Jade walked in and sat at her usual booth in Pete’s diner. She immediately spotted the diner’s perky waitress, Stacey Rowe. Stacey hustled from table to table like a miniature hurricane. Jade caught Stacey’s eye over the heads of a group of men sitting at the large table. They smiled at each other in greeting. Jade watched Stacey charm the men at the table through the ordering process. Stacey’s smile could light a whole room. One of the men seemed dazzled by her, which was a common phenomenon and partly explained why Pete’s was so popular with the locals and tourists alike.

Jade looked closer at the six men sitting at the big table. They were all handsome, roughly the same age and were wearing jeans and flannels as if they were required uniforms. She was pretty sure they were not locals, at least she didn’t remember seeing them before.

The biggest of the group looked up from his contemplation of the table and stared straight into her eyes. She couldn’t look away. She felt trapped by his gaze. She was used to being invisible as she huddled in the corner of her booth. His attention focused more intently on her as the seconds ticked by and she felt a chill run down her spine. She felt like he was seeing directly into her soul. She knew she was seeing his. Her gift involuntarily arched across the distance between them. Jade acknowledged the invasion of his emotions into her mind. He had no malice in him. There was sadness in him and a need to protect. His curiosity about her was growing by the second.

The steady gaze of his piercing blue-grey eyes enhanced her quickly growing awareness of everything about him. His black hair, his dark thick eyelashes, his strong jaw and full lips fit his face perfectly. If he wasn’t so very large and masculine, she might describe him as pretty. His build was muscular and solid and even though he was sitting she knew he was tall. She only realized she was staring back at him when Stacey finally blocked her view of the stranger, breaking their eye contact.

“What brings you to town this morning?” Stacey asked directing her full force smiling beam at Jade.

“I had to deliver to Carson’s this morning and I wanted to see you.” Something in Jade relaxed as she successfully disconnected from the stranger by focusing on her friend.

“Are you going to eat or just visit?” Stacey glanced quickly at the table of big men, then turned back to wink at Jade.

Jade frowned, “Well, I’m hungry.”

“Killing a lot of birds with one trip then.” Stacey’s attention continued to stray to the young men at the table. Jade could feel excitement rolling off her friend in waves.

Jade quickly covered up her surprise at Stacey’s reaction to the men, “I don’t like that phrase. I don’t want to kill anything. But yes, trying to get a lot done so I don’t have to come to town again for a while.”

It was Stacey’s turn to frown, “Why? You’re young, beautiful, sweet. How are you ever going to find a guy if you always stay away from people?”

Jade laughed, “Don’t let Claire hear you say that. She doesn’t want me to ever meet a guy. She always tells me it would be a bad a idea. She says when the right guy comes around, I’ll know it. Until then, stay away!”

“That’s crazy! How will you know if he is the right one until you have met a few wrong ones?” Stacey blinked rapidly and then bumped Jade with her hip.

Jade squirmed in her seat. “Well, I don’t really like most people anyway, so it works out.”

Stacey smiled as her attention again wandered across the room. “As long as you like me, it works for me too! Speaking of which, I am inviting myself to dinner on Tuesday.”

Jade smiled her relief, “Yes, that’s one of my birds today too. Claire said to extend you an invitation on your next day off. I am assuming that’s Tuesday?”

Stacey nodded and started to walk off.

“Aren’t you going to take my order?” Jade called after her.

“Are you deviating from your usual?” Stacey asked over her shoulder.

“No.” Without another word, Stacey dramatically tore off a page from her order pad and handed it through the window to her dad, Pete. “Here’s Jade’s order, Dad. Remember she likes her bacon crispy.” Stacey winked again at Jade as she continued to hand him the order from the big table too.

Jade’s eyes wandered back to the table of good looking strangers to find the "big guy" was still watching her intently. He had leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. His expression and emotions guarded. Jade was tempted to reach out and see if she could push him backwards on his chair. Where had that thought come from?

His eyebrows shot upwards as if he had read her mind and it’s silly thoughts. But the urge came again to get up and push him backwards in the chair. She actually had to sit on her hands not to get up and try. He frowned at her and she realized she was staring again. She took out her book from her backpack on the seat next to her and tried unsuccessfully to loose herself in it until her food arrived.

Jade thought the men were unusually quiet for a group that size. They looked like blue collar workers and she expected them to have the rough talk and loud jokes normal for that crowd. They weren’t silent, but did seem to have some sort of communication that went beyond verbal. They reminded her of the special ops guys in the movies, working together for so long and under such stressful conditions that they didn’t need words to have entire conversations. She found herself trying to hear what few words their low voices did speak, but she was too far away. Jade was so focused on trying to hear that when the bell over the diner door rang, she jumped and spilled her water all over the table.

Jade was mopping up water with the napkins on the table as the air in the room began to change. Jade knew that Claire had a arrived as part of the feeling was familiar to her. But there was something else there too. Perhaps no one else in the room could feel it, but for Jade it was like lighting streaking from person to person.

Jade glanced up at the table of men. One of the men was staring at Claire who was frozen in the doorway. His eyes widened and he immediately stood up at the table. The energy in the room surged as she turned to confirm Claire was staring back. Claire’s eyes looked cloudy and for just the briefest of seconds Jade thought Claire might faint. Then Claire blinked, her eyes refocused on Jade and she quickly came to sit down in the booth. All six men were now staring at their table, the one still standing, his eyes never leaving Claire.

The emotions of the men now focused on her table hit Jade like an avalanche. She gripped the side of the table and began using breathing techniques she used when dealing with crowds. Jade found it hard to keep a steady rhythm.

“Do you know those guys, Claire?” Jade felt the air lift a little as she started to regain control.

“Yes, I know them from work.” Jade struggled to digest Claire’s acknowledgement. If they worked for the land surveyor, some of what she felt coming from Claire made sense. Claire didn’t talk much about her work, but she liked all her co-workers. Apparently, one of them in particular, though Claire had never mentioned anyone specifically. Jade felt how unsettled Claire was as she studied her hands, bit her lip and worked something around in her mind.

When Claire finally looked up from her hands, she made eye contact with the "standing man" again. He took two steps towards them, but then stopped, looked between Claire and Jade uncertainly.

“I think I better go say hello to them.” Claire seemed resigned and maybe a little fearful. Jade started to reach out her hand to touch Claire, but Claire yanked her hands away and glared at Jade.

“If you must, you must. “ Jade whispered still struggling to process all the emotions swirling around her.

Claire glared at her before turning her attention back to the men at the table. “Give me a minute and then join us, ok?”

“Sure.” Jade realized she would be expected to speak to them, to him. Because of her sensitivity to the emotions of others, she really did not like meeting new people. Claire knew this. So why was she asking for her to meet such a large group all at once? Jade closed her eyes trying to find a way to stave off the panic that threatened to overwhelm her.

Some people were just natural broadcasters of their emotions. Meeting a broadcaster was especially difficult for Jade. He was definitely a broadcaster. Even with her eyes closed, Jade could still pinpoint the big man’s emotions in the swirling sea washing over her. Wave after wave came at her from all directions, but his were especially strong. She focused on the tendril of her connection to the man as a way of calming the rest of the storm. She opened her eyes again.

When she stood, he stood as well. His eyes never left her as she slowly made her way across the room. As she finally reached him, all the male heads at the table swirled in her direction and the remaining four scrambled to their feet as well. Claire was speaking to them quickly and too low for Jade to hear. They all looked panicked for a second and then all eyes focused on Claire.

“Jade, come meet my friend, Michael St. James and his brothers.” Claire beckoned.

Brothers? Their poor mother! The men couldn’t be more than a year or two apart in age. Jade would bet her life on it.

“Hello, Mr. St. James,” she said, extending a hand, bracing for impact. Her guard was up and she was pretty sure she could avoid making the connection. Mostly because his brother was taking up so much of her focus. Michael looked at her hand and then at Jade. His lips thinned and his brow creased.

Jade looked at her hand to see if she had something on it to justify his repugnance. Michael certainly didn’t know about her gift and so she had to wonder at his reaction. She almost let down her guard to feel his out when he realized how she was taking his reluctance and firmly grasped her hand. “Ma’am” he said with a formal bow and kissing slightly above where their skin touched.

Jade found herself giggling a little at the gesture. Who did that unless they were playing some sort of role in a movie? The big guy stepped next to him and almost growled at his brother. Michael grinned at his brother and said, “May I present my eldest brother, Marcus?”

She tentatively extended her hand to Marcus. He started to follow his brother’s actions, but grabbed hold of her hand more firmly. When he touched her, her defenses crumbled. She felt overwhelmed by him, consumed by him. Her emotions blended with his so perfectly she could no longer tell which of them felt what and the smile slid from her face. She was having trouble breathing again. She found the grey circle around the blue of his eyes and focused all her attention there. She withdrew inside of herself and let herself hear her own breathing. She heard her heart beating too fast. Jade could feel Marcus’ heartbeat through their connection and tried matching his rhythm to get the right cadence. He let go of her hand, but the connection between them was still there stronger than any Jade had ever experienced. She could still feel all of him. It was a pleasant sensation now that the first wave had started to dissipate. Her knees solidified again and she felt stronger than normal.

“Are you combining tables?” Stacey asked, making Jade jump with her sudden appearance. Jade thought that would break the spell she seemed to be under. She thought breaking eye contact with him would sever the strong connection she felt towards him and glanced at the floor. She was wrong. If anything, not looking at him made her more aware of him.

“Yes,” Marcus said. His voice was deep and smooth and rolled through her like thunder. She knew that was the first time she had clearly heard his voice, but it rocked her with its familiarity and comfort. Only the one word was not enough to her starved ears. She wanted more. Confusion consumed her. She had never let anyone effect her like this.

“No,” she quickly contradicted. “As a matter of fact, please ask your dad to box mine to go. I have to get back to the house.”

“Jade?” Claire pleaded. Jade never expected Claire of all people to be encouraging them to have lunch with a group of guys. Suddenly, the whole world felt out of balance and Jade knew she needed to leave and sort through what had just happened. She needed to find a new way to protect herself because her old defenses had just been blown to bits. Jade was drowning and Claire would just have to understand.

Jade recovered just enough of her manners to create a barrier. “I’m sorry, Claire. It was very nice to meet you, Michael, Marcus, gentlemen. Please excuse me. Claire, can you just bring my food home with you? I really have to leave…now.” And with that, she spun around intending to to bolt from the whole situation, and almost collided with Jimmy, the busboy.

Jimmy was carrying a tray loaded with glassware. It would have been a disaster, but for the strong arm that had snaked around her waist and lifted her off the ground completely. She landed against his solid chest and felt his strength again, but in a whole new way. She was engulfed in his scent, surrounded by masculine energy. Panic threatened again until she found that thread of calm that was part of his presence and clung to it like the lifeline it was. His essence was part of her problem, but also part of her solution. How strange. His calmness settled her. She had to get away.

As soon as Jimmy safely danced out of her path, Marcus gently lowered her to the floor and released her. She did not turn around. She did not stop. She continued straight out the door, grabbing her keys and purse from the table in one swift motion. She got in her car, started the engine, and left the curb without looking back.