What the Heart Needs

by Kelli McCracken

  Passing through the dining room, they turned the corner to another hallway. One that led to the back of the house. Every few seconds she’d glance over at him, offering him a smile when they made eye contact. Not only did she resemble Heaven, her personality reminded him of her daughter’s. Kind. Gentle. Loving.

  As they approached another archway, he fought to keep his stomach from churning. Just inside the room stood a man, arms folded over his chest. He hadn’t acknowledged their presence. Was too focused on something else in the room. Or maybe he was ignoring him.

  Anna released his arm, making her way into room. She gazed back, motioning him to follow. But his feet wouldn’t cooperate. Shaking her head, she turned back to face her husband. “Nicholas, we have a guest.”

  The broad shouldered man shifted his stance, turning to face their direction. He reminded Dylan of Hope. Right down to the bright blue eyes. His face held no tension, but the fire in his eyes spoke a different story.

  “So you’re the man who wants to marry my little girl?”

  Christ. This wasn’t starting out good. So much for hoping it would. Giving him a quick nod, Dylan cleared his throat, keeping his head held high. “Yes, sir. I do want to marry her. But I’d like to have your blessing as well as your wife’s.”

  “Humph,” Nicholas grunted, moving his eyes toward Anna. “You’ll find that my wife is as trusting as our daughter. It’s a weakness. One that’s burned them both in the past. So you’ll understand why I’m more skeptical.”

  “I’m sure I’d feel the same in your shoes, Mr. Lewis. You have every right to protect your family. All I want is a chance for you to get to know me before you make the decision that you don’t approve. My father didn’t give Heaven that chance.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me,” he grumbled, shifting his eyes back to Dylan. “But I know it took a lot of guts to show up here after what I said to my daughter. That I can respect.”

  Did that mean her father was willing to give him a chance? The smile spreading across her mother’s face hinted to a yes. “I’m glad you think so, sir.”

  Nicholas nodded. “You’ll have to thank my wife for pointing out that her father put me through a similar situation. That’s why I’m willing to get to know you. Well, one of the reasons. You have two people willing to defend your character. Two people who I have a lot of respect for.”

  Did he mean Anna and Heaven?

  Movement from the side of the room drew his eyes to the oversized sofa near a large window. And the person sitting at the edge, tea cup in hand.

  What the hell was she doing here?

  A chuckle floated to his ears as she placed the cup on the coffee table by her knees. “It took you long enough to get here.”

  Forcing his feet to move, he stepped further into the room, heading in her direction. He didn’t know why she’d come or why his instincts said the reason would shock him. But he’d find out soon enough.

  “I feel like I’ve stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone. How in the do you know Heaven’s parent?”

  Anna stepped beside him, giving him a tight squeeze. “Would you rather I explain it to him, Delia?”

  “No, she said, offering Heaven’s mother a look of appreciation before turning her attention back to him. “Please sit down, son. You’re about to get a history lesson. One that will change the rest of your life.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Dylan braced the arms of the chair as he followed the path his mother kept pacing. She’d stopped a couple times to face him. Had even parted her lips to speak during her last break. But no words ever came out. Only a sigh. Then she went back to pacing.

  His eyes darted to Nicholas, who remained near the bay window just behind the sofa. They’d made eye contact once since he’d taken a seat. The rest of the time, Heaven’s father stared out the window.

  Across the center table, Anna sat on the couch with her legs folded underneath her. Even though she kept offering him encouraging smiles, he could tell something bothered her. The way she kept glancing at his mother, her forehead creasing every second her eyes averted his.

  One of them needed to tell him something. Soon. Where was the history lesson his mom promised? The more he thought about it what that meant, the faster his leg shook.

  “Please,” he began, waiting to gain someone’s attention. Mainly his mother’s. Anna gave him hers. Nicholas didn’t. Nor did his mom. “I don’t care who tells me what’s going on, but I need one of you to do it. Before I lose my mind.”

  “I’m going to, Dylan,” his mom finally said, “but there is much to tell. So much that I’m going to give you the basics for now. Once we fill Heaven in, you both can ask more questions. I’ll provide all the answers I have.”

  “Fine, whatever, just tell me something.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know this must be confusing. It’s my own fault for hiding all of this from you. I was trying to protect you. As well as Heaven.”

  Protect them? How? Why? Each question had his muscles aching with tension. He had to calm down. Before Heaven sensed him. That was the last thing she needed.

  “You’re still talking in riddles, Mom. I need to know what this is. What have you been trying to protect us from?”

  His mother’s eyes darted to Anna, who met his gaze for a moment. “It’s viridian. Same as when he arrived, but I can see it darkening.”

  Gripping the chair, he began counting in his head, doing his best to steady his breath at the same time. If they didn’t quit talking in circles by the time he reached twenty he’d lose it. Then Heaven would do the same, so his mother’s efforts to protect them would be for nothing.

  “Mom? Please!”

  She sat on the couch beside Anna, rubbing her palms together as though to work out her tension. “You and Heaven aren’t just soulmates. You’re part of a union, a trinity that God creates every twenty-two years.” Her chest expanded with a deep breath before her eyes burned into his. “Of the three, two are considered a fortunate pair. They are blessed with a perfect union. The third are the unfortunate. The ones who wreak havoc.”

  “But you said God created us. I don’t see how there could be an unfortunate pair.”

  “The world needs a balance of good and evil. Love and hate. Joy and misery. In creating the fortunate two, he had to balance it with an unfortunate pair.”

  “Two against four is not equal.”

  “Trust me. The unfortunate pair can cause enough havoc to balance the scales. Even though good normally outweighs evil, there are times when evil rises against good. It’s no different with the trinity.”

  The more she talked, the harder it became to wrap his mind around the words spilling from her mouth. “I don’t see how any of this has to do with you knowing Heaven’s parents.”

  “We are part of a trinity, Dylan. Anna and Nicholas are a fortunate pair. Your father and I…”

  “Are the unfortunate.”

  She nodded before gazing at Heaven’s mother. “Do you still have the scrapbook?”

  “Yes,” Anna answered, shooting her husband a glance. Nicholas unfolded his arms, spinning in her direction. The way he glared at her, brows drawn, jaw flinching as he swallowed. He hadn’t expected her answer.

  “I thought you threw that out years ago, before the girls were born. I can’t believe you kept it.”

  “I had to keep it, Nicholas. I knew we’d need it one day. That day has arrived.” She stood from the sofa, making her way over to an old chest on the opposite side of the room. It didn’t take her long to pop open the lid or dig out a large, blue book. One that looked identical to a photo album.

  Cradling the book in her arms, she made her way back to the sofa, where she handed it over to his mother. But her attention never left Nicholas. Even when he turned his back to her.

  Secrets. They didn’t only plague him and Heaven. Everyone they loved had their own little stockpile of unknown truths. This madness had to stop.

  His mother opened the outer cover,
flipping past a few blank pages. Her finger paused at the third page. Whatever lay within the book caught her attention. He even noticed a hint of a smile.

  Fumbling with the contents, she pulled a photo from the page before reaching her hand toward his. Guess he was getting his earlier wish. To see the photos Anna had in her house. Only the photo he accepted from his mother didn’t have Heaven in it. Only two guys, maybe around sixteen, standing in front of a row of lockers.

  He studied their faces, wondering why both looked familiar. At least, the one with auburn hair did. Something about his eyes. The way they chilled him. He’d looked in those eyes before. While the other boy didn’t give him the same eerie feeling, he did remind him of someone. Like a younger, male version of Hope.

  Shit! It made sense now.

  “This is a picture of Nicholas,” he began, trying his best to process the revelation. “And the other guy…that’s my dad.”

  “Yes, Dylan.” Anna answered, handing him another picture. The new one resembled the one already in his hand. Except one small difference. Standing between both his dad and Nicholas stood a young woman. She was beautiful. And looked identical to Heaven.

  He met Anna’s eyes, finding comfort in the smile that reminded him of her daughter. “This is you. It looks too much like Heaven not to be.”

  She nodded as a soft chuckle passed her lips. “You’re right again. Nicholas and I have known your father since high school. Believe it or not, we were inseparable.”

  Ah hell. Hearing those words made his gut knot. His eyes trailed over his mother’s face. He’d hoped to find answers there, but she wouldn’t look at him. And from what he sensed, there was a good reason. The next part of the story would be a real eye opener. One she apparently didn’t want to face.

  “If they’ve known my father since high school, when did you come into the picture, Mom?”

  “Not until college. Anna and I were roommates. I met your father and Nicholas a month later, when they invited me to what I thought was a frat party.”

  Anna snickered, drawing his mother’s attention away from him. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt. It’s just that I remember that night like it happened yesterday.”

  “Why?” he butted in, growing restless with their mysterious behavior. “What was so special about that night?”

  Anna only flashed him a quick smile before focusing back on his mother. “Your mother shocked us with her tarot reading capabilities. She didn’t want to at first. Said it made her feel like a freak. But then we shared a secret of our own.”

  Why couldn’t they just spit out whatever cryptic message they wanted to reveal. All the tiptoeing around the topic frayed his nerves. He wanted to scream, shout, cuss, something. Anything would be better than sitting here, deciphering the secrets his mother had kept from him. The same secrets that Heaven’s parents kept from her as well.

  “I appreciate the fact that you are telling me all this, but I don’t understand what exactly you’re telling me. Just get to the point.”

  “I’ll second him,” Nicholas grumbled from the window. “This little trip down memory lane isn’t where I wanted to go today. Get to the facts, ladies.”

  “Nicholas, hush,” Anna chided, leaving her spot on the couch to go to him. “I know you’re upset that I kept the scrapbook, but think about our children. We knew we’d have to reveal our secrets one day.”

  “Doesn’t have to be every secret.” His eyes met Dylan’s again before he turned back to the window. “He’s going to need time to process what you two keep dancing around. Just get on with it.”

  “Yes,” Dylan said, jumping up from the chair. “Please, get on with it. Tell me what I’m missing.”

  “That’s the problem, son. I told you that there is much to this story. It’s hard to put it in to basics. I’m trying the best I can.”

  “Can you bring this story together in the end, because I’m so mixed up I don’t know what to think. None of this makes sense.”

  She placed the book on the table before making her way to the center of the room where he stood. “Listen to me, Dylan.” Grabbing both his hands, she held them in hers as she exhaled. “The party they took me to, it was more of a club. For gifted people.”

  There she went with the cryptic messages again. “What do you mean by gifted?”

  “Psychics, Dylan. Just like me. Like all of us.”

  His focus shifted to Heaven’s mother, who sat on the windowsill near her husband. She appeared so focused on Nicholas, he didn’t know if she’d heard what his mother said. But he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Did Anna have powers too?

  “He has a lot of you in him, Delia.” Her eyes shifted from Nicholas to him. “That impeccable instinct. He’s blue, cobalt blue.” The heat in his cheeks grew as her eyes danced about him. Her ramblings made no sense. Nor did the way she kept studying every inch of him.

  She must have noticed the confusion on his face because she smiled. “I have the ability to read auras, Dylan. Your energy comes to me in colors. Like when you first arrived. You were surrounded by green. Viridian to be exact. It shows mental and emotional stress. Partially brought on by my husband.” Her eyes flashed over to Nicholas, but he hadn’t returned the favor. Refocusing on Dylan, she continued. “Now, it’s a beautiful cobalt hue. Your intuition comes from a place deep within you. Trust your gut. Always.”

  “My gut is telling me there is more to this story.”

  “There is,” Anna agreed, pointing back to her husband. “Nicholas is a telepath. He can pick up on your thoughts, but only in fragments. He reads best through a physical connection, like touch.”

  Great. How much of his mind could he read? The last thing he wanted to do is shake Nicholas’s hand only to have him see the private side of his relationship with Heaven. Talk about awkward.

  So if Anna and Nicholas had abilities, did that mean— “What about Dad?” he asked turning back toward his mother. “If the three of you have abilities, that means Dad has them, too.”

  “Yes, he does.”

  Her answer left a bitter taste in his mouth. To know his Dad had some type of power that he could use against—Christ. Now it made more sense. The way his father acted when he showed up at the engagement party. The threats he made toward Heaven. Even the way she’d started choking.

  “What is his ability, Mom?”

  She met his gaze before sitting in the chair he’d vacated. Each second she wasted not answering him only increased the panic building in his gut. This wouldn’t be good.

  “You’re father has telekinesis. He can control objects with his mind. Even move them if he wants.”

  “Could he choke a person?”

  She gripped the arms of the chair, finally nodding at him. But he couldn’t react to the answer. Not when Nicholas had rushed over to them, staring her straight in the eye. “Are you telling me that bastard hurt my daughter?”

  “He tried. Until Mom showed up.” Dylan answered, though he never made eye contact with Nicholas. He couldn’t stop staring at his mother, even though she wouldn’t meet his gaze. She kept running her finger over the fabric on the chair, picking at a few loose strands. “It didn’t make sense at first, but after hearing all this, I get it. My dad used his powers to choke Heaven. Didn’t he, Mom? That’s why you came to the house that day. You knew it would happen.”

  “Guess you do have my instincts,” she snorted. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Dylan. I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but your father holds so much hate inside him. It’s what broke up our group. We didn’t get a chance to search for the third set of soulmates in our trinity.”

  Dylan stepped away from the chair until his legs brushed the cushions on the sectional. If the room continued to spin, he’d collapse on it. “You said you would tie this together, Mom, yet nothing makes sense. What do soulmates and psychics have in common?”

  “Because we were created to balance good and evil, God gifted us with abilities. That’s where the connectio
n comes in. You come from a long line of soulmates, Dylan. As does Heaven.”

  The cushions greeted his butt. A million questions tumbled through his mind as he stared at her. “You said that I gave Heaven her abilities.”

  “You did. You shared your ability of empathy with her. But Heaven does have other abilities.”

  “She does?” Dylan gazed over at Anna, who’d asked the question at the same time he did. Even Nicholas gave her his undivided attention, but his mom only gazed over at him.

  “I didn’t know about it until recently, when Heaven and I came back from the bridal shop. She told me about the experiment you did at the engagement party. Where you tested your ability to sense people.”

  “I didn’t know she’d told you that. Besides, it was a bust. She didn’t really read anyone else but Hope and Faith.”

  “She can sense more than her sisters, Dylan.” Her eyes darted to Anna first, then Nicholas before she patted her chest. “She can sense me. And your father. She knew he had powers. Even asked me about them. I told her that he did, but that the less she knew the better.”

  “I don’t understand why she didn’t tell me.”

  His mom stood up from the chair, making her way to the couch as she sat beside him. “Don’t be angry with her. She has a lot to deal with. Heaven has clairsentience, Dylan. She has the ability to feel another person’s energy. Psychic energy is the easiest to read, although she can pick up on other things.”

  “Guess that means she has some of my ability,” Anna said, obviously happy about the news. The huge smile covering her lips said as much.

  Dylan fought to keep his feet still. The more he tried processing all this information the more his leg shook. “I still don’t understand why dad hates Heaven so much. If you all were friends, what happened to change that?”

  Silence filled the room for what seemed like an eternity. The smile faded from Anna’s lips. She turned to face Nicholas, placing her hand on his arm. He in turn, dropped his gaze to the ground. Whatever happened, it went so poorly that their long time friendship with his father had ended.