The day before Bill’s scheduled arrival, Laura set out to clean the house. With a young Labbybrat around, it didn’t take long for fur balls to breed under the sofa. The kitchen first, and she worked her way through the living and dining rooms, their bedroom, the spare bedroom, and finally to the office where the greatest clutter accumulated.
She’d tried to put the missing journals out of her mind, but they were always there, close to the surface.
What the hell did I do with them?
For the first time, another answer occurred. What if somehow her attacker had them? But that didn’t make sense. How would he have gotten them?
Unless he knew what he was looking for.
Once again that brought her around to the possibility the attacker was someone close to her. And that just didn’t seem possible.
Rob drove Laura to Tampa to meet Bill’s plane. She took a notepad along to work but got carsick and had to put it aside. By the time they arrived in Tampa she felt better, and when Bill arrived she was overjoyed to see him. They ate dinner with Steve and Carol. The next day, Rob was relieved to leave for work and not have Laura alone.
Laura decided to take time off from the shop. Probably a good thing, because with the stress she thought she was coming down with something. After dinner that night, she hugged her brother and Rob good night and headed for bed.
The condo dream returned. This time she started out with the condo clean and tidy, carpet runner in place on the floor. There was a knock on the door and she went to answer it. A voice she couldn’t understand said something, and when she opened the door a black shadow raced in.
She screamed, waking both Rob and herself. Bill knocked on their bedroom door a moment later.
Rob went to the door. “She’s okay. Just a dream.”
Rob blocked her view, but Laura knew from Bill’s stance he held a handgun.
“Sure?”
Rob nodded. “She’s okay.”
Rob closed the door and sat next to her. “Don’t you think it’s time you went back to Dr. Collins or Dr. Simpson?”
“I don’t have time.”
“Laura, you’re under a lot of stress. Tomorrow morning, call and make an appointment.”
Her anger subsided. He was right. Maybe it would help. It wouldn’t hurt. “All right. Fine.”
The next morning, Rob enjoyed the feel of Laura’s hands on him. In an instant he was awake, kissing her. Apparently Bill was up, too, because he smelled coffee brewing in the kitchen. Suddenly, Laura bolted out of bed and raced for the bathroom. He followed her, worried. She leaned over the toilet, looking green, not actually getting sick.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “I just had a rough moment there.”
“You sure? You don’t look good.”
“I think I’m coming down with something. I haven’t felt good the past couple of days. Or it could have been what I ate last night.”
At her insistence, he went back to bed. He heard the water running and a moment later she was in bed with him. This time, she didn’t leave.
He stopped her. “No spanking this morning.”
When she started to argue, he silenced her. “Sick is different. I’m not flipping you over on your stomach and spanking you.” He kissed her. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it up tomorrow.”
She teased him and taunted him until he couldn’t hold back any longer. He retrieved a condom from the side table drawer and enjoyed making love to her. Later they got up and showered, taking their time. Rob didn’t have to be at work until later that afternoon.
Bill sat at the kitchen table with the paper, Doogie at his feet. “Well good morning, folks.”
“Shouldn’t you have jet lag?” Laura poured Rob and her cups of coffee.
“I’m fine. Doogie decided he wanted to sleep with me. He woke me up this morning to go out. You guys decided to sleep late.”
Rob grinned. “Who said we were sleeping?” Laura playfully swatted Rob’s shoulder and he ducked her.
Then he ratted her out. “I told her last night she needs to make an appointment with Dr. Collins or Dr. Stephens. Can you—”
Bill gave him a thumbs-up. “I’ll make sure she does it.”
“Thanks.”
He nodded. “You better believe it.”
She’d started a dream journal, writing down anything she thought of or any dreams she had. There wasn’t much she remembered from the night before. She found an empty note pad and jotted down some thoughts anyway.
After breakfast she left Rob and Bill at the table while she went to get her morning dose of dread, as she thought of it, while her mail downloaded.
Nothing. After making an appointment with Dr. Collins, who had an opening for the next day, she returned to the living room and sat and talked with Bill, going through albums again, until she started yawning.
“You okay, Laur?” Rob went to her.
“Just tired. I’m going to lie down.”
They watched her go to the bedroom.
“How is she really?” Bill asked.
Rob shook his head. “I’m surprised she’s held up as well as she has. Everything’s catching up with her now that she’s slowing down and being forced to deal with it.”
Rob followed her to the bedroom. She lay on the bed, Doogie beside her. He shooed the Lab off the bed and curled up next to her. “You okay?”
She nodded without opening her eyes. “I’m okay. Just tired. I’ve been so busy.”
“Listen. Why don’t you just hire an extra person part-time at the shop and stay home? Write, relax, give yourself some time. You really haven’t had much in the way of downtime since…you know.”
“No, just the better part of a month in Montana.”
“Laura, that’s not fair. Not to mention it wasn’t what you could call a vacation. You were under almost as much stress there as you would have been here.”
Laura kissed his hand, held it to her chest. “I know. I’ve been thinking about taking some time off anyway. The novel is coming along pretty well.”
“We can afford it. Don’t worry.” He curled up with her on the bed and she dropped off to sleep.
He watched, gently brushing a strand of hair from her face. There was still a scar on her forehead, not noticeable unless you were looking for it. It enraged him, always reminding him of the brutal attack, how he should have been with her, would have been with her if it hadn’t been for the accident he had to work.
Bill looked up from the TV when Rob returned. “She okay?”
“Yes. She’s just totally exhausted.” He looked at his watch. “Damn. I need to get to work. Call me if…” He didn’t want to finish.
“She’ll be okay, Rob. She’s tough.”
“Sometimes she thinks she’s tougher than she really is.”
Laura slept. Bill checked on her periodically. She seemed restless, disturbed. One time he heard her moan in her sleep and he considered waking her. He let Doogie into the room with her and the Lab carefully climbed up on the bed and protectively curled up next to his mistress. That seemed to comfort her and Bill left her bedroom door open so he could hear.
Laura felt sucked down into the depths of her dream. She knew she was dreaming, and that was the extent of the control she had. It was the apartment again, before the attack. This time was different. The rooms were dark and possessed an unearthly quality that never came through before.
The knock on the door. Thunderous, wall-shaking. The fear hit her and she realized that no matter what she did she would open that door. Despite turning to run her feet betrayed her and she slowly moved toward the front door.
Suddenly, Doogie appeared at her side, calming her. He growled at the door, bearing his teeth, something the gentle dog never did before. Taking comfort in his presence she willed herself to reach out and grab the doorknob. The door swung open.