In His Sights by Tina Beckett

Author:Tina Beckett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

A wide range of emotions flashed through Callie’s eyes: shock, outrage…and doubt. Cole waited for the inevitable question or for her to repeat back his words.

Mirroring.

Wasn’t that what they called that charming little technique?

“No. Whoever told you that was wrong,” she finally said.

His mouth had already opened to cut off all questions about how being a “tragedy” made him feel. He snapped his jaw shut. It was his turn to be shocked.

“I never said anyone told me that. I just knew.”

She shook her head. “They may not have said it in words, but you perceived it.”

Dammit, why did she always have to be right?

That was a shrink for you. They stood over you and told you what you were thinking and feeling. All through a very clever system of tricks. All geared to trip you up.

This was not what he wanted to be doing in the middle of Angola. They had to get through three more days in each other’s company. And he fully intended that to be a hands-off, almost silent affair, until he could get to Moss, dump Callie into the chopper and get on with his life. A life that didn’t include relationships with mind melders.

“You’re wrong. I didn’t perceive anything. I had some serious problems as a kid.”

“What kind of problems?”

Cole looked past her to the dilapidated railroad tracks. In the same way those tracks spelled disaster to a train that tried to navigate them, this woman could spell disaster to all he’d accomplished in his adult life, if he wasn’t careful. She was shaking the iron rails and bringing back memories he’d pushed out of sight.

He lifted a shoulder in irritation. “Typical kid stuff. Behavioral problems.”

“Your parents took you to a psychiatrist because of it?”

“Yeah. You could call her that. She had a shingle and she wasn’t afraid to hang it.” Another shrug. “Only it wasn’t my parents. By that time there was only my mom and me. My dad skipped out.”

“By that time…” Callie frowned. “You think your dad left because of you?”

“The shrink did. I heard her and my mom talking before I was allowed into the room with them. My mother was crying. Talking about how much of a problem I was in school, how my dad hadn’t been able to take it anymore.”

“You heard all that from another room?”

“The receptionist went to get me some juice. I put my ear to the door.”

“Haven’t you ever heard the proverb about eavesdroppers?”

“Tell that to a six-year-old boy who doesn’t understand why his father no longer comes home.”

She reached out and touched his arm. “Oh God, Cole. I’m so sorry. But it wasn’t your fault.”

“No? The shrink thought otherwise. Assured my mother she’d find out what was wrong with me. That there were always treatment options.”

He gave an exaggerated stretch to remove her hand from his arm and to cover his restless need for movement, the need to get away from the source of his discomfort. “My mother just wanted me to stop bouncing off the walls.

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