She’d already opened up more to Shane than any man she’d ever met. The late hour and the lack of other customers made the conversation intimate and easy. And perhaps she knew that Shane wasn’t going to remain in her life, since she’d never dreamed of him.
Talking about her dreams usually bothered her as much as having them. Her dreams often left her with a depressing awareness that she didn’t have much control over her life. Besides fighting her constant dread of the inevitable, Kaylin also had to cope with the draining physical aftereffects of her dreams—violent headaches and dizzying nausea, plus a punishing weariness as if she hadn’t slept at all. But strangely, talking about her dreams to Shane eased the tension in her gut, the knots in her shoulders, the ache in her heart for the sister she missed so much.
“And tonight? What did you dream?” Shane asked, revealing a sharp memory, which retained the fact that she’d never answered his earlier question.
“I saw Jenna’s face and her breath on a window. It was raining outside and dark. Car headlights flashed by. I saw no road signs, no trees, nothing to indicate her location. And it may have been a memory from seven years ago, or four. In the dark I couldn’t tell her age. But I still hope we’ll find her.”
She rubbed her temple, willing to suffer the extreme aftereffects of a nightmare—if she could only dream the right clues. She’d never give up hope that Jenna was still alive, unless evidence was found to the contrary.
“Are you hurting now?”
She liked the way he asked the question with sympathy, yet without pity. She hadn’t told him about the physical suffering after her nightmares. Perhaps he’d seen her rubbing her temple. If so, Shane was damn observant. She turned her coffee mug in circles. “You woke me before I suffered any ill effects. After I dream, I often feel ill.”
“You’ve always had…”
“Always. That’s why I don’t like to sleep,” she admitted, her tone bleak. “It’s my fate…and my curse.”
…NOT THE END…
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1677-8
THE HOPE CHEST
Copyright © 2005 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
YESTERDAY’S MAGIC
Copyright © 2005 by Jacquie D’Alessandro.
TODAY’S SECRETS
Copyright © 2005 by Julia Beck Kenner.
TOMORROW’S PROMISE
Copyright © 2005 by Susan Hope Kearney.
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The Hope Chest Page 28
