He shook his head and kept his arm around my waist. "I'm glad you did. And, I think that Corsica is a beautiful name, no matter where it came from."
For a moment, my entire past was on the tip of my tongue, then Penn swept open the curtain of scarves and we were ensconced in Alice's cozy yurt.
She wasted no time in shutting down the conversation about her cancer treatment. "I am a healer. I heal people's thoughts and their bodies. Why would I set that aside when it comes to me personally? How can you ask me to wither away in a hospital, rather than staying here and doing what I love until I die?"
I tugged Penn's beard, and he leaned down so I could whisper in his ear. "There's a treatment center specifically for breast cancer in Monterey. She should at least go there for a consult."
"Why does she think she knows better than me?" Alice snapped.
Her dark eyes challenged me, but I refused to share any more of my personal experiences.
"Corsica was telling me about a breast cancer treatment center in Monterey. Mother, why don't you come back with us and at least have a consult there." Penn's voice had a pleading tone.
"You really had to bring them here?" Alice turned on Xavier. "You couldn't just be content to disrupt my peace on your own. And now look, you've upset Penn's peace as well."
Xavier gestured to Penn's arm comfortably around my waist. "I think he looks better than I've seen him in a long time. And, Corsica is just trying to help."
I couldn't stay quiet. "You're underestimating people you don't even know," I said. "Treatment centers like the one in Monterey are all-inclusive. They've seen so many cases of cancer that they are the last people to turn away new approaches or new ideas. You can tailor your own treatment and it can include everything you have here, as well as modern techniques."
Alice looked at her son, then Xavier. For all her bravado and confidence, she was tired. Xavier jumped forward to catch her, but she refused to sit down. The same stubborn pride I had seen in Penn surrounded Alice like a glow.
She patted Xavier's hand. "All right. Fine. I don't want to underestimate other healers."
"I'll make the appointment for you," Penn said. He let go of me and took his mother's hand.
Alice caught my eyes and held them for a long moment. Then, she smiled. "I will make a deal. For my part, I will go to this treatment center and sit through a consult. I'm not promising anything, but I'm going to argue with them as much as I want."
Penn laughed. "Of course. I'll warn them when I make the appointment."
"What's the other half of the deal?" Xavier asked.
Alice brushed the men back and took both my hands. She drew me out of the yurt and up a small hill to a clearing. Xavier and Penn followed, but stopped when Alice held up an imperious hand. "The only thing I ask in return is that Corsica stands here and finds a way to reveal herself."
I laughed and the buoyant sound bounced off the hills. "Done."
Alice was surprised and took a step back. I waited until Xavier held her steady and then I let loose the long, suspended first note of my favorite song. It reverberated through the oak groves and up into the night sky.
"Day by day / I'm falling more in love with you…"
I didn’t stop even when the campers ringed around the clearing to stare. The song swelled and I let it sweep through me and take everything from me. I didn't stop even when tears rolled down Alice's cheeks. I sang for her with everything I had and knew it was more than she had ever bargained for.
#
The campers drifted away as the last note faded. Xavier finally convinced Alice to return to her yurt to rest. Soon, it was just Penn and I in the small grove. He stood in the shadows, but I could still feel his eyes on me. Moonlight filtered down to where I stood like a spotlight. Normally, being so visible made me nervous, but just then I felt free.
"Thank you," he said.
"For what? That felt wonderful."
Penn chuckled and joined me in the moonlit center of the clearing. "Thanks for putting Alice down a peg. The shock on her face was worth it."
"Worth bringing a perfect stranger along on a very personal trip?"
"I think you can stop calling us perfect strangers, Corsica from South Dakota."
I shrugged that comment away. "Do you think your mother will hold up her end of the bargain?"
"Alice is nothing if not honest. She'll go to the consultation and probably give them hell."
I took Penn's hand and squeezed. "Good. Then this whole crazy trip was worth it."
"I know I'm a coward," he sighed. "I shouldn't have put all of this on you. I'm not very good at facing up to my screwed up family."
"Are you kidding?" I asked. "I haven't seen you shy away from a single thing. I wish I had the courage you do. I mean, you just got terrible news and it hasn't stopped you from moving forward. Most people would still be curled up in a ball trying to process it."
Penn shrugged and didn't release my hand. "Moving forward is what I do best, except my mother calls it running away."
"Is it bad that I loved the way her jaw dropped when I said 'done?' It felt really good to beat her at her own game," I admitted.
His laugh warmed me from the inside out. "You know what you are? A sleeper. Everyone thinks you're one way, the prim and proper and good girl image you've got. Then, wham! You hit him with that voice of yours. It's like a super power. Alice had no idea you had that in you. Did you see how she stepped back before you were even done with the first note? That was amazing."
I slipped my hand from his. "I shouldn't have done that. It was petty to show her up. I wish I was more like you and didn't care what people thought of me. Then I wouldn't have let Alice get under my skin."
"I care what people think about me," Penn confessed. "Not everyone, but you're a different story."
I sighed. "I don't want to be different."
Penn slipped both hands around my waist. "You're different because I care what you think about me. I care more than you think."
I wasn't prepared for the kiss, but even if I had seen it coming, I wouldn't have known what to do. Penn's lips were as hot as a candle flame and they ignited me. I reached up on my tiptoes to answer his urgent press and our breath tangled over breathless sighs. I couldn't subdue the fiery moan that escaped me when his tongue traced my bottom lip.
His arms encircled me tighter, lifted me from the ground, and I slipped my arms around his neck. If I didn't hold on, I was sure I would fly off into the night sky like smoke.
For one, soft moment, Penn pulled back so his dark eyes could search mine. I saw the golden flecks glowing in his look and I had no other answer than to pull him into another searing kiss.
My body molded to his, every hard contour of his muscles melting me against him. He felt like hard-packed earth warmed in the sun, and his kiss tasted of fresh air and campfire. I tasted him, devoured him, and felt his jagged breath as my teeth nipped his wide lower lip.
"We're not strangers," Penn murmured against my insistent mouth.
I pulled back and gave him a wicked grin. "But this is our first time."