Lingering Touch: The Summer Park Psychics, Book 3 (7 page)

He might have enjoyed her warmth, her closeness, except his dad and Daphne were on the floor right in front of him—and Dad was clinging to Daphne’s arms, sobbing.

“Dad. Dad!”

Finn scrambled to his dad’s side and wrapped his arms around the pair. Dad was shaking so bad. Finn had never seen him cry. Ever. And this? This was a complete breakdown.

The vision was terrible, but Finn didn’t understand his dad’s reaction. Had he seen something Finn couldn’t? Was that even possible? They had always shared the same visions when he read Finn before, the same memories or experiences, like Finn did when reading objects.

“Dad, come on. You have to calm down.”

Jazz put her hand on Finn’s back. He closed his eyes to let her calm sink into him. Except her hand was shaking too. He looked at her over his shoulder.

The blood had all drained from her face again. Her lips were set in a grim line. Instead of looking like she was about to pass out, she looked like she wanted to kill somebody.

She reached between them all and pressed her fingers against Dad’s neck. Checking his pulse. Finn’s heartbeat skyrocketed. He should have thought to check that first thing.

Jazz’s face seemed to relax a bit and she nodded. Finn closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. When he opened them again, he mouthed, “Thank you.”

She actually gave him a tiny smile. She dropped to her knees and pulled Finn’s head against her neck. They were touching skin-to-skin, and all he felt was comfort. No memories, no thoughts. He still couldn’t read her. He swore he felt her press a kiss to the top of his head, though. Then she wrapped her arms around the group.

They sat in a heap on the floor for what felt like eternity while Dad cried it out. Finally, exhausted, he leaned into Finn.

“I thought it was for the best,” Dad said. “I thought she’d take care of her. Give her a good life. Protect her.”

“Who, Dad?”

“Your sister.”

What the…

Shit, had Dad picked up some part of the memory and lost track of who he was? Finn had been able to shake off other people’s thoughts and memories as soon as he stopped touching them or whatever object he was reading. At least, so far. Surely Dad could do the same.

“I don’t have a sister.”

“You do. You did. Oh God, how could your mom have let this happen? I thought I was doing what was right.”

“Dad, you’re not making any sense.”

Finn’s heart was in his throat. Dad had never mentioned Finn’s mom before. Whenever Finn tried to bring up the topic… It didn’t go well. It didn’t go anywhere. He’d stopped asking when he hit his teens.

“I recognized her,” Dad said. “The connection. I felt it.” Dad’s blue eyes were bloodshot and lined with red. Tears were still streaming down his face. “I know my own daughter. That was Siobhan. Your sister, Finn. Your twin.”

The blood rushed from Finn’s head fast enough to make him dizzy. Luckily, Jazz was right there, keeping him steady.

“Your mom wanted more than I could ever give her,” Dad said. “I thought maybe when we had you two, she’d settle down. Be happy. But it made her miserable. We were living in Boston with my family. She took up with some lawyer and told me she was divorcing me and taking Siobhan with her. She said I could keep you as long as I didn’t try to find them, but if I did… She said they’d take you too. And I knew her new husband could do it.”

“Christ, Dad. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to know that she didn’t want you. Didn’t want
us
. When Pat and I got the chance to open the bar down here, I moved us away so we could start over.”

Finn’s uncle Pat had passed away a decade ago, leaving his half of the bar to his brother.

“You never looked for her?”

“How could I, when I let your mom take her? When I…” Dad swallowed hard. “When I kept you for myself rather than making her take you too. They could have given you so much. Anything you ever wanted. But I couldn’t let you both go. I was afraid if you found out about the kind of life I had kept you from you wouldn’t forgive me.”

Finn thought of all the years barely scraping by. Hell, he thought about the stress he’d been under the past few months, trying to make sure they had what they needed and could pay for Dad’s medical bills, let alone be ready if something else should happen.

He thought about all the fights they’d had, when Finn wanted to use their powers to make some money and finally be able to stop struggling. How Dad had stayed strong and never once wavered or seemed to be tempted.

Then he thought about the woman who had given birth to him. Who he finally had learned something about.

She didn’t want him. Worse than that, she was willing to use Finn—her son—to blackmail Dad into abandoning his daughter.

No matter how bad it was, Dad was always crystal clear in how much he loved Finn. How much he wanted to be part of Finn’s life. Not many adults could stand to live with their parent when they were grown. Finn loved spending time with his dad. They relied on each other, took care of each other.

What had Siobhan grown up with?

Finn was reeling. Too many emotions were running through him. He was too shocked to process them all. Anger passed by his awareness and he latched on to it.

He couldn’t let himself be angry with Dad. Not after almost losing him. So he directed it at the woman who had torn their family apart—a family Finn didn’t even know he had.

“Are you kidding? If she didn’t want us, that’s her loss. I’d rather have been raised by someone who wanted me.”

Dad wrapped his arms around Finn’s neck and held on. Finn hugged him back hard.

He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to hold on to this for all these years. He wished his dad had told him, had come to him with the truth before it came out in such an awful way.

“We have to find out what happened to her, son. If she’s haunting you, we have to help her find peace.”

Chapter Nine

Tommy had been so exhausted he had passed out as soon as Finn and Jazz tucked him in bed. Jazz didn’t want to leave. Even more, she wanted to have answers for Tommy when he woke up.

Finn stepped into the hallway with her and quietly closed the door to Tommy’s room. Daphne was downstairs finishing up closing the bar. As soon as they were settled, Jazz would…do something. Figure out a way to help, whether Finn wanted her to or not.

He paused with his hand resting on Tommy’s door. She couldn’t imagine what he must be thinking. Seeing his dad go through that, finding out about his twin—knowing he’d lost her and that he was feeling her death over and over again. Jazz was amazed at how well he was holding it together.

She kept her voice as low as she could. “What do you need?”

He looked wrung out. She wanted to take care of him too. Food, water, sleep. Those were at the top of her mind.

He turned around and grabbed her, molding her against him and covering her lips with his.

Right. This.

Her body responded instantly. It always had. She buried her fingers in his hair, pressing herself against him. His tongue slid into her mouth, picking up the old dance as if it had been only yesterday.

Jazz moaned as he pushed her back against the wall, his hands sliding down past her hips to grab her thighs and lift her from the ground. She locked her ankles behind his waist. He was already hard, grinding against her, turning the heat building between her legs into a firestorm.

In the back of her mind, she recognized the pattern. Extreme emotion of any sort always led to sex. Whether it was an argument or… Okay, usually it was an argument.

She knew she needed to hold on to some semblance of self-control, but at the moment, she couldn’t even think. All she could do was feel. And she wanted more.

“Psst! Guys!” Daphne’s voice cut through the euphoria of Finn’s kiss.

Jazz was panting when he pulled away. He kept staring into her eyes for a long time. Daphne stalked up to them and started pointing toward the kitchen.

Finn turned to her and hissed, “Do you mind?”

Daphne pointed at the wall next to Tommy’s door. “Paper thin, remember? You want to have sex with your girlfriend, fine. Just do it in your room and be quiet about it.”

“I’m not his girlfriend,” Jazz said.

At the same moment, Finn said, “She’s not my girlfriend.”

She tried not to scowl at him when he looked back at her. Good to have that clear.

“I don’t
care
,” Daphne said. “Just move.”

The last of Jazz’s jealousy vanished. Daphne had taken on the role of mother-hen for the Connellys—and now Jazz too, from the look of it. Jazz hadn’t been replaced after all.

Finn let Jazz’s legs slide to the floor. He kept his hand on her back as they walked into the kitchen area of the apartment. It annoyed her. She still didn’t want him to stop.

“Downstairs.” Daphne pointed and Finn and Jazz obeyed.

Once they were back in the bar, they could speak in normal tones. Jazz had been there enough to know that the ceiling at least was sound-proofed well.

Daphne was glaring at them. Jazz almost wanted to laugh. Yet again, she’d been caught in a compromising position. A tiny glimmer of hope stirred deep in her soul. The last time she’d felt this way was when she and Finn first made the leap from working together to being lovers.

That was a long time ago. He was probably just reacting because of the stress. It was part of his nature. He was impulsive, passionate. She was still tingling from that kiss—and everything that went along with it.

The timing was horrible to rekindle anything, even if Finn was interested. She shouldn’t be thinking about it at all right now. Or ever. Finn had trampled her heart. He would probably end up leaving her again. He had been just as quick to correct Daphne when she called Jazz his girlfriend.

Ardor effectively dampened.

Daphne didn’t light into them. Instead she said, “I’ll stay with him while you work the case.”

“I can’t go,” Finn said. “Not until I know he’s okay.”

“I took care of my mom for years before she passed. I know how to look after people.”

Daphne walked over to Finn and rested her hand on his arm. No, she left it hovering an inch away, not touching his skin. She really did know how to take care of people.

“What he needs are answers,” she said. “And what you need is to run this down. It’s what your sister needs too. If she’s hanging around and so upset that her presence is messing up your powers, you need to find a way to help her.”

Damn. Daphne knew them well.

“I know where to start,” Jazz said.

Finn turned to look at her. “Where?”

“Michael’s house. Remember, I was there right after everything went to hell. I know where Michael lived. I also know that the police have pretty much finished with the place.”

Finn nodded, his gaze becoming unfocused as he thought things through. “So no one will be there right now.”

“Go.” Daphne stepped back. “I’ll take care of things here. You just take care of each other, okay?”

Finn glanced at Jazz, but quickly looked away. He nodded again. “Thanks, Daphne.”

Daphne smiled and almost slipped and patted his shoulder. She looked puzzled about what to do for a moment, then patted the air above it. Finn let out a tiny chuckle. It was such a sweet gesture and had helped ease his pain, even a little.

“I know the shirt is supposed to help, but I don’t want to take any chances,” Daphne said.

Jazz felt a lump forming in her throat. She coughed to clear it.

“Let’s go.” She headed to the door and unlocked it, then held it for Finn. “Lock up after us.”

“Of course.” Daphne was already headed for the door.

Jazz waited for her to be close before murmuring, “Thanks for taking such good care of them.”

Daphne smiled and Jazz felt a little tug on her heart. Yeah. Jazz was pretty sure she loved Daphne now. She tried to figure out how that would work as she unlocked the SUV and climbed into the driver’s seat.

She would have to keep Daphne separate from her other friends. If she introduced her to Elsa and Rachel, there was no way Jazz could keep her relationship with Finn a secret. Daphne was too open. Then there would be endless questions and all the angst and drama of explaining why Jazz hadn’t told anyone and why things hadn’t worked out.

Jazz didn’t have the stomach for it.

“Why didn’t I tell you? Because he was mine. I didn’t want to share him.”

And the deeper truth.

“Because I loved him so much, I was afraid if I let anyone know, Fate would take him away from me.”

It wouldn’t have been the first time. Not by a long shot.

She had lost Finn anyway. But now he was back in her life and he needed her. He was letting her actually help him with something. No matter what came of it, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass.

Being with Finn and Tommy had felt like Fate’s reward for all the crap Jazz had gone through. Like being repaid for every loss she’d suffered. Their home was her oasis—the one place she could show Finn how she felt, even if she still didn’t dare to say anything out loud.

Maybe this was her chance to even out the scales a bit and pay him back for everything he’d shared with her, everything he’d offered and she’d been too afraid to accept.

She pulled away from the curb, heading toward Michael’s house. Finn didn’t say a word.

“You okay over there?” she asked.

Finn was staring out the window. He glanced over at her and shook his head.

“Just trying to sort things out. I can’t believe I had a sister. All this time and Dad never told me.”

“I’m sure he had his reasons.”

Finn snorted. “No wonder you two got on so well. You love your secrets.”

Her grip on the wheel tightened.

He sighed. “I’m sorry. That was a shitty thing to say.”

Whoa. Another apology. He sure was doing that a lot. She couldn’t remember him doing it much before.

“When did you become so self-aware?” That sounded better in her mind. “I didn’t mean that to be catty.”

He laughed a little. Just a tiny fast exhale. But it made her smile, warmed her up inside. She wanted to help him feel better.

“You know, I think we’ve talked more in the last few hours than the last few weeks of us dating.” He looked over at her and grinned.

God, that smile. The streetlights caught and reflected in his pale eyes, gleamed on his straight teeth.

“As I recall, we were busy doing other things toward the end,” she said.

His smile faded and he turned back to the window. How had that killed the mood? It was true, anyway. At the end, all they did was argue and have angry make-up sex.

Amazing angry make-up sex.

Her skin tingled as she remembered some of the more spectacular encounters. The argument was always the same by that point. He wanted to come out about their relationship. She didn’t.

Going out meant being seen. Summer Park wasn’t a big enough town to avoid the grapevine. Their friends would find out. Then the playful banter would start.

“When are you going to get married? How many kids do you want? What breed of dog? What’s your retirement plan?”

Hell, even strangers felt they had the right to weigh in on her personal life. Just the other day, the sandwich shop owner where Jazz often picked up lunch asked her when she was going to meet a nice man and settle down.

Right, I need to find a new lunch place.

Her sister Mei complained that after the first kid, people would ask when she would have her second. And after her second, they asked about her third. It never ended.

Okay, after three kids, Mei had stopped mentioning it. Then again, she’d pretty much stopped talking to Jazz. The girls kept her busy.

Jazz missed her family, but Kansas City held too many memories of her father. She hadn’t been back since the funeral. Mei and her family had come to Florida every other year for a while, along with their mom. They had visited various state attractions and Jazz had driven up for a day or two to visit.

It had been a long time since they’d made the trip. Not since just before her break-up with Finn.

She hadn’t told him they were visiting. Her family was in the same state, and she didn’t even tell him, let alone introduce him. Meanwhile, he had opened his home, his family, his heart to her.

Yeah. She had messed things up with Finn big-time. Trying to keep him compartmentalized. Trying to keep herself from bragging about her amazing boyfriend and letting anyone know how happy she was. The crashes always came when she was at her happiest.

The first one was literal. When she was a kid, her puppy had been hit by a car and killed while she had been walking it to a friend’s house to show off. She shuddered at the memory.

She had bragged about a scholarship to a prestigious performance academy. The teacher she was supposed to study with had fallen ill right after Jazz told everyone at school about it. She could think of half a dozen times she’d been over the moon about something and told everyone about it, only to have it snatched away.

It took her too long to learn her lesson. Right before graduation, she had talked to her father about her fear—had even shared her suspicion that it was a curse. She told him she was afraid to be happy that things were going so well. Agents had already contacted her, wanting to represent her. She hadn’t told anyone, because she was afraid something would happen to them.

He had laughed and told her not to be afraid. He encouraged her to enjoy this part of her life and said that whatever Fate had in store for anyone, she couldn’t change it, especially just by being happy. He told her the universe wasn’t cruel and to lay down her fear.

She had bragged to her friends after that. Not about the offers, but about him. What a wonderful father he was. How supportive. How he believed in her ability to make it as a singer.

The entire month before graduation, she wouldn’t shut up about him. She told all her friends how much they were going to love him and how great he was and didn’t they wish they had a father like hers.

She hadn’t sung a note since her final performance in college. Not at birthdays, not lullabies to her nieces, not even alone in the shower.

She had thought her family was in the audience. They hadn’t even made it to the state.

Jazz had never admitted that she loved anyone out loud again. She was cautious every time she was with the people she cared about, trying to hide how she felt. Trying to stifle her feelings.

It was suffocating.

Now she was wondering if other people were falling to her curse. She hadn’t said anything about how happy she was for Elsa and Dante when they found each other, but she’d thrown that party. In her heart, she’d known it was to celebrate them getting together.

She’d worked with Dante behind Elsa’s back to help him set up a life for himself, knowing her best friend wouldn’t be able to relax and really enjoy being with him until she knew Dante was self-sufficient.

Then Michael happened.

What if it had somehow been Jazz’s fault? She’d had way more than her share of bad luck in her life, and was convinced there were powers working behind the scenes—scales that insisted on being balanced, energies that influenced the course of human events. Beyond the obvious, mundane precipitator—Jazz was the one who had fucking introduced Michael to everyone.

Goddammit, Jazz. Get your head out of your ass and back in the game.

She could feel sorry for herself later. Finn needed her now.

Michael had lived outside of town in a small house built near the edge of swampland. Jazz hadn’t been back since Rachel’s rescue. Thinking about that night was just what Jazz needed to renew her focus.

Michael’s house was haunted with her own memories. She would keep Finn away from the garage—that was certain. Even still, how could they sort through Michael’s memories safely? She didn’t want to see Finn get lost in a vision again, especially now that they knew Michael had killed Finn’s sister.

Jazz was tempted to call Rachel and ask for help. If Siobhan was hanging around and somehow messing with Finn’s powers, Rachel would be able to help them figure out what they needed to do. Siobhan could just tell her.