Page 98 of It takes a Psychic

She nodded. “He kidnapped Molly when she was six and a half to run some tests on her. He planned to take me next. But the moms ended thatplan. Willard died in the tunnels. Molly and I grew up to become triples. We were raised with the understanding that the only logical thing to do was keep the family secret a, well, a secret.”

“Given society’s attitudes toward triples and enhancement experiments, that was a perfectly sensible decision. Can we go to bed?”

She studied him, eyes narrowed, trying to get a handle on his reaction. “I’m not making this up. What I just told you is the truth. Molly and I are the result of some bizarre experiments conducted on our birth mothers.”

“I believe you. But when you think about it, we’re all experiments of one kind or another. That’s how evolution works. You and Molly survived and you are both stable. That makes the two of you success stories.”

“You really don’t care, do you?”

“About how you came to be you? Nope.” He did his edgy, telltale smile and his eyes got hotter. “For what it’s worth, I really like the way you turned out.Nowcan we go to bed?”

She touched the side of his face with her fingertips. “Yes.”

He got to his feet, swept her up off the couch, and carried her down the hall. When they reached her shadowed bedroom, he stood her on her feet beside the bed. He wrapped one powerful hand around the back of her head and pulled her close.

“For a while back there on the sofa, I thought we’d never get here,” he said.

“You’re not afraid of me, are you?” she whispered.

“No. Are you afraid of me?”

“No.”

“To paraphrase an Old World movie, this looks like the start of a beautiful relationship.”

His mouth came down on hers before she could start to question his definition ofrelationship. He wasn’t afraid of her, and he wanted her, and she could trust him. It was more than enough. For now.

Chapter Forty-Five

The day after she andOliver returned to Illusion Town, Leona decided to fulfill her promise to Roxy. Doing so gave her a convenient way to spend some together time with Molly. The plan seemed simple enough, but the attendant in charge of the gate of the River of Alien Nightmares ride at the Underworld Adventures theme park looked doubtful.

“I’m not sure it’s okay to let you two take a couple of dust bunnies with you on the ride,” he said.

Leona gave him a glowing smile and tightened her grip on Roxy. “Don’t worry, these are emotional support dust bunnies.”

“They are licensed,” Molly added, clutching Newton.

Roxy and Newton chortled and batted their innocent blue eyes at the attendant, who continued to look skeptical.

“I dunno,” he said.

“We’ll hold on to them,” Leona added. “They’re just dust bunnies. What could possibly go wrong?”

This being Illusion Town, she sweetened her assurances with a couple of gracefully palmed twenties.

This being Illusion Town, the attendant made the gratuity vanish with an equally smooth move. “Well, okay, I guess.”

He opened the gate and ushered them onto the first in a line of self-piloting vessels designed to take passengers along the artificial river and through the dark ride.

Leona stepped aboard first. The small craft wobbled a little. She sat down on the bench. Molly followed with Newton.

The attendant lowered the safety bar. The boat took off with a small jolt. It moved faster than Leona had anticipated, whisking them toward the entrance of the tunnel of Alien nightmares.

Thrilled, Roxy wriggled free of Leona’s grip, fluttered to the front of the boat, and clutched the side with two paws. The ribbons of the blue fascinator flew in the light breeze. Newton hurried after her, so excited he bounced a little.

“I’m not sure this is a really great idea,” Molly said.

“Here’s the thing,” Leona said. “I promised Roxy I would take her on a real boat ride when we got back to Illusion Town. Given that this city sits in the middle of a desert, there aren’t a lot of options.”

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