“You do not love Brice, you only admire him. You have something in common. You respect the way he is with children, his ability to heal, and his focus on his medicine. But you also have your reservations about him.”
“I do not,” she denied adamantly. “Why would you think that?”
“If you did not, Francesca, you would have committed your life to him. I have been in your mind—”
“Well, stay out of it.”
“It is not such an easy thing to do, sweetheart. In fact, you are asking the impossible of me. You do not like the way Brice treats the patients who are less fortunate, those without homes. You do not like the way he is able to completely forget his patients once he has treated them. There are many things you have serious reservations about. You share so much with him, so many children who are ill, but part of you knows that he needs to cure them for his own ego.”
Her dark eyes flashed at him. “Maybe that’s why I do it, too.” There was far too much truth in his words for comfort, and she was annoyed at herself even more than at him. She wanted to cling to Brice because he could never hurt her the way Gabriel had. Her lifemate had torn out her heart. His voice, so calm, so truthful, was enough to make her writhe with mortification. She was a woman of power, not a child to be hiding behind a mortal; yet, in the end, that was what she was doing rather than face her lifemate.
“You do it because you are a natural born healer with a gift beyond comparison. You would never leave Skyler in a home with strangers after what she has been through. It would never occur to you. If you could not care for her yourself, you would always watch over her. That is who you are. The doctor would simply forget her.”
“You aren’t being entirely fair to him, Gabriel. After all, he didn’t share her memories. He doesn’t know what she’s been through.” Francesca found herself defending Brice almost automatically.
“He examined her extensively,” Gabriel said. “He saw how withdrawn she was. That comes from trauma. He knew. He probably knows all of it, the physical part anyway, and he can guess at the mental and emotional trauma. It does not touch him once she is no longer his patient. That bothers you.”
Francesca turned away from him and began to walk along the sidewalk. “Maybe you’re right, Gabriel. I don’t know. I’m very confused.” He had torn out her heart. He would again when he left her to follow his twin, as he must. She could feel the touch of his mind gently reaching for hers. She hastily forced herself to think of Skyler, to focus on the teenager.
“I know you’re confused, love, and it is no wonder that you are,” Gabriel said softly, but he was watching her with his intent black gaze. “For now we should concentrate on how to bring Skyler home and provide a decent home for her. We will need to decide which memories to erase completely and which to minimize.”
“I don’t think we have the right to erase the things she’s been through, but it wouldn’t hurt to dull the memories so that she can deal with them. The most important thing is to help her feel safe, to trust us. I think she needs that more than anything else,” Francesca said softly, worried. “Of course, she’s missed most of her schooling, too.”
Gabriel shrugged indifferently. “That is the least of our worries. We can impart knowledge should there be a need. At this point she needs stability and a decent home life. Once she has the things necessary to build her confidence back, school will come.”
“Helping her will be a huge commitment, Gabriel. I do not ask that you share it with me.”
“I felt her pain. She is a mere child. But she will soon be a woman. A woman who has psychic ability.”
Francesca swung around to face him once again. “Are you certain? I thought she might, because the connection between us was so strong.”