Ellie’s thoughts were fuzzy, and she still felt a bit sick to her stomach. She glanced at her watch. It was ten o’clock at night. She heard soft snoring, and saw that David was asleep on the couch next to her. His head had fallen backwards against the soft pillows the cushioned the back of the sofa.
Despite the fact that the residue of the strange dream remained with her, she felt warm inside looking at David. It felt natural to wake up and have him there. She studied him. His eyelashes were long for a man. His cheeks were slightly flushed from the warmth of the fire in front of them. His dark green shirt accented his dark complexion and his light curls seemed to beckon for her to touch them. His nose was perfectly sculpted and his chin was strong with a dimple in the middle. He was breathing deeply. Her finger reached out, and she gently touched the shallow depression.
David’s eyes fluttered open. His head turned, and he smiled at her. “Hey there, sleepy girl,” he said.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said, turning to face him and resting her head on the pillowed back of the sofa. There was just a small gap between them.
“It’s okay. I was waiting for you to wake up, and it looks like I accidentally fell asleep myself,” he said sheepishly. “What happened there? You were out like a rock.”
“I don’t know,” she said, frowning. “I know I’m a lightweight but that was ridiculous. It was almost like I passed out. I had a weird dream too.”
“What was it about?” he asked.
“It wasn’t really about anything. I woke up in a room that was pitch black, which I hate to say freaks me out more than any other part of the dream. It’s a stupid irrational fear that I have, and then when I finally found my way out, Linda was there. With another girl, and Randall, and a guy that looked just like you.”
“I’ve made my way into your dreams already, huh? Cool.” David grinned.
Ellie hit him in the arm. “It wasn’t like that. Anyway, Linda and Randall looked young. Like our age. Nobody could see me, except for this strange girl that Linda called Emma. I think Emma had been sick the way that Linda was treating her. The way that they were dressed, it was like it was the early twentieth century.”
“Sounds fascinating,” David said.
“I don’t know about that,” Ellie replied. “Then Emma got really sick all of a sudden. She was throwing up blood and it was like all hell broke loose. And then I woke up.”
“I don’t think dreams are supposed to make sense,” David said. He reached out and stroked her hair. “You’ve had a rough day. It doesn’t surprise me that your dreams were a little crazy. Sounds like your subconscious incorporated a little bit of the Bradford story in there, plus you said that in Jake’s dream you were lost in a dark place too.”
“Maybe.” Ellie was surprised that she hadn’t connected her dream to the Bradford story. It made sense, and Ellie started to feel a little foolish. “It was amazing how real it all felt.”
She sat up suddenly and hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Dammit. I forgot that I was going to go over to Linda’s and get her mail and check on the house.”
David sat up, looking at her warily. “Don’t you remember, Ellie? You mentioned that right before you fell asleep, and I told you I’d take care of it for you. I thought it was important for you to just relax tonight.”
“You went over there?” Ellie asked.
“Yes, there were just a few pieces of mail that I put on the front hallway table. I did a quick scan inside to make sure nothing looked suspicious. I left a light on in the foyer too. It took me all of five minutes. I think I was gone a total of twenty minutes, and you were still sleeping when I got back.”
Ellie felt a little awkward that David had taken it upon himself to take on her responsibilities, especially as he didn’t know Linda very well. “Well, thanks for doing that,” she said, deciding it was too late now to get upset.
The more she thought about it, it seemed pretty sweet. It had been a long time since she had a man around to help out with things, and she had to admit that she hadn’t been looking forward to going over to the house by herself.
“Sure thing,” David said, stretching with a yawn. He looked at his watch. “It’s getting late, and I have to be up early in the morning.”
“Early shift?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah.” David stood. “My hours have been really messed up lately. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going half the time.”
“When will I see you again?” Ellie asked. She didn’t want to admit that she was starting to get used to having him around.
“I’ll give you a call when I know I have some time to get together. We’ll figure something out.” David gathered his coat and gloves. “You take it easy in the meantime, and remember I’m in your dreams now. It’s like destiny.” He kissed her gently on the lips and waved at her to sit down as she started to rise from the sofa. “I know how to let myself out.” With that he was gone.
Ellie settled back onto the couch, and Skipper appeared. “Where have you been?” she scolded him. Skipper jumped up on the sofa and lay down next to her. She stroked his soft fur as she stared into the fire. She found that she was sad that she didn’t know when she would be with David again. He had slipped into her life so easily that she was still surprised.
She thought she should call him then, and tell him how glad she was that he was in her life now. She stood and went to the phone and stopped. She didn’t know his number. She scrolled through her caller ID. His calls had come through as “Private.”
Ellie dialed directory assistance. “David Mitchell, Minneapolis, please,” she said to the operator.
“I don’t have a David Mitchell listed in Minneapolis,” the operator said after a moment.
“Oh, okay. Thank you.” Ellie hung up the phone. She was perplexed. She had no way to reach him. He had always gotten in touch with her, she realized. She had no idea where he lived either.
She looked at Skipper and wagged a finger at him. “The next time I talk to that man he’s going to get quite a scolding. Romancing a girl and then not even leaving his phone number.” Skipper wagged his tail as she spoke. Knowing she had an early morning too, Ellie decided there was nothing to do but let it go and head to bed.