by Jaycee Clark
Taylor shrugged. “If someone doesn’t help them, then who will?”
“How in the hell do you keep from killing someone?”
The charmer was indeed banished. “This vengeful side of you is new.”
His guttural sound might have been some sort of answer, but he helped her out. “What can I say? It’s in the blood. My mother stems from rebels, my father from Highlanders way the hell back when. So there you have it. Guess I’ve got that feud ideology in me after all.”
Taylor didn’t know what to reply to that, so she didn’t. “I could use some of that tea we never got to have. Would you like some?”
“Sure.”
In the kitchen Taylor kept busy, tried not to keep looking at the clock wondering if Morris would call.
She had barely walked into the living room again before Gavin said, his voice brooking no argument, “I’m staying tonight.”
Did he expect her to argue?
Taylor ran her tongue around her teeth as she handed his glass to him. He took it, the intense gaze steady and daring her to object.
She sat again beside him. “I was hoping you would.”
His chest fell as a sigh expelled. “Were you? I wasn’t sure.”
“Why not?”
“I have no idea. Maybe I’m looking for a fight.” His grin was far from humorous. “I’m glad you agreed. I’d have been up half the night worrying about the two of you.”
“We’ve already stayed up half the night,” she reminded him.
“So we have. Listen, I want . . .”
The cordless shrilled.
They both grabbed for it; Gavin handed it off to her.
“Hello?”
The sigh on the other end had her stomach muscles tightening. “Ms. Reese? This is Morris.” Like she wouldn’t recognize that cigarette-gruffed voice. “We have a problem.”
• • •
The scream pulled them out of their troubled sleep. It went on and on. Taylor was up and running through the door with Gavin.
“No! No! No!” came the yell from Ryan’s room.
They burst in, flicked on the light and saw the huddled form in the blankets. His young blue eyes gushing tears, reflecting the terror in his mind, in his soul.
“Ryan!” Gavin shook him. “Ryan!”
Taylor laid her hand on his muscled arm. “Here, let me.”
Gently, she gathered her tense son to her, rocking. “It’s okay, baby. Mama’s here. I’m here. It’s okay.” Humming, she tried to calm him. When she felt him start to ease, she sang “Jesus Loves Me.” By the ending he was holding her, hiccupping, and whispering the words along with her, as though they alone would banish whatever demons plagued him.
Taylor pulled back to ask him what he’d dreamed of. But he only held on tighter, his arms vined around her.
“Ryan?” Gavin asked from the other side of the bed. Taylor felt the mattress give as he sat on it. “Ryan?”
Slowly, ever so slowly, Ryan turned his head and looked at Gavin. The man she loved reached out and rubbed Ryan’s back. “You okay, champ?”
Ryan nodded. Then shook his head. Finally, he just shrugged.
They hadn’t told him about his appointment with Petropolis. She figured she’d mention it this morning. The dawning sky was already heralding a new day. Taylor tried to shake off the tiredness that still pulled at her. The giant red numerals on Ryan’s alarm clock said it was almost six.
This time she pulled him back and settled him on the bed between her and Gavin. All of them leaned back against the headboard. Sheets with sailboats on them lay bunched at the foot of the bed, along with the colorful patchwork quilt Ryan used as a blanket.
“Ryan, we have something to tell you.”
Actually, they had a hell of a lot to tell him. The things Morris told her . . . Shaking off the black, horrid thoughts, she said, “Yesterday you were so quiet and we were very worried about you. We called and made an appointment for you this morning.” He remained very still between them.
“Is this because of what I told you last night?” he whispered. “About ‘seeing’ things?”
“No, but I would like for you to talk about that with Dr. Petropolis. I’d . . .” She looked at Gavin. “We’d like to discuss that with her too. You shouldn’t feel bad for having such a gift, Ryan. But seeing as how affected you were by the things you saw, and what you remembered, we want to keep the appointment this morning.”
Taylor didn’t think he would argue, and he didn’t. “What time? Will I miss school?”
“Actually, it’s at eight.”
He only nodded.
Gavin raised his brows at her, and she could only shake her head.
“I’ll tell you what.” She gave Ryan a squeeze. “Why don’t you start to get ready, or just lay up here and rest a bit. I’ll go down and start on breakfast. Waffles.”
Finally, he moved. Raising his head, he looked at her out of bright eyes. “Homemade ones? From scratch?” His dimples lazily winked at her.
Feigning offense, she gasped. “Do I make any other kind?”
“Not unless you’re in a hurry,” he answered.
“Well, I’m not in a hurry this morning. We’ve got plenty of time.” She made to get off the bed.
Ryan grabbed her back in a hug. “I love you, Tay—Mama.”
This morning’s dark cloud did have a ray of sunshine bursting through it.
Taylor smiled. “I love you too, sweetie.”
• • •
Dr. Petropolis folded her hands on her desk and leaned onto her elbows. A classy woman, in Taylor’s opinion, always wearing suits with the perfectly groomed hair. She was middle-aged, fit and trim, but her sharp, intuitive mind was what interested Taylor right now.
“I’m glad you brought him in this morning, Ms. Reese.” She nodded to Gavin. “And Mr. Kinncaid. I must say I have seen a vast improvement in Ryan since he first came to see me.”
Her smile was soft as she looked at Gavin. “He’s crazy about you and the idea of having a real mom and a dad. He told me this morning that he called you Mom, last night—to your face. The idea has worried him some. As he put it, it felt good, like when you dive into a swimming pool and end up flipping underwater. You’re tummy gets all jumbled, but in a good way.”
Taylor smiled back. She liked Ryan’s analogy and knew exactly what he meant.
“What were your feelings when he called you Mom?” she asked.
Taylor shook her head. “About the same as his, I believe. Fluttery stomach, and like someone squeezed my heart and it overflowed.”
“I figured as much.” She turned back to Gavin. “He’s still not quite there yet to call you Dad.”
Gavin nodded. He was drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair, and jiggling his foot that was propped by his ankle on his knee.
“Do you wish to share something, Mr. Kinncaid?” Dr. Petropolis’s blonde brows rose above her eyes.
Immediately, he quit the telltale signs of nervousness. Then, he leaned up and looked to her.
“I get the impression you both would like to tell me something? Usually the best way is to just get it said.”
“I know you can’t actually tell me what you and Ryan talked about. But I have to ask if he mentioned seeing things.”
The psychologist got up from behind her desk, walked over and sat on the corner of it. “Yes, he did.”
Taylor expelled a breath. How to say the next bit? “The thing is, he was upset enough, and with the type of person Nina Fisher is, we called an acquaintance last evening. He found out several interesting things.”
The doctor’s sharp gray eyes narrowed fractionally.
Taylor hurried through the rest of it. “It seems there was a prison break. And Ms. Fisher has indeed escaped.”
Petropolis stood and walked to her window. Turning back to them she said, “Ryan believes what he sees. He knows his visions—for lack of a better term—are not always right, but he believes in them. I’ve seen m
any cases in my career that do indeed back parapsychology.” Her elegant hand waved. “But that is neither here nor there.”
Gavin spoke up. “He told us several things last night. Nina being out was only one of them. There was the night in Austin when she beat him because he’d overheard about a murder. Then there was his . . .” He gestured to the doctor. “Visions. He was upset over the fact she could be out and coming for him. But he said he saw her kill two people, shoot them in their bed.”
“Yes, I know, he told me. A gift or a curse.” This time she sat again behind her desk. Giving them a level look, she asked, “Are you telling me that is true as well?”
Yes. Oh, God, yes. Taylor could only nod.
“My God.”
It seemed everyone took a deep breath at the same time and then let it out.
“They’re not dead,” Taylor clarified. “Well, not exactly. The woman is on life support in hopes to keep the baby alive. Charles, my ex,” she explained, “he’s in the hospital but seems to be doing fine. The bullet caught him in the upper shoulder.”
“Have you told Ryan?” Dr. Petropolis asked.
“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Gavin said, reaching out to take Taylor’s hand. She grasped it tight.
The doctor looked down at her desktop. Finally, she faced them. “I think you should tell him. One, he needs to know. Two, the longer you wait, the more he may feel betrayed you didn’t trust him enough to tell him what he would consider something he should know. And his trust in you is paramount for his emotional health. Plus, I believe he needs to be on his guard. However, having said that, I think I should warn you. Ryan has been very worried since he thought his biological mother was out of prison. The fact she is could easily send him into regression. He may not talk at all, retreating into his own little world. Might even pull away from comfort offered. Things you saw in the beginning with him.”
This was what she was afraid of. Taylor knew all about regression. She nodded, the calming music playing in the background not soothing her at all.
“But, then again, he might surprise you and go the other way, acting as if none of this bothers him. I don’t see that happening, but it could. I do believe this will bother him a great deal, be extremely stressful for him, make him question his environment and the stability he’s come to know with you two.”
Taylor looked to Gavin. A muscle bunched in his jaw.
“That makes you angry, Mr. Kinncaid.”
“Hell, yes.”
“And me as well. The advice I give you is to tell him. Do not lie, be straightforward and honest. Then be there for him. Don’t push him too hard, but don’t let him completely shut himself off either.”
“How do we know if it’s too much or not enough?” Taylor asked.
The doctor smiled again. “You’ve done an excellent job so far, Ms. Reese. Just do what you’ve been doing. Mother him. That’s all you need to do.” She looked at Gavin. “And father him as well. Ryan might even turn to you more during all this. You’re distanced from his life before. Though Taylor saved him, so to speak, previously, you’ve completed a circle in his dreams for a family. You weren’t there, so as an outlet, a sort of denial that this could all be happening again, he could turn to you, connect more with you. Though, in actuality, it would be because of the security and safety, the comfort and peace he’s learned with you since you’ve come into their lives. Plus, you are the prominent male figure in his life, and no matter the times, children generally feel better, in a healthy environment, if the male is there to scare away the monsters. Mom can do it just as well,” she added, turning back to Taylor, “but we are still a very sexist society despite all our p.c. tags.”
Gavin sat stunned at the doctor’s words. Ryan turn to him? Trust in him for safety? And why in the hell wouldn’t he? Gavin would do everything in his power to protect the boy. But it was almost terrifying hearing it the way the doctor put it.
Fear of responsibility crept through him, twisted his stomach. Gavin shut it down. He turned to look at Taylor to get her reaction to this. Her eyes were worried, but she gave him half a smile.
“You both have to be there for him in different ways at this time,” Dr. Petropolis gently said. “Another thing, I have a feeling Ryan could blame himself after you tell him about the shootings. Make certain you clarify that is not the case.”
What? “Do you honestly think we wouldn’t?” Gavin asked her.
A rueful smile passed her lips. “You’d be surprised what I have to explain to some people. I meant no offense.” She checked her watch. “I hate to do this because you probably have more questions, but I have a nine fifteen appointment.”
So she did. Gavin understood schedules and patients. Trying to juggle time, seemingly personal, caring visits, and the constraint of knowing another patient waited. He rose, pulling Taylor with him.
Dr. Petropolis scribbled a number on her card and handed it to Taylor. “Your fiancé already knows my home number, but here is my mobile. Feel free to call me anytime if things become too . . . intense. And if Ryan needs to, or wants to, call and schedule another appointment in the morning. I would like to see him in the next couple of days to see how he deals with the news you’re about to tell him.”
She walked them to the door. “Oh, and though I’m not supposed to break patient-doctor confidentiality, I think I can tell you this. I have no idea what your living arrangements are in regards to a yard, but after all this is over, Ryan really like puppies. Yellow ones.”
With that, they walked out of the office smiling and into the waiting room to see Ryan gently kicking his feet off the couch. He stood up when he saw them, apprehension in his eyes.
It was clear even to Gavin the boy wanted to know what was going on. How to tell him? When to tell him? He’d talk to Taylor about that.
They both had work. He’d already pushed his rounds and appointments back a couple of hours. He needed to get going.
Stopping, he turned Taylor to him and asked her quietly, “Do you think it’s okay to send him to school?”
“I don’t want to, but I don’t want to mess up what he’s used to either. I actually wish, for the first time, that I didn’t have a job. I want to take him home and keep him safe.”
Gavin agreed with her, but knew Ryan wouldn’t. “Do you want to take a bit more time off work and tell him now? Or wait until this afternoon. Depending on babies, I should be off around five.” Unless one or two of his patients went into labor. He had several who were close to their due dates.
“That’s fine. I’ll pick him up after school and just take him to work with me for a couple of hours. When I explained things to Jenkins this morning, she was very understanding. I may have to take off tomorrow after we tell him today, and I’d rather not take off any more days than I absolutely have to.”
“We also need to talk to Morris. Do you think we could get Ryan to talk to him? To tell him what he remembered?” Taylor only shook her head and shrugged at his question.
Apparently her ex had been coherent enough to tell the police who had shot him and why. The fact chilled Gavin’s blood. Nina Fisher didn’t seem to care whom she harmed or killed as long as she got what she wanted. And Gavin knew what she wanted was Ryan.
He walked them both to their car and got into his, giving Ryan a tight hug and promising pizza for supper. Instead of the smile he’d hoped for, Ryan only raised his brows, got into the backseat and buckled his belt.
Taylor hugged and kissed him. Gavin held her longer than necessary, but he didn’t want to let her go.
Finally, he pulled back long enough to kiss her again on the forehead. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
“I know, I just worry.” And would keep worrying. “Do you care if I call you during the day? To make sure everything’s okay?” Generally, they left the other alone at work, but a few times they had swapped phone messages or texts.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course, why wouldn�
��t it be?”
Stupid he supposed. “I don’t know. I don’t want to bother you, but I’d worry all day. Hell, I will worry all day.”
“I know. I will too.” Her hand smoothed down his chest. “Tell you what—why don’t we make plans for six at the house. I’ll order a pizza, since you’ve already mentioned it to him.”
Damn, he forgot. Taylor liked to cook food, so she knew what was in it. She hated preservatives unless occasionally. “Sorry,” he said. “I just thought it would be easy and stress-free.”
“It’s fine. Really. He loves pizza.”
Ryan opened the door up. “He’d like Chinese. If that’s okay?” he asked.
Gavin smiled. Kids heard everything. Looking into Taylor’s eyes, he saw some of the tension in them easing. “Sounds good to me. You?” he asked her.
“Fine.”
“Then it’s settled.” Gavin opened her door. He liked this car and it had fewer miles on it than her old one. Maybe he’d get it for her as a wedding present. What to get his son was still a mystery. Actually, come to think of it, maybe the puppy wasn’t such a bad idea.
Shaking off the thought, Gavin leaned down into Ryan’s still-opened door. “You have fun at school. Don’t let any of this bother you, okay? We’ll see you this evening.”
His palm slapped with Ryan’s as the boy’s small hand high-fived his. Gavin shut the door again and turned to see Taylor sitting behind the wheel.
“All in?” he asked her.
“Yeah. You be careful, too,” she told him.
“Always. I’ll talk to you later.” He watched her drive out of the parking lot before he walked to his car.
Time to fill his family in on the latest events. When one came after one Kinncaid, they came after them all. Kinncaids stuck together. Though maybe he’d wait. With Dad’s blood pressure he didn’t need to be worrying.
Yeah, maybe he’d wait.
Gavin just hoped all this was for naught, that they’d catch the psychotic woman before she got to D.C., but something told him that wouldn’t be the case.