Free Endless by Tawdra Kandle

your other
questions.” He gestured to the two women standing by the food, and
they immediately began uncovering dishes and moving around the
table.
    Michael leaned over to whisper to me. “This
is quite a show, isn’t it?” I shot him a smile and nodded. I wasn’t
sure how many of these people could hear thoughts, but I knew at
least Cathryn was probably tuned in to Michael.
    Within a few moments, I had waffles with soft
butter and warm maple syrup, a slice of ham and home fried potatoes
heaped on my plate. A glass of guava juice and a crystal goblet of
ice water glistened in front of me.
    “Miss.” One of the servers gently touched my
arm. “Would you prefer coffee or tea?”
    “Uhh. . .” I glanced at the silver coffee urn
in her hand. “Coffee, please.”
    “Regular or decaffeinated? Cream and
sugar?”
    If I had known there were going to be so many
questions, I would’ve said tea. “Regular, please and lots of cream
and sugar.”
    The server smiled at me, the first genuine
emotion I’d seen her display. “Here you go. Enjoy.”
    At the other end of the table my parents were
engrossed in conversation with the Landowers.
    “I understand you have reservations,” John
was saying. “We did, too. Our daughter Melissa is a
manipulator.”
    “Oh.” My mother was clearly nonplussed. She
glanced down the table at me, but it was Cathryn who laid her hand
on my mom’s arm and answered her.
    “Nora, what Theresa means is that Melissa can
manipulate minds. Some prefer the term ‘influencer’ or even the
less formal ‘bender’.” She smiled broadly down the table at me.
“Tasmyn, your friend Rafe was a bender, wasn’t he?”
    All conversation halted. The only sound was
the gentle clink of the servers replacing dishes on the
sideboard.
    The temper that I had been barely keeping in
check all morning surged in my throat. I felt a tingling down my
arms and into my face as I instinctively reached into a pool of
energy I’d been ignoring for months. The goblet of water flew
across the table, missed Cathryn’s head by centimeters and crashed
into the wall behind her. Water and glass splattered the poor
startled server and fell into a tinkling circle on the glossy wood
floor.
    “Tasmyn!” My mother’s horrified gasp left no
doubt where the blame lay. I closed my eyes; the power had ebbed as
quickly as it flowed.
    Michael closed his hand over mine and
directed his thoughts to me. It’s okay. You’re okay. No one is
hurt. Take it easy. . .breathe in, breathe out. Find the
calm.
    Aloud he said, “Tasmyn and I are going to
step outside for just a minute. I think she could use some
air.”
    He pulled me to my feet and out of the room,
my face scarlet and my heart pounding.
    “Excuse me.” The server who had poured my
coffee followed us into the hallway. “Sir, if you go this way, the
hall leads to the back veranda. It’s quiet.”
    “Thank you.” Michael flashed her a grateful
smile and drew me with him along the hall. I sucked in a deep
breath as soon as the warm air hit my face.
    Michael pulled me back against his chest and
fitted his arms around mine. “Better?” he murmured into my ear.
    I nodded. “A little.” I laid my head back
against Michael’s shoulder and let his strong reassurance pour into
me.
    “That was something in there.” His breath
against my cheek made me shiver, and I gripped his hands under
mine, pulled myself even tighter into his embrace.
    “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It just—it
happened before I could think. That feeling—it hasn’t been that
strong in months. I didn’t have time to control it.”
    Michael was silent for a moment. I heard his
intention before he spoke. “Was it Cathryn mentioning Rafe that
made you so angry?”
    I shook my head, feeling my hair brush
against his chin. “It wasn’t Rafe. It was just all of it. Her neat
little presentation, all sophisticated and put together, making me
feel so inferior. . .and then chatting up my parents at