Irish Duet #MFRWhooks

Colonel Johnny Mackenzie inherited “The Luck Of The Irish Gift” being able to feel other people’s emotions. It is a gift that has served him well in his military career but takes an emotional toll on him personally. Even though he is grateful for the gift, it is not something he would ever want to pass down to a child of his own. So he made a promise to himself never to marry or have children. Instead, he made his career his life.

It was a promise he was able to keep until one day while visiting one of his soldiers in the hospital he meets Nurse Marta Simmons. The moment they shake hands an electric current goes through them. He knows she feels it too when he sees the surprised look in her eyes matches his own. For the first time in his life, he wanted to open his heart to a woman, unfortunately, she was engaged to a fellow officer. His code of conduct would not allow him to cross that line.

Johnny felt the vibrations pounding into him as he looked at the hospital in front of him. For a moment it appeared as if the building was alive. The walls, windows, and doors pulsate like a heart. Each beat an emotion; anger, fear, pain, misery, and depression. Their currents were coming directly toward him, seeping into his very soul. Already his feet felt like cement and his body started to sway as wave after wave of emotions hit him. If he did not start to block them out, he would begin to shake uncontrollably. He began his deep breathing technique, imagining every breath in was peace and calmness. Every breath out surrounded his body in protection.

He remembered the first time he had seen Star Trek and Captain Kirk had ordered the force shield up. He smiled and thought, that’s what I need, my own personal force shield. From that day forward, he visualized his force shield surrounding him when called upon.

His body started to come into balance as he slowly relaxed. He suppressed the chuckle as he saw the stares people were giving him as they watched him slightly swaying on the sidewalk. He could not read their minds, but he felt their pity and curiosity as they bent their heads and whispered to one another looking and pointing at him. Sadly, he shook his head. If they only knew the effort it took him to visit a hospital. But this was a duty he never neglected.

With one last breath out, he mentally heard the force shield close shut and began walking towards the front doors. He smiled politely and nodded his head towards those people with their mouths gaping open and saluted the soldiers as he walked past.

Once through the hospital's front doors, he removed his hat and nodded his head to the older gentleman, who was working at the desk. They were usually retired soldiers who volunteered their time to have something meaningful to do. Knowing his way, he did not stop to ask for directions. Instead, he walked straight to the open elevator doors, pushing the button for the third floor.

He let out a sigh of relief when no one else came on the elevator with him. Being in a confined space with someone who was worried about the person they were visiting intensified the emotions he picked up from them. Today he was not in the mood for the inner battle he knew he would have to wage in such an event. For reasons he was unsure of, he felt particularly vulnerable today.

He took another deep breath as he watched the number on the elevator ding, he had reached the third floor. Once the doors opened, he strode off and headed to the nurse’s station. “Excuse me”, he said to the nurse looking down at a patient’s chart.

Sarah had inherited the same “Luck of the Irish” gift as her Uncle Johnny. Where he had used his gift in his military career and his security business protecting people, she hide from the world. As a child, she picked up her Mother's fear of separation and later felt her parents terror as their plane crashed in the mountains. From that moment on, she stayed close to her Uncle, wanting his protection and rarely venturing outside of her loft. The only time she did go out is when she would meet clients to design and make the perfect dress for them, whether it was for parties or their weddings. Using her gift to know exactly what would fit each personality. Professionally, her business was thriving, yet personally, she kept herself locked away.

One day while looking out the window and seeing all the people in the park enjoying life, she realized how much she was missing out by staying hidden. Just as she was thinking those thoughts, her best friend, Jeffrey walks into her loft.

He too works for the security company and knows of a simple job in Miami, Florida she would be perfect for. His friend, Brandon, owns a design company that was getting their designs stolen and could not figure out who the mole was. With her fashion experience and gift, she would be the perfect person to go undercover and find the thief.

It should have been an easy job but got complicated very quickly when Nicco Kombi purchases Brandon's company. The day she meets him, his energy is so strong it knocks her into her chair. Never before had she felt such strong emotions from a man. She knew she should stay away from him, but the moment he touches her hand, she felt the electric current her Uncle Johnny and Aunt Marta always talked about. She always thought it was them making up a story, but now realized it was real. The only question is, could Nicco possibly be or mole, or is he the key to unlocking her heart?

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Every day she woke up and thanked God for her business. She got to pick and choose the women she wanted to work with. She was so busy she had to turn clients away. She knew her business would grow if she hired help, but that would mean one of two things. One, whomever she hired would need to come to work in her apartment. The answer to that was an immediate, no. She valued her privacy too much. It is why all fittings had to be at her client’s home. Or two, she rented office space. Again, she nixed the idea, because she was not ready to take on the added cost.

A restlessness she could not explain had been coursing through her the last few weeks. She had so much to be grateful for in her life, but she was bored. Not with her work, she thought as she felt the fabric lying on her cutting table. This dress was going to be one of the prettiest party dresses she had ever made. It fit the personality of the woman she was making it for. She was colorful, vibrant, and full of life. Just the opposite of her boring life. All she did was work, eat, and sleep.

Everything about her life was safe. Her parents had died in a plane crash when she was three years old and she had been raised by her Uncle Johnny and Aunt Marta. Her Uncle Johnny and his best friend, Jack, both retired militaries had opened a high-security firm. People from all over the world requested their services.

When she had turned twenty-one and inherited the money from her parent’s estate, she told her Uncle she was going to buy her own home. That worried her Uncle, so he convinced her to move into the apartment building next to his office. He and Jack had bought the apartment building years previously to give their agents a place to live between assignments. Many of them were out on the road for months at a time, so it was a nice perk for them to come back to a place to stay, without having to pay rent. Two apartments on the top floor were gutted to make one large apartment for her. When they had done the remodeling, they built a walkway between the two buildings. Her front door leads out into the apartment building hallway and the elevator. The back door leads to the walkway. She rarely shut that door because it made her feel safer knowing she could walk down the hallway into her Uncle's office. Again, she took the safe route. When was she going to let go of her fears and start to live life fully?

She let out a sigh, wishing her best friend Jeffrey, Jack’s son, was around to talk to. She knew she could have picked up the phone and called him, but he was out on assignment and it was best she not disturbs him.

She heard a knock on her Uncle’s door and footsteps walking down the hall. Suddenly the person she was thinking about came around the corner, “Hey, squirt, how are you doing?”

“Oh my God, Jeffrey,” Sarah said as ran into his open arms. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she held him tight.