by Brinda Berry
“We left you. How did you get here before we did? I mean…” I couldn’t stop sputtering.
“It’s a portal thing. Someday, I’ll explain it to you.” She giggled.
I wiped embarrassing tears from my face. “I’m so glad everyone is OK.”
“Me, too.”
“So, you didn’t see anyone besides Corona when you left?”
“Only Arizona and Regulus. They left to take Bleeker in and Corona helped me to get home.”
Pete rubbed his hand over the top of my head. “Let’s go, Sis. We need to get home and I also owe Tiny a big thanks. Dad’s used to me disappearing, but he’s probably been freaking out about you. There’s only so much damage control I can do.”
I groaned and felt like crying some more. Instead, I sniffed. “I can deal with it.”
“It’s only been overnight.” Em said. “That time difference thing is a brain bender. I’m glad we didn’t go back in time.”
Pete gave Em’s arm a little shove. “What a comedian you’ve grown into.”
* * *
The memorial service for my mother was crowded. Every person in Whispering Woods seemed to have decided to attend. I’d answered tight lipped each time the elderly ladies told me how they prayed for our family and that time would heal.
I didn’t tell them that I was attending the memorial service of a stranger. A person I’d never known. An enigma.
The only sadness I felt was for my dad. His face held a weariness I wanted to wipe away. My brother hid his feelings, and in that respect, we were so alike.
“You’re staying tonight, right?” Dad said to Pete more as a statement than as a question. He’d been tense with Pete. I could feel the hurt in every question Dad asked. It’s tough to repair the damage of leaving home without good-byes and contact.
“I’m staying through the end of the week.”
“Good. I want to talk with you about working for me. I can offer you some programming jobs better than whatever you’re working on in California.” Dad’s his mouth was set in a tight line.
Pete only nodded and looked straight ahead at the people approaching us to offer more condolences.
Em pulled me aside and I’d never been so grateful for some relief from strangers patting me on the back.
“You OK?” Em gave me a tight hug.
I nodded. “Tired of people. Just tired. I saw Austin earlier. What happened to Cassie?”
“She wasn’t staying after she placed Vega in a safe house. She said she does this traveling back and forth thing a lot. You’d think Whispering Woods was a dimensional airport.”
“Poor Austin.”
“I’m more worried about you. You miss Regulus, don’t you?” She reached out to grab my hand and squeezed.
My throat tightened at the mention of his name. “Oh, I’m all right. It’s for the best.” I had to fake it. Fake it that I didn’t feel like lying down and curling into a fetal position every day.
She looked at me with those knowing eyes. “Let’s hang out together later when you can get away. OK?”
“Thanks, Em.” I gave her a hug.
People brought food to our house after the service. Every person in Whispering Woods practiced the Southern tradition of bringing casseroles to a grieving family.
I wanted everyone to go home. We didn’t need another green bean casserole.
“You know I can’t stay, right?” Pete said. “I’m staying a couple of days and I’m leaving. The longer I stay, the harder it will be on Dad.”
I nodded without answering.
He put his hand underneath my chin. “You could use some mascara or something. You look like death. OK, bad choice of words here. But you should eat something.”
I gave him a shove. This was the brother I loved. The one who could tell me I looked like crap only to rile me.
“And you should mind your own business.” I attempted a smile, but it was tough.
“I need to get some food in town. There are too many folks in our house today. Want to come?”
“I don’t feel like it. I think I’ll go up to my room and sleep.”
“No can do. I can’t guarantee when I’ll see you next. I need to have someone watch me eat. You can advise me on the best milkshake flavor.”
I rolled my eyes. “OK. I wouldn’t want you to flounder over that momentous decision.”
We drove to the local barbecue restaurant, a hole-in-the-wall that had five red, vinyl-covered booths for patrons. Pete still wore his black suit from the memorial service and I hadn’t changed from my black dress.
“What’s the next step for you?” Pete sat at the far side to face the door.
I shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Sis. You need plans. You can’t tell me that you don’t want to start college and find some hottie to date.”
“Don’t pressure me.”
“It’s my job. Older brother job. I’m in charge of keeping surveillance of all hottie action in your future.”
“I’ve grown up a lot since you left. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
He sighed. “Sorry. It’s a lifetime commitment.”
A girl with a pad of paper interrupted to take our order. She looked longingly at Pete, but he didn’t even notice.
“I wanted to talk to you alone. About Mom.” He removed a toothpick from the silver dispenser on our table and stuck it in his mouth.
“Talk.”
“You shouldn’t hate her.”
“I don’t. She’s dead. Can’t hate her now. Boy did that solve that issue.”
“You know what I mean. Hate her memory.”
“I said I don’t. You have to love somebody first to hate them later. I didn’t know her, so I don’t hate her.”
“She was memory wiped multiple times. It made her crazy.” He stopped looking at me and stared at the toothpick he twirled between two fingers.
A throb started in my temple. The mention of a memory cleanse made me think of Regulus. I’d banned myself from thinking about him. Too bad I couldn’t order a memory cleanse.
“Why did they do it to her? Why, Pete?”
“She wanted to protect us, maybe. I don’t know. It’s not like she left a diary. But the IIA didn’t want Mom to love us. It complicated things for them.”
“It’s some heavy stuff to digest.” I opened a packet of sugar, poured it on the table, moved it around in swirls. “Bad guys everywhere.”
“Mom didn’t start out as one either. There are things we’ll never understand.” Pete reached across and stopped my finger from making swirls in the loose sugar on the table.
“I don’t have to solve the mystery. I want to move on with my life.”
“It’s also obvious that you should be working with me at OZ. I think I’m helping you make your choice.” He smirked and nodded. “You should say it.”
“What?”
“I want to follow in my older brother’s footsteps because he is a superhero.”
I pressed my lips together to stop from laughing. “Holy ego, Batman. At least I’m not working for the IIA. Does that make you feel better?”
“You have commitment issues.”
I decided it was time to change the subject. “When do you leave? Did your boss tell you to be back right away?”
“How can I leave when you keep getting into trouble?”
I gasped. “I do not, Pete Taylor.”
“Yes,” he said, shaking his head. “You do. And as the team leader in charge of this area of Operation Zodiac, I’ve requested they let you join someday.”
“They let you be in charge of something? If I remember correctly, you can’t even do laundry without turning my underwear pink.” I thought about what he’d said. “I don’t know.”
He scratched his head thoughtfully. “Here’s the problem. We both have this gift of synesthesia on steroids, so to speak. Right now, the IIA really wants it. So you need protection. Wherever you choose to go to college, you need to have someo
ne looking out for you. And you have time to decide about what you want to do.”
“I don’t need protection.” I’d been trying to stop biting my destroyed fingernails, so I creased a napkin into an origami box. I’d decided to be stronger, braver. Maybe even get a manicure someday. Or so Em said.
“I’d like for you to think about it. I’ve been hunting for new recruits. You might like the people I work with.”
“Don’t push me. I need time to make good decisions.” That’s when I realized that someone stood at the edge of the booth and behind me.
“Pete.” The deep voice behind my head made me shake in my seat. The napkin trembled, so I placed it on the table and put my hands together in my lap.
“Do you mind if I sit?” Regulus stepped to the center edge of the booth where I could see him, since I’d remained frozen, not looking back and holding my breath.
I didn’t answer but moved over. He slid into the plastic seat easily with his body as close to mine as possible.
“Thank you,” Regulus said.
I was stunned and afraid and nervous, a hundred emotions at once.
“I don’t get it? How are you here?” I looked from him to Pete.
Pete stood and exited his side of the booth. “You can eat my burger. I think I’ll get back to the house. Bring her home, all right?”
“Of course.”
I watched Pete walk backward for a couple of steps, his gaze on my face. He raised his eyebrows, then smiled and nodded before turning to exit. The smile was infectious and I found myself grinning so hard my mouth hurt.
“Where’s Arizona? I don’t understand.” I tilted my head and studied the origami napkin in my hand.
“He didn’t come.”
“Oh.”
“If I went back, they would know the reason I disobeyed orders. Even with taking Bleeker in, they would erase my memory and reassign me. And the IIA still wants you. They can be very persuasive. I left the IIA.” He leaned forward on his elbows and stilled my fingers that continued to crease the napkin.
“So, you can do that?”
“Normally, no. But it appears that they’d crossed over the line with some activities in their agreement with your government. I went to Pete, and he gave me the information for leverage. ” He held up a hand to stop me. “Yes, this doesn’t surprise you. I know.”
“What does this mean for you?”
He took both my hands in his. “It means that I was part of a negotiation that worked in my favor.”
His hands holding mine felt so right.
I raised one eyebrow. “And?”
“I’ve been offered a position here. With Operation Zodiac.”
I didn’t think it possible, but my grin widened. “Really?”
“I hope I can handle my first assignment.”
“What is that?”
“Monitoring this area for my boss, but with an emphasis on watching out for his little sister. I hear she’s obstinate and argumentative, but I think I’ve also heard that she’s a hot girl. I should enjoy it.”
“Wow…I…um…” I was unable to put words together into an intelligent sentence.
A whimpering sound came from behind Regulus.
“I almost forgot.” He got out of his seat, walked to the door, and returned with a brown cardboard box.
“Another stunner?” I raised both brows and leaned forward.
The box moved on the table. Another whimper escaped from inside it.
“Open it.”
I lifted the lid and rose halfway in my seat to peer inside. Two thick paws pounced against the side of the box.
Warm brown eyes met mine. “A puppy!” I jumped from the seat to lift if from the box. I trembled with excitement that I hadn’t felt in since I was a kid.
“Ma’am, you can’t have that animal in here.” The waitress frowned at us.
Regulus gave her a devilish grin. “Can you change our order to take-out? I wanted to give her this special present. It’s my fault.”
I lifted the puppy from the box to hold him to my chest. “He’s a cairn terrier. Like Biscuit.” My eyes filled with tears.
“I know he’s not replacing Biscuit. He’s only a little crumb.”
“Crumb.” I repeated.
I looked up at the waitress, who still watched us. She shook her head. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Put the puppy in the box and you can stay as long as you’re the only customers.”
“Thanks.” I held the puppy at eye level and let him lick my nose. “She said you can stay, Crumb.”
The background noises in the diner dimmed when I stared at Regulus. He’d left everything he knew. Would he be happy? No one could give us that answer.
He had the strength to choose a path right for his heart and his mind. And I was strong, too. Strong enough to take a risk.
The risk would be worth it.
I deposited the wiggling puppy back into the box that Regulus had placed on the floor beside me. “I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless.”
“That is amazing. I don’t know that I have ever rendered you unable to talk. I only need to know one thing.”
“What?”
“Do you want me to stay?” Regulus’s expression grew serious.
“We have a problem if I haven’t made my feelings for you very, very clear. I obviously suck at telling you. I think I should show you the answer.” I leaned over the table and grabbed his jacket to pull his head to mine. My lips crushed against his perfect mouth, letting him feel all the emotions in my heart. The emotions I’d hidden away when I was a coward.
I melted into his kiss—a high voltage hazard—and gave an embarrassing moan.
He caressed my face and pulled back. “A message more powerful than words. I like a girl who takes action.”
About the Author
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