Gifted Connections 4

Anna smiled and looked at my siblings. “Umm you and the little boy look a lot alike but the other ones, not so much. Did they go through what you did?”

I vacillated. “It’s a long story.”

“We have time,” she stated as she handed me my phone back.

“Long story short, my biological mom spread her love a lot, and I didn’t find out about my other siblings until recently. They all have…unique stories, but we’re all together now,” I said as I sautéed the vegetables and sausage in a saucepan.

“I’m glad my bios didn’t have any more children, but a sibling or two that shared my blood would have been nice.” Anna sighed wistfully. “Ma and Pa have two bios and four adoptees. We all treat each other like siblings, but it’s not quite the same, you know. Two of my siblings never outgrew the system mentality, and the only time I hear from them is if they want money. I set up bank accounts for them in the beginning, but they drained them too quickly, and I realized I only enabled their bad habits. So, now I only give them money on occasion. I told them I could even get them jobs, but they aren’t interested in working.”

I snorted as I whisked some eggs. “If they want money, then they should work for it.”

She laughed. “Right? I even offered to get them an apartment and fly them out here, but they want to live with me, and I know how that’ll turn out. It’s bad enough Mutt and Jeff work for me and mooch off of me, but at least they are somewhat organized and useful, every now and then. Jeeves will have a fit if they are as messy, though. He’s already forced me to keep my mess contained to the inspiration room. So how are your siblings? How do they get along with your man meat? How often do you see them?”

I giggled and shook my head. I wasn’t going to tell them about my other unique situation. “They carry their own baggage, but they are amazingly resilient. Troy is amazing with them. They are with me permanently actually. In a way, I found a family, a tribe.”

“I want to come to visit,” she said impetuously.

I laughed uneasily. “I’m not sure when we’re going back. I’m sure we can work something out where you can meet them.”

There was no way I could tell her I lived in a top-secret government facility. That they would probably frown upon me having visitors.

I pulled out some of the sautéed vegetables and sausage.

“Do you have another job coming up?” she asked with a frown.

I shook my head as I poured the egg into the pan. “Not really. More like trying to finish a job we came out here for.”

Lincoln came into the kitchen with a guarded look on his face. “I’m going to get going, Anna.”

“Why?” she cried out plaintively. “You don’t have to see him until noon and Blake’s making us breakfast. I even got the coffee you liked.”

She hopped up and went to the coffee pot and grabbed a few cups down. “Blake, how do you take your coffee?” she asked.

“Sweet and light,” I answered feeling awkward as I continued to make an omelet. I could feel Lincoln scrutinizing me.

“I like it the same way too!” she cried out in enthusiasm. “Are you staying, Linc?”

“I guess I can,” he mumbled as he took a seat at the bar. “Now that I know I won’t get food poisoned by you. I won’t have to stop on my way in now either.”

Anna gasped. “One time. It was just once. How was I supposed to know that chicken wasn’t supposed to be pink? Pink is fine in steaks.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips.

“What?” she looked at me in innocence as she batted her eyes. “Who taught you how to cook?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

I looked towards Lincoln tentatively. I shrugged. “I read a lot. I had to take care of my sister, and we really couldn’t afford to eat out all the time. One of my friends is a great cook, too, so he’s been teaching me to expand on what I can cook.”

“One of your friends or one of your boyfriends?” Lincoln asked dryly.

I shot him an annoyed look. I wasn’t sure how much he would tell his friend about our conversation later on, so I decided to put it out in the open. Especially since he felt the need to call me out.

“Boyfriend, actually,” I said with an eye roll as I dropped some bread into a toaster.

Anna gaped at me. “You have more than one?”

Lincoln chuckled derisively.

I gave him another glare. “I have six actually.”