“James!”

  “What?” James shrugged and grinned before she blushed. “It was just a thought.”

  Addison glanced to Lily who was happily coloring before telepathically speaking with James, “Telling me that being in this bed is a turn on and that you want to bend me over the mattress is not what I expected you to say.”

  “What did you expect me to say?” James asked out loud and innocently.

  “Not that.”

  Addison answered and turned her eyes as the curtain to her little cubical of a room, if it could be called that, was pushed aside. The doctor had finally arrived. He opened stepped inside the curtained area and took a second when he realized that there were more people present from when he had left.

  “This is James and Lily,” Addison added by way of introduction.

  “Right.” He flipped through her chart quickly. “Well, everything seems to come back normal. I’d say lots of fluid, some rest, and you’ll be as good as new tomorrow.”

  “Exactly what I told James.”

  “Protocol,” James grumbled soft enough that she knew the doctor couldn’t hear her.

  “Right, well, there will be a few more tests that will come back tomorrow, but I see no reason why you can’t leave.” He finally looked at the woman in the bed, his eyes scanning her. “I’ll get a nurse to come remove the IV for you.”

  “Thanks.” Addison rolled her eyes as he left and tapped her foot up and down so that it rubbed along Lily’s leg. “What are you doing, pretty girl?”

  “Coloring.”

  She said it like it was an obvious answer, but Addison didn’t mind.

  “I made Snow White pretty. See?” She turned the paper around so that Addison could see the red and yellow scribbles covering the black outline of the cartoon.

  “That’s really good! It’s beautiful, Lily.”

  An hour later, they were driving back to the station. Upon returning, they discovered one of the engines was gone along with half the crew. Looking at the open call sheet and talking to the remaining firefighters, Addison was able to determine why part of her team was missing. Drunken party at a sorority and a passed out teenager, most likely cause was alcohol poisoning. The engine should be back within the hour.

  Addison was glad for the distraction; her head reeled and she still felt all the emotions that slid off James. It wasn’t long before James finally passed out, as had Lily who was cradled tightly in James’ arms. Addison was enjoying the moment of silence as it ushered over her and the station house.

  The quiet lasted until the crew returned. One more day was all Addison had to endure, and then she would be off for three fantastic days and would spend them in utter silence. Although, she suspected that James would call. Addison had asked James to stay around while Max was gone because they needed the extra hand, but it was the slowest day they probably had ever had. Absolutely nothing was happening, as it rarely did on Sunday mornings, afternoons, evenings and, for sure, Sunday nights.

  Addison let James head off early Sunday evening so she could skip the shift change and head home for proper rest with her foster child. Filing the paperwork for James’ suspension, Addison waited for the call from the Lieutenant Chief, her immediate supervisor, to discuss the weekend’s events. What it would be like to work only Monday through Friday and normal business hours, she would never know and she honestly had no desire to find out. Her shift was almost over and James was already gone, there was little else for her to do.

  #

  Monday morning, James woke up in her house with the girl curled at the bottom of her queen-sized bed. Furrowing her brow, she looked over and sure enough, Lily was tightly wound into a ball and sleeping on top of the covers at the foot of her bed. Picking her up, bringing her to the top of the mattress, and slipping the cover over her body, James decided to experiment with her gift. Closing her eyes, she thought as hard as she could of Addison. She pictured Addison standing in front of her in the little black dress that she’d worn no less than a week ago and the smile on her face when she was truly happy: the way her eyes crinkled and her lips curled.

  “It helps if you say something and don’t just think about me in a short little dress which apparently you found far sexier than I thought you did. I’ll have to remember that.”

  James practically jumped out of the bed when the words echoed loudly through her head.

  “Calm down.”

  Even though the words were serious, the giggling behind them betrayed Addison’s amusement at the situation.

  “Yes, I would love to come to dinner tonight, at your parents.”

  “But I didn’t say anything to you.”

  “Sure you did, and quiet, Lily is sleeping.”

  James felt bewildered, like maybe she shouldn’t have tried this at all. She held a breath tightly in her chest and twiddled her thumbs.

  Addison answered her without being spoken to by James.

  “Don’t worry, you’re doing fine. Just think of what you want to say—in your head—and I’ll hear it.”

  “Well how do I keep you from hearing other things?”

  “That takes practice.”

  “How much practice?”

  “A lot, and even sometimes people can’t keep certain thoughts away. But I have a feeling you’ll figure it out quickly enough. You’re not one who likes other people knowing what you’re thinking.”

  “Right. So dinner?”

  “I already said yes.”

  “Oh… yeah.”

  Addison was quite impressed with how quickly James had gotten the hang of communicating telepathically. It was rare that anyone caught on so rapidly.

  “See, you’re doing great. Oh hey, do you want me to take Lily for a bit tonight, so you can talk to your parents in private?”

  “How did you—oh, never mind. Yes, I don’t think it’ll be nice to have you around when I talk to them about… certain things, but I want you there for after I talk to them.”

  James looked over to see Lily starting to stir. “The kid’s waking up.”

  “Well, you better go then.”

  The connection was dropped instantly; James could feel it, or rather the lack of it. It was like the warm presence she’d conjured in her mind was no longer there.

  “Well, I guess this will be the test to see if Addison really is crazy and is dragging me down with her, or if I just had a complete conversation with myself in my head.”

  She was speaking to the empty room. Bringing herself to stand as the girl slowly woke, she mentally bolstered herself for the day. She was coming out and she was coming out big. Now all she had to do was figure out what to say.

  #

  Addison and Lily had just left the house, heading to the park, and James’ heart was pounding. Her mother was staring at her, eyes scanning her face as they sat across the table from each other.

  “You okay, sweetheart?”

  “Yeah, mom, I’m fine.” James glanced at her father.

  Cameron clucked her tongue and rose, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them. She hummed before beginning, “You know I don’t like that girl. Why do you insist on bring her over here?”

  Grinding her teeth, James took her time answering. The opportunity was there, the opening was given, she had to grasp on and take it. She didn’t know if it would ever come again. Drawing in a deep breath, James glanced down at her hands and didn’t dare raise her eyes to her mother.

  “I’m dating her.”

  Silence, strained and thick with emotion, greeted her.

  “You’re what?”

  The words were whispered so softly, anger surrounded the edges. Cameron’s eyes swiveled around to stare at her daughter.

  “Addy and I are dating, we have been for quite a while and I figured it was about time you knew about us.”

  James picked up her plate and brought it to the sink, two pairs of eyes staring at her.

  “I know she’s my boss and that I shouldn’t be dating her, but I don’t care what you think—”

  “Give me a second.” Cameron’s voice echoed.

  James waited for what seemed like a whole five minutes in complete tension and awkwardness before looking at her father. He was staring directly at her, his face passive. She had no idea how to read him when he did that.

  “Daddy?”

  “So long as you’re happy, baby doll.” He left the sentence hanging; let her assume that her happiness was all he cared about.

  Smiling, tears sprung into James’ eyes. “Mom?”

  Cameron didn’t answer. Balling the dishtowel that was close to her reach, she flung it at the counter and left the room with anger boiling in her wake.

  “Mom?” James took a step toward her retreating mother only to be stopped by a hand on her arm.

  “Leave her be for a bit.”

  James looked at her father warily, “But—”

  “Just give her some time, James.” He pulled his daughter into a hug. “She needs to absorb and think. I don’t think she was expecting that.”

  “And you were?”

  “A bit.”

  He smiled. Her father was always short on words, so she took every one of them and filed them away.

  “So long as you are happy, that’s all I care about.”

  James nodded and wiped her eyes.

  An hour later, the three women were piled into James’ truck.

  “Well, that went swimmingly,” James spoke sardonically in the front seat.

  Addison drove back to her house. They hadn’t seen her mother since her exit and James was worrying her bottom lip.

  “Well, Lily and I had a good walk and play at the park, at least.”

  James snorted and took the slight hint that the girl was in the backseat and probably listening in on the conversation.

  “You said the Social Worker is coming tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, to check-in on how we’re doing.”

  James twisted her neck around to see Lily playing with the door lock. It was good thing she remembered to flip the child lock on before she shut it.

  “What time?”

  “I think she said just after lunch. Are you staying tonight?” James barreled through to the question that was weighing on her mind.

  “Would you like me to?”

  “God, yes.”

  James turned to look at Addison, her face pressed into the seat and her yellow eyes scanning the profiled form. She remained that way until they pulled into her drive. James held Lily’s hand as they made for the house.

  “I think you wore her out, Addy.”

  “Hmmm, did I?”

  She had a sweet smile on her lips as she headed into the kitchen for a beer and James went to the guest bedroom where Lily slept. Addison twisted the cap off the bottle and reclined on the couch, her feet curled under her and her head resting on the back.

  James’ voice echoed through Addison’s mind as she reclined.

  “You know there’s an advantage to this.”

  “To what?”

  Addison grinned and took a small pull from the neck of the bottle, marveling at James’ ability to control her gift.

  “It will seriously cut down on our cell phone bills.”

  Addison could hear the amusement in James’ tone and couldn’t help the snort that erupted. “That it will. Put the kid to sleep, James. I want you out here.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Returning to drinking her beer, Addison relaxed as much as possible. The tension in the room had been palatable and it had worn her out far more than taking Lily to the park. Pressing her head into the back cushion, she watched the moon through the window. She knew it was moving, but it didn’t seem to budge from its position.

  A little while later, Addison was slowly awoken by soft hands on her cheek and blinked her eyes.

  “I think she wore you out, too.”

  Nodding her head, Addison swallowed, her mind gradually starting to catch up.

  “Sorry.”

  She reached up and rubbed her face and eyes in attempt to clear the sleep from them.

  “I haven’t been feeling all that well lately. Just tired a lot,” she added the last bit before James could start to worry.

  “You work too much, but you’re good, don’t worry about it.”

  James took the bottle that had been clenched tightly in Addison’s fist and set it on the coffee table.

  “Your beer is warm though.”

  “How long was I asleep?”

  “Maybe an hour. Lily needed a bath.”

  She slid back to show the front of her shirt that was riddled with dark, damp patches.

  “I might have gotten a bit of one, too.”

  Addison didn’t reply, she sat up and kissed James fully on the lips, her hand curled into James’ long back tresses and she held on.

  “Thanks.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “You didn’t have to tell them so soon after I asked you to.”

  James realized what Addison was talking about and closed her eyes nodding.

  “It was bound to happen soon enough anyway.”

  James moved over Addison’s resting body and gave a quick grin before kissing her deeply. Addison lifted her hands to cup James’ cheeks and melted into the cushions behind her. Stretching out her limbs, she felt the weight on top of her shift.

  “Lily?”

  “Sound asleep,” James mumbled the words into Addison’s lips. “Are you sure you’re over Heath?” She moved along Addison’s jawline and felt her teeth clench.

  “James…” It was a warning if James had ever heard one.

  “Yeah, sorry, another time.”

  Addison turned her face and captured the soft lips, her hands sliding down to tug at the damp ends of James’ shirt. Her fingers brushed under the material and against the hot skin of James’ abdomen before she pulled away slightly.

  “Are you sure she’s sleeping?” Addison had a niggling feeling in the back of her mind, but she couldn’t place what it was.

  “Yes, I’m sure she’s sleeping.”

  James dragged Addison’s shirt up just as both women turned their heads to the door, a sudden feeling filling the pit of their stomachs.

  “Okay, that’s going to get annoying.”

  “It’s really hard to turn it off when there’s a kid around. The gift is a difficult one to master, especially after you start playing with it.” Addison grinned. “And I told you she wasn’t sleeping; you can hear her humming, right?”

  “Yes, I can, and yes, she’s not sleeping.”

  James huffed and sat back on her heels, watching as Addison leaned up and tugged down her shirt.

  “I give it five more before I go in there.”

  “I can go.”

  James turned her head to the side, much as Lily had done at the store days before.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, why not? I like her, she likes me. You could obviously use a bit of a break.”

  Addison rolled her eyes before pressing her lips quickly to James’ cheek.

  “Besides, if you’re that worried about how I put the kid to sleep, listen in.” She tapped her temple and the corners of her mouth turned upwards.

  “Listen in? How?”

  “Oh, I think you’ll figure it out.”

  Her voice was sweet and teasing as Addison rose from the couch and made her way into the back bedroom, swaying her hips more than usual because she knew James was watching.

  The clock in the kitchen ticked by thirty minutes and Addison hadn’t returned. James was starting to grow impatient. She had been unable to ‘listen in’ as Addison told her to do, although she hadn’t worked hard at figuring it out because she trusted Addison with the child.

  Standing up, she fetched a cold beer from the fridge and slipped her mouth over the opening, taking a long drag and savoring the flavor as it washed down her throat. It was then that she heard the soft singing. Narrowing her eyes, she looked around the apartment and saw no one, but the tune continued.

  “What can grow without the dew? What can burn, for years and years? What can cry and shed no tears?”

  After the lyrics finished there was a gentle humming of the same tune. Moving quietly to the door of the guest bedroom, she propped her ear against the part that was left open and listened intently. Addison was singing. Pursing her lips and heading back to the living area, she plopped down on the couch and continued to hear the sweet melody, the sound not fading as she walked away.

  The beer was half gone when she felt the cold barrel pressed against her temple. Her back had been to the door. She’d been so entranced by Addison’s voice that she hadn’t heard it slip open. There was a breeze floating by her ear of warm, moist air that sent shivers down her spine. The voice rumbled low in the person’s chest, but was high pitched to hear.

  “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m only here for the girl.”

  James glanced down the hallway to the door that she couldn’t see and prayed that Addison was listening in on her.

  “You can’t have the girl.”

  “I don’t think you have much of a choice in that matter.”

  His chin was rubbing against the outside of her ear and she could feel the day old stubble on his skin.

  “Don’t move, or I’ll be forced to shoot. Stay put and you won’t get hurt.”

  “A non-rhyming kidnapper, couldn’t be more creative?”

  James drawled out the insult as a fist came from nowhere and belted her on the other side of her face. Her neck snapped back and her ears started to ring, but she was sure nothing was broken. Testing her jaw for injury, James wished she could see her attacker’s face. But she wasn’t going to move. The longer she kept him distracted the more likely Addison would figure it out and get Lily out of the house.

  “So what are you planning on doing with the kid once you get her? I mean she isn’t exactly the greatest kid in the world. Screams, cries, throws a lot of fits.”

  “That’s none of your concern.”