Superpower—check. Worldwide fans? No thank you!
Kent Laine and his twin brother Jimmy have superpowers in a world where most people don’t believe. Sure, comic books and movies make it seem so entertaining, but for them it isn’t. The brothers were raised to keep their powers hidden. To only use them when it’s absolutely necessary.
The struggle is real for Kent. He can heal people, but at what cost to himself? He envies his brother’s ability to speak with animals. If only he’d been given a non-active gift because the urge to help everyone is always strong.
In walks Albert Ott. His sister is dying. Will Kent be able to let her die? Or will he help the man he is coming to love?
Stay tuned…
Publisher's Note: This book has previously been released as part of the I Need A Hero anthology with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 1st August 2017
“Why are you on the floor?”
My eyes were closed tight, I had no idea who was talking to me. My head hurt and I needed to vomit. My whole body ached. I wanted to see who was speaking, but I was having issues controlling my body. I squeezed my eyelids tight, then opened them. My lashes fluttered. Light was coming through. Was that an angel peering over me? Was I dead?
I am totally getting ahead of myself. A lot had happened for me to get to the point where I was incoherent on the floor. Let me take us back to the beginning.
It was 1980. My parents were given the news that my mom was having twins. Surprise! They didn’t run in either family, so it was a bit of a shock. My brother and I were born a few months later. Okay, that’s a little too far back, but I did say I was going to go to the beginning.
Now we are in 1995 and my brother is concerned that the family dog is talking to him. I didn’t believe him. I mean—who can talk to animals? We didn’t live in a comic book. But that was the year I first healed someone. My friend Sally wrecked her bike. I put my hand over her knee and seconds later I was throwing up in a bush and her knee was as good as new. So, I kind of started to believe my brother.
Enough backstory. It’s 2017. The only people who know about my powers are family. We—my brother and I—were taught to never show our powers. Our parents didn’t want us to be locked up somewhere and studied. Plus, who would believe us? I could show it off by healing someone. In fact, I wanted to. My passion was the medical field, but my family had talked me out of pursuing a career in medicine. They’d said it would be too tempting to help everyone. Instead, I went into business with my brother. I did all of the office work and oversaw the staff to let him focus on fixing the animals.
One of the things the comic handbook doesn’t say is that the side effects are horrible. If I heal little things, I vomit. Big things? It can take me down for days, sometimes weeks. It just depends on what I’m healing. I never really know how my body will react. It isn’t like there’s a study out there that shows after effects. People like me don’t exist.
Today had started off like any other day. Isn’t that how the story is supposed to go? I’d been sitting in my boxers watching superhero movies and eating junk food. I was ready to throw a pizza in the oven for a late dinner when I got a call from my brother. He’d gone the veterinarian route. At least he could use his ‘gift’ in a way I couldn’t. He didn’t have side effects either, lucky bastard. Guess that’s what I get for being born first—a whole two minutes. Fuck my life, right?
There was an issue with a cat. I guess her owner was sick. I don’t know what my brother expected me to do about it—I didn’t use my powers. I felt selfish some days, but I had to believe we all had an expiration date and me dragging things out only gave them a little more time. Did healing always work? No. Which was why I stayed away from hospitals. It was too tempting.
“What is it you’d like me to do?”
“You can heal animals too. Come fix this cat so the owner has someone to comfort her before she dies.”
“You know I’m not your on-call healer, right?”
“And I’m not some paladin ready to roll the twelve-sided die, just get your ass over here!” Jimmy hung up.
Days like this, I wished I was an only child. Of course, I was going over there. I didn’t like sick animals any more than I did people but animals were usually easier. They didn’t talk back—at least to me—and they couldn’t give away my secret. Another upside was, I didn’t have as much of a reaction with the furry ones.
I grumbled while getting pants on. Started cursing my brother as I got into my car. Mumbled to myself as I pulled into the parking lot. Slammed my door shut getting out of the car and stomped my way to the building. I was being a child, but it was no pants Sunday! I was supposed to be watching silly superhero movies and wishing I was with them, doing good in the world instead of running to my brother’s office. It was the little things. I got my good deed in by helping some of the animals, if I needed to. I might grumble and pretend to not want to help, but I did. My brother knew this, so maybe I was his on-call healer, but it didn’t happen very often because my brother’s good at his job. I hated when it was an animal’s time and there wasn’t anything I could do, but we do have expiration dates.
I was not prepared for what I walked into. I don’t like surprises. My brother knew that, but it seems…he just didn’t care.
Jambrea wanted to be the youngest romance author published, but life impeded the dreams. She put her writing aside and went to college briefly, then enlisted in the Air Force. After serving in the military, she returned home to Indiana to start her family. A few years later, she discovered yahoo groups and book reviews. There was no turning back. She was bit by the writing bug.
She enjoys spending time with her son when not writing and loves to receive reader feedback. She's addicted to the internet so feel free to email her anytime.
Reviewed by Rainbow Book Reviews
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