It wasn’t time for them to meet again. She sighed and tried to put him out of her mind. Not possible. They were connected on an elemental level, and had been for a long time.
Why did things between them have to be so complicated and difficult?
Dealing with her customers was simple. They went to her website and clicked on the link to ask a question. She charged fifteen dollars for requests she answered. If she couldn’t answer the question, or wouldn’t answer, she didn’t charge and sent a standard reply, telling the person she couldn’t help.
Either the person believed in her enough to pay the fifteen dollars, or they didn’t.
Sure, they had to accept her terms and conditions. After all, what she “saw” was open to interpretation and the result may not be what the customer expected. In short, if they didn’t like the answer, they couldn’t shoot the messenger.
She specifically informed customers to beware what they asked, and how they asked it. You may get the answer to a question you hadn’t intended.
If you suspected your spouse of cheating on you, don’t be surprised if she confirmed it, and that the other person was your best friend. She wouldn’t lie, or tell you only what you wanted to hear.
In a few cases, she simply refused to answer. People often wanted to know when they were going to die and how. In her opinion, this kind of information did more harm than good. It usually altered the course of a person’s life, and she didn’t want to be responsible for changing one’s fate and destiny.
One thing she knew for certain, life had a pattern. Mistakes are repeated until the lesson is learned. Knowing something ahead of time didn’t necessarily mean you could change the outcome. Some things were meant to be and nothing could stop them from ending the same way she saw them, even if the path that led to that end took a detour first. That wasn’t to say the course of the future couldn’t be altered. It could. She’d done it several times. For Tyler’s family, she’d do it again.
Chapter Two
JACK’S GAZE LOCKED on her as he made his way out of the trees, across the wide expanse of pasture and to the house. He’d spotted her sitting on the porch with her laptop. The rain of golden hair drew his eye. Thick and slightly wavy, her hair dropped almost to her waist. The color so bright, the sunlight seemed to glow out from the mass of waves.
“Hello, Jack.”
How did she know his name?
Her voice threw him again. A sultry voice from such a fresh face. She looked to be in her early twenties. Probably five-foot-seven, she had a slim build and curves made to keep a man up at night. Her skin was lightly bronzed from days spent in the sun, and her striking blue eyes reminded him of the color of a clear, clean azure sea.
It struck him that he also saw a lifetime of wisdom in those eyes.
She has an old soul.
He hadn’t known what that really meant until now. As he looked at this young, vibrant woman, her eyes spoke volumes.
Nothing else to say to describe her. Some sort of essence emanated from her he couldn’t name. Words wouldn’t do her justice. He wondered what such a beautiful woman was doing living in the middle of nowhere—seemingly alone.
“Um, hi. I’m Jack Turner. I own the Stargazer Ranch that borders your property. Uh, we’re neighbors.” He shifted nervously in the saddle. Not like him at all, but something about her unsettled him.
“Howdy, neighbor.” A strong, sturdy man. It made her secretly laugh to see him a little out of sorts with her. She knew a lot about him, impressions from Tyler of his good friend, Jack. She hadn’t expected him to be discombobulated by the sight of her.
Her casual country joke brought out a smile. She laid the computer on the table and poured a glass of ice tea from the tray. He never took his eyes off her as she came off the porch and walked to him with the glass. His penetrating gaze unsettled her.
“For you. You look a little hot. Have some iced tea.”
She handed him the glass when he came down off the horse. Interested in the beautiful animal, she took his head in her hands and gave him a scratch behind the ears and under the leather bridle. The horse bent to her and laid his head to her chest. If he were a cat, he’d have purred.
“He usually doesn’t take to people. In fact, he only responds like that with my wife, Jenna.” He took a deep sip of the cold drink before adding, “He likes you, though.”
“He knows a good thing when he sees it. Blue loves your wife because he knows she needed him at one time, and now he trusts her. She’s kind to him.”
“How’d you know his name? Do you know my wife?”
“Sort of.” She stepped back from the horse and looked at the tall man standing beside her. A good man, dedicated to his family and his ranch. He was happy. That came to her clearly and washed away the last remnants of the murderous vision. She wished she had that same feeling in her own life. Jack had everything he wanted, his wife, his children, his family of friends, and love.