Read The Stern and Wild Ones (The Seeker Series) for Free Online Page B

middle of the table, equidistant between us. He held a fork out to me, saying, "Ally, I know you think that whatever it is you have to tell me is horrible, terrible, and in all other ways a deal-breaker, but I have to tell you that it will be so much better if you have a bite of this amazing pie first." He dangled the fork in front of me, raising his eyebrows hopefully. How could I resist?
    I laughed and took a small bite of the pie, a layered concoction with a chocolate crust, a fudgy, dark chocolate layer, and a creamy caramel layer, all topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles around the edge. It was pretty much the trifecta of delightfulness. I moaned as I chewed. It was nearly a When Harry Met Sally moment. "Wow. This is wonderful! I've never tried this before." And then I started to tear up--the thought of losing this, this camaraderie we were building, for lack of a better term, was heart breaking. Add to that the stress I was under with these crazy visions popping up and you've got the makings of a real drama scene.  Now, let me let you in on a little secret: redheads are not pretty criers. We tend to get all blotchy and red with a tendency towards swelling--not attractive. I so needed to get myself under control.
    I've got to give Jack a huge amount of credit; when confronted with a teary redhead, in public no less, he didn't bolt for his car as fast as possible. In fact, he was extremely solicitous, taking my hand and passing me a napkin to wipe my nose. Sweet and practical. "Hey, it's ok, Ally. The pie's not that good." He tried to lighten the mood. I gave a slight chuckle. "Listen," he continued, "are you in trouble somehow? Ally, I promise I will understand--I've been there myself--and I will help you."
    I managed to control my tears enough to say, "Oh, God, Jack, I'm not on drugs or anything. I have not committed a crime of any sort." He just continued to look at me while still rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.  "And I am absolutely not pregnant."
    "Well, that is a relief. I haven't experienced that last one. I could help you with the first two, however. Come on, Ally. What's going on with you?"
    What on earth was I going to tell him? I remembered Grams' dictate that outsiders should not know about our "family gift", but I couldn’t lie to him anymore. Maybe it went back to the feeling I've had all along that there was more to Jack than met the eye. I decided to try to tell him the truth, realizing that this was probably the end of our very short relationship. "It's just that I have to tell you something that sounds insane and kinda like science fiction."
    He was still rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. How was I supposed to concentrate with him touching me like that? I felt it tingling all the way to my toes. "I promise to listen with an open mind," he said.
    I took a deep breath a dove in. "Ok. Here goes. Ever since I was a little girl, I have known certain things about people. Things I should not have any way of knowing. This kind of thing actually runs in my family. And yesterday, I had an extremely clear vision in the middle of English about Veronica Albluth. I know for a fact that she is pregnant, which will not come as a shock to anyone, but today, just a little while ago, I had another vision of her being smacked around by some guy and called some very bad names. And I really don't think it was her boyfriend, Daniel. That's all. Except I'm really scared and freaked out by all this. And, oh, yeah, you can ask Tara if you don't believe me. Or my grandmother. Or my mom." I finally stopped to take a breath, afraid to look at him, afraid if what I'd see in his eyes.
    He stopped rubbing my knuckles and sat back in his seat. "So, wait a minute. You're telling me that you are having some sort of ESP visions? That you're, like...a psychic?" He laughed once, disbelieving.
    I withdrew my hand from hi s and looked down at the table, making designs in a drop of cold, spilled coffee with my