Yearnings: A Paranormal Romance Box Set by Amber Scott, Carolyn McCray Read Free Book Online

canvas mostly.”
    Dr. Meyers smiled the one reserved for the young and mentally incompetent. “Of course you do, Sadie. I simply meant, what kinds of things do you paint? Landscapes? Portraits? Abstract still life?”
    Avoiding the subject had been Sadie’s best defense. She couldn’t lie. Omit, certainly. Any day or night of the week. But outright lie? No. Particularly, to Dr. Meyers.
    She detested the long breath that hissed out of her. The part of her that wanted to tell screamed encouragement. It needed validation. The dreams were so vivid, their coded messages so real. “I paint the things I see in my dreams.”
    Dr. Meyers’ pupils flashed, her eyebrows flicked upward. “May I see one, of your choosing, at our next visit?”
    Sadie stood up, ready for the door. “See one?”
    “ Yes, I’d like you to bring one of your paintings with you next week. Would that be alright?”
    Why would this woman wish to see her paintings unless she suspected something? Sadie bit her inner cheek, wary. If Dr. Meyers saw the things in her dreams, would she tell Dr. Fox and would he up her meds? “Can I say no?”
    Heather’s wide-eyed gaze swung from Sadie to the doctor as she slowly stood , as well.
    “ Absolutely,” Dr. Meyers said quietly , but in her voice, Sadie heard mixed reservation and determination.
    Outright refusing would raise more flags. Sadie took two steps, knocking her shin into the low glass table. “Ouch.” She rubbed at the spot. “Um, can I think about it?”
    “ Of course you can.” Dr. Meyers stood, leading them to the door with all the cordiality of a hostess at a fine restaurant. “I would appreciate it if you would consider it, but the choice is yours, of course. Either way I’ll see you both in two weeks.”
    The choice was hers? Then why did Sadie feel like she’d sniffed the cheese on a mousetrap?
     

 
     
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Sadie pressed the popcorn button on the microwave and returned her attention to Ben.
    Her cousin, Jen, would not be home soon.
    “ How long has your cousin owned this place?” Ben asked, looking around. There wasn’t much in the way of furnishings in the thirty - five - hundred square foot home.
    “ A couple of years, I guess.”
    “ And what does your cousin do for a living to score these kinds of digs?”
    If she told Ben the truth, would he guess Jen had gotten Sadie the library job? “She’s a historian. And her dad died when she was young.”
    Ben’s assumptions flitted across his face as he nodded. She wasn’t so sure asking him over was turning out to be a good idea. She didn’t know how to entertain and had certainly never done so here. She wasn’t sure whether Jen would freak over it or not. But after today, she’d rather cheese grate her fingernails than sit around alone.
    Elijah falling, his “girl’s” laughter, dropping the books. At first, it was like he was actually seeing her, for the first time. And liked what he saw. Until his eyes narrowed, his mouth curled downward. The distaste on his face had branded onto her brain. Had his nostrils flared too, or was her memory filling in the gaps?
    Then there was her shrink session. What the hell was she going to tell Dr. Meyers in two weeks when she showed up empty handed?
    The microwave beeped. Sadie retrieved the popcorn.
    “ Please tell me you at least have cable,” Ben said, gesturing to the scantly furnished living room before popping a handful of buttery popcorn into his mouth.
    “ Yes. We have cable. Jen is waiting to furnish the place one room at a time.”
    “ Hey, to each her own, I say.” Another buttery handful disappeared. “So do I get a tour?”
    “ Um, sure.” She would skip Jen’s room. That might be too personal.
    Even with all of Ben’s oohs and ahs, her mind wandered. Today should have bent her fantasies back to reality. As in, she didn’t have a chance with Elijah. It hadn’t. Sycophant that she’d become over him, today’s mishap didn’t