“Okay. So you fixed the line and put her back on the right path by telling Tyler to go and get his sister.”
“Right. Simplified, but right. She wasn’t meant to be in that house when it exploded. The future she might have had before being there changed. Tyler saved her, and now she has a completely new future.”
She had to take another deep breath to help clear the last shimmers of Jack’s anger from her system. “The vision I have of your family’s future has an event where someone will be harmed.” She left it vague. She didn’t want to tell him she saw someone shoot his little boy. That would only send his anger into overdrive again. “In the vision, I intervene and prevent the person from being harmed.”
“How do you prevent it? Why not just tell me? Then, I can make sure the event doesn’t happen at all.”
“It doesn’t matter how I prevent it. I can’t be specific enough about the vision to say, ‘Don’t go here on this day.’ I don’t know which day it is, and it’s an event that happens in your family often enough to make it difficult to say exactly when it will happen.”
“Either you’re deliberately trying to confuse me, or you’re being vague to piss me off.”
“I’m not doing either,” she snapped.
She couldn’t get Tyler to accept what she did and the things she saw. It shouldn’t surprise her Jack remained just as skeptical.
“I’m simply trying to explain the event I see is something you do all the time. I can’t pick out a specific enough time to tell you when it will happen, except to say that on this occasion I’m there to stop the person from being harmed.” She put her hand up to stop him from interrupting again. “Now, if you tell Tyler where I am, you change the timeline. The event I see happening will still happen, but I might not be there at that time because you’ve changed things. You see, the event happens on a day that Tyler and I meet again. In the vision, he isn’t expecting me to be there. That, I know for sure.”
“So, you’re saying if I change things now, it could change things then.”
“Exactly. You don’t like lying to Tyler, or keeping secrets from the people you love. But you can’t risk one of your family members getting hurt. Right?”
“I’ll make the deal, if you swear the person won’t be harmed.”
“I can’t promise. What’s meant to be will be. I can only tell you in my vision I keep them safe.”
She had to make him understand. Just because she saw something in the future didn’t necessarily make it absolute. “We’re talking about a future event. When I see the vision it’s only the truth so long as none of the events leading up to it aren’t altered. The future isn’t written in stone. I can only promise that if I show up at the event in the future, and it happens the way I envision it, I’ll stop the person from being harmed.”
“Then how do I know my meeting you now hasn’t altered that future already?”
“Because I knew you were coming today because you want to put your horses on my land.” She gave him a brilliant smile.
“You did?”
“Yes. I also know that Sam and Tyler are on their way. Go home to your family. Leave the future to fate. Let life happen.”
His frown deepened. He didn’t quite believe her, but he couldn’t ignore her prediction either.
“Go home. Have your family dinner with everyone. Decorate cupcakes and enjoy the evening. Things are as they should be. Tyler will wait. It’s how it’s meant to be. He isn’t ready to see me. He hasn’t figured out what he wants from me, besides to ring my neck for not doing what he wants, when he wants it.”
He took a deep breath and accepted he couldn’t change a future he couldn’t see with a slight nod. “Will you be all right here alone?”
“I’m fine. I’m not alone. I have Tyler, whether he likes it or not. I hope I have you, too, Jack. I hope we can be friends.”
“We are.”
Struck by his certainty, it had been a long time since someone simply accepted her for who she was. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” Her voice cracked, despite her valiant attempt to hide her emotions. “I can’t wait to see the horses.”
“You’re welcome at the ranch anytime you want to visit. Jenna would love to meet you.”
She smiled. She’d be a part of their lives soon enough. They had their own living to do for the time being. “We’ll see. Like I said, I don’t do well around people.”
“Let me clean this up for you.” Jack indicated the broken glass at their feet.