Training Rain

by A. S. Fenichel

  She fired!

  The shotgun jerked against her shoulder, pushing her back a step. Her hip came up hard against the back of the couch, but she held her ground, ready to take the second shot if need be.

  The door pushed all the way open. Freezing cold wind and a swirl of snow whipped through the cabin. The lights went out. A body fell into the room. “Goddamit! Put the fucking gun down, Rain. It’s Jess.”

  The lights came back on. Jess McMean lay on the floor in the open doorway. A red blotch was spreading out on the arm of his coat. The last time she had seen him, he’d also been injured. She had healed his aura after an attack in Las Vegas. She remembered him staring up at her from the marble floor. He’d looked scared and pained all those months ago—now on the floor of the cabin, he just looked angry.

  Rain shook with the rush of adrenaline, but she still managed to be annoyed with the wounded man. “Why didn’t you say it was you? I called out.”

  She put down the shotgun and crossed the room. Helping him get to the couch, she then turned and used her full weight to push the door closed against the wind and snow that had built up during the blizzard. Wind rushed through the holes the buckshot had made, but it was still warmer with the door closed.

  Jess tugged at the hood of his parka and grimaced from the need to move his wounded arm. “I couldn’t hear you with all the wind and I didn’t imagine you would shoot at the door without knowing who was there first. Plus only an agent with the code could have shut down the proximity alarm system.”

  Even in her state of complete horror over shooting him, she instinctively helped him out of the coat and carefully peeled back his flannel shirt to get a better look at the wound. “I’m not trained for this kind of thing. I got scared. No one said you were coming. Not that there’s any goddamn cell service up here. They just told me to hole up in this cabin and wait for further instructions. I don’t even know why I agreed to this.”

  He looked down at the series of wounds on his upper arm and shoulder and then up at her.

  Considering the condition of the door, he was lucky his injury was superficial. She tried to focus on the blood and healing, but couldn’t help noticing how handsome he was. Dark golden hair, sharp blue eyes and the darkest eyebrows and lashes she’d ever seen on a blond. Jess was the kind of man who turned heads. She’d only met him once before when he’d come to the reservation to help his friends and they had all gone to Las Vegas to defeat Banta, a psychic madman. Troth Banta had been collecting the psi talents of others and ripping their souls out in the process. One good man had died that day and Jess had nearly been the second.

  The small wound she had inflicted when the buckshot pierced the door was nothing compared to the damage from having his soul nearly ripped away.

  “I’ll get the first-aid kit.” She was glad to have a few minutes away from him. He looked angry, but there was something about the way he stared at her that made her uncomfortable. The quivering she experienced in her stomach didn’t help her feelings of insecurity either.

  Retrieving the white box from under the bathroom sink, she wet a towel and then had no choice but to return to the small living area. A kitchenette on one side with a small folding table, two chairs and a leather couch in front of a heavily mantled fireplace completed the common room of the cabin. It had only one bedroom and one extremely small bathroom.

  By the time she returned he’d stripped out of his flannel button-down and thermal undershirt. His muscular chest had a light smattering of golden hair and the fire reflected off his skin. Her stomach did a flip that was not entirely unpleasant.

  The lights flickered again.

  Sitting down, she ignored her attraction and started cleaning the wound. She pulled a small piece of metal from his puckered skin. “I’m sorry I shot you.”

  She expected a snide remark in his southern drawl, but he just gritted his teeth. “I’ll live.”

  “This is not bad, but it needs a few stitches.” She pulled a hypodermic needle out and a vial of Novocain.

  “I don’t need that. Just stitch it up and it will be fine.”

  Rain took a deep breath and thought about how stupid men could be.

  “Are you calling me stupid?”

  She put the needle down and stepped away. He held the gauze over his bleeding wound and stared at her.

  “Look, if we are going to be stuck here together, you have to stay out of my head. I don’t like it. Joshua told me not to block other agents within the Psi Alliance, but I don’t want you in my head.”

  He didn’t say anything, but she felt his mind retreat. She didn’t block his powers, though she did erect her own protective walls around her mind. She couldn’t have him or anyone inside her head.

  The wound only took three small stiches to close it up. Jess never made a sound, not when she cleaned the wound with antiseptic or during her tugging needle and thread through his tender skin.

  When she was done, she put a bandage over it and taped it down. Instinctively, she rested her hand on his upper arm. The muscles bulged under her fingertips and the heat of energy rushing to the area sent tingles down her digits and pulsed in her nerves. Closing her eyes, Rain used her psi gifts to dull some of his pain and advance the healing process.

  Her body shook as pain and surprise stung her arm. She’d felt the effects of her gifts many times. That was the price of helping another. She didn’t flinch away from it and then it passed.

  When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her. Those eyes, which she had admired as being far too pretty for a man, were locked on hers. She wished she were more like Tessa Clark. The tall blonde could stare any man down. Tessa and Joshua had both left the government agency and started their own private one. They called the organization the Psi Alliance and had recruited many agents away from the government agency.

  Rain had never been in any kind of law enforcement, but when her mentor, Adianca, had insisted she take the psychic couple up on their offer to join the Alliance, she couldn’t say no. Adianca was a powerful medicine woman and spiritual guide. Joshua Lakeland and Tessa Clark were a formidable pair. Rain had to admit, though she was surprised by the offer, she had also been flattered by their interest in her. Still, she had her doubts as to the wisdom of their choice.

  Her stomach knotted and she tried to move away. Jess gripped her chin and held her gaze. “What did you do?”

  She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. “It’s difficult to explain.”

  He released her chin, but the directness of his stare continued to hold her. “Try. I’m smarter than I look.”

  The lights flickered again and Rain used it as an excuse to go to the kitchen and get a large electric lantern out of a lower cupboard. Just then, the lights went out. She placed the lantern on the small table near the couch.

  She didn’t want to get too close to him, but it was cold and he was half naked. Plus his body was distracting her. Taking the blanket off the end of the couch, she draped it over his shoulders. “What are you doing here, Jess?”

  In the light from the fireplace and the lantern, she could see his lips lift up in a smile. “My question first.”

  She moved to the other end of the couch and sat down. Wishing the cabin and the furniture were bigger was not going to make it so. She’d have to deal with his closeness since the blizzard was going to keep him there for a while. “The best way I can explain it is that your body has natural chemicals to suppress pain and to heal itself. I can call those natural systems forward and increase their effectiveness.”

  He smiled, and her heart pounded faster. “Now that wasn’t so hard to explain, was it?”

  “What are you doing here in the middle of a blizzard?”

  “Our fearless leaders sent me to train you.”

  Her entire body heated. She was glad for her dark Native American skin and hoped he couldn’t tell she was blushing. “Train me in what?”

  Jess’ head cocked to one side. His voice suddenly dripped with th
e Louisiana accent that was always hinted at. “To be an agent, but if you’d like training in some other skill, Rain, just let me know and I’ll be glad to help.”

  Now she was sure he could see her blushing. “I mean, I can’t shoot lightning from my fingertips or make a chair fly across the room. I don’t read minds. What is it you’re going to teach me to do?”

  “How about we start with not shooting through a door when you don’t know who’s on the other side of it?”

  “I said I was sorry.” She couldn’t believe how completely lame that sounded. She’d shot him. He didn’t say anything. The tension was choking her and her cheeks were on fire. She got up and added a log to the fire.

  Keeping her back to him helped calm her nerves. It was almost possible to breathe while she poked at the fire. “I’m probably not cut out for this kind of thing. It might be best if I just went back to the reservation and took over for Adianca.”

  “Becoming an agent can get you killed. You saw that in Las Vegas. But is being a shaman what you want to do with your life?” It sounded as if he was really concerned with what she did or didn’t want.

  Taking over for the aging medicine woman and spiritual guide on the reservation in Nevada had always seemed as if it was the natural course for her life. She had healing gifts and she could perform most of the rituals necessary to assist the people. Still, the idea of living out her life in such a small world had never really appealed to her. It was more of a debt requiring payment.

  She remembered clearly the battle they’d both been in at the casino in Las Vegas in the summer. Jess had nearly been killed and a man named Trip had lost his life. If she hadn’t blocked Troth Banta from using his gathering skills, Jess and maybe more people would be dead. She had liked helping and she relished being part of something bigger than herself. During the battle she’d felt good. The rush of adrenaline suited her, but afterward she had also been terrified by everything she had done and seen.

  She turned back to the couch. He had not gotten less good-looking in the last few minutes. Her heart pounded and her cheeks warmed as she looked at his rippled abs peeking out from under the blanket.

  “I have no idea what I want. I’ve never really known. Did you know you wanted to be a government agent?”

  “Is there any food in the cabin?”

  “I made some stew earlier. Would that do?”

  “That would be wonderful. I’m starving. It took me twice as long to get here because of the storm.”

  Happy to have a distraction, Rain went to the stove and ladled some stew into a bowl.

  When she returned he took a bite and grinned. “Delicious.”

  “Thanks. I’m glad you like it.”

  After a few more mouthfuls, he said, “I was recruited into the Psi Agency when I was a boy. I didn’t have a choice. My parents were resistant but poor and thought it would be a good opportunity for me to get out of the small town and use my gifts to do some good.”

  “Do you see them?”

  If it was possible, his smile became even brighter and she felt a bit weak-kneed. “Whenever I can.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Do you want to work for the Alliance, Rain?”

  “Adianca said it’s my destiny.”

  His frown was no less attractive than his grin. What was wrong with her?

  “Destiny is a funny thing. You can follow it or it can follow you.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” she said.

  He watched her a bit too closely for longer than was comfortable. With a quick shrug, he changed the subject. “For tonight, it means I’m going to find something to fix that front door with and then I’m going to sleep. You should get some rest too. We can talk about destiny and desires in the morning.”

  He bundled up and went outside into the blizzard. Rain didn’t take his advice, she waited, watching for him out the window, but all she saw was a white-out of snow. Ten minutes later, he was pounding on the door with a hammer and nails.

  Once he’d managed to cover the mess she’d made of the door, he dropped the hammer and a few nails on the floor near the inside of the door. “There was some wood and tools in the shed.”

  Within minutes, Jess had stripped down to his long underwear. Rain’s heart pounded and her body trembled at the sight of him stripping without any regard for the fact that she was standing in the room watching him. He slid down onto the couch and put his feet up. His long, lean form stretched the length of the sofa.

  With the power off, the bedroom was freezing and if she kept the door closed it would stay that way. If the electricity remained off, in the morning she would try to start the generator she’d seen out back.

  On her way to the bedroom a thought struck her and she stopped in her tracks. “I don’t like the idea of going to sleep and having you invade my dreams.”

  “I can sense your emotional state, and if you let me in, I could probably get more, but telepathy is not really my thing. Even if it was, I wouldn’t invade your privacy without an invitation.”

  “But you heard me earlier.”

  “You were thinking very loudly.”

  “Was I?”

  He nodded. “I won’t read your mind while you sleep. You have my word.”

  She believed him. “I appreciate that.”

  “Go to bed, Rain.”

  Rain took the lantern and got ready for bed. She lay back in the small lumpy bed. Why did they have to send Jess? Of all the people who could have come to train her, why him? She’d never forget the day they’d gone to Las Vegas to defeat Troth Banta. The man was so evil even now her skin prickled to think of him.

  Troth Banta had been stealing the auras of psychic people. He killed psi agents and stole whatever power they had to keep as his own. Rain didn’t know the extent of Jess’ skills, but she suspected that had Banta succeeded in stealing his aura, the agency might not have won that battle.

  Being able to block psychic waves had made her valuable to the plan. She had been too late for one man but had gotten there just in time to save Jess. She’d immediately set her healing powers to the task of mending his aura. That memory still haunted her nights.

  She’d tried to banish what it had been like. The searing pain. The terror. It would not be put aside. Her body quaked six months later from the recollection. Seeing Jess again brought it all back in vivid detail.

  Over an hour passed and the thoughts would not leave her. Wiping the moisture from her cheeks, she resigned herself to little sleep.

  His tall, sinewy body was shadowed in the door frame. Rain gasped and clutched at the sheet and blanket as if they would protect her. Even in the dark with only the glow of the fireplace behind him, she knew it was Jess. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’re freaking out and it’s keeping me awake. What could you possibly be that upset about? Is it because you shot me? Because if that’s it, I’m fine and I forgive you.” There was clearly a combination of anger and worry in his voice.

  “You said you couldn’t read my mind. You lied.” She was at a disadvantage. Getting out of bed, she put her hands on her hips.

  He took a step into the room. “No. I said it wasn’t my greatest psi ability. However, if the person in the next room is in a complete panic, I can sure as hell feel that. Now what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t remember you and I being in each other’s confidence. I’m not required to tell you my innermost thoughts and feelings and I don’t believe you really care. You just want to get to sleep. So I will control my emotions and you can return to the couch.” Even as she said it, she wasn’t entirely sure she could do what she claimed. His presence had brought those memories to the forefront and he was very much still a factor.

  He didn’t say a word for a long time. Then his voice was very soft when he did. “Come in the living room, Rain.”

  She should have ignored the order. It was definitely a command. Even in that barely audible v
oice, it held grit and even though she wanted to tell him no and slam the door in his wake, she followed him out. Her only act of defiance was that he sat and she crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at him.

  “Are you afraid of me?” he asked.

  “No.” It was the truth.

  “Then why am I in your thoughts as well as pain and fear?”

  She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “That seems like a lot of information for someone who doesn’t have good telepathic abilities.”

  “A psi child could read that. You were practically projecting your thoughts. So do you want to tell me what that was all about?” His southern lilt got stronger.

  “I don’t really want to share that with you.”

  “You’d probably feel better if you did. Maybe I can help.”

  “Unless you can change the nature of my gifts, you can’t help.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “No. You don’t. That’s because it’s none of your business.”

  She watched as his chest rose and fell in the firelight. She blocked her mind from him since she was unable to look away from his beautiful body.

  He leaned against the back of the couch. Relaxed as if he was a cat, but just like a cat he appeared ready to spring at the least provocation. “All right. Since you can’t sleep and you’re keeping me up, we’ll talk about something else. Why don’t you sit?”

  She couldn’t argue with him. She was not going to sleep and once she tried to relax her mind would open and she would project her fears. She took a seat at the other end of the couch. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “I’m glad you can at least block your mind. I know you can block other people.”

  “It’s not so much blocking. I interrupt the flow of psi energy.”

  “So you could affect more than one person at a time?” He sounded intrigued and his accent was all but gone.

  “It’s harder, but yes. As long as I’m in close proximity, I can stop the flow all around me.”