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“Oh…” Dylan’s eyebrows rose. “Right. I get what Gracie was saying now. Yes, I have heard of you recently. You’re the psychic in the States that everyone is calling a fraud, now, aren’t you?”
“Bollocks,” Gracie griped. “Such shite, really. This always happens when people refuse to believe what’s in front of their eyes. Of course you have powers, don’t you? I gave them to you. You’re a natural. Don’t fuss too much over those stories, Iris. You can start over here. We’ll all support you.”
“I…what?” Iris blinked at Gracie, a dazed expression on her face.
“Well, why wouldn’t ye? You’ve got family here. Friends. And we all have our own special abilities, so we’re used to defending our own. Surely you still want to work, don’t you? You’re too young to walk away from it all, right?”
“Um…I haven’t thought that far…” Iris trailed off with a stunned look on her face. “I’m still reeling from it all.”
“Her ex-boyfriend sold a story to the papers. And he stole from her. She’s been betrayed and had her name plastered across all the blogs. All her appointments have been canceled. I think she probably needs a moment to breathe before making any decisions on what to do next, right?” Kane spoke for Iris as she sat there with her mouth gaping open.
“What’s the ex-boyfriend’s name?” Dylan was already typing into a sleek little laptop he’d opened.
“Warren…” Iris said, and then gave Dylan all of his contact information and the little she knew about his betrayal. “The police should be working on it, but we’ll see.”
“I’ll have a look into it as well, if you don’t mind me nudging around a bit?” Dylan’s eyes gleamed, and Kane’s estimation of the man grew.
“Oh, let him play, Iris. He’ll probably break into Warren’s accounts and have the man living on the street by the end of the day. He loves this stuff.”
“Sure, I guess. I mean…that wouldn’t be really nice, would it?” Iris said, and Gracie glared at her.
“Was it nice when he singlehandedly destroyed your reputation? Do you know how long it takes to build trust in the public? No, we’re not here to do nice, Iris. We’re here to make things right.”
“I like her,” Kane said to Iris, not muffling his voice, and Iris grinned.
“So do I. I think I’ll keep her,” Iris said.
“I knew I’d wear you down. Now, let’s get down to brass tacks.” Gracie rubbed her hands together and bent her head with a look of glee on her face.
Chapter 11
The rain hammering the windshield matched Iris’s tumultuous thoughts as Kane slowly drove them home, taking his time on the slick road. As they drew nearer to the village, Iris’s nerves kicked up. She wasn’t sure if she could bring herself to sit at home alone with her thoughts tonight and, at the same time, she didn’t think she was in the right mental state to sit alone at a pub either. It was weird, having so much time on her hands, and adding in all of these new factors in her life made it almost impossible to ignore all the emotions churning in her gut.
Before she could open her mouth to ask Kane what he was doing that evening, he turned down a different road and drove the car around the edge of the village.
“Where are we going?” Iris asked, spinning to look at his profile in the fading light.
“I’m abducting you,” Kane said, then shot her a smile when he caught her surprised look. “With your permission, of course.”
“Is that right? A hostile takeover of my evening plans?” Iris asked, warmth blooming inside her.
“Something like that. I’m getting the vibe that today was a lot for you and, if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably just go back to your apartment and mope about it. Or whatever your mood may be after processing this new information. My thought is…why don’t we go to my place, order a pizza, and watch something funny on the television?”
“You want to WorldFlix and chill?” Iris raised an eyebrow at him.
“I want to hang out with you in a less stressful environment than a pub while enjoying a greasy pizza and laughing at some mindless entertainment. If that’s not to your taste tonight, no problem,” Kane clarified.
“Actually, that sounds perfect. I’ll admit, I was going to ask you what your plans were tonight. My apartment doesn’t even have a television. Though I guess I could stream a movie on my laptop. Honestly, I don’t even know? It’s been so long since I’ve had free time. The thought alone terrifies me. It’s just so much…thinking time,” Iris admitted.
“While it’s likely good that you spend some time processing these new developments, as well as just the shit show of your breakup, I don’t know that it’s required that you do so twenty-four seven. How about you take the night off and just be you for a bit? I’ll be your wingman in avoiding all things emotional, and our therapists can shake their heads in disapproval somewhere.” Kane pulled the car to a stop in front of a charming stone cottage situated on the hill behind Grace’s Cove. He turned, a question on his face. “Thoughts? Feedback? Input?”
“I don’t have a therapist,” Iris said with a small smile. “I don’t know whether the profession would be receptive to my abilities. The minute I walk into an office and start talking about the voices in my head, well, probably things won’t go so good for me.”
“That’s a fair point.” Kane tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I stopped seeing my therapist a while ago. Kept wanting me to heal my inner child.”
“That didn’t go well for you?” Iris asked, opening her door. She was more than up for an evening of pizza and movies. While so far, Kane had lightly flirted with her, she didn’t feel any trepidation about spending time alone with him in his place. He’d been kind to her today, taking her news and Gracie’s bombshell in stride. She didn’t see him as being the type to pressure her into a situation that she wasn’t comfortable with, and her spirit guides had promised her that he was trustworthy. Tonight really could just be pizza and movies between friends, with no other expectations placed upon it.
“It appears my inner child is an asshole,” Kane said as he unlocked the door and stepped inside, flicking the light switch. He moved across the room to a table, gathering his laptop and a pile of papers, and gestured with his full arms. “I’m just going to put this in the other room, and then we can call for food.”
