Heartfelt

by Lynn Crandall

  The room applauded. He took her hand and bowed, then pointed to her. All she could do was smile.

  Conrad beamed and cupped her face. His lips drew down to hers slowly, as though he were savoring the idea of kissing her. He looked enthralled with her, almost unaware of the others in the room. She ached inside for him to touch his lips to hers.

  Their lips met, softly. He paused there for a mini-minute, then together they headed for the punch table.

  Abruptly, Conrad stopped. She followed his gaze to his mother. Her face twisted as though she’d just eaten a rotten tomato. His father walked up and placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder. He frowned at Conrad and summoned him.

  “I’m sorry, Asia. I wasn’t thinking. That dance, I should never have asked you to do it with me.”

  He’d pierced her heart. “What? Are you ashamed of me?”

  “Oh, no, no. I didn’t mean it like that.” He glanced again at his parents, a hard look on his face. “I’ve put you in their crosshairs. I’m very proud of you. I loved our dancing. But now the judgment comes.”

  “Just walk to them and say a few words. Reintroduce me to your father.”

  “He knows who you are.” He shot her a quizzical look.

  “I know. But I’m not sneaking out of here like some Cinderella.”

  He sighed. “You’re right.” He pulled at his tie and led her to where his parents stood.

  “You wanted to see me?” Conrad stared unflinching at his father and mother.

  “Yes we do. What are you trying to do? You know your mother—”

  “Before you spew something evil, let me introduce my date. Father, this is Asia Blue. Asia, this is my father, Duncan Pike.”

  His mother glared at Asia, but Asia gave the woman her best sweet smile. “The gala is wonderful.”

  “We don’t want to discuss the party,” his father said. “Conrad, explain yourself. We specifically asked you not to bring her.”

  The emphasis on the word her made her stomach clench. She was grateful she’d gotten better control of her telepathy with humans, because right now she imagined the thoughts coming from his parents would be disturbing.

  “Mother, Father. I love you very much. But you’ve hurt me and you’ve insulted Asia. If you can’t accept my choices and trust that I’ve made a good choice in Asia, there’s nothing to say.”

  “Son, I love you.” His mother’s eyes teared up.

  “What you’re doing is not loving. I can’t be part of a relationship that is mean and destructive.”

  He’d been squeezing her hand so hard Asia wondered if he’d broken bones. He led her to the appetizers and offered her a cracker spread with Bourbon liver pate. She shook her head.

  “I’m not hungry, especially not for liver.” She glanced around the room and noticed the people in the room were dancing and mingling. His parents’ drama and wayward son were the least of their concerns. “Are your friends here? Do you want to mingle?”

  He captured her in his gaze. His eyes glittered and he smiled a smile that melted her heart. “No. I do not want to mingle. Do you want to get out of here?”

  “I do.”

  They sauntered out of the room, out of the house, and back to his vehicle. He backed the car into the expansive driveway and tore out into the road.

  “I want to take you somewhere. Okay?”

  “The night is young.”

  She leaned back against the headrest, contentment floating through her. Not all things were perfect, not in the way most people imagined perfection. But what she had right now was an acceptance of imperfection and appreciation that all things offer possibilities.

  Moments later, Conrad pulled into Casey’s driveway. All the lights were on inside. Asia’s senses detected the colony cats and their human friends were inside. “What’s going on here?” she asked, as they climbed out of the car.

  “Could we walk around to the back of the house? I’d like some fresh air.”

  “Sure. That sounds nice.”

  Hand in his, she strolled beside Conrad down a stone path that curved around the house and ended up at a large stone patio at the back. Standing so close to him Asia’s heart skittered. A sliver of a moon lit the evening in a pale glow. The view behind Casey’s house to an average human eye might appear mundane. There were no fancy gardens or water elements, other than the stream far back in the forest. The beauty here was its simplicity. Nature didn’t often need any sprucing up.

  A nearly silent sigh whispered from Conrad. She squeezed his hand. “Are you tired? It’s been nonstop for a long time.” She turned her face up to his, expecting a distant and drawn expression there. She jumped. His gaze was already on her. It held her eyes and spoke of love so powerfully her heart flitted into her throat.

  “No, I’m not tired.” He looked out over the large stretch of land. “I’m not happy about what went down tonight with my parents. But it was inevitable. We’ll see what happens next.”

  Wistfulness colored his words. Asia’s need to fix it stuck its head up, but only long enough for her to notice. No, he’d be able to work out his relationship with his parents. She didn’t need to do anything.

  Conrad took her other hand and turned her to face him. The gleam in his eyes reminded her of who he’d always been. A fun-loving best friend.

  “Marry me, Asia.”

  Her breath froze. “What?”

  “I’m stating what I see, with my special ability for perceiving the big picture. Marry me.”

  If any human male were to tell her to marry him, that he knew it was the right thing to do with her life, she’d have to restrain her instinct to send him sailing, literally.

  But with Conrad, she could trust his insight.

  He shifted from one foot to the other. “I know you have longed for a solid relationship with a human. You wanted out of the complex, never-a-dull moment life of the colony.” For a split second, the self-assured gleam in his eyes vanished. “That’s not what you’d be getting with me. But it’s just right, Asia, you and me. We’ve known each other for so long. We understand each other. We belong together.”

  His words resonated sweetly inside her. Sure, she could try again with a human. Others had been successful at it. But why? She loved that he hadn’t bothered with the bent knee and the timeless question. He knew who he was and knew what he wanted. And regardless of his bravado, he’d shown his vulnerability. It was real.

  “You are what I want, Conrad. We do belong together.”

  He lifted her into the air and unleashed a bold smile. “Does that mean you’ll you marry me?”

  Laughter spilled from her throat. “Yes. Of course.”

  He brought her back down to earth, and reached into his pocket. Breathless and stunned, Asia intertwined her fingers.

  He pulled out a small box and opened it to display a ring.

  She gasped. “Conrad!” A sparkling pale blue, square aquamarine stone sat in a bed of diamonds. More diamonds glittered single-file around the platinum ring. “You don’t have to give me such an extravagant ring, you nut.”

  He lifted the ring to her finger and slid it on. “An aquamarine is said to create harmony. It symbolizes an enduring, happy union.”

  “I love it. I love that you found a jewel with such an important meaning. I’m not superstitious, but in our life, we can use all the help we can get.”

  He dipped his head and she saw a beautiful, heartfelt smile in his eyes. She tilted her head to meet his lips and gently, earnestly, they pressed their lips together. Elation mingled with excitement. The kiss grew hard and passionate. Deep in her heart, love settled.

  She pulled away, taking his hand and pressing it to her chest. “You’re right here, forever.”

  Tears glistened in Conrad’s eyes. “Right where I want to be.” He moved their hands to his chest. “Right here, forever.”

  Suddenly the back door to the house slammed open. Lacey ran out, her eyes tearful. She seized them both in a hug. “That was so beautiful. Co
ngratulations!”

  Jackson followed behind, as did all the were-cats and friends in the colony. He grasped Conrad’s hand. “Spectacular proposal, Conrad. Congratulations to you both.”

  Surrounded by her fellow were-cats, house cats, and friends, Asia could hardly contain the love enveloping her. It wasn’t just about a special moment; it was about real friends of like mind and soul.

  Casey stepped through the door, his hand holding high a glass of wine. “Let’s bring this party inside, shall we? I want to make a toast.”

  Jojo, Munchie, Tiger, and Izabelle followed Casey inside and raced to their favorite spots.

  Asia looped her arm through Conrad’s, embarrassed by the smile that wouldn’t quit on her face. As they headed inside, she gasped. The living room was lit with blue twinkling lights all around. Freesia, pale blue and white blossoms, hung from fabric swags around the room and sat in a vase in the center of the table.

  Conrad nuzzled under her ear and whispered, “This is the party I wanted to attend tonight. It’s all for us.”

  “It’s perfect, Conrad. We’re among friends who care about us, the true us.”

  Casey motioned for them to join the group. Before he could make his toast, Kennedy, excitement spilling from her body, silenced the room. “Have you set a date?”

  Asia giggled and exchanged a glance with Conrad. “Tomorrow?”

  “Exactly what I was thinking. Why wait?”

  About the Author

  Lynn Crandall lives in the Midwest and writes in the company of her two cats. She has been a reader and a writer all her life. Her background is in journalism, but whether writing a magazine or newspaper story or creating a romance, she loves the power stories hold to transport, inspire, and uplift.

  More from This Author

  (From Cravings by Lynn Crandall)

  If it weren’t for her parents—correction, fake parents—trying to take over her life, maybe even trying to kill her, Kennedy would burst out laughing. The situation was all so surreal.

  Laughter would be better than giving in to the urge to curl up into a ball and cry. What good would that do?

  So she sat there in Lara Monroe’s kitchen wearing her best stoic face and not saying a word while Lara, Tizzy Sands, Asia Blue, and Asher Monroe, members of the were-lynx colony that rescued her two weeks ago from William Carter Enterprises’ drug research project, chatted about the handling of her day for her. She suspected they meant well; they just wanted to keep her safe and away from her adoptive parents. Muscles throughout her body tensed at the idea that they didn’t trust her. But the truth lying in the bottom of her stomach reminded her that from the first moment they’d released her from the cage at William Carter Enterprises, she hadn’t trusted them, either.

  That day two weeks ago was the day everything she’d known as her life crumbled beneath her. When she’d learned her real parents were not dead and had not abandoned her either—both lies from her fake parents. When she’d learned the colony leader, Casey Mitchell, might be her brother. Yes, they were both black, but that didn’t mean they shared DNA. Heck, before her fake parents had handed her over to William Carter’s experiment, she hadn’t even known other were-lynxes existed. She’d been told she was one of a kind, a lone freak. But there were more freaks, at least a whole colony of them. And maybe none of them were freaks, but just another species. For a brief moment after her rescue she’d been at once shocked and encouraged by the discoveries. She wasn’t sure what was the truth. At least the one about Casey, her sibling or not her sibling, would be cleared up as soon as the results from their DNA testing returned. As for his colony, so far, the eight were-cats were very real and very interesting, and each one had their own special ability beyond their preternatural senses, just like she did.

  But the whispered voices when she was out of the room and the pointed looks they shared between them clued her in that they were assessing if she was genuinely trustworthy or a plant, gathering information to report back to The Nexus Group, a group of people who were interested only in acquiring more power and more riches, regardless of the pain and chaos they caused. The group her parents belonged to.

  Hurt stung her heart at the situation. The colony cats didn’t know how she’d longed for a better life away from her parents and among people who would actually care about her. She was assessing them, too. It was the prudent thing to do. Things were very confusing, but so far, other than treating her like an object, they hadn’t given her any reason to want to leave, especially not to return to her old, unbearable life.

  “Kennedy, did you hear me?” Tizzy poked her once then smiled, her big eyes the color of cognac peeking out from the blond bangs that swept across her forehead. She tossed her head, and her short hair gleamed in the sunlight slanting in through the kitchen window.

  “Oh, sorry. I was zoning out.”

  Smiles, understanding and sweet, came her way from the three female were-lynxes. Asher just stared at her. Which was okay, because all the smiles made her stomach tighten.

  In the two weeks since her rescue from the insane project aimed at turning were-lynxes into warriors and headed by the now-dead kingpin of The Nexus Group, William Carter, she’d gotten so much understanding and sweetness she dripped with it. She knew she should be more grateful. They’d been so kind. They’d even taken her shopping to buy a new wardrobe since hers was left behind. But in her whole life, kindness and caring had been absent. Memories of her adoptive parents’ idea of showing their love slivered through her mind, making her shiver. Memories of them forcing her to stand in a corner for hours, all in the name of helping her reach her potential. The things they made her do growing up were done out of love, they’d said. The training, the fasting, and harsh treatment were good for her, they’d said. And finally she’d come to understand that even gestures that seemed soft and fuzzy would be followed with something painful. Soft and fuzzy was just a way to catch her off guard and administer pain. So was it any wonder she felt at once skeptical and appreciative about the colony’s treatment of her?

  “That sounds fine. I’ll spend the day with Tizzy in her elementary classroom.”

  “Right. I’ve already cleared it with my principal. With your bachelor’s degree, I was able to get you certified quickly as an aide, so you’ll fit right in.” Tizzy slanted her head and beamed. “It will be fun having you there.” Tizzy was a beigeish lynx who also had a very dramatic, very enthusiastic human side.

  Kennedy gave a smile back but couldn’t muster much enthusiasm. Her fingers began following a familiar pattern of touching each one to her thumb, first one direction then back again. It kicked in without conscious thought as a response to stress. Just as did her counting. Focusing on the number of crackers in a bowl when she was nine had helped prevent her fear of lack of food later from overwhelming her completely.

  Asia rubbed her arm soothingly. “This is a hard time, I know. But we’re just trying to keep you safe.”

  Kennedy shook her head. “Oh, I know. I appreciate all you’ve done, all of you.” She lowered her gaze to the table. It was the truth, nothing to hide there. But still, the raw reality of her life throbbed through her painfully as if she were still living in that life, under her adoptive parents’ thumb, being prepared to help The Nexus Group expand its power. As before, living with her fake parents, she was being handled, like an object. An object with no last name, because the one she’d known for all of her twenty-two years of life was fake. An object that was told how her day would be spent and only as she needed to know. No chances were taken that she would have an opportunity to share information with the enemy—Jonathon and Kathryn Novak, her so-called parents, and other members of The Nexus Group, the group everyone in the colony wanted more information about from her. Her special cellphone, the one her parents had complete control over, had been taken from her when she’d been crated by TNG. It had not been returned to her in the rescue. The colony didn’t want her near one or near a computer. Like TNG people, the colony w
as keeping her isolated, at least until she gave them information.

  She felt their frustration that she couldn’t fill them in. She’d never been told much, and parts of her memory were like dead computer cells—dark and nonfunctional.

  She picked up her breakfast dishes and joined the others in cleaning up. Then she went to her room and closed the door behind her. She glanced around, near-panic seeping through her veins. This handling was all too familiar. Different in that these people showed compassion. But so close to her old life that she couldn’t breathe. She needed air and right now.

  Kennedy quietly slid open the window, grateful Lara’s apartment was located on the first floor, climbed over, and jumped the short distance to the ground.

  Her skin itched, and the longing to shimmer—to change into her lynx form—pushed up her adrenaline several notches. The urgency in her gut sent her racing down the street, past the line of apartments, past the strip mall, until finally she found an alley to disappear into while she made the transition. She pulled at her sweatshirt, then stopped. She caught a whiff of another were-cat.

  “What are you up to, Kennedy?” It was Asher Monroe, a were-bobcat who was one of the colony cats and Lara’s brother, standing at the opening of the alley.

  She sagged to the ground, clothes still intact. She watched him shuffle toward her and with little effort tamped down the adrenaline surge she’d been running on. She was all about control of her body and its mechanisms and emotions, thanks to her training with her fake parents and her handlers with The Nexus Group.

  Asher’s blond hair caught a glimmer of sunlight, and suddenly, it was all she could focus on. The mussed-up look fit his devil-may-care expression. His broad shoulders and muscled biceps under his jacket spoke volumes about his fit physique. She might be numb inside, but she wasn’t dead, and her rapid heartbeat proved it. “I’m not up to anything, you idiot. I just needed some air.”