Lingering Touch: The Summer Park Psychics, Book 3 by Cassandra Chandler

powers aren’t working right. I’m getting stuck in memories. I don’t always remember…myself when I’m in a vision. And when I touch people, I read their thoughts almost instantly. Same deal. It’s like I’m them instead of me. I’m getting lost.” He raised his hands and wiggled his fingers. “That’s why I’m wearing gloves.”
    Dad narrowed his eyes and looked at Finn’s hands intently. “Then why did you go with leather?”
    Shit. Finn realized his mistake as Dad started explaining for Daphne and Jazz. This was rookie stuff Dad had taught Finn when he was a kid.
    “Leather transmits. These gloves might muffle readings a little, but you want silk to block energy.”
    “I’ve read that before,” Jazz said. “You’re supposed to keep tarot cards and other metaphysical tools wrapped in silk to protect them from stray energy and cleanse them after use.”
    Finn let out an exasperated sigh. He took off the nearly useless gloves and tossed them on the table.
    Yeah, he should have come to his dad sooner. Even talking to Jazz about it more would have helped. She’d never taken him to her favorite bookstore, but talked about Bookwyrm often. She had studied all kinds of paranormal phenomena.
    “I forgot about that,” Finn said. “Thanks. My head hasn’t been right for a while now.”
    “We noticed.” Dad laughed.
    He was trying to ease the tension, help Finn feel more comfortable. Man, Finn was a lucky bastard to have such great people in his life. Topping it off, Jazz stepped up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder, prompting a sigh that was anything but exasperated.
    She gave his shoulder a squeeze and said, “Finn’s powers are somehow being disrupted by a connection to the serial killer from a couple months back.”
    That was way too blunt. Finn was trying to figure out how to tell Dad without giving away any details. He just…hadn’t worked out how to do that yet.
    “Dammit, Jazz! I can tell them myself.”
    She jumped, as if his outburst surprised her. Funny, they never had before. Sure, they’d prompted plenty of freeze-outs, but she had barely registered them in the past. A brief look of hurt crossed her face. That was new too.
    “I’m sorry.”
    It was too late, though. She crossed her arms and walked to the other side of the room, glaring at him.
    “I’m sorry. I’m just raw.”
    “We get that, son, but lashing out isn’t going to help anyone.”
    Dad was probably more concerned about Finn chasing away Jazz than anything else.
    No, that wasn’t fair. Dad was worried about Finn.
    “I wish you’d come to us sooner. You shouldn’t have let it eat you up inside like this.”
    “Yeah, well hindsight’s twenty-twenty.”
    “There’s nothing wrong with asking for help now and again,” Dad said.
    Not this again.
    “And if your powers aren’t working right, this is serious.”
    “I know. I get it.” Finn could hear his voice rising. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out.
    Dad turned to Daphne. “Can you run to Finn’s closet and bring back that dark blue silk shirt of his?”
    “Sure.”
    As soon as she had left, Jazz said, “You kept it?”
    “Yeah, I kept it.” Finn would never let go of that shirt.
    Jazz had given it to him early on. It reminded him of their best times together, when they had just switched from a professional relationship to a personal one. They had met when Jazz hired him to investigate an artist she thought might be a fraud. The case had been…complicated.
    She’d learned about his powers before it was over, they’d worked together, and after the case was closed, they’d pretty much jumped each other. He still wasn’t sure who had started it.
    Finn stood and took off his coat, then draped it over the back of his chair. He was wearing a cotton long-sleeved shirt over his tank top. He took the shirt off too and set it on top of his coat.
    The silk shirt had short sleeves, but would still do a better job protecting him