Page 51 of Chasing Dreams
She wondered what her friends thought of her bringing a total stranger home. She decided it was only fair to tell Maya exactly what was going on.
At the sight of golden light spilling from the lace-curtained windows of her Victorian Inn, Shaine finally felt a sense of coming home. Maya was waiting for them in the kitchen.
“Shaine!” She gave her a welcoming hug, her belly huge between them.
“Oh, my gosh, Maya, look at you.”
“I know. If this kid doesn’t come soon, I’ll be the main attraction at Henry Doorly’s South African Grasslands.”
Shaine laughed. “It’s not that bad. This is Austin Allen. Austin, she’s talking about the pachyderm exhibit at the zoo.”
Austin moved forward and Maya shook his hand. “I got a room ready. The Sophia room, if that’s okay,” she said, looking to Shaine.
Shaine glanced at Austin, and knew he wouldn’t object. They hadn’t thought to discuss arrangements, but he wouldn’t want to embarrass her. She couldn’t picture him in the lace-curtained room with its antique furnishings, and no twentieth-century embellishments. Besides, she wanted him near for as long possible.
“Thanks, Maya, but he’ll stay with me.”
She had to give Maya credit for hiding her reaction. “Whatever you want, hon. Sit down. I made tea.”
Shaine reached into the cupboard for mugs. “Tea sounds great. And I want to tell you what’s going on.”
They settled at the round oak table, and Shaine poured. “Austin is helping me.” Her friend already knew some of the situation and about the dreams of Jack. Beginning with the incident about Jimmy Deets, Shaine explained what had happened and why she’d been in Colorado.
Maya accepted the information without batting a lash. “You’ve always had a second sense,” she said calmly, and turned to Austin. “A customer lost a wallet once, and she suggested he look under his car seat. There it was.”
Shaine looked at her in surprise. “I hadn’t attributed that to anything other than a lucky guess.”
“Well, you make a lot of lucky guesses,” Maya said with a tired smile.
“Come on,” Craig urged his wife. “Off to bed with you.” The Pruitts said their good-nights and headed for their small house across the street.
Shaine rinsed the cups and turned out the lights. Together, she and Austin got their bags from the back porch and Shaine led the way around back and unlocked the door to her downstairs apartment.
She flipped on the lights and showed him the bedroom and bathroom. “It’s pretty small,” she apologized.
“We’ll just be all the closer then, won’t we?” He slipped his arms around her, and she leaned into his embrace gratefully.
Thinking how much he disliked being around people, and how hemmed in he would feel here, she appreciated his sacrifice all the more. “Thank you for coming with me.”
He stroked her hair. “We’re going to see this thing through together,” he promised.
He’d awakened her to an incredible talent that had lain dormant within her all this time; incredible but frightening when so much was at stake. And he hadn’t let her come back here to face it alone. She had so much to be grateful to him for.
As soon as tomorrow she might know where Jack was.
* *
Having nothing to eat in her apartment, Shaine took Austin upstairs for breakfast. She shooed Maya into a chair and took over the preparation. There were only two rooms occupied, so when Marge Andersen arrived, Shaine left her to clean and do laundry, then led Austin to the small bedroom Maggie and her son had shared for those few precious months.
He moved the stacks of poorly labeled boxes she’d packed Jack’s things in. Finally she opened a carton, and beneath a blanket, found toys and clothing. Overwhelming sadness gripped her, along with a fresh attack of nerves. Her stomach knotted. “Here,” she whispered.
Austin glanced inside. Their eyes met, his filled with a deep understanding concern. He picked up the box.
In her living room, Shaine seated herself on the edge of the sofa. The surroundings were all different. Austin’s secluded log home had seemed the perfect atmosphere for a task like this. Would being here make any difference? Was she deliberately placing intellectual stumbling blocks in her own path? Yes. She tried not to think of all that was at stake.
“You’re as white as a sheet,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of her. “Relax.”
He rubbed her hands between his, and gave her a supportive smile. Her gaze moved from his hands to his eyes. He’d awakened her twice during the night when she’d begun to dream.
