Dream A Little Dream

Cal walked behind the desk that had once been Dwayne's and pulled open a drawer. 'I have something here for you.' He withdrew a slip of paper and extended it toward her. Even before her fingers closed around it, she knew that it was a check. She glanced down and drew in her breath.

It was made out to her in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars.

Her voice croaked. 'What's this?'

He settled into the chair and looked up at her. 'A down payment on your future.'

She stared at it, a sinking feeling in her stomach, knowing the answer to the question even before she asked it. 'And what do you want in return?'

'I want you to leave Salvation and not contact my brother again.' He paused. 'You have responsibilities. A child to support. This'll make it easier.'

'I see.' A knot began to grow in her throat. She had come to Salvation to find a treasure, but she hadn't imagined this would be it. She swallowed hard, trying to make the knot loosen. 'How long do I have?'

'I figure you'll need a little time to find a place to go, so I've postdated it. I'll expect you gone in ten days.'

As she looked across the desk at him, she was surprised to see a flash of compassion in his eyes, and she hated him for it. She blinked hard. 'Gabe laughs now. Not often, but sometimes. Did Ethan tell you that?'

'Reopening that drive-in has been good for him. He's finally starting to heal.'

She wanted to argue with him, to tell him that she was the reason Gabe had begun to heal, but he wouldn't believe her. Besides, she didn't know if it was true. Maybe she didn't mean anything more to Gabe than a few hours of forgetfulness when they were in bed.

'Both Ethan and I believe that having you gone will speed up the process.'

'If Gabe finds out about this, he'll be furious.'

'That's why you're not going to say a word. Do you understand? If you even hint to him about this, the deal's off.'

'Oh, yes. I definitely understand.' She drew the check through her fingers. 'Just tell me one thing. Exactly what do you think I'm doing to your brother that's so terrible?'

'I think you're taking advantage of him.'. 'How?'

His eyes narrowed. 'Don't play games with me, lady, because I'll run you right over! Gabe's a rich man who's careless about his money. You want to take him for every penny he has, then set off for greener pastures.'

'You know this for a fact?'

'Are you going to take the check or not?'

She gazed down at the check and wondered if the time would ever come when she could outrun her past. 'Yes. Yes, I'm going to take it, Mr. Bonner. You bet your life I am.'

She shoved the check into the pocket of her dress and turned toward the door, but his soft voice stopped her before she could leave.

'Mrs. Snopes, you won't like what happens if you try to screw me over on this.'

Her fingers convulsed around the knob. 'Believe me, Mr. Bonner, you're the last man on earth I'd screw.'

She forced herself not to run from the room, but she was shaking by the time she reached the deck, where Jane and Kristy had abandoned their efforts to clean up and were sitting and talking.

The moment Jane saw Rachel, her expression grew wary. 'What did he do?'

Rachel couldn't quite control the small quaver in her voice. 'You'll have to ask him.'

Jane rose and caught Rachel's hands in her own. 'I'm sorry. The Bonners are-They're a family in every sense of the word. They'll fight the world for each other, but sometimes their loyalty blinds them.'

The most Rachel could manage was a small nod.

'I'll try to talk to him again,' Jane said.

'It won't do any good.' She spotted Gabe's keys on the table, and she scooped them up. 'I'm not feeling well. I'm sure Ethan won't mind driving Gabe back to the cottage. Come on, Edward, we have to go.'

Edward protested Rachel's announcement, and Rosie fell apart when she realized she was losing her play companion. Her small face crumpled as Edward disengaged Horse from her hands. She reached out her arms for him or for the rabbit, Rachel wasn't sure which, and began to howl.

Edward gave her a clumsy pat on the head. 'It's okay, Rosie. You're just having a bad day.'

Rosie stopped crying, but her blue eyes brimmed with tears, and she regarded him with an expression so pitiful it could have melted stone.

Edward looked down at Horse. And then, to Rachel's astonishment, he handed the stuffed rabbit back to her.

Rosie clutched it to her tiny, heaving chest and gazed up at Edward with grateful eyes.

Rachel regarded her son with concern. 'Are you sure about this, Edward?'

He hesitated for only a moment before he nodded. 'I'm all grown-up now, Mom. Rosie needs Horse more than I do.'

She smiled, squeezed his hand, and tried not to cry.

Gabe leaped out of Ethan's Camry before the car had even stopped and charged toward the front porch where Edward was constructing a lopsided log cabin from sticks he'd gathered. 'Where's your mother?'

'I don't know. Inside, I guess.' His gaze moved past Gabe to Ethan and Kristy, who were just getting out of the car.

Gabe began to walk toward the door only to stop as he saw the boy make a small gesture to the side, as if he were trying to pick up something that wasn't there. Then his arm fell back into his lap, and he gave a sigh that seemed to come from his toes.

Gabe wished he didn't understand the gesture. 'You're missing that rabbit of yours, aren't you?'

Edward bent his head over his log cabin and scratched his knee.

'I heard you gave it to Rosie, but everybody'll understand if you want it back.' He tried to contain the gruffness in his voice, but couldn't quite manage.

'Rosie won't understand.'

'She's only a baby. She'll forget about it.'

'Horse isn't the kind of thing a kid forgets about.'

He spoke with such absolute certainty that Gabe knew there was no use arguing with him. In that way, he was exactly like his mother.

'Pastor Ethan! Kristy!' The boy smiled as they stepped up onto the porch. 'You want to see my log cabin?' He was too young to sense the tension between them, but Gabe had felt it.

'You bet we do,' Kristy said.

Gabe turned away and walked into the cottage. 'Rachel?'

There was no answer. He made a quick search of the rooms, then found her outside where she was bent over a rogue tomato plant in the weedy garden.

She was wearing the orange dress she painted in. Sunlight dappled her hair and danced along those slender, golden-brown arms. Her feet were bare, and she'd buried her toes in the soft dirt. She looked timeless and sensual, made up of earth and fire, and he wanted to take her right there in that imperfect garden. He wanted to cover her body with his body, forget who he was, who she was. He wanted to go to her without a past or future, with no thoughts beyond this single moment.

She looked up. A light sheen of perspiration glistened along her cheekbones, and her lips parted in surprise. 'I didn't hear you.'

She gave no smile of greeting, no sign that she was glad to see him. 'Why did you take off like that?' he snapped.

'I wasn't feeling well.'

'You seem to be feeling fine now.'

She didn't reply. Instead, she bent her head and began working a clump of chickweed free.

'If you wanted to leave, you should have told me. You know I don't like it when you're here by yourself.'

'You can't be with me every minute. And why should you try?'

'What does that mean?'

'It means I'm not your responsibility.'

The snippy note in her voice annoyed him. She was the one in the wrong, not him. He was doing everything he