Page 36 of Kane's Bounty
He pulled her forward, trapping their hands between them. Their fists pressed between her breasts, his other hand wrapped around her back. He leaned down and kissed her. “I hate it too. I want this to be real, Lena. But I can’t ignore the fact that I have never felt anything like this before in my life. Before I met you, I would have said I was incapable of these kinds of emotions.” His eyes were filled with passion and sorrow.
She wondered if he was sad because he’d been so wrong about his own character or if he was afraid their connection was fake and would fade as soon as the stones were safe again.
She touched his cheek, refusing to believe what they had came from an outside source. “Let’s go and see what Gran has to say.”
They held hands until reaching the house. Loneliness washed over her as his hand slipped from around hers. He must have felt her desperation and reached out and gave her arm a squeeze as she passed into the familiar kitchen.
It was a typical farmhouse kitchen that had not been updated in forty years. Whitewashed cabinets banked two walls. An enormous porcelain sink bore the proof of a well-loved home with its scratches and chips. One wall was windowed and a large wood table filled the space.
Joshua accepted a cup of coffee and chatted with the Flacks as if they were old friends. He asked how long they’d owned the farm and what type of breeding operation they had. Bill answered jovially that they’d been there since the Earth was new and they bred thoroughbreds, but they were getting old and planned to sell the place soon enough.
Lena walked to the counter where the old percolator coffeepot had always been. She pulled two mugs from the cupboard and poured. Kane took milk from the refrigerator, not waiting to be helped by Aunt Peggy, and poured some in his cup. He looked at her and held the carton up. She nodded and he added some milk to her cup as well before returning the milk to the fridge.
They joined the others at the table. Grandmother was studying her in a way that had always made her uncomfortable. Her eyes were narrowed and she even looked at Lena’s coffee, which indicated she had seen the exchange by the counter. It was amazing how familiar she and Kane had become in so short a time. Her stomach clutched at the idea that it could all be an illusion. Even if the attraction was fake, she knew her heart would break if they parted.
“Now, what do you mean, Kane triggered a vision?” Rose demanded.
Lena took a deep breath. “We were arguing about how to get out of this mess, he dropped them in the sand and we saw the two opposing visions. In one, I’m dead in the very near future.”
Peggy and Bill both gasped.
“In the other…” She looked at Kane.
Joshua said, “The two of them live happily ever after like normal people, with kids and mortgages.”
Kane gave his brother a sharp look, and she imagined they had some connection that allowed them to communicate without words. The conversation did not look pleasant.
“You saw the vision too?” Rose asked.
Lena said, “I triggered the same two visions this morning.”
“Exactly the same?”
“Yes. What is it, Gran?” The hair on Lena’s arms stood up. Her stomach clutched and her heart started to pound wildly. She was surprised everyone at the table didn’t notice the sound pounding in her ears.
Grandmother ignored her and looked at Kane. “You are partially right, Kane. The stones will protect themselves, though they cannot give a false reading. It’s not possible. For deception, they have to have human help.”
“The two futures are not both possible, Mrs. Lanier,” Kane said.
“No.” She thought a moment. “When the future hinges on an improbability, then the stones can show both results.”
“An improbability?” Lena asked.
“Like a heartless bounty hunter falling in love with a fugitive,” Joshua said.
Lena didn’t know what to say. Was Kane in love with her? She knew she was well on her way to loving him, but was it possible he could love her? His face was unreadable. He intently listened to Grandmother and his brother discuss him as if he was a stranger or a potted plant. If anything, he looked angry.
Grandmother nodded. “And then acting on those feelings.”
Joshua continued to talk to Rose as if the rest of them were not in the room. “But there’s no way of knowing which outcome is triggered by which act.”
“No. That’s true.”
“Why would my touch have triggered the vision?” Kane asked.
“The stones are meant only for Adeline.” Her gaze fell on Lena. “If the stones detected the death of the current holder and she gave them freely into your care, then the gift would have transferred.”
Lena thought her heart might have stopped. She had definitely stopped breathing. She had given her birthright away. Kane’s hand closed over hers. Immediately, her sense of panic faded to a dull throb. “I triggered a vision after Kane. The stones did not react strangely to my touch.”
