A Glimpse of the Dream (23 page)

There was no question what emotion fueled the thunderous expression on his face. “I’ll be in town if anyone needs me. Come on, Zeus.”

I wanted to stomp my foot, because I honestly didn’t know what I’d done wrong. Simon walked in at that moment. “Is Kane all right? He looked pretty angry just now.”

“He’s stubborn. I’ll be in my room.”

I heard Mrs. T as I left the kitchen say, “I guess there’s more coffee cake for you.”

“That is not a bad thing.” But I heard the worry in Simon’s voice.

Teagan

The next morning, I woke and, out of habit, looked to my nightstand, but there was no chocolate milk waiting for me. Climbing from bed, I wrapped my blanket around my shoulders and stepped out onto the balcony. The sun was shining. The waves crashing against the cliff could be heard even from my distance. Inhaling the salt air, I took a minute to savor being home.

I hadn’t seen Kane since he left to go into town the day before. He was avoiding me, at least I thought so. He always was so stubborn, but unlike when we were kids, I couldn’t read him anymore.

The sound of voices drew my attention to the backyard, where Mr. Clancy and Mrs. T were having breakfast under the shade of a tree. But the sight of Kane took my focus. Dressed in shorts and a tee, his hair back in a ponytail, he wasn’t alone. A man, similar in build and size, was circling him. Just as I realized they were fighting, the man lunged. But it was Kane’s reaction that nearly sent me over the railing of the balcony; I was stretched that far to see what was happening. He deflected the hit. How the hell did he do that if he couldn’t see? As I watched, I realized that Kane was using his other senses to get a fix on his opponent. Watching him, I realized he had grown his hair to cover his scarred neck. Even though he couldn’t see it, I guessed he didn’t want others to.

The man stopped the lesson and offered Kane direction, to which he listened with rapt attention, soaking up what he was being taught. For almost an hour I watched from my place above him, watched the life Kane had made for himself despite the tragedy that had befallen him. I had always thought he was incredible, but that word just wasn’t good enough.

They looked to be finishing their session and wanting nothing more than to be near him, I hurried and got dressed. Running down the stairs, I flew out the back doors and around the house. The man was just leaving, shaking Kane’s hand. By the time I reached Kane, the man was pulling down the drive.

“Morning,” I said, a little out of breath.

“Tea. Morning.”

“I saw you from my window. That was pretty amazing.”

He grinned. “Thanks, it helps me with my balance, among other things.”

“What are you up to now?” I asked.

“I need to get a shower.”

“I’ll walk you. Maybe I could make you breakfast. Remember my world-famous waffles?” They weren’t, really—never could get them to hold their shape, but the flavor had always been perfect.

There was a slight hesitation before he said, “Thanks, but I’m not really hungry. I’ll come up to the house later.”

“Well, at least let me walk with you to the beach.” We hadn’t made that walk together in far too long.

“I don’t need your help.”

I recoiled from the harshness of his statement. He didn’t need my help, but I wasn’t offering to help him. And even if I were offering, what was up with him not wanting my help, but taking it from the man who was just helping him not ten minutes ago?

“I wasn’t suggesting you needed help. I just wanted to take a walk with you.”

“Another time.”

“What the hell is going on, with you blowing hot and cold, Kane? Make up your goddamn mind. We’ve wasted nine fucking years. Are you seriously going to waste more time by doing this?”

Anger rolled off him. “If it’s such a waste of your time, then what the hell are you doing still sniffing around me?”

“Whoa. Sniffing around you? That’s Camille, don’t get us confused. You know what? Go to hell.”

“Been there already.”

A direct hit, but I was so pissed I didn’t react. Turning on my heel, I walked back up to the house. Not surprisingly, my heart ached as if on command. I wondered if I could just rip the thing from my chest and be done with it.

Simon chose that moment to appear, all smiles. “Hey. You just talking to Kane?”

“Not talking, yelling.” Simon kept pace with me easily as I strode to the house, though I didn’t have a clue where I intended to go once I got there.

“What happened?”

“He’s kissing me senseless one minute, and the next he’s getting all bitchy because he thinks I’m trying to suffocate him with my need to help him. I wasn’t even offering help—just wanted to take a walk with him. God, I’m so frustrated.”

“You have that look. What are you up to?”

I stopped walking, turned, and pondered his question. Here I was, exactly where I wanted to be, in arm’s length of the man I wanted to be with, and still he was keeping me at a distance. This knowledge, coupled with the persistent pain in my chest, my stomach being one big knot, and a headache constantly just behind my eyes, was the final straw. I needed a goddamn break from life. “I’m going to get drunk, like roaring, head-in-the-toilet drunk. Want to come?”

“Yes, someone’s got to hold your hair back.”

“You’re the best.”

“Where are we going?”

“No clue, but we’ll figure it out. The town isn’t that big.”

We discovered Dahlia’s, a dive bar right on the water. It was mostly a hangout for locals, but since I’d been MIA for nine years, no one seemed to know who I was. And I was okay with that because at the moment I was dancing. Yep, to music only I could hear. Simon, bless Simon, had been laughing, but now he was growing concerned, because, with each shot, my legs had grown a little less steady. I had never spent the day drinking, likely wouldn’t again, but that day it was exactly what I needed.

“Maybe you should sit down.”

I stopped mid-Riverdance and studied Simon as if taking his suggestion under advisement. “Buy me another shot and I’ll sit.”

“Then sit.” Calling to the bartender, he said, “Another tequila shot.”

Dropping onto the stool, I watched as Tammy, the bartender, poured the drink, but since there were three of them, I wasn’t sure which one to reach for.

“Need help with that?” There was no mistaking the humor in his tone. “You are going to hate the world tomorrow.”

“I hate the world now.”

“What happened with Kane?”

“Sneaky. Asking me to reveal my secrets while under the influence. Naughty, Simon.”

“So, what happened?”

“Nothing. Like nothing happened. I offered him breakfast, he turned me down, I offered to walk to the beach with him, he turned me down, and then he snapped that he didn’t need my help, which I find extremely hypocritical—whoa, that’s hard to say. Is my tongue too big? Hypa-critical, hypa-cricketal . . .” I giggled. That wasn’t even a word.

“Teagan, focus. What did you find hypocritical?”

“That he didn’t want my help, but he doesn’t seem to have a problem accepting help from others.” I twirled my glass around in a circle; it escaped my fingers and slid right off the bar. I pointed to Simon when Tammy’s eyes sliced over to us as it crashed to the floor. “He did that.”

Simon rolled his eyes heavenward. “Don’t do that, they’ll get stuck up there,” I said. Spinning in my stool, I lifted my leg every time I came around to Simon and nailed him in the shin.

He grabbed the stool so abruptly I almost went sailing right off it. “Home,” he said. Tammy slid him the largest bottle of water I had ever seen. “If I drink all of that I’ll float home. That might be fun. Let me have that. Thanks, Tammy. Simon will pay you back for the glass he broke.”

She grinned at me. Halfway to the door, I remembered who she was. Grabbing the doorjamb as Simon was trying to pull me out of it, I called back to her. “Health class, eighth grade.”

“Yup. You were clearly out for the lesson on overdrinking.”

“Yeah, I was probably out drinking.” I roared with laughter. Simon, having had enough, tossed me over his shoulder.

“You Tarzan, me Jane. Or do you want to be Jane? I think I could be a pretty macho Tarzan.”

“I love you, Teagan, but if I live through this night, it will be a miracle.”

“Sometimes I wish I had been in the car with my parents. Especially these last nine years—never coming here, never meeting Kane, how much easier that would have been.”

I felt Simon roughly pull me from his shoulder, his hold on me like a death grip. “I never want to hear you say that again. You fucking hear me, Teagan?”

“I’m not saying I want to die, only that I don’t think it would have been so terrible if I had.”

“We aren’t talking about this now, with you drunk, but when you’re sober, we’re going to have a nice long chat.”

“Okay, with cookies, or maybe Sunshine will bake us one of her chocolate cakes.”

“You’re assuming we’ll back in Boston.”

“Probably. Once Mrs. Marks is better.”

“And Kane?”

“He’s not my Kane anymore. I think that ship has sailed—was attacked by pirates and then sunk to the bottom of the cold, dark sea.”

“Is this the alcohol talking?”

“Maybe, or maybe I’m just tired of having my heart broken by the one person I actually offered it to. He loved me once. If he still did, wouldn’t he be pulling me close now? Wouldn’t he have come for me, found his way to our door, and begged me to come home? If he loved me like I love him, how could he bear knowing I was out there and all he had to do was reach for me. No, I was right, feelings suck. I’m getting five cats when we get home. I hope you aren’t allergic.”

No response from Simon. He helped me into the car before he climbed in and started up the engine. He didn’t pull from the curb, though. “Again—when you’re sober, we’re going to talk.”

“And when I’m sober, I promise to listen.”

Unlocking the door, I put my fingers to my lips and said in a really loud whisper, “We need to be quiet.”

Starting up the stairs, I had the most excellent idea. Before Simon could stop me, I ran to the landing of the stairs, before it split off to either side of the foyer, and straddled the railing. I remembered wanting to do just this that first night I’d arrived at Raven’s Peak.

“Teagan, what the hell are you doing?”

“I always wanted to do this.” And so I sailed on down the railing and landed at the bottom hard on my butt. The sharp pain that radiated up my back felt oddly good.

“Are you hurt?” Simon was at my side faster than I’d ever seen him move before.

“I’m fine.”

“Tea?” I loved the tingles that worked down my spine whenever Kane said my name. Looking past Simon, I saw Kane standing in the hall by the kitchen.

“Hey, Kane. What are you doing on the mainland?” And for some reason I found this question hilarious. I rolled onto my back, which hurt like a mother, and roared with laughter.

“Is she okay?” Kane asked Simon.

“Drunk, really fucking drunk.”

“She do that often?”

“Only when she’s hurting.”

Zeus joined us and started licking my face. “Simon, we should get a dog too, a dog and five cats. Maybe I could train them to retrieve baked goods from Sunshine.”

Simon lifted me to my feet. “Time for bed.”

“Yeah, you look tired,” I said, then giggled again because
I
thought I was funny.

“Night, Kane,” Simon said as he started to lead me up the stairs, but I stopped walking and turned to Kane.

“Why are you here?”

“I was playing chess with Mr. Clancy.”

“You play chess? How?”

“I tell him where I want the piece and he places it. He tells me the moves he’s making. I see the board in my head.”