Page 3 of Sunflower

She waved her hand in the air, dismissing my concern. “I swear, what just happened had nothing to do with you. This happens sometimes when my family meets someone new for the first time.” She grinned at Dad, who came into the room and sat in the plush chair opposite us. “In fact, I had a similar reaction when I first met your father.”

I frowned. My eyebrows were certainly getting a workout today. “Why?”

Erin brushed her hands along her thighs, took a deep breath, and leaned forward nervously. “Some members of my family are psychic, Joey.”

Chapter Two

Joey

Iblinked,thenburstout laughing. I turned to Dad, expecting to see him laughing with me, but even though his eyes were twinkling, his face was completely void of humor. Slowly, my laughter dropped off. “Wait. You can’t be serious.”

A soft, resigned smile crept over Erin’s face before she looked at Dad and shrugged.

Dad nodded at her. “I think you need to run the same demonstration with Joey that you did with me that first time, hon.” He leaned back and relaxed into the chair, his fingers loosely intertwined on his crossed knees.

I stared at them both incredulously. Dad had always been a man of logic. Science, math, and reasoning were how he lived his life and how he’d raised me. And yet he believed in this mumbo-jumbo bullshit?

Erin released a light sigh of air and nodded once. She returned her attention to me and held her hand out towards me, palm up. “Let’s play a guessing game, Joey.”

I scoffed at her and rolled my eyes. I’d seen the TV shows where magicians had performed these sorts of tricks. There was no way she was psychic. She might have hoodwinked Dad, but there was no way she was going to get one over on me.

Dad and I were going to have a serious conversation about the type of weirdos he attracted later.

I placed my hand on her palm, smirking as I did.

Just like Callum had done, she placed her other hand on top of mine, enclosing my hand entirely. “Think of a number between—”

Seven hundred and fifty-four.There was no way she was going to guess that.

She cut herself off, tilted her head to the side and her eyes took on that glazed quality that Callum had when he’d shaken my hand earlier. “Seven hundred and fifty-four.”

The smirk dropped from my face. What?

“Another.”

Um… Shit. Okay. Maybe that was a lucky guess. Let’s go astronomical.Five billion, four hundred and thirty-three million, six hundred and eighty-two thousand, nine hundred and sixty.

She raised an eyebrow and started chuckling. “Five billion, four hundred and thirty-three million, six hundred and eighty-two thousand, nine hundred and sixty. Your dad tried the same thing. You two are more alike than either of you realize, you know.”

My jaw dropped open. “What the actual fuck?”

“Language, Joey,” said Dad, even though his voice held a trace of laughter to it.

“Like I said, certain members of my family are psychic,” Erin said as she let go of my hand, her eyes clearing. “Most of us can hear what you’re thinking if we maintain skin to skin contact,and we can see things that have happened in the past relative to the object or person we’re touching.”

I brought my hand back and cradled it to my chest like it had been injured. “Um…”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what Callum heard or saw when he was shaking your hand, but yes, Callum has the same gift I do. Has since he was tiny.”

Oh, fuck sticks. Did that mean that Callum had heard what I’d been thinking? Gah! What had been going through my head when he was shaking my hand? I know there was something about his gorgeous eyes. And his beautiful freckles. And his stunning floppy hair… Fuck, fuck, fuck. Plus, I’d been thinking about how I wasn’t ready for him to be here yet. Could that thought have lingered?

Which train of thought could I be more mortified over?

“Don’t worry. I’ll have a chat with him once we’re done here,” said Erin. “He usually knows better than to act the way he just did.”

My mind spiraled as my anxiety spiked. How much had he heard? Had I upset him with what had been going through my head? I must have. The way he looked when he pulled his hand away from me had left me chilled.

And yet… “He can’t control it?” I asked quietly. As much as what had happened freaked me out, something about the thought of him not being able to turn that ability off left me so very sad.

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