Jared fixed a warning glare on his sister. “Myra, I’m sure Sara doesn’t need someone tagging behind her like a lost puppy,” he said, in a tight voice.
Sara’s attention piqued; she frowned slightly. “I don’t mind, Jared. I’d appreciate the company. Without someone’s guidance, I’d probably get lost,” she said insistently. She hoped he wouldn’t press the issue.
He kept his gaze fixed on his sister and stepped forward. “Then I’ll go with her.”
Myra’s breath caught; her eyes widened.
Sara glanced at Jared sidelong, sighed and swallowed hard. “No, Jared. You stay. You need to be here for your grandfather.” She faked a smile. “Besides, Myra can get me there and back. Can’t you Myra?”
She glanced at Jared, forced a smile and moved towards the door with Sara. “Sure I can,” she snorted.
Myra seemed frightened of Jared. To a certain extent, he frightened Sara too. She’d seen him upset. He’d even been upset with her, but this behavior was new, as if he had a split-personality, a dark side, fearful, intriguing, and shrouded in mystery.
Sara was fervent to go with Myra, now. Good or bad, if there was something she needed to know, she wanted to know about it before it caused problems for her and Jared.
Myra smiled, nodded and stepped closer to Sara. Jared grabbed her wrist, hard and locked eyes with her. Her smile faded. She looked as if she might cry.
He squeezed her wrist. “Don’t!” he growled.
She nodded and blinked a couple of times. “I won’t, Jared, I promise,” she said, submissively, barely above a whisper. There was no mistaking the expression on her face. It was there in her eyes; a mixture of pain and fear. She shivered. Jared’s voice held a threat. He wasn’t making a request; he was giving a command.
Sara frowned slightly again. Why is he acting like this? He’s never acted this way around me. Whatever it means, and whatever’s going on, it isn’t right.
There were dark secrets in his family. Now, thanks to Jared, Myra wouldn’t share them with her or would she? Maybe he’d decided she wasn’t who he thought she was. Maybe a curse would be put on his family if he stayed with her. One way or the other, whether Jared liked it or not, Sara would find out.
------------
Myra headed for the elevator. “Mind if we take the stairs?” Sara prompted.
“Course not,” she said and held the door. They approached the first flight of stairs.
“What was that all about?” she asked, casually.
“Just my brother being paranoid,” she snorted and played it down. “Sometimes he can be overbearing.” Especially when it comes to you. “Don’t pay him any mind. I don’t,” she chuckled.
Sara arched an eyebrow. Oh, no you don’t! I don’t buy that! They neared the next flight of stairs. “What did he mean by, don’t?”
Myra stopped. “I can’t tell you,” she said in a steady and determined voice.
“Why? Because you’re afraid it’ll make Jared mad?”
She sighed and nodded. “That’s part of it.”
They neared the exit; Sara was getting desperate. She grabbed Myra’s wrist. “So tell me now! I won’t tell Jared. He’ll never know, I promise.”
She glanced at her wrist. “I can’t, Sara!” she said remorsefully. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I can’t.” She swallowed hard. “Jared knew you were gonna ask. If I tell you….”
“How could he know?” Sara interjected.
“Because he probably knows you, better than you know yourself!” she blurted. “You’ve shared secrets with him, in his dreams. He knows what you’re gonna do. What you’re likely to do.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “Oh, this is hopeless. I don’t believe in the supernatural.” It wasn’t an entirely correct statement. If there were secrets, she reasoned if she pretended she didn’t believe, maybe Myra would be more inclined to share them.
She turned pitch black somber eyes on Sara. She glanced around as if being watched. “Did he show you the sketches?” she asked in a soft voice.
Sara frowned. “The ones about his dreams?”
Myra nodded, and again, glanced around. “Yes.”
“Yes. They’re remarkable, aren’t’ they?”
“All of them?” she pressed. “How many did he show you?”
“I don’t know,” Sara shrugged and shoved a hand through her bangs. “Um, lemme think.” One when I was ten, one where I was thirteen, one where I was sixteen, one when we met, and one where he held me out over the rock cliff. “Five - why?”
“That’s all he’s shown you?”
Sara leaned forward. “Yes. Are there more?”
“Talk to Jared,” Myra exhaled. “Ask him, Sara. It’s not for me to say. If I did, he’d never forgive me.”
She studied her eyes and released her wrist. No matter what she did, Myra wouldn’t break. They stepped out and went down a short corridor. Inside, through some double doors, the coffee shop was buzzing with life. Myra and Sara bought coffees and sat at a table toward the back of the room.
“Look Myra,” she said, making another attempt, a last desperate attempt. “If there are other sketches, which I haven’t seen, I’m not asking you to show them to me. All I wanna know is, are there more?”
Again, Myra glanced around the room with anxious eyes. “Yes,” she whispered, “but if you wanna know more, you’ll have to ask my brother.” She was as determined to keep the secret as Sara was to discover it.
“I will,” she sighed, disappointedly. “Just tell me one more thing?”
“Jared was right. You are stubborn. I shouldn’t have told you what I have.”
Sara placed a hand on hers. “Please, Myra.”
“Alright ask, but if it’s something I’m not supposed to….”
“Then you don’t have to answer,” she interjected. She nodded. “Are there books where I can find out more about these dreams and visions, and what you’ve been forbidden to tell me?”
“I haven’t been forbidden to tell you Sara,” she frowned.
“Then why are you so afraid of Jared?”
“I’m not afraid of him!” she scowled.
Sara leaned forward. “Why won’t you answer my questions, even about a book?”
She stared at her and forced her breath out. “There are books, but not all of them tell the truth. Many of our sacred and secret legends have been printed. I’m afraid you’ll find most were colored to suit the commercial needs of the authors. Truth seldom makes money, Sara. Hollywood and authors have all but destroyed our sacred rites and ceremonies. They don’t understand them. They have no idea what they mean or what they can do when misused.”
“I understand, which is why I’m asking your advice before I make a stupid mistake. Will you help me separate the truth from the fiction?”
Myra drew in a slow breath. “As much as I can, but I will not….”
She held up a hand. “Fine, I won’t pressure you,” she broke in.
“When did you wanna go?”
“How about now?”
“No good, Jared knows where we are. If we’re gone longer than he expects us to be, he’ll get suspicious, and we’ll both get into trouble. If there’s one thing you don’t wanna do, it’s get on his bad side. Not that you could ever bring out that side of him,” she laughed and sipped her coffee, signaling the discussion was closed.
Sara sighed, frustrated. Man, this family keeps a tight lip about certain subjects. “So when do you wanna go to the bookstore?”
“It’ll have to be a joint effort. Knowing what he does,” she said and arched a challenging eyebrow as a warning not to ask, “Jared will be on his guard around you. Without a good reason, he probably won’t let you outta his sight. Lemme talk to my mother. She might help us. She’s not as rigid as Jared, but she’s more inclined to listen to him than I would be.” She laughed again, trying to distract her. The atmosphere was extremely tense.
I can play this game too. “That explains why he didn’t want you to be alone with me,” Sara smiled. She knew there was more to this, but for now, she let it slide.
“You got it! Older brothers,” Myra snorted.
Sara grinned slightly, satisfied her plan had worked. Myra wasn’t as tense. “How long will it take you to set this up?” She liked solving mysteries, and she was willing to work for the answers, but not when it involved Jared.
Myra narrowed her eyes again. “First, I didn’t say I could. I said I’d talk to her. When she wants to, Mother can be as stubborn as Jared. I’ll talk to her when we leave the hospital. We’re supposed to go to the feed & seed, and get supplies for the horses.”
“You have horses?” Sara tried to sound excited. She would try anything to gain Myra’s confidence. “Where are they? I didn’t see any.”
“That’s because the barn is several miles from the house, next to the river. It provides a fresh water supply for the horses. We use the land for grazing.”
“How many does your father own?”
“None,” she chuckled. “They’re Jared’s. He doesn’t have the land at Wisteria Hall, so we take care of them for him. He keeps talking about building a barn and a corral, but he honestly doesn’t have the time.”
“OK, how many horses does Jared own?”
“Twelve,” she broke off. “No, wait – thirteen. Jade just foaled. Her colt is as cute as can be. Except for the white blaze on her face, she looks just like her dam, but she has her sire’s attitude. I’m surprised Jared hasn’t told you about them. Apart from you, his sketches, and Raging Storm, the horses were once his pride and joy.”
“I guess he didn’t have time for that either,” Sara sighed. And, apparently a lot of other stuff. “Do you think he’d mind if you showed them to me? I’d love to see them sometime. Right now, I wanna be there for Jared in case….”
“You love my brother, don’t you?” she interjected and smiled.
“Yes. I do. I just hope I’m the right person for him.”
Myra smiled again and pushed her chair under the table. “One thing’s for sure, he’s crazy about you. We better get back before he thinks I’ve gone behind his back and told you all the things I’m not supposed to tell you,” she laughed.
~ ~ ~
When they got back to the room, Jared was sitting in a chair, next to the old man’s bed. Nadine was in a chair, napping. He held a finger to his lips as they entered the room. “Mother just went to sleep,” he said in a loud whisper. “Dad said she’s been here all night. She’s only sleeping now because she knows I’m here.”
Sara kissed Jared. He put his hand behind her neck and held her in place. She wasn’t complaining, but it was a little embarrassing in front of his sister, who was standing by the door.
“Ahem,” she cleared her throat. Jared turned. “I told Sara about the horses. She wants to see them, especially Jade’s new foal.”
He arched an eyebrow and frowned. “Really? What else did you tell her?”
“Nothing, Jared.” She sounded both disappointed and annoyed. “I would never go against your wishes.”
He eyed her. “You have before,” his voice trailed off, accusingly.
“That was different. I knew I was doing the right thing. Anyway, I need to go to the feed store. Dad’s exhausted from being here with Granddad, so I thought I’d do it for him. Sara wants to come along, that is if you trust me enough to let her.”
Jared glanced at Sara; she smiled. “I need to pick up some clothes and other things at the store. Remember?”
He stood. “You’ll need me there to unload the truck.”
Myra forced her breath out. “No, you stay with Granddad. We’re not as muscular as you, but I’m sure Sara and I will manage.”
“Besides, you shouldn’t leave your mother alone right now,” Sara said. If you’re there, I won’t get my books, and Myra will clam up again. If you won’t give me answers, I’ll find them on my own.
Jared scribbled something on the back of a Raging Storm business card and stepped next to Sara. He took out his wallet and handed her his credit card and the business card. “Take this and get whatever you want. Make sure you get at least a weeks’ worth of clothes.” She nodded. It wasn’t wise to argue the point with him. “If you have problems with the card call me. Have fun.” He kissed her and shook a finger in Myra’s face. “You, be careful. Don’t let anything happen to her.”
“I won’t, Jared,” she said, taken aback. She grabbed Sara’s elbow. “Let’s get outta here before he changes his mind.”
~ ~ ~
“Well, that was easy enough!” Sara exhaled.
“Don’t be so sure. Jared does that. We got away from him, but don’t think he doesn’t know what we’re doing. Remember what I told you. If you were gonna do anything in the waking world that would’ve affected yours or Jared’s future, you probably told him about it. Trust me - he’ll remember.” They stepped into the elevator. Myra pushed the button and turned. “I know one thing for sure,” she said, attempting to change the subject again.
Sara cocked her head. “What?”
“He loves you!” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as they rode the elevator to the ground floor.
Sara leaned forward. “Pardon?”
“Jared gave you his credit card. Sara, he doesn’t do that with anyone! He never gave it to Eve!”
~ ~ ~
Myra stopped next to a metallic, black Audi Roadster. “Nice ride,” Sara said.
“You like it?” She beamed. “It was a graduation present from Jared.”
“He bought you a car for graduation!”
“I guess being the baby has its advantages,” she smirked. “Either that or he felt overly generous. I’m not complaining,” she chuckled. “Ever since he moved to Louisiana and started his partnership practice, he’s been spoiling me.”
Sara narrowed her eyes and grinned. “Then why did you say what you did about him giving me his credit card?”
She revved the engine. “He does these things for people, but it has to be his idea. You’re the first person he’s given free rein of his bank account.” She laughed again and turned on her stereo. A familiar song blared through the surround-sound speakers system. “I’d let the top down, but I think it’ll be better with the air conditioner on.”
Sara frowned. How do you suppose she got her hands on this? “That’s OK. I don’t like my hair being blown all over the place, anyway.” Curiosity was killing her. “Myra, this CD was recorded the other night, in Jared’s studio. How did you get it so fast?”
“He sent it to me. I love to hear you sing, Sara. I’m looking forward to the convention. I wish I could sing like you.”
“Do you sing?”
“Only when Jared’s not around,” she snorted. “He says it grates on his ears. I’m not musically gifted like Jared and Joe, my other brother.” She sang some. It didn’t take Sara long to understand. Myra was pretty, her speaking voice was pleasant, but when it came to music, she couldn’t carry a tune if her life depended on it!
She smiled and tolerated the noise, but she was thankful when they parked in front of a Specialties Bookstore. Myra grabbed the door handle. “Let’s see what we can find you to read.”