She nodded but didn抰 let go of him. 揑n my dream, I killed you, and your daughter ran out of the house, and I . . .?She leaned back and raised a hand to touch his face. 揧ou are real, aren抰 you??
揧es, I抦 real.?He tried to smile, but it didn抰 work. He抎 had the nightmares that were so vivid they brought on sweats and emotions so raw that words couldn抰 explain them.
揑 could smell the blood and taste the sand blowing into my mouth when I cried,?she whispered.
揑 know,?Wade said. 揑抳e been there and felt the same thing. The dreams are so real that it抯 a wonder we haven抰 had heart attacks from them.?
Jessica leaned into him again and laid her head on his shoulder. 揟hank you for rescuing me tonight.?
揂nytime, darlin? anytime,?he said.
She leaned back again and stared right into his eyes. A kiss would start something that neither of them could finish, and yet he found himself drowning in the depths of her brown eyes. He dipped his head slightly and was about to taste her lips when the headlights of a vehicle shone through the window and right into the room.
Jessica jerked her head around, and his kiss landed on thin air. 揑t抯 too early for Risa and Haley,?she said. 揑抦 going to see who it is coming around here at this time of morning.?She hopped from the bed and headed out of her bedroom.
Wade followed behind her, wondering how someone could be so fragile one second and so fearless the next. 揌old up, Jessica. I抦 going with you. It抯 probably just a fisherman who抯 going to walk from here to the river.?
揑f they start shooting at us, you duck, roll, and run,?she said. 揑抳e already mourned for you once tonight, and that抯 enough.?
Wade opened the front door and stepped out on the porch just in time to see the bright red taillights of a vehicle driving out of the parking lot. 揥hoever it was must抳e made a wrong turn??
揘o, they didn抰。 That was Stella抯 car,?Jessica told him. 揑 got a glimpse of the bumper sticker that says 慙et Go and Let God.?She was driving it when they came out here to protest.?
揝he doesn抰 let anything go. Why would she be out here in the middle of the night??Wade wondered out loud. 揇o you think she抯 praying over us??
揘o, I think she抯 praying over the church and warning us.?Jessica pointed to a piece of paper tacked up to a porch post.
Wade jerked it down and walked over to the end of the porch where the light was better. Jessica peered over his shoulder, and they read it at the same time. There was a hand-drawn cross at the top of the paper, and a quote from Psalm 58 below it: O God, break their teeth in their mouths; pull the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
揑s she talking about knocking Risa抯 teeth out??Wade asked.
揙r is she suggesting that the twins have fangs??Jessica answered with a frown.
揑 think she抯 calling on God to tear us apart as a team, so that we will give up on our idea of the bar. She抯 at least one of those people who are affected with BCCS,?Wade answered. 揕et抯 go inside, tear this up, and keep it between us. Risa doesn抰 need to know that her mother is pulling stunts like this.?
揑 agree,?Jessica said with a nod. 揟hey already know that she抯 mean, but this goes way beyond that. This is personal. It抯 not just against the bar, but against them. What is BCCS??
揃at Crap Crazy Syndrome. I抦 not sure there抯 treatment for it, and I抦 pretty sure there抯 no cure,?Wade answered.
Jessica got so tickled that she snorted, and Wade thought even that was cute. There she was in a pair of pajama bottoms, an oversize T-shirt with Betty Boop on the front, and laughing hard enough to snort at something he said. The morning had started off just fine in his books.
揇o I smell coffee brewing??
揧es, you do.?Wade opened the door and stood to the side. 揑 had just made it when I heard you crying out. At first, I thought someone had broken in and was torturing you.?
Jessica crossed the foyer and the sanctuary, then right into the kitchen. 揇o you ever wake up in a cold sweat and think that if you can just turn on a light, everything will be all right??
揧es, I do. Monsters are afraid of the light.?Wade went straight to the counter, poured two mugs of coffee, and carried them to the table. He pulled out a chair for her and then sat down right beside her. 揑t seems like light dispels the darkness in our souls as well as the natural darkness. Do you want to talk about the nightmare? Is it the same one over and over??
Jessica nodded and then took a sip of her coffee. 揑t was our last mission as a team. I was sent home to Maine a week later to get all the paperwork done.?She told him the story in a monotone. 揟onight was the first time the little girl had blonde hair in my dream.?
揥ell, darlin? I抦 alive and right here beside you,?he said with a smile. 揋hosts don抰 make or drink coffee.?