"Penny for your thoughts."
Kim leaned against Shane and smiled. "I'm just thinking how lucky we are."
Behind her, Shane was reclining on his side, propped up on an elbow. His free hand touched her shoulders and trailed sinuously down her back.
I was a glorious afternoon. The warm sun was shining down on them. It had been Shane's idea to have a picnic by the lake, just the two of them. Kim picked up her glass of Bordeaux, took a sip, and thought, Life doesn't get better than this.
Or maybe it does, she said silently as Shane's hand slipped under her blouse and he began massaging the small of her back.
"We can't," she said, flushing bright red and turning her head toward Shane. He was looking up at her with a saucy grin. "What about the neighbors?"
Shane turned his head from side to side. "What neighbors? I don't see anyone."
"Not now," Kim said. "Who knows who's lurking in the trees?"
"Lurking?" Shane rolled his eyes. "I see you've forgotten that I am an expert lurker. I'm also an expert at detecting lurkers. There's nobody out there." He pulled his hand away, wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her toward him. With a sly smile, he said, "Now . . . how about I show you something else I'm an expert at?"
Kim could not help but laugh. "Is this your seductive routine, Captain D?"
"How's it working?"
She grinned and let him pull her toward him. "Not bad, but I think I need to see a little more of your 'expertise.'"
He needed no further prompting. Nor did she. She sank into his arms and he rolled her over to her back. Her eyes closed as their lips met in a long, languid kiss.
When they parted, he looked down on her. "Care to reassess you evaluation?" As Kim giggled, Shane said, "I guess I'll take that-" He broke off suddenly and his head jerked to the side.
"Shane?" Fear ran through Kim as she saw how tense he had become.
His eyes remained focus on a copse of trees along the border of the property. "Wait here," he said. He leaped to his feet and started to run toward the trees.
Kim was so stunned that she did not even manage to move until he was halfway to the tree-line. Another wave of fear hit her.
He can't go in there.
The thought came with such a certainty that it hit her with almost a physical force. She sat back up and cried out.
"Shane!"
But he either did not hear her or he ignored her. Without hesitating, he disappeared into the darkness of the trees. As he did, Kim's entire body went ice cold.
No, this can't be happening, she thought, jumping to her feet. She raced in the direction Shane had run, fighting the cold that racked her body. No, no, no.
Reaching the trees, she looked for a sign of him, but there was none. She heard nothing, just the quiet rustle of leaves fluttering in the afternoon wind.
"Shane!" she yelled.
There was no response. But Kim realized that she was no longer cold. She was no longer anything. It was like her entire body had emptied, leaving nothing behind, and she knew what it meant.
No, don't leave me like this, she screamed silently. Don't make me feel this.
"Shane!" she cried again, but it was no longer a call for a response. She knew there would be no answer.
"Shane!"
Kim sank to her knees and closed her eyes, unable to fight the emptiness.
"Shane!"
"Mommy?"
Kim jerked awake and her eyes shot open. Where was the sun? And the trees? The leaves were no longer rustling. It was dark.
I'm in bed. It took a moment for that to sink in. When she finally realized it, she tried to catch her breath, which was coming in short, staccato bursts. Her heart was pounding.
"Mommy, what's the matter?"
She looked to the side of the bed and saw Andrew standing there, holding his teddy bear. Next to him was a clock that read 3:28 a.m. "Honey, what are you doing up?"
"I had a bad dream," he said, his eyes big. "There were bad men. . . . Uncle Cal was there and he chased me into the woods."
"Oh, Sweetie. . . ." Kim held out her arms, so Andrew could climb up beside her. She hugged him tightly. "It's okay. It was just a bad dream."
Something in the back of her mind told her that she had just had a bad dream too, but all that mattered right now was soothing Andrew's fears.
It was hardly surprising that Andrew would have occasional nightmares. The ones he had after Shane's arrest had died down, but after what happened with Cal and Shane being shot, it was more astonishing that they did not happen nightly.
Andrew looked up at her. "Can I sleep with you, Mommy?"
"Sure, sweetie," Kim said softly. She helped him crawl under the covers and settle down with his teddy bear clutched tightly against his chest. He looked up at her and she began to hum a soft lullaby. She watched as he yawned and then his eyes closed. In a few minutes, he was sound asleep.
Kim smiled, thinking how lucky she was to have her children, but in the darkness, she had an uneasy feeling that she could not place. She remembered the way she had woken up. Was it just because of Andrew that she had been so breathless? Or was it something else? Kim shook her head. She could not remember.
Sighing, she lowered her had to her pillow and looked at her sleeping son. Once again, she noted the similarities between Andrew and Shane, and she reached out and brushed back a little hair that had fallen forward. Andrew seemed so innocent right now, with no sign of any bad dreams.
Kim listened to his light, steady breathing, closed her eyes, and smiled. No sign of bad dreams at all.