perfect sense,” Macy insisted. “And I’m telling you the truth. Your parents were paired as well, even though they weren’t a couple before. Did you know that your mother was dating your uncle Carlton until the Cyrene Project?”
Rick shrugged. “I knew they’d dated.” He said it in a matter-of-fact tone, but Natalie could see that he was trying to piece all of this together. So was she.
“Your mother agreed to marry your father because he was the most suitable DNA candidate,” Macy insisted. “We wanted superior babies through eugenic matching, and that’s exactly what we got. All of you, including Natalie’s brother and sister, are superior in every way.”
Superior.
Yes, that was true. All four of them had higher-than-average intelligence. All had been better-than-average athletes. Natalie hadn’t really considered that before, but she considered it now.
“All right,” Rick said. He aimed his index finger at Macy. Lowered it. And he started to pace. “For argument’s sake, let’s say this project existed. Actually, it’d explain a lot because heaven knows there wasn’t much love in my parents’ marriage. It was the same for you, Macy. I could see that even though I was just a kid. But what does the Cyrene Project have to do with anything that happened to Natalie and me?”
Macy swallowed hard and lowered her head. “It has everything to do with you. Everything. It’s because of the Cyrene Project that Natalie’s pregnant.”
Chapter Five
To put it mildly, Macy’s revelation floored him.
Rick stopped pacing, and his hands went on his hips. He stared at Macy waiting for more of the explanation. When it didn’t come, he asked, “You’re saying this Cyrene Project is responsible?”
“Yes.” Macy walked to the bar, poured herself a shot of Kentucky bourbon and downed it in one gulp. It took a few deep breaths and a headshake to deal with the straight liquor which had no doubt burned her throat and watered her eyes. “Before you were even born, you two were already paired for the second phase of the project.”
Rick didn’t know whether to continue cursing or to laugh. Judging from Natalie’s expression, she was trying to make the same decision.
This just kept getting crazier and crazier. Which made him wonder—had Macy gone insane? Except she seemed not insane, but adamant.
“That’s the reason I wanted the two of you together when you were younger,” Macy continued. She set the empty glass back on the bar, poured a second shot and drained the liquid. “That’s the reason I pushed so hard with the matchmaking. Not any more though. Not any more.”
“Hell,” Rick mumbled.
Natalie mumbled something similar, and they waited for her mother to continue.
“To the day I die, I’ll regret that I ever got involved with the Cyrene Project,” Macy said. “Because of it, I married a man I didn’t love. A man who didn’t love me. And yes, we had three beautiful, intelligent children, but for years I’ve had to live with the fact that I cheated Mother Nature. I don’t think Mother Nature likes it when people do that. She’s punishing me. That’s why I have these horrible headaches. That’s why I can’t sleep, why I hear these voices.”
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