Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

they lit pieces of wood they drew into a fire pit. Arms raised toward the graying sky, they sang, feet dancing a pattern in the cool sand.
    El e came down the stairs of the deck to stand beneath his shoulder, her smal er body pressed against his. Jackson wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close to shelter her as they watched the flames, orange and red, glow bright through the heavy fog. She slipped her arm around his waist, her fingers curling into his shirt like a fist.
    â€œYou want to be with them.†He made it a statement.
    â€œYes.†She rubbed her face against his ribs. “They’re determined to heal me one way or another. Please stay in my mind, Jackson, just in case.â€
    He didn’t like the way she was shivering, as if the piercing cold went straight to her bones. “I’m not leaving you, El e.†His voice went gentle, shocking him. He wasn’t a gentle man. Demons rode him hard and he often was abrupt to the point of being rude, yet El e brought out the best in him—the best he didn’t even know he had. He felt at once protective and soft inside where she was concerned. “Your sisters aren’t trying to get inside of you, honey, they’re just trying to give you strength.â€
    â€œI know.†She kept her head low. “Once I know we can shield from Libby, I’l ask her to help me heal faster. I don’t want her in my brain though, not even to help with the psychic healing.â€
    â€œIsn’t that more Kate’s thing?â€
    El e did look at him then, shocked that he knew. Libby’s ability to heal was famous in the smal town, but few knew of Kate’s ability.
    â€œHow?â€
    â€œLast Christmas, when the town was attacked by the entity in the fog, Kate brought peace to everyone. Matt and Jonas brought her to my house, thinking I needed peace like the others, but I was going through a rough time and I was worried for Jonas, that I might do something crazy. So I tried to burn out my talent.†His voice was low as he admitted it to her.
    She raised her head, gasping. Her fingers tightened in his shirt. “Jackson. Where was I? How come I didn’t know?â€
    â€œYou were off somewhere, South America maybe. Who knows. And Kate and the town were in trouble so your attention was centered there.â€
    El e let out her breath. She hated that. Hated that she hadn’t known he was in such trouble that he might think about psychic suicide. “You couldn’t stand to touch anyone.â€
    â€œI don’t just get emotion that way. I’m different, El e, and I don’t know how to explain it. With you I have telepathy, we’re on the same wavelength, but with everyone else, I know things some of the time and mostly it’s things I don’t want to know. It can be very disturbing, especial y if I’ve had a bad day at work.†He looked down at her, his gaze locking with hers. “But then you know that. You’ve had the same overload many, many times in your life. You try never to touch others, but it doesn’t always help, not even with your family.â€
    She pressed her forehead against his chest. “No,†she admitted. “It’s overwhelming to feel so many emotions bombarding me day and night. How did Kate help you?â€
    â€œShe talked to me, which I’l admit was soothing, but then, right before she left she shook my hand and wished me peace. But she took some of the shadows I live with, the darkness, with her, and I realized afterward, my brain was on overload and she eased . . .†He stopped and caught El e’s chin, pul ing her head up to look into her eyes. “You think she can heal you psychical y.â€
    â€œThere’s a chance.â€
    Jackson let out his breath in a rush of excitement. Stavros might be powerful, but he wouldn’t be a match for the Drake sisters. Not with El e truly healed. He’d been worried for their future, for their children’s future.
    â€œI don’t know if I want her to try.†The admission came in a smal voice. “If she takes on the burden, or the il ness in the same way Libby does, what would it do to Kate?â€
    They both looked out at the six women dancing around the bonfire. The wind came in off the ocean and blew the fog from the shoreline, corral ing it and shepherding it back out to sea. Soft melodic voices