A PSYCHIC HITCH                                 Chapter 1 On the steps of the old two-story house, Cheri London turned back to the psychic who hadn’t helped her. Cydney    Tryree stood in the doorway, her dark eyes bearing down on her. “Don’t apologize.” Cheri told her. “You will have to come to terms with your past. Only then will you have the child of your dreams.” Cheri shivered. There, the little woman did it again. Out of nowhere making references to something she swore her sister never told her. Out of nowhere, she referred to something she swore Karla, her sister, never revealed. It’ s not that she didn’t believe in her powers of premonition, but they’d spent the last two hours chatting, and nothing. Cheri stepped back up on the porch, watching the woman. The intense look on her face had her own eyes narrowing. “Don’t pacify me, Cyd. If you didn’t get a read from me, don’t tell me what I want to hear to ease your conscience.” “It’s up to you to recognize the signs of your time.” What? “Cyd--” “Green will bring balance and harmony to your life. You’ll fight it, but it’ll win.” “I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Cyd shrugged. “Don’t be afraid of the dreams. Let them be your guide. Green will bring balance and harmony to your life.” Cheri’s breath hitched. She’d never mentioned having dreams. Dreams of her pregnant belly reflected in a mirror. Dreams where she’d held a baby she couldn’t see. Dreams of standing in a room decorated for a young boy. They’d been unlike the dreams where she’d dreamt of people dying only to learn they’d been in car accidents and died horribly. And when she’d really needed the dream to tell her something, it hadn’t come. The warning never came. Because of it, she hadn’t been able to save her father. “Don’t let the past detour you. Plan carefully and follow the signs.” “What kind of signs?” “You have strength, health and love. Trust your heart and go after what you want.” She grinned and continued, “But, things may not take the turn you want. Don’t be afraid of it.” She opened her mouth to speak, but Cydney had stepped back inside and shut the door. For a moment, she stared at the solid steel. Confirmation and riddles. What a strange woman, but her sister had warned her she would be. Cheri gathered up the lapels of her coat under her chin as she headed back down the steps, curbing the need to sigh with relief. Simply to have her urge to have a child confirmed as something she wanted and not pressure from the family to settle down, didn’t pump her up enough to call the nearest sperm bank. Nor, grab the first man she came to and have intercourse. She walked down the sidewalk and the whiff of coffee drifted by. It smelled heavenly. A glance at her watch told her she didn’t have time to stop in Leaves ‘n Beans. Aunt Ethel would never let her out of there without ten minutes of gossip. She’d be late for work. Cheri stepped from the curb and rounded her car. After a deep inhale of the scented air, she unlocked her car and climbed in. * * * * Six months later Cheri fidgeted with the napkin under her glass while she watched the entrance of Crabby Bill’s. A man entered the restaurant. Her heart raced. Could it be Darius Markum? He bypassed the host stand and headed toward a redhead who stood to greet him. She sighed and glanced at her watch. Forty-five minutes late. Damn him! She should have known better, but he’d done something to her in their chats online despite her insistence it wouldn’t be any more than a business deal. She emptied the glass and sat back in her chair. The server approached her. “Can I get you another San Pel?” “No, thanks. I’ll take the check.” The young server gave her a sympathetic smile, but she held her head up and smiled in return. It wasn’t the first time she’d been stood up. Frustrated, she left cash in the check presenter and left. She scanned the parking lot. What happened to the man who left the hot, sexy email for her to read when she arrived? The man whose promises she scoffed at. She started down the path to the hotel, and looked up toward her room. Part of her hoped to see a hand waving from the window, or at least movement of the drapes. But nothing. Shivers spiraled down her back when she thought of his tongue doing things to her he promised would rock her world. She huffed. Idiot, you didn’t tell him where you booked a room. Cheri’s breasts rose and fell with a sigh as she looked around. A walk would do her good and the beach was less populated than it’d been when she walked over from the hotel. She headed down the path and left the sidewalk. Walking in the sand with sandals proved useless and she stopped to take them off. She removed one and the bare sole hit the scorching sand. “Oh, hot!” Quickly, she took the other sandal off and hurried down to the wet, cool sand along the waters edge. Oh, yeah, much better. Unfortunately, it didn’t cool the disappointment. It settled in her stomach like a rock. Darius Markum had been the perfect candidate to help her conceive. In between trying to win her over and persuading her to come down to Florida the day after they met, he’d asked questions. Lots of questions. What had been the point of his concerns of entrusting his child with her if he never planned to follow through? He’d admitted to being a single father and wasn’t ready to raise a second child. That admission both softened and moved her further in his direction. And now, what was she supposed to do? Accept strike three and assume she and Cydney’s confirmation were both wrong? She sidestepped a rock and her foot sank in the sand. Something pierced the skin. “Ow!” She pulled her foot up and saw blood oozing out the side. “Fuck! What else can go wrong?” A quick search of her purse told her she’d forgotten to replace her packet of tissues. She looked around the nearly deserted beach and hobbled toward the road to where a large rock sat. The cut throbbed and tears stung her eyes, pissing her off. It wasn’t like her to let emotions rule or to let others see them. She sat and buried her face in her hands to bring herself back into control. The throb demanded her attention. She pulled up her first-aid knowledge. Pressure stops bleeding. Great, all she had available was the clothes she wore. She pulled the hem of her skirt up and tried to tear it at the side seam, but it wouldn’t budge. Just as she brought it to her mouth to use her teeth, she heard the crunch of tires on gravel. Her head jerked around when she realized a car stopped along the road, several yards behind her. Cheri moved strands of hair from her face. At least it stopped and didn’t barrel down on her. Though it would have been a fitting end to a crappy evening. The driver stepped out and she realized she still held the fabric in her mouth. She spit it out, hoping he hadn’t noticed. “I’ll be right there,” he called to her. He opened the trunk and pulled out a small box and came toward her. When he came to a stop before her, she let her eyes rove up over well-fitted charcoal slacks, over a two-toned black and grey Polo shirt and into a face, young, handsome. He dropped to his knees. “I hope I didn’t scare you,” he spoke with a gentle, southern draw. She shook her head, speechless. The man had a beautiful face, much like the guys in her niece’s teen magazines. “I saw you bobbing up and down from the restaurant parking lot and figured you cut your foot. It happens a lot on the beach.” He handed her the first aid kit. “My name is Allen.” With a gentle hand, he lifted her thigh and cupped her foot. “Looks like a nasty cut. Did you see what did it?” he asked as he opened the box that sat in her lap. “I didn’t think to look.” “Are you allergic to latex?” he asked as he pulled out a pair of gloves. “No.” She watched as he pulled them on and removed a gauze pad from its package. The warmth against her cool skin distracted her. The pressure of his fingers somehow eased the pain of his dabbing at the blood. He probed around and she squeezed the flesh above her knee to keep from yanking her foot from his hands, especially when he spread the gash further open, causing excruciating pain. She blew out to help deal with it as he wiped the blood with gauze. Allen turned his face up to hers. “I’m sorry, but I think whatever it was broke off and has embedded itself. I’m afraid it means a trip to the emergency room.” Cheri searched his eyes and felt the pain lessen when he stopped messing with the cut, or maybe it wasn’t much the lack of attention, but his beautiful eyes. The clear speckles in the emerald green fascinated her. It reminded her of a gem reflecting light. The sun was behind her. When she lowered her eyes to his mouth, his lips parted and the tips of her breasts tingled. Darius’ email came to her like a flood. The way he described what he could do with his lips around her nipples had felt as though she’d been reading an erotic novel. A sarcastic laugh bubbled up and she quickly swallowed it. At least the novels she’d begun, but never finished. The sex didn’t ring true for her. Men didn’t take their time and she’d sure never enjoyed it like the fictional women did. She gave her head a shake and realized he waited for a reply. What did he say? Emergency room. “No trip to the emergency room.” She rummaged through the box. “Don’t you have any tweezers in here to remove whatever it is?” Emotions welled up in her chest. Damn it! Who had a first aid kit without tweezers? Allen reached out and stilled her hand. “Hey, it’s ok. It won’t take them long to remove it and stitch it up.” She shook her head. “No. I don’t like emergency rooms.” He sat back on his heels. “Ok, the only other alternative is to come home with me and let me do what I can.” Then he turned his attention back to her foot. She tightened her leg muscles when pain shot through her foot. He gave her an apologetic look as he folded the gauze pad and set it over the wound then reached in the box and pulled out a roll of adhesive tape. “Would you mind?” She took it, her fingers grazing his and popped it from the metal casing. “If you take me to my hotel, I’m sure they have supplies you can work with. It isn’t far.” With