Jessica (Seven Sisters Book 2) Read online

  “That’s part of being a grownup, isn’t it?”

  He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “If I go, are you all right? My head’s spinning right now, and I need the chance to clear it. But I’ll stay if you need me too.”

  “It’s all right for you to leave. I’m feeling a little better every minute.”

  He nodded, then stood up. “I’ll call you later?”

  “Yes, that’s great.”

  She watched him as he left the house and listened to the engine as he drove away. Well, if she ever needed a sure-fire way to dump a boyfriend, she’d just figured it out—tell him you’ve been having paranormal dreams.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kent and Jake walked into their new apartment in Nashville, and Jake let out a whoop. “This is for us? All this, just for us?”

  It was the biggest apartment Kent had ever seen, and it was already nicely furnished. “They’re hoping to keep us comfortable so I’ll decide to stay.”

  “And will you, Dad? Or are we going back to Bagley?”

  Kent sat down in one of the living room chairs, suddenly tired. “I don’t know, Jake. We’ll have to see how things go here.”

  “But I like Bagley, and I thought you liked Miss McClain.”

  Jessica. Yes, he liked her very much. So much that his chest hurt when he thought about it. But he didn’t know if he could accept the strange things she’d told him. They seemed too extraordinary, too out of this world.

  “I do like her.”

  “So why aren’t you marrying her?”

  Kent sat back and looked at his son. “Do you want me to marry her?”

  “Of course. Some things are just obvious, Dad. Plus, I know she’s not going to try to replace Mom. She’ll be her own self and do things in her own way.”

  Kent shook his head. “How’d you get to be so smart?”

  “I have a smart dad. And a smart teacher. Now, which room’s mine?”

  “Look around and choose. But if there’s one with an attached bathroom, hands off.”

  Jake ran through the apartment, exploring it while Kent closed his eyes for a moment. Saying goodbye to Jessica had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. She’d recovered from her little bout of whatever it was pretty quickly, and when he’d come by to see her the next day, he wouldn’t have even known she’d been sick if he hadn’t seen it for himself. She told him again that she thought Nashville was a great idea, and she said she understood if he was too busy to stop by again before he left. That was a clear signal for him to stay away, so he obeyed, even if it was difficult for him.

  He knew she was seeking validation from him about her dreams, but he hadn’t been able to find the words. Did he believe her? He believed that she believed, but was that enough? What if she was crazy? He didn’t see how she could be, but he’d heard stories of people who seemed perfectly normal except for that one strange quirk. Maybe this was her quirk, and maybe he didn’t know if he was up to the challenge.

  And if he wasn’t up to the challenge, maybe he didn’t deserve her anyway.

  “Dad! This place is so great. There are three rooms, and I want the one on the end. Come see!”

  Kent opened his eyes and stood up. “Coming.” This day was the start of his Nashville adventure with his son, and he didn’t want anything to spoil it. He could figure out what to do about Jessica later. At the moment, he didn’t even know what to do with himself.

  ***

  “I know you hated having the MRI done, but I’m glad we did it. It ruled out all our concerns about a possible brain tumor,” Dr. Young said. “You’ve been tracking what you’re eating?”

  “Yes.” Jessica handed him her notebook. He took it and flipped through the pages.

  “I’m seeing a bit more salt here than you should be having, and also some caffeine use,” he said.

  “Not a lot, but yes,” she replied.

  “Let’s change that up, all right? We know that your brain is healthy, so now let’s reduce your sodium and completely eliminate caffeine. That should have some impact on your headaches.”

  “All right, Dr. Young. Thank you.”

  Jessica was so happy to hear that the MRI had come out clean. When she’d consented to it the week before, she’d made the doctor promise her that she wouldn’t die of claustrophobia. He assured her that he knew of very few people for whom it was even a thing, and only then did she agree to it. Now she knew she was good to go—she should have just consented to it in the first place. She didn’t have to be such a baby about things.

  In the meantime, she had a fall carnival at the school to get ready for, plus the big fundraiser out at the McClain Boys’ Ranch. She didn’t have time to waste with silly things like being sick.

  She wished she was spending some of that time with Kent, but he needed to be where he was. And she needed to be where she was. They were both being very mature, duty-bound people—and she didn’t know about him, but she was miserable. Absolutely miserable.

  ***

  “So, I’ve met a guy,” Heather said casually. “And I’m bringing him to the boys’ ranch fundraiser.” She picked up her soda and took a sip like she hadn’t just said something startling and outrageous right in the middle of McDonald’s.

  Jessica sat back and studied her sister. “No way.”

  “Um, yes. His name is Michael Muir, and he’s . . .”

  “He’s everything,” Jessica finished for her.

  Heather blushed. “I think he just might be. But he’s from Idaho.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with Idaho. World-famous potatoes, right?”

  “Right, but . . . he’s from Idaho.”

  Jessica now caught on. “And if you marry him, you’d be moving.”

  “Yeah. He’s got a ranch up there, and I’ve got . . . well, I don’t have a ranch down here.”

  “Have you settled anything? Have you made any plans?”

  “No proposal, but I think we both know. The first second I laid eyes on him, something clicked, and I just sensed that we were supposed to be together. It’s all happened really fast, but that’s how it is when it’s right, isn’t it?”

  Jessica wasn’t so sure. She and Kent had been on their little journey together for months, and while she believed they were supposed to be together, they were sure taking their own sweet time about it. “I don’t know,” she replied. “You know my track record with romance isn’t that great.”

  “And I don’t know either. I just know . . . I think he’s the one.”

  Jessica reached across the table and squeezed her sister’s arm. “That’s so fantastic, and I’m glad you’re bringing him to the fundraiser. Then we can all check him out together as a family.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I was aiming for. Scrutiny by committee.” Heather laughed and shook her head. “I figured, this was the best way to make all the introductions at once. It’s also a chance for him to see what he’s getting into before anything official happens.”

  “Well, I can’t wait to meet him. Any guy who’s won my sister’s heart has to be pretty special.”

  Jessica was tempted to say something to Heather about Kent, but she held back. She didn’t even know what was going to happen between her and Kent when he came home, and she didn’t want to bring him up to the family unless she knew something was solid. Her last relationship had gone up in flames—massive, monstrous flames—and she wasn’t at all eager to make a public spectacle of whatever happened next. While she loved her family dearly, spectacles were pretty common. That’s what happened when there were so many McClains.

  “I just hope you pick decent bridesmaid dresses for us to wear,” she said, genuinely happy for her sister and wanting to think about something positive.

  “I’ll do my best,” Heather replied. “But you have to promise that you won’t look prettier than I do.”

  “I’ll try to look particularly ugly that day,” Jessica promised, and they both laughed.

  Chapter Thirteen<
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  Papers. So many papers. Jessica looked at everything scattered on her dining room table and winced. Why had she given out two written assignments that week? It was going to take her forever to grade everything, and she was running low on chocolate.

  The phone rang, and she picked it up. “McClain House of Madness and Mayhem.”

  Kent’s chuckle sounded through the line. “That bad, huh?”

  She pulled in a breath. It had been several days since he’d last called, and she’d wondered if he’d decided to forget about her. “All depends on how melodramatic I’m feeling. Just a lot of work to do. How are things going out there?”

  “Good. I’ve met with several influential people, and Jake’s getting settled in at school, although he’s told me several times that no one teaches as well as you do. I’m also very bored most of the time, just staring at blank paper and trying to be brilliant.”

  “Tell Jake thanks for the compliment. And I’m sorry about the boredom. Aren’t you getting out and doing anything fun?”

  “I’ve been to the Opry, which is a must, and that’s about it so far.”

  “Sounds like you need to plan a day where you and Jake just take off and go touring around. You’re only in one of the coolest places in the whole world. You can’t miss out on the experience of being there.”

  “You’re right. I’ll look at my calendar and see what we can come up with. So, what’s going on with you?”

  “Not a lot with me personally, but Heather’s decided she’s in love with a rancher from Idaho.”

  “Really? That’s fantastic.”

  “Yeah, she’s up in Idaho right now visiting his family. We’re all suspecting that we’re inches away from a wedding, but that means she’d be moving, and I don’t know how I feel about that. She and I have been best buds our whole lives.”

  “Yeah, that would be hard. Do you like the guy?”

  “I really do. He seems to be everything she could ever want or need.”

  “I’m glad.” Kent paused, and Jessica didn’t know what else to say. It was hard to come up with stuff when she didn’t know the status of their relationship. “So, Jake says to tell you hi.”

  “Tell him hi back. My class this year is pretty boring, just so he knows.”

  Kent chuckled. “I’d think you’d be glad for an ordinary class.”

  “Ordinary often equals boring. Take care, Kent.”

  “You too.”

  She hung up, then stared at the papers in front of her. Boring, boring, boring. Essays about why their cat was their best friend . . . She missed Dwight and Amanda and Andy and Jake and all their quirky personalities. The kids this year were sweet, but they were all too much the same.

  She pushed back from the table and decided to go to bed early. Kent had sounded good on the phone—really good. She’d always loved his voice, and it was just as mellow as she remembered. It would be so nice if she could dream at will . . . if she could choose what she wanted to dream about each and every night.

  She’d definitely dream about Kent if she could.

  ***

  Kent lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He finally rolled over and flipped on his lamp, then picked up his watch to check the time.

  His guitar sat on the table across the room. He stood up and grabbed it, then experimented with several different chords. He grimaced at each one, then put the guitar down and wandered into the kitchen, where he picked up the phone instead. He dialed all but the last digit of Jessica’s phone number, then hung up. With a shake of his head, he went back into the bedroom and lay down, but he never did sleep that night.

  ***

  What did it mean? Jessica asked herself that question over and over as she drove to work the next day. She’d wanted to dream about Kent that night, and sure enough, she did. That was the first time she’d made a conscience decision to dream, and she didn’t know if she’d have that ability again. She’d have to try it again that night and see if it worked.

  Even if it didn’t, she was touched to know how close he’d come to calling her the night before. That meant she was on his mind, and that meant he still had feelings for her. The chasm between them had felt so wide and insurmountable, but with that thread of hope, she believed she could start planning on some sort of future, even if it was just mental planning for now. She’d take it.

  ***

  It was no surprise to anyone in the family when Heather came back and announced that she was going to marry Michael—and that it would be a quick wedding. The McClains loved parties, and Barbara threw herself into preparations like she’d been born for this moment. Each of the sisters brought their own talents to the mix, and it was going to be a wedding to remember.

  The night before, the sisters gathered together for one last movie night as single ladies, but somehow, the movie never got put into the VCR. Instead, they shared memories from when they were little, and Jessica laughed until she thought her stomach muscles would never recover.

  But then the conversation turned serious, and Heather asked if any of them had experienced strange after-effects from the electricity outage at their parents’ house. Each sister admitted that they’d had something odd happen to them, and Jessica was amazed. Not only had they each developed some kind of gift, but none of them had felt comfortable sharing it. It was all too unbelievable, too weird to be real.

  “I’m so glad we’re talking about it now,” Jessica said. “I thought I was all alone.”

  “No, I thought I was all alone, and we know everything is about me,” Marti said, and they all laughed.

  “Be that as it may, I like keeping this secret just between us for now,” Jessica went on. “A sister thing.”

  “I’ve told Michael,” Heather said. “I figured, it was only fair that he know. He’s got to live with me, after all.”

  “Of course we’ll tell any significant others in our lives,” Jessica said, feeling her cheeks go a little pink. “I just mean, besides that.”

  The sisters agreed, and Jessica breathed a little easier. She wasn’t alone—what a relief. She did still have one nagging question, though.

  “Heather?” she asked when there was a lull in the conversation. “You said you know when two people are supposed to be together. How do you know?”

  “Well, I can see their hues—their auras. Every person has a different color, and when they’re with the person they’re supposed to be with, their colors mix together and make something beautiful.”

  “Like . . . red and blue making purple,” Jessica said slowly.

  “That’s right. Michael and I together make a really pretty purple because he’s blue and I’m pink.” Heather looked at her curiously. “Why do you ask?”

  “I think you just helped me answer a question I’ve had for nine months,” Jessica said. “My first dream, the one I had the night of the Zap, was about you—you were playing with crayons, and you picked up the red and the blue and you held them together. I must have been dreaming about you getting your powers.”

  Heather looked thoughtful, then nodded. “That makes sense. And it also explains why you were asking me about coloring—silly girl.”

  “Well, for all I knew, you like to pull out the coloring books when no one’s watching,” Jessica defended. “I’m just so glad to understand my dream. I guess this means that not all of them are literal.”

  “We’re going to have to sit down and share everything we’ve been through with these gifts, but I think we need to get some sleep,” Rebekah said, walking up to them and putting an arm around each of their shoulders. “Tomorrow’s going to come early, and we want our sister to look perfect on her wedding day.”

  “Agreed.”

  Jessica snuggled down into her blankets, more comfortable about her newfound gift than she’d ever been before. She wasn’t sick, and she wasn’t crazy. She’d experienced something amazing, and she was going to start thinking of it in exactly that way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The wedding w
as absolutely everything it should have been. The Muirs and the McClains fit together like they’d been destined to be one family from the start, and Heather and Michael looked radiant. Jessica didn’t think she’d ever seen a more beautiful bride, but then again, Heather was her sister—of course she’d think Heather was beautiful.

  Jessica’s life was so quiet after Heather left. The sisters still got together and did things when they could—they’d go to lunch or the movies, but everything had taken on a pallor of gray. Without her closest sister and without Kent, Jessica found herself wondering if there wasn’t something else she was supposed to be doing. Yes, she still loved teaching, but she found it hard to feel joyful about anything.

  One day after grading a long series of essays that were well-written and punctuated properly, she made a realization that shook up her world view just a bit—she wanted the challenging kids. She wanted the ones who needed the extra watch care. She wanted to deal with the Jakes and the Andys. There was nothing wrong with teaching well-behaved, non-complicated children, but she thrived when given a challenge, and this school year had simply not been challenging enough for her.

  She picked up the phone and called her mom.

  “You’re calling me?” Barbara said with some amusement. “I thought I was the only one who made phone calls around here.”

  “Yeah, I do usually wait for you to call me, but I have a question. Or rather, I need some advice.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “What would you say if I quit my job and went to work at a school where there were more challenges? Or if I tutored at-risk youth? I’m so bored, Mom. The most exciting thing that happened today was that a fly got into the classroom. I need to feel as though I’m doing some real good, not just shepherding good students toward continuing to be good students.”

  “I think I would cheer you on,” Barbara said. “You’ve always done extremely well in those tough situations, and I can see how it would be satisfying to meet those challenges.”

  Jessica pulled in a breath and let it out slowly. “Thanks, Mom. I just wanted your feedback before I did anything rash.”