The Whisperers: A Three Book Box Set Read online

  She braced her hands on her knees, bent forward, breathing hard, and trying to clear her head, ease the pressure that was getting critical. She couldn’t even focus on the world around her. It was almost like a panic attack, her breath was labored, her heart was racing, and it was like something was clawing at her brain. When someone put a hand on her back she yelped and jumped away, whirling on the intruder with outstretched hands.

  Jesse was reaching for her when the energy hit him. It lifted him up off his feet and propelled him back a good three feet.

  Carly watched in horror, curling her hands into fists and shaking with the effort of containing whatever was inside her that was trying to escape. Jesse found his footing and stared at her in shock before he started toward her.

  “No.” She backed away. “Don’t. I can’t—can’t control—“

  “Yes. You can.” Colton’s voice came from the direction of the door.

  Carly’s eyes sought him, desperation making her latch onto the sound of it like a lifeline. “Help.”

  “Just turn around, baby girl. Turn around and look out, into the distance.”

  She did as he said, trembling with the build-up of energy.

  “Now pick something – a stump or tree, something that if it gets destroyed, won’t hurt anyone.”

  Her eyes scanned the area. There was an old oak stump near the driveway. There was nothing near it.

  “Once you have something, just focus the energy there. Empty it all out.”

  “I’m—scared.”

  She felt his hands on her shoulders. “I’m here, Carly. Just raise your hands. I’ll help you.”

  She felt his hands work down her arms, gripping just above her elbows and lifting. She was shaking so hard she felt like she was having a seizure. When her arms were raised in front of her, she heard his voice in her ear.

  “Now, open your hands Little Bit. Open them and let it go.”

  Like an arthritic, she uncurled her fingers, pulling her hands back so that her palms were pointed at the stump.

  A scream tore from her as the energy sizzled through her body and out of the palms of her hands. Light that was blinding white with tendrils the colors of a rainbow shot at the stump. Like a stick of dynamite had been ignited, the stump exploded.

  And Carly collapsed in Colton’s arms. He swept her up in his arms amidst the rain of what amounted to sawdust poured down on them.

  Jesse was two steps behind him when he turned with Carly in his arms. Jesse looked at her and then at Colton. “I’ll call 911.”

  “No need,” Colton said. “Let’s just find a place to put her down. She’ll wake.”

  “But—“

  “Trust me.” Colton said.

  “Okay, bring her to the porch.”

  Colton carried Carly in to the porch and placed her on one of the chaise lounges. Since everyone else had been watching from the window or had raced outside to the porch, it was no secret what had happened.

  Jesse said on the edge of the chaise beside Carly. Mik ran over to them. “Is she going to be okay?”

  Colton nodded. “It was the same with me – before I learned to control it.”

  “So she didn’t know she could do that?” Jesse asked.

  “It’s only the second time it’s happened.”

  “When was the first?” Mik asked.

  “The day her fiancé died.”

  “Fiancé?” Jesse asked. “She was engaged? What happened?”

  Colton looked down at Carly as he answered. “That’s a tale for her to tell.”

  Jesse looked down at Carly. Her face was not quite as pale as it had been and her breathing seemed normal. Wake up, honey. Open your eyes. Be okay.

  A few moments later, her eyelids fluttered and then opened. At first, there was confusion and fear in her eyes. “I didn’t hurt anyone?”

  “No, honey, everyone else is fine. What’s important is how you are.”

  “I’m fine.” She pushed herself into a sitting position, looking around until she saw Colton. “Did you…?”

  “No, I wouldn’t.”

  “Wouldn’t what?” Jesse asked.

  She turned her attention to him. “Could we take a walk? There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Sure.” He got up and took her hand to pull her to her feet. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. All he could pick up from her was a deep feel of dread. What did that mean? Was she about to tell him to take a hike, or did it have something to do with the fiancé?

  Whatever the case, he was feeling pretty full of dread himself when she led him outside.

  She didn’t say anything until they’d walked a good distance down the driveway. Then she walked over to the fence that bordered the drive, propped her forearms on the top rail and stared out across the pasture.

  Jesse waited, not wanting to pressure her. She was silent for so long, he started when he heard her voice.

  “When I was younger – eighteen—I fell in love. He was from Arizona, three years older and a ranch hand on a nearby spread – a bull rider.

  “I fell hard and when he asked me to run off with him, I did. Packed a suitcase and snuck out in the middle of the night. I left a note for my parents.

  “It was the most exciting six months of my life. We practically starved, lived in a ratty old third wheel camper and did the rodeo circuit. We picked up odd jobs to pay the entry fees and eat.

  “I had never had it so hard, or been so happy.” She turned her head to look at Jesse. “He asked me to marry him and I said yes. I called my parents and told them we were engaged and would come home to be married at the end of the year.”

  Carly turned and leaned back against the fence. “Seems like the call, or maybe it was the engagement, I don’t know – but something seemed to jinx us. He couldn’t win for trying, the truck broke down and took all we had to fix, and we were barely eating.

  “Then he took a job at a ranch in Texas. Had to or we were gonna starve for sure. I looked for work or sat in that miserable little camper all day, sweating and worrying. A week into the job and he started getting home later and later. He said he was working all he could so we could survive.”

  Tears gathered in her eyes and she brushed them away. “But that wasn’t the truth. One day I took him to work, claiming I was going to check at the local supermarket because I’d heard they were hiring. Instead, I just drove a couple miles down the road then snuck back on foot to spy on him.”

  She laughed harshly. “I sat there all day under the broiling sun, cooking like a damn hog on a spit. Finally, the rest of the day labor left and the hands headed for the bunkhouse. All except him. He headed for the garage at the main house.

  “She was waiting for him. The owner’s daughter. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen.”

  Carly pushed away from the fence. “I couldn’t believe it. He was doing her. I could tell by the way they were kissing and touching that it wasn’t the first time. I didn’t know what to do so I just sat there, in the bushes, watching.

  “They went to the house, snuck around the back of the house. I followed and hid out at the edge of the yard. I saw a light come on upstairs. I just sat there, waiting for him to leave and feeling like such a monumental fool.”

  Carly looked at him and Jesse was surprised at what he felt when their eyes met. It wasn’t anger or grief. It was guilt. That shocked and puzzled him.

  “I don’t know what happened, but suddenly there was a big ruckus inside, sounded like things breaking and getting thrown around, loud voices. A few minutes later, he busted out of the back door in just his jeans and they weren’t even zipped. His feet were bare and his mouth was bloody.

  “As mad and hurt as I was, it scared me so I ran to him just as the owner ran out of the door with a gun. The owner tackled him and they went down, rolling around, fighting over the gun.

  “I swear…” She looked at Jesse with tears streaming down her face. “ I swear on my mother’s grace that I nev
er meant to hurt anyone. I just—I just didn’t know. Something just swelled up inside me and it hurt so bad, I didn’t know what to do. I just screamed for them to stop and this… this energy just shot out of my hands.

  “It hit both of them and blew them into the side of the house. They were flailing at each other, getting blown like leaves in the wind. And then there was a shot.”

  Carly stopped and turned away from him and for a long time she was silent. Jesse started to think she was not going to say more when he heard her voice, just barely above a whisper.

  “I was such a coward. I ran. Literally. I got to the truck, climbed in, and didn’t stop till I was back home, in Arizona.

  “Colton was there, on leave. My parents wanted to know where he was, my fiancé and I told them we’d broken it off and I was sorry, I’d made a huge mistake. Colton didn’t buy my story and I told him the truth.”

  She turned her head to look at him. “I—if I hadn’t done that—if that energy…Jesse, he might be alive today.”

  “Or not.” Jesse argued. “From what you said, the ranch owner seemed pretty set on killing him for screwing his daughter. And you didn’t pull the trigger, honey. It’s not on your head.”

  “That’s what Colton said. He checked with the police and the owner was acquitted. Said he was stopping his daughter from being raped. But she wasn’t Jesse. She lied. They both did. He was a cheat, yeah, but he didn’t deserve to die for it.”

  “We’ve all got a path, honey, some harder than others, and we all take ourselves down the path we walk by our choices. I’m not saying he deserved to die, but I don’t think you need to keep blaming yourself.”

  “I know. I’ve lived with this for a long time and Colton helped me see that what led up to it wasn’t my doings. But the thing … the thing I can’t get past is why? If he loved me then why did he take up with that girl? What’s wrong with me that I’m not enough for a man?”

  Jesse couldn’t take the pain he heard in those words. In a flash, he had her in his arms. “There’s not a damn thing wrong with you, honey. And believe me, it wasn’t you. It was him. He wasn’t ready or wasn’t able to be faithful but it wasn’t because of something missing in you.”

  She pulled back far enough to look at him. “But what if it is?”

  “Nope,” he argued. “And I’m speaking from a position of knowledge.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m in love with you, Carly. And believe me, I’ve never said that to anyone so you know I mean it. You’re not only enough but more than I dreamed of and I’m yours. If you’ll have me, that is.”

  She stared into his eyes for a long time and he became aware of a sensation. The hair on his arms stood up and it felt like a little electric tingle on his skin. Leaves started rustling in the trees and the air started to stir.

  Just as the thought entered his mind that he hoped she wasn’t getting ready to erupt with another energy blast, she smiled and released her hold on him to open her hands out to her sides. Energy did erupt but it was like sunshine in spring, dancing, sparkling around them.

  She laughed and threw her arms around him. “I love you, Jesse.”

  Jesse laughed with her, twirling her around in the dancing light and knowing that this was the one moment in life he would never forget. The moment his life changed forever.

  Chapter Six

  Carly finished grooming the last of the horses and wandered outside. She pressed her hands into the small of her back. Since the night at the Nash ranch, she’d thrown herself into ranch work, trying to keep her mind occupied with anything but the truth that had been revealed.

  She didn’t know why she was still bothered. Having Mik as a half-sister sure didn’t make her unhappy. She really liked Mik and had no trouble thinking she’d come to love her. And it wasn’t like she’d lost Colton. The news hadn’t changed things with him at all.

  Surprisingly, it had not had an effect on Cliff and Cam. They’d treated it pretty much the same as Colton, just accepted it and kept going.

  To make it even more confusing, Jesse had said he loved her. So why wasn’t she on top of the world? Try as she might, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was trouble around the corner that was associated with the discovery.

  Maybe it had to do with Teddy begging off touching the papers Carly’s mom had left. When pressed, Teddy would only say that she’d be more comfortable doing it with Alex present. Carly didn’t quite understand why having Alex there was important but Mik had explained that Teddy and Alex, while gifted on their own, tended to be strengthened by each other’s energy.

  She shook her head and looked around. There wasn’t much left that required her attention but she wasn’t in the mood to be idle and the only way to dispel the sense of impending doom was to keep physically active.

  Her salvation appeared as Jesse’s truck rounded the bend and stopped beside the house. Carly hurried in his direction, her heart swelling as he climbed out of the truck and started toward her. He swept her up and twirled around with her in his arms as he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss.

  Sunshine and sweet cherry wine. His kiss was unlike any other, passionate but replete with emotion and liberally laced with equal parts of dominance and complete surrender. It was perfection and took her breath every time.

  “Damn I missed you,” he said when he allowed her feet to touch solid ground again.

  “You had me at hello, cowboy.”

  Jesse grinned. “I know the feeling. So, I was thinking that this would be a perfect evening for a ride and picnic down at that pretty little pond in your west pasture.”

  Carly’s spirits not only lifted but soared. There was nothing she’d like more. “Sounds like heaven. Let me rustle up some food from the house and—“

  “Already taken care of. Picnic basket packed and in the truck. All we need is a horse.”

  “Just one?”

  “Works for me.”

  She smiled at him and took his hand. “Well, I happen to have the perfect one. That big Morgan, Kentucky, I bought last week.”

  “Then let’s get that bad boy saddled.”

  Together they headed for the paddock. It didn’t take long to get Kentucky saddled. Jesse got the picnic basket from the truck and Carly got a clean horse blanket from the barn. It wasn’t long before the two of them, loaded down with their picnic supplies, were riding toward the sunset.

  Carly was struck anew at the beauty of the land as they rode. Rays from the setting sun sliced through the leaves of the old oaks, walnuts, and pines, motes dancing in the light and a slight breeze making the tall grass wave lazily.

  It hit her that this moment was one she wanted to hold onto forever. Surrounded by peace and beauty, the man she loved wrapped around her from behind, one hand holding the reins loosely and the other warm on her hip. How could anything be more perfect?

  They reached the pond. Jesse climbed off, took the basket from her, and then reached up to help her down. Carly had been riding her entire life and no more needed help to dismount than she did to breathe but she didn’t refuse the assist. The feel of her body sliding down the hard length of his as he eased her to the ground started a heat building.

  That heat sparked into flame when his lips claimed hers. Carly forgot all about food. Her hands went to the waistband of his jeans to work his t-shirt free. Jesse yanked off his hat and sent it sailing as she worked the t-shirt up over his head.

  The t-shirt had not yet hit the ground before her hands were on him, exulting in the feel of warm firm flesh. His hands did not remain idle. He managed to get her out of her shirt and bra and had her jeans down around her knees by the time his own jeans were sitting in a bunch around his skins.

  Carly laughed and worked the rolled blanket free from the saddle, tossed it on the ground and almost had it spread out when he grabbed her, lifted her up and lowered her down onto the blanket.

  It was then she realized he’d managed to finish undressing. He made short or
der out of taking off her boots, socks and jeans, then eased down on top of her for another kiss that had her libido pounding like a screen door in a tornado.

  Carly worked her hands between their bodies, eager to guide him inside her. But Jesse broke away, sat back on his heels, and smiled down at her. “You in a hurry, hon?”

  “Well that depends on you, cowboy.”

  Jesse grinned. “In that case, how ‘bout we slow this dance down a notch.”

  “What speed you looking for?”

  Jesse ran his hands up her legs, slowly with a feather-light touch that left a trail of fire in their wake. “How about a nice slow belly rubber that builds to a burn down the barn pounder?”

  Carly laughed in delight. “I like the way you think.”

  “Then you’re purely gonna love how I back up thought with action, sweetheart.”

  Hours later, as they lay spent on the blanket, watching the sky as the night air cooled their sweat slicked skin, she smiled. “You’re right.”

  “Huh?” He turned his head to look at her.

  “I love how you back up thought with action.”

  Jesse let out a laugh and gathered her into his arms. “Well damn, I have a few new thoughts, sugar.”

  “Bring it cowboy.”

  With a chuckle, he did just that.

  *****

  Jesse was just getting out of the shower when his phone rang. Carly tossed him a towel and he wrapped it around his waist and padded into the bedroom where he’d left his phone on her dresser.

  “Jed, what’s up?” He answered.

  As he listened, he turned to look at Carly who had followed him into the bedroom. She was using her towel to dry her long hair. He leaned against the dresser, admiring the view and trying not to let what Jed had to say dampen the enjoyment of the moment.

  Their picnic the previous evening had turned into a night spent under the stars. He’d woken in her arms, wrapped in the coarse fabric of the horse blanket on the ground. Surprisingly, he felt as energized as if he were seventeen again. Was that what love did to a man?