“I tried to tell my sister what I’d seen, but like my parents, she’s never believed anything she couldn’t physically see.When I visited my grandmother months later, I mentioned it, and she believed me.”
Samantha seemed fond of the memory, and I sensed she loved her grandmother very much.
“Seems precognition runs in the family.Skips a generation here and there, but basically carries through on my mother’s side.”
“So your grandmother had the gift, but not your mother or sister?”
“No, it skipped them.As far as I know, I’m the last girl on my mother’s side to have precognition.It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
I studied her, aware of her unspoken pain, and caught an echo of her earlier conversation with Cadmus.“It must be hard, not having anyone to talk to about it.”
“It is.Speaking with Cadmus today felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.I’m not crazy,” she said firmly, as if I might harbor such thoughts.“It’s nice to talk with someone who understands.”
That ‘“someone”’ should have been me, and she needed to know that.“Give me a chance, Samantha.I understand more than you might think.”
She flushed, saved from an answer when the server arrived with menus.
Once he’d left, Samantha changed the subject.“So what’s it like having three identical brothers?Growing up with an irritating older sister was bad enough.”
I had to laugh.“It has its moments.Despite our looks, each of us is decidedly different, as I’m sure you’ve already noticed.”
“You can say that again.”
“But we have our similarities too.We can sense when one of us is in danger.It’s not telepathy, exactly, but a shared feeling of foreboding.We all enjoy physical activity and have indulged in some sports while here.Soccer is particularly fun, even if Marcus whines a lot about me being overly rough.”
“I can see that, you four trying to slide tackle each other.”
I chuckled.“Yes.Then too, we enjoy our fans.”
“Fans?”
I wiggled my brows.“We all like women.”I gave her a playful leer and was gifted with an eyeroll and a smirk.“But the one thing that really ties us together is family and our homeland.Our people.”I recalled Mother’s warm smile, her strength in the face of Father’s death, and her unique scent, one that always made me feel at home.
“It’s obvious you have a tight family.”Samantha sounded envious.
“I do.But…you don’t?”I asked gently, again feeling her pain in the wake of what she perceived as a failed relationship.
“No, I don’t.”She sighed.“My sister, as I already mentioned, is super irritating.We’re just not close, and I don’t think we ever will be.It all started when she turned eight and commandeered my dolls,” she said with a snort.“The relationship went downhill from there.My parents love me, but we have so little in common it’s pathetic.”
The server returned, and we ordered before he darted off again.But once he left, I refused to let the conversation end.The insight into Samantha’s character fascinated me.I wanted to know everything about her, from her likes and dislikes to her dreams and disappointments.
“Do your parents live near you?”I frowned.“You’re not from here.You’re from…” What was the name of that place?She-something.
“I’m from Chicago, and no, they don’t live near me.They live in Philadelphia near my sister and her husband and three kids.”She shrugged.“I visit during the holidays when I can, but it’s uncomfortable for all of us.Frankly, I’d rather spend my holidays alone, or better yet, working.”She speared a tomato off her plate.“Anything else you wanted to know about the Brooks family, Mr.Nosy?”
I gave her a wry grin and shook my head.Despite the sympathy I felt for her troubled relationships, I couldn’t help rejoicing in her lack of ties to this world.
“What’s with that expression?”
“What?”I asked, all innocence.
“You look conniving.”
“How is that?”
“I don’t know, but you totally look like you’re up to something.It’s like you’re taking on Marcus’s personality.”
I snickered.“I hate to tell you this, but he’d take that as a compliment.Though I do feel a bit insulted.”
