The Ring of Fire: The Dragon Dream: Book Two

by Robin Janney

  “She still expects you to help?” asked Kevin in disbelief, although considering the comments the woman had made moments ago, maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

  “She does,” Angela answered. Drinking from her mug of sweet and milky tea, she commented no further.

  Kevin could see the struggle on his friend’s face as Craig shoved the beaters of the handheld electric mixer he held into the warm potatoes. Setting the mixer to medium speed, he quickly whipped the soft potatoes and mixed in milk and butter.

  Above the sound of the mixer, Craig said to his wife, “Since you’re under doctor’s orders not to drive, and I’ll be taking you out there anyway, I’ll just stick around and help.”

  “Oh, that’ll go over great,” muttered Angela under the sound of the mixer. Kevin didn’t doubt her husband had heard her, but judging from Craig’s face, he just didn’t know what to say.

  Sherry walked in just as dinner was set on the table. She was carrying a plastic shopping bag along with her black briefcase.

  “Perfect timing, hon,” Kevin commented, planting a peck on her cheek. At least she didn’t smell like sex tonight.

  “It smells wonderful.” Sherry put her briefcase on the floor against the island as her husband took the shopping bag, which did indeed say it came from the Country Cupboard. The ice cream went into the freezer and the plastic baked goods container of brownies was placed on the island counter.

  Talk was sporadic throughout dinner. Craig’s surprise was obvious to Kevin when Angela excused herself before dessert and returned upstairs.

  “She must really be tired to be turning down brownies,” commented Kevin, a little surprised himself. He was in the process of placing the brownies into bowls before spooning the vanilla ice cream on top of them. He placed the fourth bowl which would have been Angela’s to the side, on the off chance she’d be down later.

  “She’s in more pain than she wants to admit.” Craig’s eyes looked upstairs, clearly considering whether to follow her or not. “She doesn’t take the pain medicine the doctor gave her either, just tries to get by on ibuprofen.”

  “Remind me again what happened?” requested Sherry, smiling pleasantly at her husband as he set the bowl of dessert in front of her.

  “To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what happened. All I know is Angela approached one of her horses from the wrong side and he flipped out. She got knocked around and hit her head when she fell. When Gary got there, the horse had somehow pinned her against the stall wall. By the time I got there, the horse had been sent out into the pasture and Angela was just sitting up.”

  Sherry shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing off her cheeks. “That girl has more accidents than anyone I know.”

  “Oh, come on, Sherry,” chided Kevin. He tried not to sound as irritated with her as he felt. “It’s the first accident she’s had since she’s been married, aside from the kidnapping of course. You can’t tell me you’re buying into old Flo’s theory that Angela’s cursed.”

  “What?!” exclaimed Craig. His head twitched in the direction of the stairs.

  “Of course not,” said Sherry in response to her husband, her face reddening slightly. She turned her gaze to Craig. “Flo’s full of inaccurate theories, you know that.”

  “I do. I just don’t understand why this town continues to obsess about Angela even when she’s gone.” Craig pushed his half-eaten dessert away from him. “Cassie mentioned something about it the last time I talked to her on the computer.”

  “Really?” said Sherry, her eyes flickered enough to cause Kevin to wonder why. He was thankful his friend didn’t seem to notice.

  “Yeah, I’m not sure what was said to spark Cassie’s questions.” Craig shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t mention Flo’s theory to Angela. I still haven’t been able to get her to go to church with me, partly because of Flo.”

  “She won’t hear a word from me,” assured Sherry.

  Kevin sighed, and once again decided to ignore his issues with his own wife. “Her church failed her when they refused to discipline their pastor for harassing her. They failed her by allowing it to go on as long as it did. So, it’s not surprising Angela’s still shunning church. Not really.”

  “No, it’s not. Which is why I ask and don’t press. When she’s ready, she’ll join me.” Craig rubbed his face tiredly. “I hate to eat and run on you guys, but I’m going to head up to bed with my wife. She’s not the only one who’s tired.”

  “You did do all the driving,” Kevin pointed out as Craig stood to his feet.

  “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  As Craig’s footsteps faded up the steps, Sherry looked innocently at her husband and teased, “I guess we’re not playing cards tonight.”

  “Since it’s just the two of us, we could play strip poker,” he suggested, his eyes twinkling in pleasure at her delighted laughter. He’d worry about his friends later and pretend for a few minutes that his wife still loved him.

  B east was in anguish. He paced the perimeter around the white house in Tyler’s Grove, occasionally fluttering up to peek into windows. The Little Angel was hurting, and he felt the sting of her pain as though it had been him between the wall and the house. Why had they left Princess at home? He knew Craig was aware the dog eased his wife’s anxiety even if the human was too stupid to see the true nature of the animal.

  Angela and her husband had retired early, but the other couple in the house had stayed up later. Playing their silly card game that led to sex on the kitchen floor. They didn’t concern him, although they alternately amused and disgusted him. Especially since the silly blonde was in over her head playing lackey to other lackeys.

  Humans were truly stupid.

  He could feel the ripples of Angela’s nightmare. Even damaged, the Little Angel’s mind was strong. Had this been before, he would have delighted in it. The terror drenching the night, and the darkness pressing both out of the house and trying to get back in. To enlightened eyes, the house emanated terror regardless of the shimmering light in the center. And the terror spread, though no one would make the connection to their bad dreams and Angela’s nightmare. Even Craig hadn’t made the connection yet, just that they tended to dream in sync.

  That man wasn’t dreaming yet tonight, but he was sleeping restlessly, while his wife lying next to him was caught in a night terror caused by her own mind. The Beast would have known if another of his kind was doing this to her. That would have been easier to fix.

  Would Craig awake on his own, or should the Beast wake him? Accidentally, of course. He couldn’t enter their room because to his kind it was surrounded by an impenetrable ring of fire. That presented somewhat of a problem. He eyed the cloudy sky and realized his solution.

  C raig awoke to the deafening peal of thunder. Lightning brightened the room as though it were day, and he flung a hand out to search for his wife without a second thought. He sighed in relief at the feel of her body in bed next to him and pulled closer to her as more thunder sounded. The room shook as though the storm was overhead.

  Angela turned into his embrace like usual. That’s when he became aware of the quiet whimpers she was making, and how her hands were in two tight fists against her chest.

  “Hey,” he said gently, attempting to wake her by shaking her shoulder. He had tried sleeping lightly in case his wife’s nightmares resurfaced, but apparently it had been deeper than intended and he was grateful for the storm waking him. He wasn’t surprised dreams had come. Even staying at the farm was enough to trigger them. “Angela, wake up. Come on honey, it’s just a dream.”

  He continued to shake his wife and speak gently to her until she came out of it. “Hey, are you alright?”

  Angela burrowed deeper into his arms, hiding her face from the bright lightning. “I think so. I didn’t scream, did I?”

  “No, but you were whimpering.” He ran his hand gently over her hair. Her hands were still clenched, her fists against his back. “What was it?”
>
  “I don’t remember a lot,” Angela admitted. “I was lost. I don’t know where I was. Darkness everywhere.”

  Craig sighed in empathy and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re safe now.”

  She nodded and turned her face to him. Her blue eyes glittered in the flickering light. He could see her fear slowly ebbing away. “I guess I am.”

  “It was just a dream, Angel.”

  “It always feels so real.” She shuddered.

  The tension in her began to lessen as he held her close. Shifting slightly, he kissed her lips gently until her hands unclenched against his back, and instead her fingers clawed into him. They both liked to ease the terror of their nightmares by joining their bodies afterward. “How are you feeling?” he asked softly.

  “I’ll be fine so long as you keep it gentle like Dr. Ryan said.” She pressed against him invitingly.

  “I can do that.”

  S herry watched the lightning flicker on the ceiling of the bedroom she shared with her husband. A husband who was sleeping like a log by her side, despite the storm, while she lay awake. He had never woken during thunderstorms in the entire time they’d been together. On the other hand, she would wake at the slightest sound; she’d have made the perfect mother in that regard.

  She rolled on her side, facing away from the window. Then she rolled the other way. She tossed and turned for several minutes before rising to lower the blinds and close the curtains. It helped diminish the light, although it didn’t help with the sound. She decided she could live with that and climbed back into bed.

  In between fading rumbles, Sherry heard another sound. It was soft, and she had to strain to hear it. Though when she realized what it was, she almost stopped straining. Almost.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered in the semi-darkness. Craig and Angela were having sex! It shouldn’t surprise her because Maude had warned her that they had no regard for others even in their own home. Granted, Sherry didn’t agree with the older woman on this point. In their own home, a couple could do whatever they wanted no matter who was visiting. And technically, this house did belong to Craig, they were just renters. Hadn’t she and Kevin coupled downstairs before bed?

  And hadn’t she and Kevin done the same when they had visited Craig here years ago? Even knowing the man had a repressed sexuality and was struggling with his attraction to his girlfriend, they hadn’t hesitated to make love in this bed with him just down the hall. It probably hadn’t been the kindest thing for them to do at the time, but they had been trying to repair their marriage.

  In theory, they were still trying to fix their marriage. Kevin’s unwillingness to continue trying for a baby was a bit of a turn off for her. Of course, her inability to be honest with her husband probably wasn’t conducive. Neither was the affair she was having. He seemed oblivious, much like he was now as he slept through the thunder and lightning.

  Listening to the other couple in-between thunderclaps was arousing to Sherry. Only now did she wonder, how Craig had tolerated it years ago when the situation was reversed?

  Nudging her husband, she sighed in relief when he didn’t stir. She flipped over on her back, one hand grasping her own breast under her t-shirt, and the other slipping below the waist band of her pajama shorts. Trying not to move the bed, Sherry pleasured herself, listening to the Angela’s soft moans from the other room. What she wouldn’t give to have her vibrator at home, but her husband had never approved of toys in the bedroom.

  It sounded like the other woman was enjoying herself. But then, one would hardly expect Craig to abuse his wife where others could hear. She’d deal with that later.

  Sherry tried not to think, she struggled to surrender to the moment and the pleasure. She’d always wanted to experiment sexually but had never had the chance until now. Kevin had been smitten with her from the beginning, and even though she had only a passing interest, she’d allowed him to pursue her. Imagine her surprise when…

  A cool hand covering hers caused her to jump.

  “Here, let me help,” her husband whispered softly in her ear.

  When had he rolled over? When had he woken up? Sherry decided it didn’t matter, just moved her hand and let him take over. She gasped when his long fingers slid inside her, his thumb rubbing the sensitive spot above. He had learned long ago what buttons to push for her. Kevin’s lips found hers in the flickering light.

  “You should have woken me up,” he chided gently.

  “You have to be up earlier,” she whispered. Just shut up, she pleaded silently.

  “I’d lose sleep for you any time, Sher.”

  Listening to the thunder, and the sounds from the other room, Sherry surrendered to her husband’s touch and let him stroke her to a pleasurable release. But it wasn’t his round face she pictured in the dark when he climbed on top.

  4

  T he house was quiet when Angela awoke the next morning, late spring sunlight peeking through the curtains. She found her iPhone on the bedside table on Craig’s side and unplugged it from the charger. Checking the time, she was a little embarrassed to see it was after eight. But then, she’d been sleeping more with the concussion, so she wasn’t surprised. And back home it would be just after six, so it wasn’t really sleeping any later than usual.

  There were no texts to greet her, but then Jared probably wasn’t up yet, and Cassie should be on the road. Cell service between here and Jordan was spotty at best. And her husband was more likely to leave her a note downstairs as they did back home than send her a text, even if just to say he was walking across to the store.

  Rolling out of bed, Angela tried to remember if Kevin and Sherry had taken vacation days for this week and couldn’t recall. Pulling a light summer robe over her nightclothes, she went about her morning routines of showering and dressing.

  Downstairs was just as quiet as above, she noted. There was no one in the house with her. Going to the kitchen, she found two notes – one on the refrigerator from Craig and the other on the kitchen table from Sherry. Her hands trembled as she recalled the last time she’d found a note on the table in this kitchen.

  No, Kevin and Sherry hadn’t taken vacation days. That was a bit of a downer. And Craig was over to the store. Apparently, he wasn’t taking any vacation days either. Did he ever just not work?

  Angela knew that wasn’t a fair thought, knew in fact there had been many times early in their marriage when Craig had ignored all his businesses to focus on her. But it had been so long since he’d done anything like that, and it was a little frustrating. Their first year together at the cabin he’d inherited from his grandmother had spoiled her.

  Craig was a man who scheduled everything down to the minute details. So much time for the ranch, so much time for the store, so much time for the farm he shared with her father, so much time for his sketching and comic books, and so much time for his wife. Not necessarily in that order, but there were times when she felt like an afterthought. But only sometimes, and each time she reminded herself not to be selfish.

  It was hard being in this house alone.

  Going through the motions to make herself an omelet for breakfast should have been enough to settle her nerves. The memory she could feel trying to push its way forward was fuzzy, and she was always too afraid to concentrate on it. She dropped an egg on the floor and the sound startled her.

  Rolling her eyes, she grabbed a paper towel to clean the mess up. As Angela cleaned the spot, her mind ran through the week’s schedule. Anything to distract her from the memories trying hard to push to the forefront of her mind. Why couldn’t these memories have gone missing with the rest? Even fuzzy, they were the clearest ones she had surrounding her marriage to the man who loved her beyond belief.

  Wait, she was trying to distract herself, right? So then, Baccalaureate was tonight at six. Tomorrow morning and afternoon her mother was putting together many of the salads that would be served the next day because graduation was tomorrow night and Thursday would be the graduation p
arty.

  It was hard to believe her brother Jared was graduating high school at only sixteen. She had a vague memory of him telling her how they were going to start him on accelerated courses. As vague as her memories of him were, she hadn’t really been surprised when he had passed the advanced courses with ease and blown all his teacher’s expectations. His mathematical scores were off the chart.

  Her brother had already told his family he was going to go to John Hopkins in Maryland to study medicine and psychology. Cassie was also studying the same, but much closer to home; she had a greater desire to counsel people rather than concentrate on the medical aspect. Angela wouldn’t be surprised if Jared ended up with a full scholarship to the pricey school; although she and her husband had already discussed helping Jared if needed. They’d offered to help Cassie, but her independent sister had refused. Jared probably would too.

  Was she still cleaning the floor? She tossed the mess away disgustedly and decided to just make scrambled eggs. It would be easier.

  Sitting at the island to eat her breakfast, Angela opened her phone and sent a text message to Michelle. Her best friend from high school was not as communicative as she had been before she’d had her son, even though her husband had brought her back to this area to be closer to her family once the baby was born. Angela was disappointed her friend hadn’t been allowed to finish her schooling, but Michelle claimed it was only until after little Liam entered kindergarten.

  She also sent a text to her other friend Judy but didn’t expect an immediate reply from her either. Judy still worked dayshift at St. Joseph’s hospital as a nurse’s aide.

  Finishing her breakfast, and placing her dishes into the dishwasher, she felt familiar cramping. Of course, her period would have to come early! Sighing, Angela ran back upstairs to their room. A quick look through their things caused the smidgen of panic she was already dealing with to flare hotter.