24.

Taylor sat on her own couch, in her own living room, with her own mug of hot cocoa in her hands. Through the unenc.u.mbered window, she watched as geese landed in the empty patch of gra.s.s that had been covered in sod that morning. She'd worked from sun up to sun down, recreating the peace and tranquillity she'd intended to give to that splotch of land before she'd been jailed, hurt, sick and put on health arrest for a week and a half. It burned her psyche that she hadn't been allowed to exercise, that her mother hovered, and, more so, that Ian hadn't even called.

At the footsteps on the hardwood floor, she turned.

"What should we do today, darling?" Her mom dropped onto the couch with an air of grace and tranquility.

Taylor scanned the room, from her baby blue walls, chair rail and moulding she'd installed years ago, to the marble backsplash around the fireplace and the antiques that graced the mantel. The effect should have made her feel better, not worse.

"Come on, Tay. We can get out for a walk, or I can drive you to the park-"

"Stop it, Mama." Taylor closed her eyes at her biting tone. "I'm sorry. I'm just not in the mood to *do' stuff right now just for the sake of doing." She snuggled deeper into her chair, an overstuffed, country contemporary in denim, but would have preferred to run outside and chop a log into a zillion pieces just for the rush of energy that would flow through her body.

Her mom put her hands on her knees and stood. "Well, it has been a week. Maybe I should stop hovering so much." Guilt wracked Taylor.

"I'm sorry, Mama, really. I'm not used to being coddled, and I feel like that's all anyone's doing. Not just you. But Lexi. Emma. Riley. I know ya'll are trying to make up for lost time, but really, I'm okay with how it was. I like my independence, and I don't need someone here every hour of every day. I need to get back to work, to my projects, to making money and-" Taylor set the cup on the table and stood, dropping the blanket in the process as she moved to her mother. She wouldn't say *forgetting Ian' though she knew she should. Her arms snaked around her mom's waist. "Thank you for being kind during this battle, but I think it's over. There won't ever be another of these instances."

Hands ran up and down Taylor's back. "And, you're sure you want me to leave?"

She chuckled. "You live five miles away. I can send smoke signals if I need you. And yes, I know how."

Her mother's fingers threaded with Taylor's. "I really do wish that Ian would stop by again."

Taylor's heart lurched. "Riley's been by every day. Just like you and Daddy. Ian ... well, he was ... just a friend."

"Could've fooled me." With that, she slid away and, grabbing her purse, went to the door. "You'll call me if you need anything, right?"

The doorbell chimed.

An inner excitement ran through Taylor with hope Ian might make a surprise return.

"I'll get it, Taylor."

"Thanks, Mama."

A soft creak came with the opening of the door, and Taylor made a mental note to oil the hinges as she sank back into her seat.

"Oh, h.e.l.lo, Miss Agnes," Taylor's mom said. "What can we do for you?"

"I made some sweet rolls this morning and thought Miss Taylor might like some."

Taylor's lips cracked into a smile. When home, her across-the-street neighbor popped out of her house only long enough to ply Taylor with sugar before she and her husband would be off traveling the world again.

"I'll be happy to give them to her," Taylor's mom said.

"Would you, dear? Thank you for that."

The shuffling at the door didn't bring Taylor out of her spot. Her mom could drop the dish on the counter before leaving.

"Oh ... I forgot." Agnes's old lady voice cracked.

"Yes?" Taylor's mom said.

"Frank and I will be heading to Maine in two weeks. Then we have a cruise through the Pacific over the summer. If you know of anyone wishing for a nice, furnished rental, have Miss Taylor call me or come by. Someone like that nice young man we had last fall."

Nice young man from last fall? Taylor couldn't recall any visitors from the fall, only the summer-when a family with two kids had planned to relocate and used Agnes's home while they found their own. Taylor had been too busy with the reconstruction of Tripp and Lexi's Victorian to be neighborly. She cringed at the thought her mother would find out she'd failed in her southern hospitality.

"Ah, okay. I'll tell her," her mom said. The same creak sounded until the door clicked closed. "She brought you some cinnamon rolls, honey. They're warm, too. I'll just leave them on the table."

"Take one to Daddy, please." Taylor stared out the window. A crow landed in the center of the yard, scattering the other two birds to the sky.

Cupboards opened and closed. Tupperware burped. "All right, then. The rest are on the stove." Rubber-soled shoes squidged their way toward the door.

Taylor took a deep breath, and two clicks later, silence filled the room.

A crow winged into the air.

Another chime from the doorbell tinkled through the s.p.a.ce. Mama can let herself back in. Another ring had Taylor clambering up and heading toward the door as the bells sounded a third time. She grabbed the handle and yanked open her barrier to the outside world.

Emma and Lexi stood on the other side. "Hi," they said together.

Taylor faked a smile while inside she cringed. "Come on in." The idea of having guests didn't appeal to her, but ingrained training-by-Janet-Marsh kept that tidbit of information from surfacing.

The two of them exchanged looks before walking in, grabbing Taylor's arms and pulling her from the house.

"Hey! What're you doing?"

In the middle of her driveway sat a stretch limo.

Taylor dug in her heels as her two so-called friends dragged her farther. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where you're taking me."

Behind the limo, Tripp's car sat, idling, and her mother stood at her own car, the door wide open.

"Seriously. What are you doing?"

The driver of the stretch stepped out, walked to the back and held open the door.

Taylor yanked herself free. "Stop it right now."

Emma and Lexi both let go, though the smiles upon their faces remained.

"He left me, remember? He thinks he's going to repeat a cycle and kill me."

They both stood with their arms crossed over their chests.

"h.e.l.lo?" Taylor snapped in front of their faces. "Anybody home?"

A giggle came from her mom.

"It's been a week and a half, Taylor." Lexi broke the silly standoff. "We gave you the week to get your wits about you. We gave Ian a week to get over himself. The extra few days have been just plain silly."

"Martyrdom is just not fashionable these days." Emma mirrored Lexi's stance, though the small hump on Lexi's stomach had her standing out more than her sister.

"Ian's not going to kill you," Lexi said.

"And, you would know this how?" Taylor ran a hand through her hair. "You're the one who pointed us to the photo. We have the rings, and we know about the game that ends in my death. Or his."

"Yes, we know." Lexi bobbled her head to each shoulder before righting herself again. "But Ian's not that kind of guy."

"Do you really believe he'd do that?" Emma asked. "Truly?"

Taylor heaved a sigh. "Of course not. And, I told him so."

"I told you before that you're meant to be together, and I'm never wrong, Taylor. I know this is right for you and Ian," Lexi said.

"Oh, well then. Since you said so ..." Sarcasm coated her words. "I doubt he thought he would kill me in previous lives, either. But, when all is said and done, the evidence is kinda conclusive. I do have to agree with him, even if I don't think he'll do it again."

"It's circ.u.mstantial, and I can understand his position, but I swear to you ..." Lexi tapped her foot on the ground. "... this is not the eighteen hundreds, not a time where races are separate, not a time where men dictate the rules and lives of women. That was then. This is now. That's a major game changer."

"And, you think lives and circ.u.mstance change the path we're on?"

Emma and Lexi turned toward each other, Emma facing Taylor again first. "Let me tell you about what you think life will be like and what you can do to change the course of it. My sister here ..." She thumbed over her shoulder. "... She and her man are living proof we humans can screw over Zeus. *Cause he is the instigator behind all these riddles and games. Not for a minute did I let Lexi wallow in the inherent conflict in her life-and let me tell you, it was just as bad as yours but in a completely different way. Now ... she fought me as much as she did Tripp, but as you can see, they are together, G.o.dly Greek conflict or not. So, h.e.l.l yeah, I think you can change your path."

Taylor hadn't yet learned what exactly happened to Tripp and Lexi, except that it related, somehow, to her and Ian. "But, it's not the same."

Emma stuck her hands on her hips. "Why? Because they knew what they were walking into? And you don't? Dude, so not true. That was even harder for them because Lex couldn't wrap her head around the solution even when it punched her in the face." Emma took a deep breath. "So ... when I say *you can change your path, young gra.s.shopper', I mean it. I believe it. You just don't let the past screw with you. Take it by the b.a.l.l.s and yank it."

Taylor spurted a laugh, hiding it behind her hand. "But-"

"She doesn't believe us," Lexi said.

Emma shook her head. "Time to bring out the big guns."

"Do you know who Metis is?" Lexi smiled as she asked.

"No."

"She was Zeus's wife," Emma started. "The most important woman in his life, in fact. She meddled just like Zeus did, but not in the same way. He screwed with humans. She screwed, ha ha, literally, with him." When Emma stopped chuckling, she said, "Her name alone means wisdom and cunning. For example, she was the one who gave Zeus a nice, little liquid concoction so he'd make Kronos throw up Zeus's own brothers and sisters. Gross, but that's what we women do. We look out for each other. For our futures. For our children. For love." Emma let out a long, sarcastic sigh. "Every mythological loophole comes from her. That includes her ability to give gifts."

Lexi added, "Like fire, water, earth and air. Or mental gifts like Tripp and I have. Or whatever."

That had been the first real time Lexi had defined her gift. Had Ian told her about Taylor's? She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Wouldn't I know if I had a way to fix this?"

Emma held her palms up to the sky and waved. Lexi blew a breath.

"You know," Taylor said.

They both shrugged.

"You think the fact I can manipulate air is somehow related?"

They both nodded at the same time, in exactly the same way.

"He loves you, Taylor," Lexi said. "But, he's just as stubborn as you. If he says he's going to keep away? He will. He doesn't break his own rules."

"If you want to give this thing you got goin' on a chance?" Emma waved a finger in the air. "Then, you gotta take the boy by the b.a.l.l.s and tie *em in a knot about your finger and just hope to h.e.l.l what Metis gave you will fix it all. If anything happens."

"But how is air going to help me not die? I mean, besides the obvious?"

Lexi and Emma squished up their noses at the same time.

"Ya'll do that a lot, don't you?" Taylor pointed at one and the other and back.

"So we're told," Lexi said. "Just remember, I know you're meant to be together. I have no idea how it's going to happen, I just know it. And, I'm never wrong."

Taylor put her hand on the limo's frame but didn't enter. "What if it all turns out to be true? What if he does kill me, and I have to live all the rest of my lives ... to infinity ... miserable? How am I supposed to deal with that?"

"You can either believe Lexi or my magic eight ball. It came up with *All signs point to no'," Emma said as Taylor rolled her eyes. "What if this is part of the roller coaster ride, and this time you've figured it out before it can all blow up in your face? Are you really going to give up a chance to try? Isn't that what life is all about? You're born. You die. In between, you do ... stuff. Where there's a will there's a way. Don't let a Greek G.o.d screw with you more than he has. Lexi and Tripp are a testament to that."

"You're being very cliche today, Em." Lexi nudged her sister's hip. "In your heart, Taylor-deep in there-do you really think Ian is going to hurt you?"

Taylor didn't believe it. She never had. That mental picture had never come to her like the rest of her past-life memories. She shook her head as she whispered, "No. But-"

"No buts!" Emma and Lexi said together. Lexi pushed Taylor inside the car. "Sometimes, you're the lemon and sometimes, you make lemonade. Now get in the limo, and go squeeze the fruit."

Taylor chuckled, having absolutely no idea as to the relevance of Emma's comment.

"The limo will take you to the airport," Lexi said. "The plane is waiting. There's a service that will meet you at the FBO for a ride to Ian's place. And, here's a key just in case you need it."

"Why-"

Emma's glare stopped Taylor.

She glanced at her sweats, T-shirt and flip-flops.

"His brother Michael is helping us." A grin shot across Emma's face. "So, don't even worry about Ian not being there or anything."

"What if the lemon is too sour?" Taylor hoped she'd used the a.n.a.logy in context.

Lexi laid her hand on Taylor's shoulder. "Then you add some sugar."

Taylor burst out a laugh as she dropped to the seat, and the limo driver closed the door.