Discovery

by Lisa White

  At the mention of her failed attempt with Ben, Grace started intensely examining her knees again, avoiding the inevitable sympathetic look she knew he was giving her across the table. With his piercing aqua blue eyes and broad shoulders, Grace had developed a crush on Ben their senior year of high school but he had made it painfully obvious that the feeling was not mutual. So, after more than a few excruciating months of unrequited love, Grace had placed Ben back into her “friends bucket” and there he had stayed ever since. He had never given her a reason for his rejection, but now, years later, the reason did not matter as much as the lingering effect his rejection had on her psyche. Since then, her mind had placed each of the Three Amigos in what she assumed to be their proper places: Ben was the good-looking, funny one, Annie was the gorgeous one who got all the guys, and she was, well, she was just Grace. While Ben occasionally dropped hints that he thought she was just as much a beauty as Annie, Grace knew he was only being nice because he felt guilty after denying her affections in high school.

  “Okay. Now let’s talk theme.” Annie interrupted Grace’s silent memories. “I’m thinking Senior Prom.”

  “What?” said Grace and Ben in unison. They both looked at Annie with eyebrows raised and jaws wide open.

  “Oh, come on. Think about it. There will be all age groups there and think how fun it will be to get dressed up in our prom clothes again. People will have a blast pulling that stuff out of their closets.” Annie’s decision appeared to be final.

  “Whatever.” Ben rolled his eyes. He caught Grace’s glance and winked at her.

  Ben’s wink eased her sick stomach. He always seemed to know what she needed and when she needed it. “I give up.” Grace threw her hands in the air. “I guess there’s no reeling Annie in now.”

  “Yeah!” squealed Annie clapping her hands like a little girl. “Then it’s all settled. Just leave the rest to me.”

  “Are we done here? I need to go meet Tom.” Ben stood up to leave. “Annie, it’s your turn to get the check.”

  “Grace is going to have to cover me.” Annie did not look up as she gathered together the guest list and her notes on the party. She then leaned over to Ben and batted her eyelashes. “Oh, and tell that hot older brother of yours ‘hello’ for me,” she said in a singsong voice.

  “Good gosh, Annie. Give it a rest.” Ben pushed her away with his elbow. “Grace, you got this?” he asked as he ceremonially waved the check in Annie’s face.

  “Yeah. I’ll just add it to the rent she still owes me.” Grace grinned as she shook her head and looked up to see Ben give her a knowing look and an eye roll. “At this rate, I’ll never make it to college. Annie spends my tuition faster than I can save it.”

  • • •

  All three were laughing as they stood up to cross the street in front of the restaurant, however what happened next was not the least bit funny to Ben.

  Because to say Grace did not see the truck coming would be an understatement.

  She had stayed to pay the check and was several feet behind Ben and Annie in the crosswalk when an old pickup truck screeched around the corner and barreled straight for her. Its speed caused the white paint of the truck to appear like a flash lighting the middle of the street, but that one flash was all Ben needed to see out of the corner of his well-trained eye. With his undetectable speed, Ben spun around, scooped up Grace and whisked her back to the sidewalk from which she had just stepped, all at the exact same moment the truck raced past, barely missing Ben and its intended victim. As the white pickup sped past Ben, he could see the driver was an older man with long gray hair and wire-rimmed glasses.

  While all this excitement was happening, Annie remained safely on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. She was browsing a downtown store window, twirling her fingers in her long, blonde hair, and seemingly oblivious to the action behind her.

  “What the … ?” breathed Grace as she looked up into Ben’s eyes.

  His arms cradled her like a shielding blanket and he could feel her heart pounding through her chest. With his speed facilitating the imperceptible rescue, Ben knew Grace had no idea how she got back on the sidewalk or how she ended up in his arms. He also knew being this close to him, cradled in his arms, probably made her feel a little weird. And as unsettling as that was to him, deep down Ben hoped her feeling was a good weird.

  “Ben?” Grace prodded but she made no effort to leave his embrace.

  But Ben did not answer her. He was watching the truck move on down the street and memorizing its license plate number when the driver stuck his head out the window and sneered back at him. Chills ran all over Ben when the face looking at him from the truck’s driver side window no longer had long gray hair and glasses. Instead, the face looking at Ben now belonged to a blonde teenage girl.

  “Shape shifter,” whispered Ben under his nervous breathing.

  “What?” gasped Grace still wrapped in Ben’s arms. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing,” Ben replied with an absent stare at the pickup truck as he gently set Grace back on the sidewalk. When her feet hit the ground, he still held her tight, protecting her from everything and nothing. He didn’t release her immediately even though he knew he should. Then, as if someone had called to him in silence, Ben suddenly turned around to see Mr. Hillary standing outside the men’s clothing store, expressionless and still.

  • • •

  Sunlight streamed thought the study’s large windows like a spotlight on the soldier’s disappointment. “I don’t understand why we can’t just take her now. I almost had her out there!” His empty drinking glass crumbled into tiny shards in his fist. He absently brushed the glass onto the floor like dust without a drop of blood staining his massive hands.

  “Because I told you not to. She is not ripe yet,” the elder leader said firmly. He stood up from behind his antique mahogany desk and walked over to place a hand on his soldier’s shoulder. “You must be patient like your brother. The Council is no closer than we are and, I promise you, we will capture her first. Let’s just wait until she is ready. By that time our troops will be fully prepared to take on the Council.” The leader of the Anti-Powers looked at his soldier with pride, hoping all his warriors had the same passion as this one. “Your grandfather would have been proud of your enthusiasm,” he said squeezing his son’s shoulder a little harder than necessary. “But do not ever disobey me again.” He then glanced down and pointed to the glass shards sparkling on the thick Oriental rug below. “Now, clean up this mess before your mother sees it.”

  “Yes, sir,” the young soldier sighed.

  Chapter Three: Frustration

  “What were you thinking?” Tom yelled. His voice bounced off their small apartment’s beige walls.

  “I wasn’t.” Ben clenched his teeth and ran both hands through his thick hair.

  “That’s obvious.” Tom knew his sarcasm was justified.

  “Look, I don’t know what I was thinking. I just knew I had to get to Grace before that truck did.” Ben stared at his older brother with pleading eyes. “You weren’t there. You don’t know. What was I supposed to do? Let the truck hit her?”

  “No. But this is a huge Council violation. You know you aren’t supposed to use your powers out in the open like that.” Tom sat staring at Ben seated on the other side of their worn couch for what seemed like a long time before he finally succumbed to his younger brother’s pleas. He sighed and pursed his lips. “What did Grace say?”

  “Nothing. I moved so fast I don’t think it even registered to her what was happening. If she had suspected anything, she would have said something to me by now, so I think we’re okay.”

  “But we’re not okay. Old Man Hillary saw you, remember? Not cool, little brother. Not cool at all.” Tom felt himself getting riled up again so he took a deep breath to calm down and think for a moment. “Maybe Mr. Hillary won’t say anything about your speed. Even if he does, everyone thinks he’s a little crazy anyway so who would beli
eve him?” Tom closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Did anyone else see you other than that old man?”

  “I … I don’t think so.” Ben shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, you better hope no one else saw you or you’ll have more than me to deal with. Trust me, I’m being a lot easier on you than the Council will be if they ever find out about your public display of powers today,” Tom softly scolded. He knew Ben was under more pressure than he himself would ever be and that, for now, Ben’s job as Grace’s Guardian and head of her secret protection team was critical for the Council’s continued existence. He needed Ben to get his head back in the game. Knowing food usually helped his younger brother focus, Tom decided dinner was next on tonight’s agenda. “Okay. Enough fussing. I know you were only doing your job. Just please be more discreet next time.” He stood up and ruffled the top of Ben’s dark hair before he crossed their small living room to enter the adjoining kitchen. “Now let’s eat.”

  Ben scowled and followed his brother into the kitchen. He jerked open the refrigerator door and accidentally bent its thick handle as he grabbed a can of soda. “I’d swear that was an Anti-Power driving that truck. And a shape shifter of all things! If they’re already here, I don’t understand why we can’t take Grace away to the mountains or somewhere to keep her safe. Why do we just have to sit here and wait?”

  “Because we do what we’re told and, Anti-Powers or not, the Council wants us here in Southern Pines. Have some patience little brother.” Tom glanced at the bent door handle. “And stop taking your frustrations out on our kitchen appliances. That strength of yours has caused enough damage around here. I still haven’t fixed that table you broke.” His eyes then focused on Ben’s drink which instantly flew out of his brother’s hand, crossed the kitchen, and smacked into his own open palm. Tom took a swig and winked at Ben.

  “I hate it when you do that. Practice levitation on your own time.” Ben reached over and grabbed his drink out of Tom’s hand before taking a seat at the kitchen’s serving bar. “I just don’t like Grace sitting out there like she’s bait when it’s so close to her birthday.”

  “Bro, let it go. Everything will be fine. The Council knows what they’re doing. And you of all people should know they would never use her as bait. Besides, they know Grace has the best Guardian around.” Tom playfully pushed Ben off his bar stool. “You can handle her.”

  “Yeah. Right.” Ben grabbed the stool to settle back at the serving bar, but the stool’s thick wooden seat crumbled in his grip.

  Tom looked down at the splintered stool seat scattered on the kitchen’s tile floor. “Just make sure you handle her better than you handle our furniture.”

  • • •

  “I can’t believe you arranged all this,” gushed Grace a few days later as she and Annie primped in the ladies locker room at the club before their shift. She finished putting on her lipstick and dabbed her blush brush on her cheeks for a little extra color. Grace did not normally wear a lot of make-up, especially for work, but Annie was wearing more than her usual palette so Grace thought she should do the same. She had even bought some expensive hair product from one of the home shopping networks to try to control her ponytail’s flyaway strands, but, of course, it was not working. Grace stepped back from the mirror and scrutinized her reflection. “Do I look okay?”

  “You look great. Hair perfect. Make-up perfect. Ready to flirt,” replied Annie without even glancing at Grace. “I just wish we didn’t have to wear these uniforms. They aren’t exactly sexy.” Annie looked down at her black pants and white Oxford shirt and proceeded to unbutton the top two buttons of her blouse. “There. That’s a little better.” She was revealing more skin than Julian liked for his waitresses but she didn’t seem to care. Everyone knew Annie found pleasure in annoying her uptight boss. She flounced her intentionally loose long blonde hair and did her best supermodel pose for Grace.

  “You are such a tease,” Grace shook her head. “And I cannot believe you talked me into this. What time is their tennis match?”

  “Pete in the pro shop said they should be finished by noon or so. He’s going to try to steer them our way for lunch and all it cost us is another invitation to your party. This one is for Pete’s girlfriend.” Annie applied her usual red lipstick and leaned in to kiss her reflection in the mirror, leaving red lips on the glass for all of the lady club members to see. “Voila.”

  “Looks good.” But then Grace thought Annie looked good under any circumstances. “Um, by the way, are you sure you don’t mind taking Andrew?”

  “Honey, I don’t mind at all. The way you’ve been rambling on about Gregory these past few days, I wouldn’t dare get in your way. Besides, it’ll be fun. Two best friends dating two brothers. This is going to be a great summer.”

  “But what if Gregory doesn’t want me? What if he is more into … blondes?” Grace sheepishly asked as she reexamined her long dark ponytail in the mirror. She knew from experience that Annie usually got her first choice when it came to guys and Grace took whatever was left over. To assume Gregory would choose her instead of Annie was really asking too much.

  Annie finally diverted her eyes away from her own reflection in the mirror and looked hard at Grace. She placed one hand over her heart and held her other hand up as if taking an oath in court. “I, Annie Phillips, do solemnly swear that I will not flirt, talk to, look at, or even think about Gregory Reich for as long as I live.” She ended with a wink.

  “Okay, okay, good enough. I get the picture. Thanks.” Grace glanced down at her watch. “Come on. Time to get to work.”

  They left the quietness of the locker room and headed to the kitchen. The bustle and busyness of the other day still pervaded the room and the friends quickly fell back into their serving roles. Today, however, Grace’s tables did not receive her usual attentiveness because she kept her eyes glued to the dining room entrance in between orders. She was nervous and the butterflies in her stomach combined with the smells of the kitchen to add to her now ever-present birthday party nausea. She did not really know how to flirt, especially with someone as gorgeous as Gregory, and she had no idea what she was going to do if he did show up today. She usually didn’t go for blondes but something about Gregory made her absolutely crazy so she really hoped Annie’s plan worked.

  Noon came and went and, as more time passed, Grace was beginning to think the brothers were never going to show up. Just when her stomach had almost returned to normal, Andrew Reich walked into the dining room. He stood at the entrance as if surveying the room but his roving eyes stopped when he spotted Grace and Annie standing at the far corner waitress station. He had a massive muscular physique with biceps that implied steroid use and legs that were almost as thick as they were long. The sweat dripping from his brow evidenced a hard-fought tennis match as he strode straight over to the waitresses huddled in the corner, casually swinging his tennis racquet back and forth as he walked.

  “Hello,” Andrew said with a voice as strong as his biceps. “It’s not too late to grab some lunch, is it?”

  “Of course not,” Annie said in the smooth sexy voice she had practiced with Grace in the locker room. “Just sit wherever you want and we’ll be right with you.” She smiled up at the large man with the wavy blonde hair towering over her and batted her eyelashes just for good measure.

  “Thanks.” Andrew winked at Annie and headed toward a nearby table overlooking the golf course.

  “Take it,” Annie whispered to Grace as she watched her flirt target walk away.

  “No. You take it,” Grace whispered back. “He’s yours, remember?”

  “Yeah, I know. I was just offering you the table to be nice.” Annie did not take her eyes off Andrew’s posterior end. “I’ll go find out where his brother is.”

  Annie sashayed more than usual as she made her way to Andrew’s table.

  “Is it just one today?” she asked nonchalantly. Even seated, Andrew’s face was still tall enough to be the same he
ight as Annie’s was while standing and their eyes met intensely on the same level plane.

  “No. My bro — Oh, there he is,” said Andrew pointing to the dining room entrance.

  Annie turned in the direction of Andrew’s point and Grace’s eyes followed her friend’s quick head turn. Grace actually gasped out loud as she gazed once more on the gorgeous boy who literally made her knees weak.

  There stood Gregory Reich in all his tightly–fitted tennis white glory. He smiled when he spotted Andrew on the other side of the room and the shine of his smile made Grace’s butterflies flit nervously in her nauseated stomach. She forced her eyes to leave Gregory’s glowing face and work their way down his well-developed body. While his physique was not as bulky as Andrew’s, he was still muscular enough to grab the attention of all the ladies in the room. He seemed oblivious to this fact as he floated between the dining tables toward his brother. Grace could not stop staring at Gregory’s toned body and when her eyes finally made their way back up to his face, Gregory’s dark green eyes were staring straight at her. Like an emerald knife, his gaze tore through her heart and stole her breath. She quickly turned around, embarrassed by her own ogling, and tried to busy herself by pretending to organize the condiments on the waitress station. As she reached for a ketchup bottle, her fingers started tingling again, so she ended up just standing there with her hands thrust in her pockets until the sensation went away.

  “What’s wrong with you?” asked Annie coming up behind her.

  “He caught me staring at him,” whispered Grace.

  “So? At least now he knows you’re interested in him.” When it came to guys, Annie could turn any situation into a positive one. “Now get over there and start flirting.” She gave Grace a hard elbow toward the Reich brothers’ table.