Chapter Fourteen

Seeing her pale, Rebel said quickly, "Nothing's wrong, the kids are fine." He smiled. "Big Louie sounded really scary."

The critters abandoned them in the bright yellow kitchen once they realized iced tea was the only offering on the menu.

As Rebel stirred lemon into his tea, Joanna said, "Rebel, I'm very sorry about your brother's troubles. Have you spoken to Ethan yet? Or Tollie? You know, he's retired FBI and he understands how these investigations work. Ethan told me he was going to call FBI Special Agent Dillon Savich, see what exactly was happening. Do speak to him."

Joanna saw the utter disbelief of the reasoning adult and understood. What should she say to him?

She stared at him, nonplussed. Autumn had told Tash about Blessed? And Tash had told his uncle Rebel?

She said slowly, "I know this will be very difficult to believe, you might even think I'm unhinged, but Blessed Backman and what he could do were very real. He was my first husband's much older brother. There were three sons, all of them psychic. We believe Autumn inherited her gifts from her father." She saw the disbelief on his face. "I know, I know, it's very hard to accept, but there's no choice: you will have to come to grips with it, Rebel, sooner or later. My husband Martin's whole family were twisted and dangerous, drunk on their own power, insane really. Blessed was the most dangerous of them, and in addition to his gift, he was a psychopath, a monster. He didn't need a gun, he could control another person just by looking into their eyes. This is the truth, Rebel: he could make them do anything he wanted, even kill themselves. He very nearly made me kill myself. Have you met Ox and Glenis, Ethan's deputies? He took control of them once too, ‘stymied' them, that's what his family called it." Joanna paused, stark images of it racing through her mind. She swallowed. "As it turned out, only Autumn could resist Blessed, and even more than that, she destroyed him." Her voice caught. "She nearly died, Rebel. Her grandfather, a vile old man and Blessed's father, shot her in the chest when he saw she was more powerful than he was and couldn't control her, couldn't get her on his side." Joanna swallowed again, willed herself not to lose it. "It was nearly six years ago, but in my nightmares it's happening right now."

She cleared her throat. "Rebel, I realize this is very hard for you to accept, but Autumn wasn't playing with Tash or trying to boost his confidence. She believes he's gifted, and believe me, she would know. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief for a while, as you writers call it, accept there may be a precious few people who are gifted psychically, you'll be able to move forward with Tash, help him through everything that's happening to him and his dad. You're the only one who can. Know this for a fact—Autumn is nothing like her father's family. Even at twelve, she's responsible and sensible. She has a pure heart. She's excited about what Tash can do, what they can do together. She's the perfect friend and guide for him."

Joanna nodded. "Yes, for the simple reason we both lived through what happened with Blessed and saw what Autumn was able to do with her mind. As for Tash, if Autumn believes he's gifted, I accept it. It was a wonderful thing he did for his mother, and yes, I believe without a doubt he connected with her before she died. He's a valiant little boy."

Lula jumped on Rebel's lap, followed by Mackie settling himself on Joanna's. Her fingertips had been lightly tapping the smooth oak table, but now she began to stroke Mackie until his purr was engine loud. Lula never made a sound, even though Rebel rubbed her whiskers and lightly scratched her ears.

The kitchen was otherwise silent save for the soft ticking of the clock on the wall.

"Does she ever slip up?"

"Another time, we were driving home in a torrential downpour when Autumn yelled, ‘Dad, there's a man coming and he's in pain, he's scared, and he's losing control of his car!' Ethan pulled over right away, flicked his lights on and off. The driver managed to skid to a stop a few yards away from us, sideways in the road, and then he passed out. He'd had a heart attack, and somehow Autumn had known. His name is Mr. Philips and he lives on a farm maybe fifteen miles away. He's fine, and he's Ethan's biggest fan. We never told him Autumn was the one who very probably saved his life. And ours too.

"You have your brother and his troubles to deal with now, too, and it doesn't seem there's much you can do about that except wait and see. Do ask Ethan if he's heard anything more from Dillon Savich." She smiled at him. "I'm glad you came to see me, Rebel. Remember, whatever happens, whatever you see, Tash isn't crazy and neither are you. You'll work it out."