Dr. Kerry studied her face for a moment, before slowly sinking back onto his chair. “I can’t speak to Kait’s ability specifically since we haven’t begun testing her yet. However, William and One Bird’s ability draws in and then expels energy, which in turn stimulates or even supercharges the individual’s immune system and their body’s natural ability to heal. So the healers themselves don’t do the healing, they merely draw in and then provide the fuel to expedite the body’s own ability to heal, often at an accelerated rate.”
Faith nodded. That made sense. The strange tension that had grabbed her the moment they stepped in Kerry’s office eased. Curiosity stirred—normal curiosity, not that suspicious, moderately pessimistic interest of before.
“So how and where are they drawing this energy from? Have you pinned it down?”
“We haven’t, no,” Dr. Kerry said, rising to his feet again. He walked around his desk.
She jolted slightly in excitement. “You know, maybe they’re drawing from the same source that powers the Thrive generator. The pool is infinite; perhaps some people have a genetic predilection to—”
With a rumbling laugh, Rawls stood and wrapped a hand beneath Faith’s arm, lifting her to her feet. “I’m sure Dr. Kerry will be happy to theorize with you another time, when he doesn’t have other patients to see.”
Flushing, Faith offered her hand. “Of course. Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate all you’ve done for me.”
After a brisk, up-and-down shake, Kerry dropped her hand and eased around the armchairs. “Feel free to go through the result again, if you like. Down the road a bit, we may schedule more tests, for monitoring purposes.”
A sudden flush of uncertainty hit. It must have touched her face because he glanced at her and offered a reassuring smile.
“Not that I expect there to be any need for such caution.” After one last heartening smile, he disappeared out the door.
He’d misread the cause behind the uncertainty. This time the worry had nothing to do with her heart and everything to do with her housing arrangements. While Wolf and his superiors had offered them hospitality for as long as they needed it, she couldn’t remain here forever. It wasn’t fair to drain their resources and offer nothing in exchange.
Although . . . maybe she could offer them something in return. She could talk to Wolf about joining their team of scientists. That experimental aircraft Rawls and Zane and Cosky kept talking about had to have come from somewhere.
The fact that Shadow Mountain command was more interested in destroying the Thrive generator than acquiring it for themselves had put her mind at ease. While this base was obviously of military origin, the men here had clear limits on what they were willing to do in order to advance their cause. She could work within those parameters.
“What’s wrong?” Rawls asked, sliding a warm, firm arm around her shoulder. “For a woman who was just given a new lease on life, you were damn tense in there.”
So he’d noticed that, had he?
“It just . . . it just seems too good to be true.” She stumbled over the explanation.
She’d accepted the fact that her heart had reached the end of the average transplant’s lifespan. She’d girded herself for her looming return to the donor lists, with all the uncertainty such lists carried. Both of which made it difficult to adjust to this sudden windfall of good fortune.
“Well, believe it.” His arm tightened around her shoulders, drawing her closer. He leaned down to brush a kiss across the top of her head. “And darlin’, I’ll be right by your side to remind you that good things do happen in life, if the doubts start creepin’ in again.”
She murmured an acknowledgment. But he’d just touched on the other half of the worry jumbling her all up.
It wasn’t just her new healthy heart . . . it was Rawls too.
She felt like she was caught in a dream. It was a great dream—true. Heck, even a wonderful dream. But a dream, all the same.
The two things she’d wanted most from life had been handed to her with absolutely no effort on her part: a healthy heart guaranteeing her a normal lifespan and a man to share that life with.
A man who would curl her toes, give her butterflies, and thoroughly cherish her. Who would put her first, accept all her quirks—who would even die for her.
Someone who would love her unconditionally and accept her unconditional love in return.
And Rawls embodied all the qualities of her faceless, nameless dream man. He’d put her needs first time and time again. For God’s sake, he’d even thrown himself in front of a gun to protect her.
But in her experience, dreams rarely came true, which made it hard to believe wholeheartedly in the miracle she’d been blessed with.
She kept waiting for the catch to kick in. For her heart to revert—or Rawls to realize he didn’t love her after all. That he’d been caught up in the drama and urgency of the moment.
“You know,” Rawls said, swinging her around and leading her to the door. “You just sit back and enjoy the ride, and I’ll believe for both of us.”