walked up to the one he considered his big brother, leaned in, and whispered so that no one else would hear, “I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

  Jax didn’t respond out loud but, as he turned to go back into the house, he put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. He gave it a squeeze, silently telling him that he heard what he said and thanking him for his discretion. Ben hoped that Jax’s wall was coming down and that he would call on his family for help. Regardless, he vowed to himself to find a way for Jax and Penny to return to each other’s arms, exactly where he knew that they were meant to be.

  Chapter 52 - Barely Living

  Penny sat in her car and stared at the entrance to Gone Wild. She was nervous about being able to pick up the routine again after being gone for so long, as well as unsure how she would react to the inevitable ‘How are you?’ questions that she would have to answer all day. While wearing her new persona like a magic shield, she got out of the car and walked into the store. The moment her feet crossed the threshold, she discovered that her first fear was unfounded. Although she had been gone for over a month, staring out into the store she loved, it felt like no time had passed. It was like putting on her favorite comfortable pair of sweats—it just felt right.

  When the workers saw her standing at the store entrance scanning the sales floor, they hesitated approaching her, not knowing her emotional state. When they continued to look the other way as she put her things in the office, Penny adjusted her second fear slightly. Instead of everyone asking her questions, they were avoiding her glances altogether. Their somber and unsure moods made the store seem dark and gloomy.

  Not wanting the uncomfortable atmosphere to make her first day back unbearable, Penny decided to address the situation head on and she called an immediate employee meeting.

  Once everyone was assembled together, Penny stood in front of them and said, “First, I want to thank all of you for the cards and beautiful flowers that you sent to the memorial. It
was a tough day and knowing that I had people that cared for me back home made all the difference in the world.” Looking at John, she added, “I’ve already expressed my gratitude to corporate headquarters for giving the generous donation to the memorial construction fund in memory of my family. The gardens and statue that they’re creating are breathtaking.” Focusing back on the group as a whole, she said, “Although I’m not quite ready to talk casually about everything that happened, in the break area I posted on the wall several printed copies of pictures taken at the memorial. You’ll be amazed by all of the outpouring of sympathy expressed to those that were lost. Speaking on behalf of the surviving family members, we were all deeply touched.”

  Staring out at the crowd, she said, “Based on the looks on many of your faces, I know that you’re unsure how to approach me for fear that you’ll have a blubbering idiot on your hands. I’ll admit that it will take me a long time to adjust to my new reality, but I want you all to know that I’m okay. It may sound stupid, but I’m actually excited to be back at work. I welcome returning to a normal routine again and what you can do that will help me the most is treat me as you did before the accident. Consider this meeting as you offering your condolences and let’s move on. Now that this topic is out of the way, on to the next. So, who wants to tell me what’s new around here?”

  When the group remained silent, a man in his late twenties called from the back of the crowd, “Your hairdo. Nice look, boss!” He gave her a cat call, making everyone laugh.

  Penny gave Quinn a smile and a nod, silently thanking him for breaking the lingering tension in the air. She giggled and, while running her fingers through her shorter strands, she replied, “It’s a new day and a new me. I may look a little different, but I’m still your boss, so let’s get to work and tell me what damage you did while managing my store.”

  Quinn had been working at the store for almost a year and had quickly moved up the ranks. Many teasingly called him Fabio because of his long hair and overly muscular body, which made him look more like a beach-bound body builder than a store clerk. But Penny knew he had management aspirations and she had recommended to John that he step into her shoes while she was away. He did as suggested and Quinn did so well that he was remaining on the management team as Penny’s junior manager.

  After Quinn quickly recapped all of the things that had gone on since Penny left, everyone went back to the floor. The room lit up with excited chatter and the dark cloud disappeared, leaving the store full of life again.

  As the days went by, Penny buried herself in work and, with a very enthusiastic Quinn at her side, she quickly returned to a normal routine. She kept her new persona. Besides the fact that everyone seemed to appreciate the new look, it seemed to help her leave the old Penny and her pain behind.

  Although life was getting easier at work, everything changed the moment she stepped into her cabin. Without Casper to talk to, the wood walls felt like a cage. One evening while taking a break from her painting obsession, she sat down at her dusty computer and looked at the draft video diary Tadd had emailed her. When she spotted Charlie in a picture, a need for a friend welled inside her. Being able to talk to Ben whenever she visited Sam’s family helped, but she longed to speak with another woman. Unable to confess her feelings for Jax to Susi, Penny picked up her phone and sent a quick hello text to Charlie.

  To Penny’s surprise, Charlie instantly replied with a message, “Give me 5.”

  Penny found out what she meant by her cryptic response when five minutes later Penny’s phone rang. Caller ID announced that it was Charlie.

  After Penny answered, Charlie said, “Sorry, I had to find a private place so that we could talk.” Her tone turned angry when she said, “It’s about time you contacted me. I’ve sent you several texts since you arrived home, but you only sent me short responses that never really answered any of my questions.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”

  Charlie teased, “Yeah, busy breaking more bathroom counters with Ice...I mean Jax.” When she only received silence as her response, she asked, “You and Jax are still together, right?”

  “I told you that we were only temporary. He’s gone back to his world and I’m back in mine.”

  Charlie replied, “Well that explains it.”

  “Explains what?”

  “Jax’s behavior while he’s been here.”

  “He’s there?”

  “He arrived yesterday afternoon. He and Razor have been locked away so I haven’t seen much of him, but I could tell something was wrong. He was distant, as if he was deep in thought about something.”

  “Jax is always distant.”

  “Not like this and not to me. If I didn’t know better, I thought I saw sorrow in his eyes. Tell me what happened between you two. The last text I received from you about Jax was from Crater Lake. You made it sound like the two of you were getting along quite well.”

  “That was one of the best nights of my life, but it won’t happen again.” Charlie listened quietly as Penny told her the details of her final days with Jax and what had happened since. When she started to share her inner thoughts, she dropped her mental wall and told Charlie everything she was feeling. To Penny’s surprise, Charlie offered her genuine sympathy for her situation and she tried to help Penny talk out her many mixed emotions.

  When Penny was done with her side of the story, Charlie replied, “But Penny. You love him.”

  “You saw how your people reacted to me. They need him and I refuse to get in the way of his work. And as your Spock’s name sake would say, ‘The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.’”

  “It’s not right. There must be a way to make this work.”

  The friends continued to talk for hours and, before they said their goodbyes, they exchanged information allowing them to computer call each other.

  The next night, they tried out the video connection and, after Charlie screeched at Penny’s new look, she had Van Gough join their discussion. Without giving away his communication with a Human to the others in the castle, he gave Penny a thorough video tour of all of his artwork.

  Although talking with her friends didn’t resolve the world’s problems, Penny felt better than she had in weeks.

  Chapter 53 - Unexpected

  With Jax spending so much time out of town, Penny visited Sam’s home often. Although the twins saw her smiling on the outside, they still sensed a gaping hole in her heart that time had not yet healed.

  During one of those evenings with Penny, Taylor approached his friend and asked, “Do you work tomorrow?”

  Penny shook her head and said with irritation clearly in her voice, “For some reason they’re forcing me to take a day off.”

  Susi interrupted her by saying, “Good. You’re spending too much time in that store and are working way too hard.”

  “No, I’m not. I like being busy.”

  From across the room Ben let out a loud, “Ha!” Although he had kept his promise to Penny and Jax about not telling the family their secret, he wasn’t happy about it.

  Tadd said, “I agree with Ben. You’re hiding.”

  Before she could defend herself, Taylor said, “What you need is a little TnT to blow up your cage. So tonight we’re going on a camp out and we leave in ten minutes.”

  “What? I can’t go camping. I don’t have any of my gear and do I look dressed for the woods?” Penny stood, spread her arms, and welcomed their inspection. She was in her full camouflage with skinny jeans, high-heeled ankle boots, and a bright red shirt covered in polka dots.

  As the twins scanned her top to bottom, she flashed her matching flaming red fingernails at them. While Tadd fell to the floor as if he had been shot, Taylor squinted, put his hands in front of his eyes, and exclaimed, “Turn them off before you blind me! These new outfits of yours are lethal.”

  Penny chuckled and replied, “The color is called Screaming Scarlet for a reason.”

  Susi left the room and moments
later returned with a stack of clothes and a pair of hiking boots. She handed them to Penny and said, “Here. The shoes might be a little big and the clothes a little long on you, but they’ll have to do. Now go change.”

  Penny stared at the previously prepared stack of clothes and asked suspiciously, “Why do I feel that I’ve been setup?”

  Sam said casually while looking down at his watch, “I suggest that you change your clothes. You have about five minutes left before the twins throw you over their shoulder and carry you out the door.”

  “They wouldn’t,” Penny warned.

  With evil grins on their faces and their arms crossed defiantly, the twins replied together, “Try us.”

  When Tadd started to count down, Penny decided she had no choice. She ran to the bathroom and emerged in proper attire seconds before Tadd made an alarm sound.