Page 21 of In Her Wake
“Please.”
Frank’s kitchen was warm and inviting, the wooden table in its center bearing the scars and stories of generations.Jenna sank into her usual chair as Frank filled the kettle and set it on the stove.
“Chamomile, I think,” he said, reaching for the tin on the shelf.“You look like you could use something soothing.”
Jenna watched him move about the kitchen—this man who had been more constant in her life than her own father in many ways.Frank’s weathered face carried the lines of a lifetime of service to Trentville, but his eyes remained sharp, missing nothing.
“I went to see Mom tonight,” she said as he set two mugs on the table.
Frank nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“She asked me straight out if I knew something about Piper that I wasn’t telling her.And then she started talking about how I’ve been different since Piper disappeared.Said people in town think I have some kind of second sight.”
The kettle whistled, and Frank turned to attend to it.“What did you tell her?”he asked, his back to Jenna as he poured hot water over the tea bags.
“Nothing, really.I deflected.But Frank—” She paused as he turned and set a steaming mug before her.“I think things are coming to a head with Mom.I can’t keep the truth from her much longer.About me, about what I can do.About why I believe Piper is still alive.”
Frank settled into the chair across from her, blowing gently on his tea.“Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing,” he said after a moment.“The truth has a way of finding daylight, even when we try to keep it buried.”
“But how do I tell her?How do I explain it when I barely understand it myself?”Jenna cupped her hands around the warm mug.“And how will she take it?She’s just getting stable, Frank.What if this sends her spiraling again?”
“Your mother’s stronger than you think,” Frank observed.“She’s had to be.”
“That’s almost exactly what she said tonight.”
Frank smiled, the lines around his eyes deepening.“Smart woman, your mother.”
They sat in companionable silence for a moment.
“Remind me,” Frank said finally, “how many people actually know about your gift?”
“Just you and Jake.And maybe Colonel Spelling suspects something.But I’m sure he doesn’t suspect anything supernatural.”
“Maybe it’s time to widen that circle,” Frank suggested gently.“Starting with Margaret.”
“The thought terrifies me,” Jenna admitted.“I’ve spent so long hiding it, protecting her from it.I don’t know why the idea of telling her now scares me so much.”
“Fear of rejection, maybe,” Frank said.“Or fear that she won’t believe you.Or that she will, and it will change how she sees you.”
Jenna nodded, thinking of Frank’s grandmother, whom he’d mentioned had possessed abilities similar to her own.“Your grandmother—the one who had the sight—how did she handle it?How did people respond to her?”
Frank’s eyes grew distant with memory.“It was a different time, Jenna.People around here were less skeptical about such things back then.They respected what she could do, even if they didn’t understand it.”He smiled faintly.“In fact, so many people came to rely on her insights that she found it difficult to deal with at times.Folks knocking on her door at all hours, asking her to help find lost items, contact dead relatives, predict the future.”
“That sounds exhausting,” Jenna murmured.
“It was,” Frank agreed.“But she saw it as a responsibility, a calling.She used to say that gifts aren’t given to us for our benefit alone, but for the benefit of others.”
The words settled heavily in Jenna’s chest.She’d always viewed her ability as a burden, something to hide or explain away.The idea of it as a gift, a responsibility—that was harder to reconcile.
Frank took a sip of his tea, then set the mug down deliberately.“Speaking of relationships,” he said, his tone lighter, “how are things going with Jake these days?”
Jenna felt warmth creep into her cheeks.She’d almost forgotten that Frank had seen the attraction between her and her deputy long before either she or Jake had acknowledged it.
“We...talked about it.When he was in the hospital last week,” she admitted.“We both know there’s something there.Something that goes beyond just working together.”
“That sounds like progress,” Frank said with a satisfied nod.
“But it’s complicated, Frank.He’s my deputy.The department has always had rules about fraternization.”
