Page 43 of Chasing Dreams
Now here was Shaine. Thinking that Austin Allen made her feel complete for the first time in her life. How could she be falling into that same pit?
Forewarned is forearmed, she thought, and thanked her internal alarm system. She wasn’t going to read any more into this ‘connection’ between them than was there. She needed his help. He empathized and was willing to work with her. They were alone in the mountains and physically attracted to one another. That was normal.
Shaine rolled to her back, so she wouldn’t be tempted to watch him all night, and studied the starlit sky through the panes above. This isolated log house with its flickering fires and panoramic view of the heavens and mountains was a lovers’ paradise. And Austin, whom she’d originally imagined to be an aging recluse, was one of the most intriguing men she’d ever run across. The combination could mean trouble for her.
She’d better remember that.
* *
He woke her twice during the night, and she marveled at how he could detect her dreams.
“I’m a light sleeper,” he explained over coffee and toast the next morning. “That’s why I like it up here away from people and traffic.”
“There are other reasons you moved here, too,” she said as a question.
He looked into his steaming mug. “I’ve lived fairly secluded my entire life,” he said. “Growing up, I spent most of my time at the institute. I was accepted there. Revered almost. And even though they pried and prodded, I was more comfortable with them than with outsiders.
“My mother and I spent a lot of time traveling, staying in motels, assisting detectives. The researchers back at the institute were like my family, and though I was glad to get back each time, the constant expectations wore me down.”
Shaine imagined the life he spoke of, remembered him saying how difficult school was, too. It was a wonder he’d turned out the compassionate man he had.
“I didn’t even have to tap into the money my mom had socked away. Tom found me all kinds of endowments and scholarships, and I wanted to study computers. I loved the learning part of college, but I hated the idea of being close to all those people in the dorms, so I lived off campus.”
“What about after college?” she asked.
“I worked for a company in Chicago for a while, another in Minneapolis, always keeping a low profile, but always being sought out. I decided then that I would never be happy in a city, so I built this place and have worked on my own ever since.”
Shaine studied his tanned features. “When did you stop—touching things?”
He contemplated her question and leaned back in his chair. “Do you have any idea of the number of things a person touches unthinkingly?”
She shook her head.
“I had to learn that early,” he said. “I had to shape the ability in such a way that I could deliberately not read objects I touched. Block out the perceptions. I had to use it for crime detection, but I didn’t want to see things from the objects I had to touch every day. It’s a curse to know things about people that you don’t want to know—that you should never have to know. And worse is knowing about people...the way they think. So I gave it an on-off switch in my head. By the time I was twenty I’d turned it off permanently.”
She thought of him using the tongs on the ballet slipper, but didn’t mention it. “And you’re happy here?”
“Yeah.”
She believed him. He seemed content in his home and with his work. But didn’t he get lonely? “Don’t you miss people?”
“I never knew a person I wouldn’t rather get away from than stick around,” he replied with a shrug.
“What about companionship?”
He raised his dark brows. “Have you forgotten Daisy? She’s never caused me a moment’s grief—well at least not after she stopped chewing my shoes to shreds. And she doesn’t have an errant thought in her canine head.” Grinning, he placed his dishes in the sink.
“That’s not what I meant.”
He dried his hands. “I know. Are you ready to work?”
Her heart faltered, but she firmed her resolve. “I’m ready.”
“Shall we sit in there?” He indicated the living room with a nod, and she agreed, leading the way.
After disappearing into his office, he returned with another file folder and envelope, the sight of which prompted nervousness.
“Relax, Shaine.”
