{"id":3571,"date":"2009-11-25T00:00:37","date_gmt":"2009-11-25T04:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shilohwalker.wordpress.com\/?p=3571"},"modified":"2009-11-25T00:00:37","modified_gmt":"2009-11-25T04:00:37","slug":"30-days-of-giveaways-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shilohwalker.com\/website\/2009\/11\/30-days-of-giveaways-18\/","title":{"rendered":"30 days of giveaways #18"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just a reminder…as I mentioned in the beginning of the month, there will be no excerpts posted on Thanksgiving or the Friday after. Last excerpt goes up on Monday…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Hunters<\/a>
Hunter's Need...releases 12\/1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

___________________<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s for the best, Brad,\u201d Ana said, sighing as she settled down on the bed beside Brad, draping an arm around his shoulders.\u00a0 She\u2019d known the time was coming, but after the debacle with Neal a few weeks earlier, she\u2019d finally admitted it to herself.<\/p>\n

It was time to leave.\u00a0 \u201cLook\u2026I don\u2019t really belong here, anyway.\u00a0 You know it as well as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you weren\u2019t supposed to be here, they\u2019d make you leave.\u00a0 Just like they made Neal leave.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged away from her embrace and climbed off the bed to pace the small room that had been her home for the past four years.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want you to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

For once, he sounded more like a kid than the miniature adult that he\u2019d been all of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you don\u2019t,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0 \u201cBut\u2026\u201d her words trailed off and she looked away, licking her lips and trying to figure out how to explain.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t need to.\u00a0 Even with her shields up, even with his own, her younger brother could read her.\u00a0 His eyes narrowed on her face and reached out, grabbing her shoulder when she would have evaded.<\/p>\n

That simple touch was all it took to deepen the connection and she winced as she saw the knowledge flare in his eyes.\u00a0 It was followed quickly by hurt.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2026you want to leave,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cYou want to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, being gifted just plain sucked.\u00a0 \u201cBrad\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

She reached out to touch him but he jerked away, staring at her.\u00a0 Confused, unhappy, and hurt, he shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you want to be around me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Brad.\u00a0 Honey, it\u2019s not you.\u00a0 You<\/span><\/em> are the only person that\u2019s made it tolerable being here.\u201d\u00a0 This time, when he would have pulled back, she didn\u2019t let him.\u00a0 She linked their hands, taken aback by how much bigger his hands looked next to hers now.\u00a0 Too quick\u2014he was growing up too quick, most of his childhood lost to pain, misery and cruelty.\u00a0 \u201cI love you, you know that.\u00a0 I\u2019ve done the best I could to take care of you after Mom died.\u00a0 If you needed me, you know nothing would get me away from you.\u00a0 But you don\u2019t need<\/span><\/em> me, not any more.\u00a0 I can\u2019t teach you anything\u2014as far as our gifts go, you left me in the dust ages ago.\u00a0 I\u2019m not putting a roof over your head, I\u2019m not putting food in your belly\u2014they<\/span><\/em> are.\u201d\u00a0 She waved her hand towards the school and forced herself to smile.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not jealous, although I wish I could have done half as much for you as Excelsior has done.\u00a0 But I\u2019m useless here.\u00a0 I\u2019m nothing but dead weight and I can\u2019t keep being like that.\u00a0 I need to find something\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

___________________<\/p>\n

Just a quick reminder on the contest:<\/p>\n