Autumn, good evening.What happened today to put that big smile on your face? Have you and Tash discovered something new you can do together?
Savich already knew about the little boy. Autumn had told him quite a bit about Tash Navarro since he’d first appeared in Titusville, about his connection with his dying mother and his saving Autumn from a fall. She was convinced his prescience was as real as the gift she’d inherited from her father. Savich wasn’t completely sure yet, because the gift Tash Navarro seemed to have had to be rare, though he knew gifts like Tash’s could simply appear, without any history of it in his family, as Savich’s own gift had simply appeared when he’d been a teenager. And he’d been blessed because his father had believed him implicitly, unlike Tash’s father.
It’s amazing, Dillon.I couldn’t believe it, but today Tash finally connected with me, like you and I do. I heard his voice clearly, likehe was talking to me out loud, though it was only for a second. But it happened.
Savich knew they’d been trying, but this surprised him. Tash could connect with Autumn, and he was prescient? He remembered the pole-thin boy Autumn had shown him a picture of not yet two weeks ago, his shoulders slumped, his too-proper clothes hanging off him.Autumn, show me Tash again.
She scrolled through her photos and held up her phone. Dillon was surprised again to see a tanned little boy with light gray eyes so bright they seemed to reflect the sun. He was smiling really big and held a fishing pole in his right hand he’d obviously made himself, maybe with the help of his uncle, Rebel Navarro, or Autumn, more likely. His sneakers looked damp, his jeans and polo shirt streaked with mud. He looked healthy and eager, ready to take on the world. Autumn and the Titus Hitch had worked a miracle. Autumn set her phone down and looked back to him again, and now he saw she looked worried.
Tell me what’s wrong, Autumn.
Tash doesn’t want to go back to Philadelphia at the end of the summer with his father and stepmom. He wants to stay in Titusville and live with his uncle, Rebel Navarro. Rebel loves Tash, wants to spend lots of time with him now that he’s almost finished his novel. Tash says he’d miss his dad, but things aren’t the same now since his dad married Sasha. My dad called her a looker and Mom laughed. Tash knows Sasha has plans to send him to a private school in Connecticut in the fall. Remember I told you how he was bullied in his school in Philadelphia? It wouldn’t be any different in a snooty private school, would it? He wouldn’t be bullied here. The kids like him, and he’s with me. So what do you think? What should we do?
Does Tash’s father know his son wants to stay in Titusville?
I don’t know. His dad and stepmom are in Paris. His dad calls him every day,Dillon, always has him say hello to Sasha. He sayshis dad thinks he and Sasha will come to love each other, but Tash doesn’t think she’ll ever change toward him. He said she always gives him this fake smile. He thinks she’ll talk his dad into sending him away.
You told me Rebel Navarro’s single, spends most of his time alone, writing or hiking in the Titus Hitch Wilderness, probably plotting his books. So what does he have to say about taking on an eight-year-old boy?
Well, he hasn’t told Tash he could stay, not yet. He’ll have to speak to Tash’s father, see what he thinks. There’s something else, Dillon, and it’s really big. Tash told me he and Uncle Rebel were playing pool and Tash saw his uncle was going to make an incredible bank shot in the side pocket. He told his uncle to try it, but Rebel said it was next to impossible. Tash talked him into it. And guess what? It went in.
What did his uncle say then?
He picked Tash up and hugged him, told him he was the best because he had faith in his uncle. He didn’t say anything more about it.
Autumn started humming, a sure sign she was thinking.
Dillon, I asked Tash if he could see himself staying here in Titusville. He concentrated, and then he turned pale and started shaking. He told me all he saw was a strange, scary, rolling mass of black, like a storm streaming in, and it covered everything. He said he’d had this same nightmare several times and he knew it meant bad things were coming. He didn’t want to say any more about it because maybe if he did the nightmares would for sure come true. He’s scared, Dillon. He said he knew it was about his dad.
Autumn believed Tash Navarro was gifted, and Savich was beginning to believe it himself.Reassure him, Autumn. Tell him the nightmare could mean anything, okay? It doesn’t necessarily have to mean his dad’s in any kind of danger. And, Autumn, encourage him to tell you more about them, more detail if he can remember.
Autumn cocked her head at him, sending her French braid over her shoulder. She gave him a solemn nod and left him.
It seemed to Savich every time he visited with Autumn he saw changes in her, saw the promise of the woman she would become. Amazing, soon she’d be a teenager, then an adult.
Sherlock said quietly, “All is well with Autumn?”
“Yes. Lots of interesting things happening in Titusville. Go back to sleep, sweetheart, I’ll tell you in the morning more about Tash Navarro, the little boy she’s shepherding this summer.”
Sherlock said against his throat, “I would like to visit with her and Ethan and Joanna this summer, it’s been too long.” She kissed his cheek, her hand splayed on his chest, her fingers lightly kneading. “Can you believe Griffin and Kirra are getting married in two weeks? Griffin told me they’re having two ceremonies, the first one here, the second one in Australia, and her uncle Jim will give her away at both ceremonies. They’re going skiing in New Zealand for their honeymoon. What do you think we should get them?”
“How about a boomerang?”
“That’s a good idea, but alas, Kirra already has one. Griffin said she’s good with it, one of the team taught her. Hmm, how about a puppy? I think Astro and Mr. McPherson’s Gladys are in love, and I know from personal experience what could come from that love business.”
Savich laughed. “The puppy would certainly be a world traveler.” He felt her answering smile, felt her bouncing curls tickle his nose. “I haven’t a single doubt those two are in it for the long haul.”
“I think you’re right. They fit together. Sort of like we do.”
They fit together? She was right, of course, she was his other half, his mate. He pulled Sherlock against him, felt the slight swell in her belly, and felt blessed. He wondered if the baby was feeling as snug and content as he did.
Chapter Eleven
Titusville, Virginia
Wednesday afternoon
Rather than a phone call, Rebel Navarro usually got texts from his brother. This text from the Ritz in Paris didn’t particularly surprise him.Sasha’s in love with Les Deux Magots, Versailles, the Louvre. She wants to tour the chateaux and vineyards, wear her bikini in Cannes. Another month. All right? Hope you and Autumn Merriweather are having as wonderful a time as Tash, who’d rather hike in the Titus Hitch Wilderness than visit Paris. He’s young.
