12:30 p.m.

Reva found it hard to believe they were actually doing it.

But they were.

Josh had asked, "You ready?"

She'd replied with the word she knew he expected and, yes, wanted to hear: "Always."

So now they were leaving Springfield, without a word of farewell to anyone - barreling along the road in a clunky truck that made her think of Ma and Pa Kettle. As she'd feared, Colin had shown no sign of recognizing Josh. But he hadn't whined when he was seated between them, in the close confines of the cab of the truck. (That wasn't ideal. But they'd agreed it would be safe because Josh planned a relaxing drive on scenic back roads, without the hazards created by speed and traffic.) And now that they were in motion, the toddler was chortling with glee.

Soon, she knew, she'd have to make some phone calls, while Josh was driving. He'd already told her Shayne, and a good many other people, had known about his plan. So they'd just have to decide in what order their loved ones should be told its outcome, to minimize hurt feelings.

That could wait for a few more minutes. They were chatting - awkwardly - about what each of them had been doing recently. I wonder how long it'll take us to get back to where we were - to feel even as natural together as we did last year?

She also wondered whether Josh ever thought of Edmund. But this should be a happy day. I won't break the mood by asking. Instead, she asked him about the newly-completed hospital wing in Tulsa. He was proud to launch into a discussion of that, and she found herself relaxing, becoming more comfortable by the moment.

They'd had this country road virtually to themselves. So when a car whizzed by, headed toward Springfield, she couldn't miss realizing that the driver was speeding. Tempted by the open road? she wondered idly. Or genuinely in a hurry to get there? Someone who knew the area well, and was heedless of speed limits, actually could make better time on lightly-traveled roads where no one was enforcing those limits.

Then, behind them, she heard a horrific squealing of brakes. That alone made her jump, and Colin shriek. It was followed by frantic blasts of a horn; by now, Colin was bawling in terror.

She thought for a moment that the other driver had struck something, and needed help.

But the blaring horn was coming closer...

Josh looked at the rearview mirror, and cursed. "He made a U-turn, and he's coming after us! At top speed!"

And suddenly, Reva knew who it was. Who it had to be.

"Josh," she screamed, "it's Edmund! I know it's Edmund!" I was a fool to think he'd let us drive away and go on with our lives!

A white-faced Josh said tersely, "I know."

He accelerated...and reached into the glove compartment. Stunned, she saw him pull out a gun. Letting it drop into his lap, he gripped Colin, and told her, "Brace yourself!"

She'd barely had time to do it when he slammed on the brake.

"Josh - no!"

She heard the other driver come to a screeching stop as well.

"I can't lose him," Josh said quickly. "He's got a faster vehicle. But" - he took a steadying breath - "it may not be Edmund. Could be some nutcase who just wants to complain that I was hogging the road. Or even wants to ask directions!

"You take this -" To her horror, he pressed the gun into her hand.

"No, Josh!"

"Take it!" Now he was opening the driver's side door. "I'm going back there. If anything happens to me, you take off, as fast as you can. If you're caught, use the gun. But above all, use your cell phone - warn Shayne!"

As she gave a despairing wail, he got out and strode back toward the menacing car.

She wanted to step outside as well. But for Colin's sake, she forced herself to stay in the truck, boost him over her lap, and slide into the driver's seat. To watch what was going to happen in the rearview mirror.

She saw the other driver get out of his car and walk up to meet Josh. At first, Josh was partially blocking her view of him.

But then she saw his face.

And fainted.

x

x

x

Waking, she thought Oh no. I just had another dream!

Maybe, if she didn't open her eyes, she could slip back into it...

It didn't seem she could.

But...something was wrong. She was lying flat on her back, but on something less comfortable than her bed. On the ground?

Was I really in a truck? With...with Josh?

In an accident?

She opened her eyes. Blinked to clear her blurry vision.

And yes, an anxious-looking Josh was bending over her. Kneeling beside her, clasping her hands. And there was a blue sky overhead. So she really was on the ground.

"Reva?" he said cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"J-Josh? I th-think so. Were we in an accident? Oh my God - Colin?" She remembered he hadn't been in a car seat.

Did she also remember...no, that was crazy. She couldn't possibly have had a gun in her lap.

"Colin's fine! Don't worry - it wasn't an accident. You just, uh, passed out. I lifted you out of the truck and laid you on the grass."

"Passed out?"

She never fainted for no reason!

And whether it was an accident or a fainting spell, there was something peculiar about the dream she'd had. Jeffrey...a clean-shaven Jeffrey. Why didn't the Jeffrey in her dream have the mustache and beard he'd worn for so long? That was how she always pictured him.

"Think back, Reva," Josh prompted. "Do you remember who you saw before you fainted? Who you thought you saw?"

Before I fainted? She was hopelessly confused.

And she didn't want to admit who she'd seen, not to Josh. But she had no choice.

"J-Jeffrey," she said in a small voice. "I thought I saw Jeffrey."

Mortified, she felt tears well up in her eyes.

It must have been some stranger who just had the same build as Jeffrey, the same color hair. Josh will think I "see Jeffrey" everywhere. Maybe I am starting to see him everywhere!

Josh will take me home now. I've ruined everything, ruined everything for Colin...

Josh gave her hands a reassuring squeeze. "Okay. Now I have something to tell you. It's going to come as a shock, but a good shock.

"You weren't imagining things. Reva, you did see Jeffrey! He's alive! He's right here - he's come back to you."

"What?" I must still be dreaming! "Jeffrey - alive? H-here? It can't be!"

"Come on, sit up. He's right here. We thought I should break it to you."

Still disbelieving, she let him help her struggle up to a sitting position.

And there, standing not six feet from her, was a nervous-looking Jeffrey, with Colin in his arms. Jeffrey was clean-shaven - thinner than she remembered, and pale. But very much alive.

She gasped, screamed - then buried her face in her hands and began to sob.

She half-heard Josh saying, "Please believe me, Reva, I didn't know! I never would have tried to steal you away before he got here. I was so shocked I almost fainted, too!"

And then it was Jeffrey on his knees beside her - he'd evidently handed the baby off to Josh (she could hear Colin protesting, loudly). "Reva?" He tried to put his arms around her.

But she shrank away from him.

He pulled back. "I'm sorry," he said humbly. "I know I can't expect -"

"Damn you!" she screamed. Finally looking at him, reading utter confusion in his face. His tear-stained face, she realized, even as she kept up her verbal assault. "Why didn't you get here yesterday?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "What was so special about yesterday?"

Yesterday, I hadn't betrayed you, she thought. She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.

Couldn't say anything. All that came out was an undignified hiccup.

Josh said, "Uh, Jeffrey, I think she's upset because today, she agreed to leave town with me. We were going to be, uh, together."

"Oh!" Jeffrey needed a minute to absorb that.

To his anguished wife, the minute seemed an eternity.

But then he said gently, "It's okay, Reva. I didn't realize...we're so close to Springfield, I assumed you were just headed for a restaurant in one of the other towns around here.

"I love you, but if you're with Josh now, I can accept it." Physically, he wasn't moving; yet with every word, he seemed to be putting more distance between them. "You thought I was dead. And I knew I couldn't expect you to live like a nun all this time."

She found her voice, and wailed, "But I have been living like a nun!"

Josh said, "We were going to be together, Jeffrey. But we haven't...done what you're thinking yet. In fact, before today, we hadn't seen each other for a year.

"And I knew perfectly well that if you were alive, she'd be with you. Now she will be with you. That's where she belongs."

"Is that true, Reva?" Jeffrey's voice shook slightly; he seemed to be fighting for calm, trying not to get his hopes up. But whether or not he knew it, the look in his eyes was imploring. "Do you really want to be with me?"

She looked at Josh. His eyes were suspiciously bright. But he nodded to her, and silently mouthed Follow your heart.

So she turned to Jeffrey, and the words came out in a rush. "Yes, yes, yes!"

He reached for her. But she said, "Wait. I have to show you something.

"I took my wedding ring off today. But it didn't go far. See?" She held up the chain she wore around her neck.

Its most conspicuous ornament was the peace-symbol pendant. But when she left home that morning, she'd been compulsively fingering two objects she'd dropped into a pocket of her dress. Before she got in the truck with Josh, she'd realized what she had to do: slip her necklace off and add those two things. She didn't think Josh had even seen her do it. But there they were.

Her wedding ring...and Jeffrey's, which he'd left for her to find on that old lantern.

And now she could say - knowing it was true - "I meant to wear both our rings on this chain, every day, for the rest of my life."

As her husband swept her into his arms, she suddenly remembered the last line of that Rodgers and Hammerstein song. "Out of my dreams I'll go...into a dream with you."