by Bianca D’Arc
“When people come to the shop for readings, I use tarot cards and give them the standard information the cards provide. I’d like to think that my innate gifts make my tarot readings a bit more prophetic than if other people do them, but I can’t really know that for certain.” She shrugged, her soft skin sliding against his where they touched, which was very distracting. “Of course, it does sometimes happen. A tarot reading will spark a vision, and I’ll be able to tell someone something I’ve really seen. Not all the time, of course, but often enough that I’ve gained a bit of a reputation among the clients at the shop.”
“What about before? When you were in that research study?”
She drew back to look up at him. “You know about that?”
“They had to compile a file on you before they would clear me to approach you. I knew you were on the level, but the military had to be sure before they’d extend our protection to you.” He shrugged. “I’m sorry. I know it was a bit invasive. There are probably things in your file that should be given, not taken.”
“You didn’t read the file?” She leaned back to meet his gaze.
“Hal did. That’s his job. He just told me about the research study, because he thinks that’s the angle he can use to get you listed as a consultant, because of your prior experience and track record there.” Jeff rubbed his fingers over her shoulder, trying to offer comfort. “But don’t worry about Hal. He’s our captain for a reason. He’s the man we trust with all our deepest secrets.”
“I can hear the admiration and respect in your voice when you speak of him,” she said softly. “He must be quite a guy.”
“He’s had it a little rougher than the rest of us with our new abilities. His is a more…uh…physically demanding gift, and it’s been wreaking havoc on his system. I secretly think, when he talked the brass into sending us here, he was coming home to die. He’s originally from Long Island, and he’s known Casey most of her life. Only recently did they get together, though.”
“That’s so sad. Can’t anyone help him medically?” Rosie frowned.
“Oh, he’s stabilized quite a bit since Casey came here. She’s really good for him, and one of our guys is a whiz with medical stuff. I think, between the two of them, they’ll keep Hal around for a long time to come.” Jeff ran his free hand over his hair. He didn’t like thinking about how bad off Hal had been before they came back to the States. “I’m happy for him. He’s our leader. Our backbone. I’m not sure what we’d all do without him.”
“I’m glad he’s found happiness.” She touched Jeff’s arm in a comforting way for a moment, then her fingers tightened.
Rose was hit with a vision as she contemplated the story Jeff had just told her about Hal and Casey. In it, she saw Hal as an old man with white hair, still cut short in the military style she’d seen him sporting earlier. Casey had a bit of gray in her hair, too, and they were standing at a long table in what looked like a cozy home. The places were set for what looked like Thanksgiving dinner, and there were a number of other people there that bore a striking resemblance to Hal and Casey.
Their children? Something about the vision told her that these others were, in fact, Hal and Casey’s kids and their spouses and significant others. The happiness around that table brought a tear to Rose’s eye, and she clutched at Jeff’s arm.
“What is it?” Jeff sounded alert to any threat, and Rose consciously let go of his arm and patted it reassuringly.
“Don’t worry about Hal. I just saw him and Casey and a bunch of their kids as adults, gathering for Thanksgiving.” She couldn’t keep the teardrop from tracking down the side of her face, but it was a happy tear.
“Seriously?” She could hear the dawning relief in Jeff’s tone.
Rose rolled over and lifted up on her forearms so she could look at him face to face. She nodded, smiling. “It was a big house with a long table. Hal’s hair was white, and Casey’s had a little gray in it. There were…” she counted up the scene mentally, “…at least five couples ranging in age from twenty-something to maybe thirty-something. One half of each couple looked a lot like they were Casey and Hal’s kids, and the other half were spouses, girlfriends or boyfriends. I think there was even a stroller in the background and maybe a grandbaby off to one side with one of the older couples. They all looked so happy.”
Jeff reached up and wiped away the joyful tear that tracked down her face. “You’ve given me a great gift,” he said solemnly. “I’ve been worried about Hal. We all have. I’d like to tell the other guys, but I’m not sure how much to reveal.”
Rose shook her head slightly. “That’s always the tricky part. It’s hard to know how much is too much—or not enough.”
“You have more experience with this than I do,” he said.
She nodded once. “True, but that doesn’t really make it any easier. I think, maybe, we just tell the guys that I’ve seen both Casey and Hal as old folks with a big family. I wouldn’t go into detail about how many kids or what they looked like. I think some things should still be a surprise, you know?”
“You are a wise, wise woman,” Jeff said, reaching up to kiss her playfully.
When he drew back, she shrugged. “Plus, I can always tell them more later. We’ll start off slow and see how it goes.”
“Sounds like a good plan, sweetheart. And speaking of good plans…”
He tugged her downward so that she was lying on top of him. Matching her lips to his, he kissed her soundly, and they were lost to the moment…and all the delicious moments that followed.
Chapter Six
In the morning, Rose and Jeff parted at her doorway, each going off in slightly different directions to get ready for their day. As far as the military was concerned, Jeff and his unit were all on active duty, so he had to report, along with the rest of his team, for their usual morning routine.
Rose ran into Casey coming out of the ladies’ room, and the other woman gave Rose directions to what she called the mess hall, and a promise to meet there for coffee after Rose was dressed and ready for the day. Casey smiled extra wide but didn’t make any comments about Rose’s disheveled hair or the slightly abraded bits of skin that were visible above her T-shirt. Rose blushed when she got a look at herself in the bathroom mirror. She had little doubt that Casey had very accurately guessed what Rose had been up to last night, but she was grateful Casey hadn’t teased her about it.
It was still too new to joke about. Her feelings for Jeff weren’t fragile, exactly, but they were just starting to fill in. On one hand, it felt like she’d known him forever, but on the other, she was still learning the little things that made him unique in a world full of people. She wanted to hug this time to her heart and hold it close. Time of discovery and fascination. She prayed it would last and that something more long-term might come of it, though she didn’t know for certain if that path was open to either one of them, considering their exceptional circumstances.
For now, she vowed to just enjoy the time they had together and let things unfold. If her gift would just allow her a tiny glimpse of the future, it might help, but she knew from long experience that her talent didn’t always work like that. When she most wanted a vision was usually when they dried up. Something about putting stress on herself locked down her gift. At least, that’s the way it had always seemed.
Rose joined Casey for coffee after a long, hot shower. She discovered her in the big room that contained a coffee station and a buffet table that was fed from the kitchen directly behind. The dining room had a long row of windows looking out onto the beach. Casey was already seated there, watching a row of men in green fatigues going through their exercise routine.
A quick glance proved that Jeff was part of the group, as were the other guys she’d met the day before. They started their day with exercise, and she was just in time to watch the free show while she sipped coffee. The buffet table didn’t have any hot dishes on it yet, but there were a couple of steamer pans that looked like they were about rea
dy for business, so she assumed the full breakfast would be served when the men came in after their calisthenics.
“Just in time for the floor show,” Casey commented as Rose took a seat across from her at the table that butted up against the windows.
“They do this every morning?” Rose asked.
“Like clockwork, unless they’ve got a mission or something special on the agenda,” Casey told her.
Rose noticed the way Casey’s eyes were trained on her man, as if she was worried. She did a good job hiding her anxiety, but Rose saw the little worry lines around her eyes and the taut line of her lips. If Casey’s worry was related to Hal’s health and longevity, Rose knew she could say something to help ease that concern, but would Casey believe her? Rose knew she had to try, but she chose a cautious approach.
“So…you know about Jeff’s…um…ability?” Rose asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but knowing she failed miserably. She wasn’t cut out for undercover work, that was certain. She was about as subtle as a sledgehammer sometimes.
Casey looked at her, but answered frankly. “You mean, how he can see the future?”
Rose nodded slowly. “The reason he came to get me—to warn me—is that I’ve had a bit of that ability pretty much all my life.”
“So that’s why you’re here.” Casey looked as if she’d just discovered some missing piece to a puzzle she hadn’t known existed. Apparently, Hal hadn’t talked about Rose’s background to his significant other, which was somewhat comforting. She’d thought everyone knew about her, but apparently, the guys weren’t gossips.
“I was working in a new age shop doing tarot card readings when Jeff walked in yesterday. I don’t really need the cards if my gift decides to cooperate,” she confided. “Thing is, Jeff was telling me about how he was concerned for Hal, and a vision hit me.” Casey turned white as a sheet, and Rose was quick to reach out and cover the woman’s hands with her own across the table. “It was nothing bad,” she rushed to reassure Casey. “In fact, it was exactly the opposite. I saw you both, in a family setting, and you were both a lot older and looking very happy together.”
“We were?” Casey’s color returned in a rush as Rose’s words registered.
Rose sat back, releasing Casey’s hands. “I haven’t seen anything between now and then for you two yet, so I can’t guarantee that life won’t have its usual hiccups, but the end game for you both was really good. Hal had white hair, and yours was going a bit gray. You were together. Whole, and very happy.”
Casey was silent a moment and seemed to be blinking back tears. Rose politely sipped her coffee, giving Casey a few moments to collect herself.
“That’s…amazing. Thank you so much for telling me, Rose. I admit, I’ve been very concerned about Hal’s wellbeing. Especially since we learned that I’m pregnant.”
“You are?” Rose hadn’t seen that in a vision, but she didn’t have control over what was shown to her and what wasn’t. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. It’s very early days yet. I’m only a few weeks gone, so it’ll be a while before it starts to show. Hal’s happy and so am I, though I still worry about him,” Casey confessed. “I want him to be around to see his baby daughter and help raise her. His new ability… It takes a lot out of him. I’ve been worried it could cut his life shorter than it should be, and there’s no medical precedent to tell us for sure what will happen with any of the guys.” She looked back out the window, where the men were now doing pushups. “They’ve become like family in such a short time. I’d hate for any of them to suffer for what happened to them.”
“The turbaned man in the desert,” Rose said aloud. “He had something to do with it.”
“How did you know that? Did Jeeves tell you about it already?” Casey asked, her eyes narrowing.
Rose shook her head. “I saw it yesterday. I saw the man in the turban. And he saw me, which freaked me out, I can tell you. I’ve never had that happen in a vision before.”
“Hal thinks that man was a djinn. Like a genie,” Casey said in a low voice.
“No way,” Rose responded in the same hushed tone.
Casey nodded significantly. “There aren’t many other ways to explain what happened to them.” Casey looked around toward the kitchen opening where a few people could be seen working. “But we probably shouldn’t be talking about this here, even though everybody on the island has top-secret clearance.”
“I don’t,” Rose objected.
Casey grinned. “Yours came through before they ever left the base to get you. I know that much. Hal had a file on you that was compiled years ago by some other government agency.”
“Seriously?” Rose supposed that had come from the research study she’d participated in, but she’d assumed all records from that had been either destroyed or locked away someplace dark and inaccessible.
“That’s all I know, and I probably shouldn’t have found out that much, but I walked into Hal’s office a couple days ago and saw it in his hands. All I could make out was the name on the cover—yours—and an agency name I didn’t recognize on the folder. Hal put it away as soon as I got there, and he scowled in that way he has.” Casey’s grin widened, and her gaze went soft. “He still hasn’t gotten used to having me around. He’s so used to being a lone wolf, and I’m okay with that for the most part. I mean, I know his position means that there’s a lot I can’t ask him. That’s fine, but there’s no way I’m going to tiptoe around in our own home. If he wants to keep an office in our suite, then he’s going to have to get used to me barging in from time to time, right?”
Rose nodded, chuckling along with Casey as she made her point. They sipped coffee and talked about general topics while watching the men finish their workout routine. When they headed back into the building, Casey got up and poked her head into the kitchen. Rose heard her announce to the personnel inside that the PT had wrapped up and the men would be arriving shortly.
“They all hit the showers after PT, but they’re fast. They’ll start rolling in here in about five or ten minutes, max,” Casey told Rose as she returned to the table they’d been sharing.
Sure enough, Hal was the first one to arrive in the mess hall, just as the hot food began appearing in the steam trays. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, muffins and all sorts of condiments were available within moments, and Hal filled two plates. When he joined the women at the table, he put the smaller plate in front of Casey, who thanked him with a loving smile.
Rose stood and excused herself. “I’m going to get some before the others arrive,” she told Casey and Hal.
“Good plan. There won’t be anything left if you wait too long,” Casey advised.
Twenty minutes later, Rose understood what Casey had meant. As much food as had been laid out for the men, it was all gone in short order. Rose had gotten a scoop of scrambled eggs and some bacon, but that was more than she usually ate for breakfast, so it was plenty for her. Still, the amount of food the men packed away was impressive.
More impressive was the fact that not one of them sported any extra weight. They were all ripped and muscular, but none appeared vain in the least. They seemed like a well-balanced group of guys who were friends and co-workers that had bonded into something closer to a large family unit.
It was clear Hal was at the head of the family. He was the older-brother-in-charge, and Casey was everybody’s sister. They treated her with respect and good-natured ribbing, just like her man.
As the newcomer among them, Rose felt a little at odds with the group, but they were welcoming, if a bit stand-offish, at first. It was Hal who brought up the subject that made the guys a bit more comfortable around her, when he spoke openly of her gift as they were sitting around sipping coffee after breakfast had been consumed.
“I want you all to know that I’ve gotten the go-ahead to employ Rose as a consultant to the unit,” Hal said when there was a lull in the conversation, garnering everyone’s attention. “It turns out she’s a real-deal, gov
ernment-sanctioned psychic. She did a stint with Dr. Holbrook’s initial study but wasn’t invited to participate in subsequent projects because of her civilian status.” Hal turned to Rose and spoke directly to her, though everyone was listening. “Dr. Holbrook was one of the first they brought in when we got back to the States. She’s been working with some of us who have abilities she’s more or less familiar with. She indicated that you parted on good terms and was glad to know you’d been brought in to help our man, Jeeves, here.”
Rose remembered the young researcher. She’d been good to work with and had helped Rose expand her own knowledge of her abilities, but the study had ended, and they’d gone their separate ways. Rose hadn’t realized Holbrook had gone on to do more work for the military, but it made sense.
“I liked her,” Rose replied to Hal’s unspoken question. “She was fair and competent. I’d be happy to see her again.”
“Good,” Hal said, then put his napkin on the table before he rose. “That’s settled.” He looked around the table at everyone. “We’ve got a debrief at eleven hundred. You’ve all got things to do before then.”
The men took that as their cue to get up and bus their trays back toward the kitchen. The hatch between the two rooms had been shut while the men ate, but it reopened now as soon as the first trays hit the stainless-steel surface of the countertop.
Hal remained standing as Casey got up and took their trays over. He seemed to want a moment to talk to Rose, so she waited to see what he wanted.
“Dr. Holbrook is set up in the building next door. I think maybe you should report there after this and get reacquainted. Jeeves can take you.” Hal nodded to Jeff, who stood just over her shoulder. “You’ll be part of Holbrook’s team on paper, but your experience makes you more or less a free agent. I hope you and Holbrook can come to an understanding of how to work together while maintaining your own areas of expertise.”
