Hear Me When the Sun Goes Down by Lisa Olsen

direction of the bedrooms again.
    I studied the bandage on my hand wondering what it was she’d seen.  “Do you ever get used to that?”
    “Makes it interesting at holiday gatherings,” Laveda grinned.  She had other things on her mind though.  “So, how long have the two of you been…?”
    My breath sucked in out of habit and I choked on a dry bit e of cookie before I remembered I didn’t have to breathe and froze until she could hand me a glass of water. 
    “Must be useful going all still like that when you’re choking,” she added with a touch of envy as I gulped it down.
    “Thanks,” I croaked, taking another sip for good measure.  “We’re friends, that’s all.”
    “Go on, pull the other one,” she said with a wink.  “Anyone can tell by looking at you how far gone the two of you are.”
    Frak !  Was that true?  Was it really written all over our faces?  “Please tell me you’re just saying that.”
    “F air enough, not just anyone could tell, but I can.  Got a knack for reading people, I do.”
    Knack or not, that was dangerous information for her to have, and I didn’t hesitate in using my compulsion on her, catching hold of her will with mine.  “You won’t tell anyone that Rob and I have feelings for each other.  In fact, you’ll forget I was ever here today,” I added for good measure.  That ought to take care of it, except for the fact that she flat out laughed in my face. 
    “That don’t work on me, luv.  Top marks for the effort though.”
    “Cripes, I forgot, you’re related to Rob,” I remembered too late, falling back against the counter in disappointment.  How the heck was I supposed to fix this now?  There was always a good old fashioned threat, but I wasn’t sure Rob wanted me trying to strong arm his relatives.  Then again, Rob was way scarier than me on most days.  “If you say anything about this to anyone, Rob will go completely mental on you.”
    She seemed to find the notion more amusing than threatening.  “Don’t get your knickers in a knot, it’s no business of mine anyway.”
    “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to get her to understand the gravity of the situation.  “I wouldn’t care, but it’s actually super important no one find out about Rob and me.  We’re not doing anything wrong, but we have to hide this thing between us, at least for now.  Can we trust you to keep quiet about it?”
    Laveda put down the box of tea and picked up both of my hands.  “Tell me how you feel when you think of Rob.”
    That knocked me for a loop.  “How do I feel?  I…”  I spent so much time denying those feelings, I hardly knew how to articulate them.  Only she didn’t seem all that interested in anything I had to say, her eyes unfocused as she sucked in a sharp breath and let it out long and slow, lips curving. 
    “Oh, I see…” she breathed.  “ That’s a right scorcher, ain’t it?”
    “What is?”
    “Those lovely tinglies you get when I say his name,” she grinned.  Laveda let go of my hands and picked up my discarded water glass, gulping back the rest of the contents.  “You’re pretty far gone, yeah?”
    “Did you just… were you reading my mind or something?”  How shiny was that?  Except for the whole invading my privacy thing. 
    “Nothing so brilliant as all that.  I told you I’ve a knack for reading people.”  She put the glass in the sink and swiped another cookie.  “If I focus, I pick up your emotions, feel what you’re feeling and it was pretty steamy there for a tick.  Don’t you worry, I’ll keep mum about it all right.  We’re family now, ain’t we?”
    Surprised to be brought so quickly into the fold, I gave her an impulsive hug.  “Thanks.  I don’t know what to say, you guys have been great.  I wish my family stuck together half as well.  Except for my sister, she’s always had my back.”
    “Always wanted a sister,” Laveda admitted with a wistful sigh as she poured steaming