Chapter 1
Finn McKenna felt the energy flow through him.
He’d trained vigorously and become so skilled he recognized even the slightest change.
Today it was moving slowly like a soft brook babbling from his hands to the client.
Sometimes it felt like pins-and-needles tingling, hot flashes, goosebumps, chills or throbbing.
But today, it was warm. Gentle. Smooth. His hands heated up; the recipient yawned and her eyes closed.
A good sign. She’d come to relieve stress and pent-up anxiety. Reiki was working.
Eventually, the chimes rang. Again softly. The woman, Joanna, would need to be brought out of the session slowly so as not to jar her. He could tell by the expression in her eyes when she awakened that he’d been successful.
But he asked anyway, “Joanna, how are you feeling?”
“Much better, Finn. I’m not worried anymore.” She’d come because she was obsessively concerned about her two adult children.
“Then I’m happy.” He smiled. He was aware of his charm, looks and appeal. He never used them intentionally in his sessions, though.
He pulled the lever on the horizontal chair until it was upright. Then he lifted the arm and she slid off. He was careful not to touch her unless she initiated it. She told him that she didn’t like contact from others and he respected her wishes.
“I’d like another appointment for an attunement.”
Taking out his phone, he called up his calendar. “When is convenient for you?”
“Next week. The same time.”
He entered the information. Though he was booked solid, certain spots had been reserved for repeat customers.
He led her to the waiting area, opened the street door and said goodbye.
Then he walked out the front door into the left side of the big open space that belonged to the Harmony Healing Collective, located near the outskirts of town.
The break room area was for owners only. The other side, walled off, was a gym/activity area they were all free to use. The Collective was new and everything reflected that. He grabbed coffee from the shiny pot on the counter and sat down on a fabric couch made of soft material.
His friend Oliver Ricardi came out of his studio and greeted him. “Hey, buddy, in between sessions?”
“Yeah. Fifteen minutes of rest.” Though Finn didn’t feel tired. This session, as mostly happened, energized him too, which was the beauty of reiki.
“I know from whence you speak.” He sat down flexed his fingers. “My hands are a bit sore.” Oliver practiced massage therapy.
“It’s only eleven. You going to make it through the day?”
“I have one more session. I’m taking the afternoon off.”
“Hmm. Any interesting plans?”
“I’m helping my mother with her garden.”
“That’s going to exacerbate the soreness in your hands.”
“I have to help her, Finn.”
Finn smiled genuinely. “It’s nice how close you are with her, despite her clinginess.” Finn heard the longing in his voice. His parents had been killed in a car accident when he was twenty. Now, at 35, he still missed them.
“Hey, how did that date go last night?” Finn asked.
“She’s nice.”
“Nice—a dreadful word for a relationship.”
“Yeah.” Oliver shrugged. “But there was no spark.”
“Sparks sometimes take a while.”
“Not for me. Anyway, there won’t be a repeat with her.”
“Sorry to heart that.” Finn wanted his friend to be happy.
“You should talk. Are you even dating now?”
“Not right now.”
Finn’s phone alarm buzzed and he stood. “I have another session. Want to do lunch tomorrow?”
“Yeah. We can make plans in the morning.”
Finn was grateful that he was establishing bonds here. Right now, he didn’t need a woman in his life. He needed friends like Oliver. For too long, his twin sister was his only confidante and she didn’t need any pressure from him.
Once in his studio, his phone rang. He didn’t answer it. And half-way through his next session, he heard commotion in the waiting room. He tried to block it out, but male and female voices got louder and louder.
His client sighed. “I can’t ignore that, Finn, I’m sorry.”
“I’ll go see what it is. I have extra time afterward to give you the full forty-five minutes.”
He walked out of the room. And found a woman dressed in a white suit which contrasted to her dark hair which flowed down her back. “How can I help you?”
The guy said, “My client needs a session asap.”
Finn didn’t show any temper, but it was hard. “I’m afraid I’m not available asap.”
“You’re the only reiki practitioner she wants. Because of your article in Physiology Today on reiki and infertility.”
He turned to the woman. “I can see you in a month.” He handed her his card. “Please call for an appointment.”
She whipped off her sunglasses. “Do you know who I am?”
She looked vaguely familiar. But he knew he’d remember those violet eyes if he’d ever met her. “Actually I don’t.”
Her brows lifted. “Do you live under a rock?”
“No. I have a little house on the canal.”
She sighed impatiently. “I’m Elise Preston.”
He shrugged.
“The actress. I won an Academy Award last year.”
“Congratulations. Now I have to get back to my current client. Your antics out here disturbed a session.”
He walked to the door and opened it. She rolled her eyes, said, “Unbelievable!” and stormed out.
The man followed without comment.
Finn closed and locked the door. Maybe he needed an assistant out here. Or a bodyguard.
He walked back into the room with his client.
He’d forget about the actress soon enough.
Reiki worked both ways for him. It calmed the client and the practitioner which was why he’d chosen to study it.
Somehow, though, images of the woman in the waiting room came back into his thoughts.
He knew well the ravages of infertility. He hoped he could help her. In a month.
* * *
Elise Preston had everything. Model-like looks. A glamorous house in L.A. A very successful career. And pretty much any man she wanted. But right now, at 30, what she desired most in the world was a baby. But IVF had failed three times. And now she was stuck in upstate New York filming a movie.
She sat down on her comfortable couch and sighed.
When she was alone, the void became worse.
She opened up her iPad and clicked into the article on the Harmony Healing Collective that she’d just visited.
Maybe one of the other studios in the collective could help her.
She mentally checked them off. No to massage therapy.
No to yoga. No to women’s or men’s health coaching, but perhaps hypnotherapy might work.
She clicked back onto reiki. Finn McKenna was handsome in a wholesome way. He was taller than his photo indicated. His hair was well cut and a cute lock fell over his forehead today. His eyes were gray, his beard slightly scruffy. Charm oozed even from his picture. In person, it was magnified.
How to convince him?
Maybe she’d send him an email. She rarely wrote her own, but she did have a private account. She clicked into it.
Dear Mr. McKenna.
I apologize profusely about the episode in your waiting room. It was totally wrong of us to make a scene. I’m afraid my infertility has caused me to be emotionally volatile. Your article said you’ve experience with it, so you know it can be monstrous.
Could you give me a second chance? I’ll wait the month for you to see me. But also, if you have a cancellation could please squeeze me in?
Thank you for considering this email from me.
Elise Preston.
She lay back against the pillows and sighed. A headache stirred in the back of her brain. Please God, not another migraine. I’m too raw for it.
Closing her eyes, she dozed. She didn’t know how much later before the chimes on her email awoke her. She snatched the iPad up.
Dear Ms. Preston,
You’re forgiven for your abrupt appearance at my studio.
Yes, I’ve had experience with infertility, more than I’d like.
I know how debilitating it can be. That’s why I’ll come in on Sunday when my studio is usually closed and meet you for a session.
Plan for an hour and a half, as the first part will be filling out forms and an interview.
Ten o’clock. Let me know if you can make it then.
Finn
She typed, “I’ll be there. Thank you so much.”
* * *
After work, Finn made a spontaneous decision to stop at his sister’s house.
She lived on the same side of the city as the collective.
He drove up to the three-story home and as usual admired the treed setting.
He heard noise out back and followed it.
Out here, the sun shone brightly on this June day.
He found Fiona in the pool area with her twins.
They were splashing wildly in the shallow end.
“I got you,” Joey cried out.
“No, I got you.” This from Jason.
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“No bickering you two,” his sister called out. “Why don’t you swim across the pool for Mommy.”
They both took off, using a clumsy arm over arm stroke that would be perfected by practice. They reached the side at the same exact moment.
And saw Finn.
“Uncle Finn,” Joey screamed climbing out of the pool.
“Uncle Finn,” Jason also shouted. And hefted himself to the side, too.
Both boys launched themselves at him. Two wet bodies clung to his legs. He loved their affection-and was glad he’d changed into shorts before he left work.
“All right guys,” Fiona said. “Go dry off on the jungle gym. I want to talk to my brother.”
“Will you play with us in the pool afterward?”
“I will. I promise.”
The boys obeyed and Fiona handed him a towel. “Want to change into one of your swimsuits since your shorts are wet?”
“Nah. These’ll dry. Feels good in this heat.”
She hugged him long and hard. They, too, were twins. “I have water here in the cooler or I can go inside and get us something stronger. You looked tired.”
“Water’s fine. Let’s sit under the gazebo.”
They made their way across a huge deck and sat in the shade.
“Just visiting or did something happen?”
“Probably more than a visit.”
She touched his arm and left her hand there. “Tell me.”
“Do you know who Elise Preston is?”
“Of course. She starred in Take Me With You, one of my favorite movies, and it earned her an Oscar. She’s making another film, A Woman in Jeopardy, right here in Rockford. Why are you asking?”
“She stormed into my studio today and demanded I give her a session for infertility.”
“Ah. Something we both know a lot about.” For a few seconds shadows filled her eyes. He remembered that look from the days she wanted to give up.
They paused and listened to the happy banter of the twins. The boys were visible through the door to the pool from the grass.
“What did you say to her?” Fiona asked.
“That she had to make an appointment to see me. My first opening is a month away.”
“What’s she like?”
“She was entitled.” He explained how.
“That’s insulting.”
“But she wrote me an email later, apologized profusely and told me about her inability to get pregnant. It was sad.” He explained his response.
“Won’t it bring back bad memories to treat her?”
“I don’t know. I can’t spend the time with her that I spent with you.
” In the three months it took Fiona to get pregnant—she’d been trying for years—Finn had either come over here daily or she’d met him at his practice for a session.
He’d seen her every day until that glorious day when she said the magic words—I’m pregnant!
“You were a doll to do all that for me.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
“Back at ya, buddy.”
They were close, and until she met Tim, closer to each other than anybody in their lives. He’d never been jealous of Tim, though. It would be like being jealous of himself for loving someone.
“Did you meet her partner?”
“There’s no partner. It’s IVF. I’ve never treated someone during IVF. And as you know, I haven’t treated that many women for infertility.”
“But you’ve had successes with those you did.”
“Not that I can prove. But I know in my heart I helped bring four babies into the world.”
“What are you going to do about Elise Preston?”
“Talk to her on Sunday. See what she expects. Tell her my methods and see if she has enough free time to do it.”
“While making a movie? That sounds like a difficult task.”
“For both of us, I expect.”
He stood. “I’m going to change so I can play with the boys.” He pulled her up. “But first…” He leaned over and scooped her into his arms.
“Don’t you dare…Finn, I mean it, don’t…Oh shit!” she said as he tossed her into the pool.
He hightailed into the house.