Colorworld by Rachel E. Kelly

Author:Rachel E. Kelly [Kelly, Rachel E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rachel E Kelly
Published: 2013-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

23

Kaylen chatters happily at me about our upcoming ride while we work together in the kitchen. Whenever I have kitchen duty, I wash all of the produce myself because I’m tired of tasting pesticides in my food. It’s bad enough that I have to eat anything with preservatives, but a little extra time under the water helps the pesticide problem a lot.

Gina’s with us, too, and when Kaylen isn’t naming all the horses or talking about which trail we’ll take, Gina’s explaining her ability to direct electrical currents. I don’t care, really, but I smile at her during the important parts.

“I’m ready to bring these to the counter,” I warn, waiting for Gina and Kaylen to move a safe distance from me. My hands aren’t gloved which always makes me anxious. I feel naked whenever I have them off. It reminds me of a time before my mom died when Letty and I went to a club. I’d gotten bad news about my mom’s cancer progression and I just wanted to get lost entirely in the emotions of others. Going out was the best way to do that, and I did it all the time during that low point in my life. My ability might have been limited to touch before, but in a crowd I could easily pick up on the general vibe of the people around me without touching them. That night I guess I was feeling especially vindictive, because I dressed to the hilt: stilettos, shorts, and a halter top that was so low it didn’t leave much to the imagination. I definitely got the reaction I was going for. I felt like I could have had every fawner kissing my feet if I’d asked. The control I had over their minds was… frightening. And all because I’d uncovered more skin. Strangely though, it made me uncomfortable. Self-conscious in a way that had me looking down all night to be sure my breasts were still covered and my butt was still in my shorts.

That shameful behavior aside, I now feel provocative in a different kind of way—as if I might be brandishing a rifle.

Work resumes once I’ve shifted carefully around to the long counter, re-gloved, and taken a chopping knife in hand.

“So do you want to take Chancy?” Kaylen asks me, assuming that I’ve memorized all the horses’ names and personalities and am ready to make an informed selection.

I shrug. “As long as it has four legs and a mane and tail, I’m good. I just want to get on one.”

I take a whiff of the vegetables I’ve washed to make sure I’ve done a good job removing the residue. They smell fine, but I consequently smell everything else in the room. Kaylen smells like she’s been in the woods. Well, everyone here has that scent, but she’s been hiking in the thick of it; it’s the heavy aroma of underbrush. I know she didn’t go riding today. She was complaining about it earlier. There are no stable smells on her either.

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