Trouble Comes Knocking (Entangled Embrace) by Mary Duncanson Page B
Authors: Mary Duncanson
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today.”
Couples date? Really? We were eating lunch at work, in the cafeteria, no less. “Mmm-hmm.”
She turned to me at the elevator. “What’s with you? I can tell something’s wrong. You know, I don’t tell people this but,” she leaned in close and whispered, “I’m a bit of a psychic.”
“Yeah?” My eyebrow rose. Not because I believed her, but because the earnest look on her face told me she believed her.
“Yes. I’m good at reading people’s auras, always have been. I’m in tune with the natural vibe people exhibit.”
“Okay.” I hoped she couldn’t tell how hard I tried to hold back from laughing. Natalie was my only work friend. I didn’t need to piss her off before we’d known each other for a full week.
The elevator dinged, and we both stepped on. “You’re very black today,” she said. “Normally you’re kind of an orange, secretive but mostly happy. Today, total black.”
She wasn’t far off. I do hold a lot back. Especially when I know people are as judgmental as they are about what I can do. And I certainly don’t tell them about my past. That’s a whole other can of worms.
So, I lied. “I think I’m still a little run-down from being sick.” Run-down was an extremely poor choice of words considering my morning.
She looked me up and down, shrugged, and accepted it. “Probably. Yeah, I could see that turning your aura black. So, Clive asked me questions about you.”
“Did he?” My stomach tightened, and if I had an aura, it would have gone from black to ghostly white. If he was involved, I didn’t want him asking questions. But also, if he was involved, the questions he asked might tell me something. “What did he want to know?”
We stepped off the elevator on the first floor and walked down the hall to the cafeteria. The boys weren’t there yet, so we picked a booth in the corner and hunkered down to wait.
“Normal things. Where you’re from, where you worked before this. You know, who you are. I think he’s protective of me.”
“I’ve heard that a lot lately. My aunt is protective of me, too.”
“So you live with your aunt?”
I played with a packet of sugar and regretted my quick tongue. “Yes.” Then again, I’m a pro at verbal chess. I can take anyone’s move and twist it back on them. “What about you? Do you live with family?”
She smiled dreamily. “For now. Clive and I want to live together, but, you know.”
“Yeah. Have y’all talked about kids?” Yes! Sometimes I wanted to pat my own back.
“Oh my gosh, yes. See, I want at least a boy and a girl, but Clive says he’ll just take whatever we get. I know he wants a little boy, though. He only has sisters, so I know he would love to have a son to teach things like fishing and hunting to…”
Once she started talking about her future with Clive, she forgot about my past.
And by the time the boys showed up, it was too late to keep talking about me. Or so I thought.
“So where did you live before Fort Worth?” John asked, not even glancing at me. He took a bite of his Rueben sandwich, followed quickly by a chip. He ate like someone in prison; I expected him to guard his plate with his arm and pocket his butter knife for later.
At least this time he didn’t get any sauce on his face.
Other than telling John about my memory, I’d done a good job at keeping my past secret. I took a bite of spaghetti and chewed slowly to delay the answer. But, unfortunately, they all waited. “Um, Arkansas.”
“What part?”
“Northern.”
“I have family in Mountain View,” Clive said, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. “I might know the area.”
For the second time that day I found myself faced with having to lie. Telling the truth, that I grew up in Shady Grove would mean he could look up the story of my family. It wasn’t exactly hidden in the papers. Small towns are like that, big secrets make bigger news. “Harrison. Not too far from there.”
“Are your parents
Couples date? Really? We were eating lunch at work, in the cafeteria, no less. “Mmm-hmm.”
She turned to me at the elevator. “What’s with you? I can tell something’s wrong. You know, I don’t tell people this but,” she leaned in close and whispered, “I’m a bit of a psychic.”
“Yeah?” My eyebrow rose. Not because I believed her, but because the earnest look on her face told me she believed her.
“Yes. I’m good at reading people’s auras, always have been. I’m in tune with the natural vibe people exhibit.”
“Okay.” I hoped she couldn’t tell how hard I tried to hold back from laughing. Natalie was my only work friend. I didn’t need to piss her off before we’d known each other for a full week.
The elevator dinged, and we both stepped on. “You’re very black today,” she said. “Normally you’re kind of an orange, secretive but mostly happy. Today, total black.”
She wasn’t far off. I do hold a lot back. Especially when I know people are as judgmental as they are about what I can do. And I certainly don’t tell them about my past. That’s a whole other can of worms.
So, I lied. “I think I’m still a little run-down from being sick.” Run-down was an extremely poor choice of words considering my morning.
She looked me up and down, shrugged, and accepted it. “Probably. Yeah, I could see that turning your aura black. So, Clive asked me questions about you.”
“Did he?” My stomach tightened, and if I had an aura, it would have gone from black to ghostly white. If he was involved, I didn’t want him asking questions. But also, if he was involved, the questions he asked might tell me something. “What did he want to know?”
We stepped off the elevator on the first floor and walked down the hall to the cafeteria. The boys weren’t there yet, so we picked a booth in the corner and hunkered down to wait.
“Normal things. Where you’re from, where you worked before this. You know, who you are. I think he’s protective of me.”
“I’ve heard that a lot lately. My aunt is protective of me, too.”
“So you live with your aunt?”
I played with a packet of sugar and regretted my quick tongue. “Yes.” Then again, I’m a pro at verbal chess. I can take anyone’s move and twist it back on them. “What about you? Do you live with family?”
She smiled dreamily. “For now. Clive and I want to live together, but, you know.”
“Yeah. Have y’all talked about kids?” Yes! Sometimes I wanted to pat my own back.
“Oh my gosh, yes. See, I want at least a boy and a girl, but Clive says he’ll just take whatever we get. I know he wants a little boy, though. He only has sisters, so I know he would love to have a son to teach things like fishing and hunting to…”
Once she started talking about her future with Clive, she forgot about my past.
And by the time the boys showed up, it was too late to keep talking about me. Or so I thought.
“So where did you live before Fort Worth?” John asked, not even glancing at me. He took a bite of his Rueben sandwich, followed quickly by a chip. He ate like someone in prison; I expected him to guard his plate with his arm and pocket his butter knife for later.
At least this time he didn’t get any sauce on his face.
Other than telling John about my memory, I’d done a good job at keeping my past secret. I took a bite of spaghetti and chewed slowly to delay the answer. But, unfortunately, they all waited. “Um, Arkansas.”
“What part?”
“Northern.”
“I have family in Mountain View,” Clive said, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. “I might know the area.”
For the second time that day I found myself faced with having to lie. Telling the truth, that I grew up in Shady Grove would mean he could look up the story of my family. It wasn’t exactly hidden in the papers. Small towns are like that, big secrets make bigger news. “Harrison. Not too far from there.”
“Are your parents
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