Chapter 4
Sometime during the night, Tim woke from a nightmare. He had dreamed Lucy was buried alive again. In the nightmare, Tim was digging at the ground above her just as he had done when Lucy was buried by Caleb. Only this time, Tim's knuckles were bloody as the dirt kept piling up. The more he dug, the more the mound of dirt grew. He couldn't reach her!
Tim jolted awake from his sleep. Tim was breathing harsh but calmed when he felt Lucy's body curled up beside him. Sometime during the night, they had both fallen asleep on the couch. Their bodies had managed to be curled into each other. Side by side, they had unknowingly used the closeness to calm one another. Tim couldn't bring himself to leave the comfort of Lucy beside him. She was safe. For now, she was safe.
When Tim awoke again it was morning. Lucy was also waking. Her eyes fluttered open to the sight of Tim's bare abs. Her face was pressed against his hot skin. Somehow, Tim's shirt had ridden up allowing Lucy to use his stomach as a pillow.
Lucy wanted to kick herself for thinking that his stomach was a great pillow. Even if, Tim's abs were rock hard. She quickly put those thoughts away when she felt Tim moving beneath her.
They both sat up slowly. It was as if they were trying to deny the awkward position they had found themselves in.
"Coffee?" Uneasily, Tim rubbed the back of his neck.
So that's how he's going to play this. Lucy thought. Ignore the situation. Works for me.
"Sounds great." Lucy stretched her arms above her head. She too could play clueless. "Do you want me to make it?"
"I got it." Tim answered as he stood up. "You can let Kojo out the back if you want."
Lucy darted her eyes following Tim's. Kojo was curled up on the end of the couch. She chuckled as the dog stood up and shook himself awake. Kojo had curled up in a ball at their feet. It was probably a sight to see the three of them curled together on the small sofa. Those thoughts would be ignored as well.
Tim's backyard wasn't large but it provided enough room for Kojo to relieve himself. It also had a small place to grill out as well as two trees, which held a hammock. It suited Tim well. Lucy had been in the yard before. However, it was the first time she bothered to look around.
The area was surrounded by a large privacy fence. The grilling area had a small table just big enough for two to sit at. Two large planters sat beside the small area as well. They had some plants, which seemed to require little maintenance. Lucy wondered if at one time those planters held beautiful flowers. Perhaps, Isabel had put them there. Tim would've had a difficult time giving them up due to that fact. He was long over Isabel. However, the planters were there now because Tim didn't like change.
After returning to the house, Lucy saw that Tim had made Kojo's salmon and egg breakfast. It was a once every two week treat for Kojo. Tim and Lucy had agreed that Kojo deserved the breakfast once in a while. After all, Kojo was the king of dogs as far as they were concerned.
Tim had also made Lucy and himself a small breakfast of bagels with cream cheese. The coffee smelled terrific as well.
"I didn't make much for our breakfast." Tim said as he slid a bagel towards Lucy. "I figured we could eat this quickly. I know you're as eager as I am to get to the station to see what is going on with Rosalind."
"Yeah." Lucy took a small bite of her bagel. She smiled as she sipped her coffee to wash it down. Tim knew exactly how much cream she loved in her coffee. "They didn't give much information yesterday. Honestly, I don't think I would've retained anything important anyway."
Tim nodded in agreement. "A good night's sleep to clear our heads is what was needed."
Both felt a sudden awkwardness at the fact of how they slept. Mostly, the awkwardness was due to the fact that they had both enjoyed the feeling of being next to one another. Lucy giggled without thinking. Tim smirked knowing Lucy felt as unhinged as he did about their sleeping arrangement the night before.
Not sure how to handle the situation without making it more awkward for them both, they decided to be silent on the subject. Tim and Lucy headed out the backdoor after making over Kojo before setting the alarm system. The exit to the garage would hide Lucy from any view from the street. It was going to be a long drive to the station with chatting between the two. Chatting would be their norm as would ignoring the obvious.
