“Are you okay?” I asked gently as I reached out and ran a hand along his back.
He gave me a crooked smile; his bright blue eyes behind his wire framed glances studied me for a moment. “I will be, not today, not tomorrow, but some day. I hope you’ll be patient with me.”
“I’m not rushing you,” I said resolutely. “I know your situation just got a whole lot more complicated, but I’ll be there for you whenever you need me to be. If you need to talk or vent, I’ll be there for you.”
“Her first appointment is this Friday,” he said hesitantly. “She thinks she about 10 weeks along.”
“How do you feel about that?” I asked gently.
He gave me another crooked little grin. “Are you psychoanalyzing me? You do remember that I am the psyche major?”
I giggled. “I know!”
“I feel…trapped, angry, betrayed,” he spoke after a few minutes of silence. “I knew she seemed preoccupied at times, and some of her stories didn’t add up. Now she’s…pregnant and maybe, just maybe, if you weren’t around I would marry her. Deceptions and all. Now, if it is my child, I can only be a part time father and that’s not how I imagined my life, when or if I ever decided to have children.”
“Well let’s hope Ella’s prediction is correct and it isn’t your baby,” I frowned.
His eyes rounded. “She had a premonition,” he whispered hopefully.
I nodded, but I had to clarify things. “That’s what she told me, before time was changed. However, some of her other premonitions didn’t come true.”
I placed my pan of lasagna in the oven and pulled out the loaves of ciabatta bread to begin making the garlic toast.
“Most precogs are accurate,” Will stated as he came into the room. “Sorry for eavesdropping,” his mouth said, but his eyes said otherwise. “We have the power to change our destinies, but with every vision, the truth was in there somewhere. She’s unique,” he informed me. “I’ve met other precogs capable of seeing 5 minutes into the future, 10 minutes into the future, even days into the future. I’ve never encountered anyone who was able to see weeks, and even months, into the future. Especially at such a tender age and with no formal training.”
“So, is there a chance it’s not my child?” Drake said with wonder.
“I’ll say it’s a 50/50 chance,” Collin said with self-deprecation.
I looked warily at the two of them. Wondering how they were able to still be civil towards each other. Especially Drake.
I was even more shocked when Drake leaned his head back and laughed.
Chapter 17
Dinner was a success, and I could honestly say I thought the Knights chosen for us seemed to fit in well, apart from two of them. Ned seemed reluctant to have to be detailed with caring for the children. He was obviously fresh out of school and felt it beneath him to be a glorified babysitter. He seemed bitter that he wasn’t out in the thick of the ‘real’ action. He had become accustomed to it. Since he was the newest member on his team though, his supervisor was the one calling the shots. His supervisor, Terrance, tasked him with the children along with Michael.
Dawn was the other Knight I didn’t care for and there was no obvious reason. She was going to be with Jemmy, Rachel, and Jaxson. I never thought I was a jealous type of person, or easily intimidated, but she was a tall, well built, female. She seemed too familiar with the guys, Remy in particular. I didn’t like her knowing glances and secret smiles she kept throwing his way, and I hadn’t missed the glances the guys kept throwing each other.
By dessert I had seen enough.
“Are you hooking up with her?” I projected to Remy.
He looked at me and shook his head.
“But you have?” I questioned.
He nodded.
“No more,” I stated firmly. “I am your connected. Not anyone else.”
I remember when I first found out about my connections. I had been understanding to the guys’ situations. Some of them had been seeing or dating their girls for years. I had thought it was selfish for me to have my cake and eat it too. How was I supposed to expect them to be with me and only me, when I had all 6 of them? Since time had went back, I realized the error of my ways. I wouldn’t be sharing any longer. No girls were coming between us ever again. Even if, and it was a huge if, Rose was carrying Drake’s baby, I could be mature enough to allow them to have a decent relationship for the sake of the child, along as they never crossed certain boundaries.
Remy raised an eyebrow, grinned, and then nodded. He almost seemed to relax after our ‘conversation.’
Another plus to our dinner was Steven, Cora, and Beth had brought their new ward, Patrick. Patrick was the 12 year-old boy who drew pictures that came true in dreams. His parents had been contacted and they seemed reluctant to bring him back home, especially with three younger children at home. They weren’t gifted and had no clue that he didn’t suffer from a freaky mental disorder. They were relieved when they found a family willing to help him with his ‘disorder.’
Since her revelation, Beth seemed to have a change of heart where children were concerned. She was finally receptive to taking other children into her house. Now that we were aware of Horatio’s activities, we knew the possibility of an influx of children were a huge probability.
Will had a meeting with all his trusted friends and asked them to consider opening their homes to the children, especially since the normal families that took them in, were full. Some of the families had three or four children on top of their own, and although he thought they were perfectly capable of caring for them, he didn’t want to stretch them thin.
Patrick seemed somewhat disgruntled by his parents’ decision, but he also seemed more confident in his abilities. He was thriving under Beth, Steven, and Cora’s care. He seemed reassured that he wasn’t a freak and that there were so many other people out there like him. He and Micah clicked right away, and we could tell they were going to be fast friends.
“Patrick,” Jace said as we were getting ready to eat our cake. The younger children had already run off to swim in the pool. “Do you think you can teach someone how to draw?”
Patrick squirmed for a moment before he looked over at Beth. She nodded slightly. “I don’t want to draw dreadful things anymore,” he finally mumbled.
“Patrick,” Steven said slowly. “We’ve discussed this. The things you draw isn’t coming from your imagination. They come from things that have happened. Terrible things that other people have done. If we work on it maybe we can figure out if the drawings and dreams can help others.”