Lingering Touch: The Summer Park Psychics, Book 3 (21 page)

“I don’t strut,” Finn said.

“You totally strut,” Jazz said. “But how did you know all that, Winston?”

“I keep telling you all, I’ve got ears like a bat.” Winston pointed over his shoulder. “That’s the kitchen window and the one just past is my bedroom. You people think you’re being all sneaky and whatnot, but it’s really just a pain in the arse keeping all these secrets.”

Jazz had heard that being blind could increase other senses—including hearing. This was outright amazing, though.

Elsa and Dante exchanged looks.

“Do you know about us too?” Elsa said.

Winston laughed. “Oh, my love. I know more about you pair than I ever wanted to.” He put on a mock shiver, then smiled at them.

Elsa turned scarlet.

“Great,” Jazz said, trying to keep Rachel away from her line of inquiry. “Now everyone knows everything about everybody.”

It didn’t work.

“Not even close,” Rachel said. “I still need to know how Finn is my brother.”

“I have to admit, I’m curious about that myself,” Garrett said. “You never mentioned anything about that before.”

“I didn’t know before,” Finn said. “We discovered it while investigating the case.”

“I don’t understand,” Rachel said. “Did my dad have an affair or something?”

“No.” Finn let out a sigh. “It’s complicated.”

Her eyes snapped to Tommy. “Why did my question upset you?”

“Uh…” he stammered.

“Enough with the empathic readings already,” Jazz said. “Rachel, you know how your mom’s an evil, lying, manipulative—”

Three voices of protest cut her off. Jazz was surprised that the Connellys jumped to Mrs. Montgomery’s defense. She suppressed a smile thinking of them as a family unit already. Damn, they were good people.

“Am I wrong?” Jazz said. When no one argued the point, she went on. “Did you ever notice that you look nothing like Edward Montgomery?”

“Well, yes,” Rachel said. “But not all children favor both parents.”

Jazz pointed at Tommy. “Have you not noticed yet that you look
just
like Tommy and honestly more like Finn than I’m comfortable thinking about?”

Rachel stared at Tommy and Finn for a moment, her eyes growing wide. “Oh my God.
You’re
my father?”

Tommy looked over to Jazz, and she nodded encouragement. He stepped forward, crushing his hat in his hands.

“Well, yeah,” he said. “I know this must be a shock for you. I don’t expect you to—”

She launched herself out of her chair and hugged him. Tommy wrapped his arms around her and held her above the ground as best he could. She was almost as tall as he was.

“Sweetie, you need to stay off those feet,” he said.

Rachel let out a sob, her eyes clenching shut and tears rolling down her cheeks. Jazz didn’t need empathy to guess what Rachel was feeling. Her parents had treated her terribly. It was probably the first time a parent had shown her true concern.

Tommy rubbed her back. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s all going to be okay.”

Garrett approached and put his hand on the pair’s shoulders. They helped Rachel back into her seat.

“You’re so tall.” Tommy face was filled with pride as he smiled at her. “You grew up so beautiful.”

Rachel held on to his hand, staring into his eyes. Finn picked up a chair and brought it over so Tommy could sit right next to her, then he knelt at their side himself.

“Finn, don’t you dare heal her wounds,” Jazz said. “We still don’t know how doing that affects you.”

Garrett’s interest perked up. “Heal her?”

Jazz shrugged. “Yeah, it’s something new he can do. Turns out, Finn’s the most psychic of them all.” She looked over at Elsa and Dante. “Well, except maybe for Elsa.”

Dante beamed at Elsa. “As someone saved by her psychic sagacity, I certainly—”

“Dante,” Elsa said.

His smile became a bit more subdued.

Garrett shook his head. “Yeah, well wait till you hear about how Rachel got the better of Michael.”

“I’d be really interested to hear about that, myself,” Tommy said.

“Well, first I shot him seven times.”

Tommy let out a half-strangled laugh. He cleared his throat, and said, “Only seven?”

“I ran out of bullets.”

Tommy pressed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, then set it in her lap, but held on. “That’s my girl.”

“This is a lot,” she said.

Jazz picked up a chair and brought it closer for Finn to use. “There’s one more thing. Finn’s not just your brother—he’s your twin.”

Rachel smiled up at Finn and squeaked, “Twin? Really?”

“Yeah,” Finn said. “We were split up in the divorce right after we were born.”

More tears flowed down Rachel’s face. She shook her head, and said, “God, our mom
sucks
.”

Jazz let out a big laugh. She pulled Finn up from where he was kneeling so he could sit in his chair, then sat in his lap. He wrapped one arm around her waist and let the other rest on her thighs. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Nobody said a word about the display of affection.

Buoyed by that, Jazz said, “I’ve already warned Finn about your mom. Just in case he gets curious or nostalgic and wants to meet her someday.”

“Good.” Rachel turned to Finn and said, “Whatever Jazz told you, it’s all true—and worse.”

“Believe that,” Garrett said.

He was scowling more deeply than Jazz had ever seen. Whatever Mrs. Montgomery had done to get on his bad side, she’d better watch out for him. Jazz somehow doubted Mrs. Montgomery’s dreams of her husband launching his political career in Summer Park would come true without the Wolfstroms’ endorsement. From the look on Garrett’s face, she sure as hell wasn’t going to get it.

“Well, I’m curious right now,” Rachel said. “I want to know everything.”

Jazz broke in. “We have time to catch up later. Let’s just…be together. Okay?”

Rachel hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. “Sure.”

Elsa and Garrett started handing everyone paper plates loaded with chips and sandwiches. Jazz couldn’t believe a day that had started out filled with chaos and death could end so…peacefully. Her stomach started to churn as the familiar fear eked in. She felt at any moment the other shoe was going to drop.

Rachel glanced over from her conversation with Tommy.

“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t let fear in. This is the moment we have. Hold on to it.”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“Well said.” Tommy raised his cup toward her. “And if I might propose a toast… To family. And a brighter future.”

“Here here.”

“To family.”

They lifted their glasses one by one, then took a sip.

Jazz wrapped her arms around Finn’s neck and smiled down at him. This was the moment they had. She was going to hold on to it for all she was worth.

About the Author

Cassandra Chandler has studied folklore and mythology for her entire life and been accused of taking fairy tales a bit too seriously. Raised in a household where tarot readings and viewing auras were considered mundane, she spends her time writing and trying to appear normal. At least the writing is working out.

Her romances range from sweet to scorching, set in extraordinary worlds and driven by characters searching for a deep and lasting love. She sees the starry sky as a destination rather than a matte painting, though her primary residence is on Earth.

You can follow her thoughts on writing, life and mostly writing at
www.cassandra-chandler.com
or see her real-time ramblings on Twitter (
@casschandler
). She loves to hear from readers through email at
[email protected]
.

Look for these titles by Cassandra Chandler

Now Available:

Department of Homeworld Security

Gray Card

Resident Alien

The Summer Park Psychics

Wandering Soul

Whispering Hearts

Lingering Touch

Don’t miss the other titles in Cassandra Chandler’s The Summer Park Psychics Series!

A leap across time is easy...if you throw your heart first.

The Summer Park Psychics,
Book 1

A woman with a secret…
 

Elsa Sinclair’s ability to bring stunning realism to her historical novels is a secret she must never reveal. She does her research first-hand—by traveling back in time.

When she stumbles across the man behind the legendary Phantom of the Opera, she is moved by his strength, his kindness…and the moments when his solitary existence seems unbearable. She can’t simply sit by and leave him to his fiery fate.

A man out of time…

Dante Lucerne is shocked to find himself pulled from certain death and carried to another time and continent. The new world is full of wonders, not the least of which is the woman who saved him.

A darkness threatens…

As Elsa helps Dante adjust to his new world, she makes a terrifying discovery—she is falling in love. And it is Dante who must find a way to help her let go of secrets that run deeper than her power. Into the very heart of what they could lose if he fails…

Warning: Contains a fiery heroine, a brilliant hero, and a love passionate enough to span a century.

If he can’t defeat the ghosts of her past, she could become one of his.

The Summer Park Psychics,
Book 2

No one would guess Rachel Montgomery is plagued by a clairsentient talent she can never turn off. She can see and hear ghosts, and ever since she had to kill serial murderer Michael Angelo to save herself, it’s only gotten worse.

The ghosts of all Michael’s victims are making Rachel’s life hell. Worse, every ghost in Summer Park wants her to help them find peace. Desperate to get away, she grasps for a lifeline—even though the other end is held by a man she can never have.

Dr. Garrett Wolfstrom has always suspected something is different about Rachel, but when she starts hanging poppets in all his windows, he makes one last-ditch effort to get the woman he’s always loved to open up to him.

Their mutual attraction reaches a flash point just as Rachel’s ghosts catch up with her. If they can’t find a way to trust each other with their hearts, the most dangerous ghost of all could find a way to settle the score—permanently.

Warning: This book contains a sizzlingly sexy doctor, a psychic just coming into her power, and a passion hot enough to beat the summer heat.

eBooks are
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They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Lingering Touch

Copyright © 2016 by Cassandra Chandler

ISBN: 978-1-61923-516-8

Edited by Holly Atkinson

Cover by Kanaxa

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: August 2016

www.samhainpublishing.com