Premonitions: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 1

by Turner, Brynette L.

  “As you know,” Steve continued while looking at a page in the file, “the Federal Prosecutor accepted all of our affidavits and already plea bargained sentences on most of the people we arrested. Of course, Evan Moseley isn’t taking any plea offer and we’re almost ready to go to trial against him. But, Rick Benton had a heart attack two days ago, which brings us to our second problem.” He looked up at Chaz and sighed. “We’re not sure he’s going to be in any shape to testify.”

  It took a minute for that to sink in before Chaz asked, “What do we need to do?”

  “We need to submit new affidavits from you and Morgan to cover as much as we can that Rick had already sworn to. There’s a list of what we need in your folder.” He slid it across the table and gave Chaz a chance to look over the pages.

  “Okay. When do we start?”

  “Right now. We need to talk this through and narrow these questions down to what you can answer. I’ll fax our list to the prosecutor’s office and someone will be here this afternoon to talk to you. They want you ready to swear new affidavits on Wednesday.” He watched Chaz nod before adding, “The trial is supposed to start in just over four weeks.”

  Early November. Chaz smiled. He looked at the questions again and started explaining what he had seen versus what he had done. It was going to be a long day, but this chapter of his life was almost over. And, if Steve was correct, the danger was totally over, too.

  While he was locked away in a conference room with his former team leader, Stephanie was searching job postings online and making a list of temporary placement agencies that might be able to find jobs suited to her skills. She would make her own attempts in addition to working with a headhunter. She didn’t expect that finding a job in investments would be easy, so she was open to making a career change as long as the position still dealt with finances. In general, she was optimistic about finding employment that hopefully would be more fulfilling than her last position.

  “There’s no hurry for you to get a job.” Chaz reminded her that evening.

  “I can’t sit at home all day,” she admitted. “I need to feel productive.” She took salad dressings off the table and put them back into the refrigerator.

  “Then, you can meet with the realtors. I know that was supposed to be my responsibility, and I did look at a lot of properties before you moved here. They just didn’t seem like someplace we could stay for the next few years. Either they weren’t big enough or weren’t in the right neighborhoods. Besides, some of the leases were as expensive as buying a house. I told the agent to also check on buying as an option. He came up with a listing of probably fifty houses and condos. Anyway, maybe you should be the one to narrow them down. I want you to be completely happy with our new home.”

  Stephanie sighed and shook her head. “Chaz, I didn’t know you had decided not to find someplace to rent.”

  “I hadn’t. Buying was simply a second option. Now that I’m saying it to you, it feels like the right way to go.” He watched her set glasses in the dishwasher and waited for her to turn to face him.

  “I know you’re used to making decisions, but so am I. We need to talk about things that affect both of us. I agree with you about the house, but you could have asked for my opinion before having the realtor start searching.”

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry.” He reached over and held one of her hands. “Let’s do that. Let’s talk about how all the things we want can fit together.” He wondered whether what he was about to say would put unnecessary pressure on their relationship. She looked up into his eyes but wasn’t sure she understood the hesitancy there. “I want a lot more than what we have. Moving in together was only the first step. Eventually, I want us to have children and live in a house with a yard where we can enjoy being a family. I hadn’t thought much about those things until I met you, but now that you’re here, nothing else makes sense. I just don’t know what makes sense to you or what pace to set.”

  Stephanie was silent, shocked. That wasn’t anything she’d expected him to say.

  “Whatever life hands us is our destiny, right?” He watched her nod. “Sometimes, I’ll be the one who figures it out first, and sometimes it’ll be you. Isn’t that the way things have worked so far?”

  “Yeah, I guess it is.” Stephanie usually did take whatever life gave. But falling in love with Chaz made her feel a little off balance. Now, she wasn’t sure whether her intuition was enough to ease the fact that she felt vulnerable and more than a little uncertain when she thought about their future. She thought about the dream she hadn’t yet told him about, and in spite of what he’d just said, decided it was still too soon to mention it.

  Chaz kissed her forehead. His eyes filled with warmth and she knew that, when the moment was right, he’d ask her to marry him. But, they both knew she needed more time to adjust to everything that was already happening.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  On Saturday morning, Phailin picked Stephanie up around 11:00. They went to the downtown farmer’s market and negotiated prices on several spices and a few packages of dried items that could only be found at import shops. Next was lunch at a vegetarian café followed by a trip to the public library: the Thai woman wanted to make sure Stephanie had access to any of the books she might need to help her understand aura charting.

  “First, let’s see what your friend sent.” The women had settled at a table in a secluded area of the philosophy section.

  Stephanie unfolded the pages and showed her companion the chart and notes. Phailin looked over what Karen had compiled for both Stephanie and Chaz and compared the information to her own observations.

  “Your friend has a very good understanding of auras.” Her eyes sparkled with amusement and appreciation. “Perhaps I can add a greater depth to her interpretations.” She looked very closely at Stephanie and then back to the chart. “You are a very strong psychic. Do you have dreams?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “See, here? Violet is very, very strong. As your friend indicates, this shows that you are spiritual. But this hint of green here indicates you are also grounded, which would mean your conscious mind needs to make sense of what your spirit is seeing—you don’t usually follow blindly. The green also indicates your energies are directed toward finding harmony with the people you care about. Do you see how she drew the violet and green in waves that flow together? The combination makes you need a rational outlet for your powerful gift. Dreams are the most logical. And look at this: your blue indicates that you feel everything deeply. Your friend’s notes don’t say it, but this blue is so deep that you are probably extremely sensitive and get overpowered.” She studied Stephanie closely before nodding. “Despite being very spiritual and intuitive, you suppress a lot of things you perceive. Again, these impressions can come out in dreams.”

  Stephanie was amazed that Phailin could add to Karen’s conclusions about her. She ran a finger along the edge of the page.

  “Now, the green in Chaz is his most dominant color.” She was speaking from her own analysis. “Be careful of his strong need to create order: it works well in his professional life, but his habit of focusing on details can be a little controlling in relationships.” She looked at Karen’s chart. “I agree that the green you share makes family a priority for both of you: never doubt that he will make his world revolve around you. And I agree that this thin band of blue makes him generous and a little spiritual. That’s good for you because you need someone who can respect your psychic vibes. But, I don’t think it’s as strong as your friend indicates; that’s probably because I’ve known him for several years and have seen it fluctuate. When he met you, he was apparently open to your spiritual gifts. He’ll always accept them, but sometimes he’ll need to be reminded to trust them. When a situation puts your violet against his green, you must be firm that spirit is stronger than logic because your instincts will also always consider what’s reasonable. Following your intuition will make you more in tune with destiny and w
ill help you to be a very powerful couple.”

  Stephanie took in everything Phailin said in light of her recent conversations with her man. She couldn’t agree more. She also couldn’t resist asking about Janine and whether Chaz had ever asked Phailin about her compatibility with him. She had been a part of his life for a long time.

  “Ah, yes. Her.” She frowned. “I only saw the woman twice but didn’t need to do a chart to know she wasn’t well-suited to my friend. Her dark aura was obvious as soon as we met; too much mystery for a person like Chaz who needs harmony. Perhaps they would have been a better match if she was more spiritual—but she wasn’t and they weren’t.”

  “So, what’s this book for?” Stephanie didn’t want to seem too interested in Janine.

  “Astrology?” Phailin smiled. “Auras are also tied to a person’s birth day and date. Those determine your personality, too. So, if we compare an astrological chart with an auras reading, you can clarify which traits are specifically yours. Even if they initially seem like minor elements, they can almost always indicate your subtler influences. For example, we talked about the reasons you have psychic dreams. Your astrological chart may show whether we’re right.”

  Stephanie took a piece of paper from her purse that Chaz had written his birth information on: date, time of day, place. She added her own and slid the paper across the table.

  Phailin flipped through pages and charts and explained everything she was doing. Within an hour, she had compiled rudimentary data that helped convince Stephanie that everything she knew about auras was only the surface of her personality. There were so many intricacies that she couldn’t keep up.

  “About your dreams,” Phailin began, “both your astrological sign and your auras indicate that your psychic insight is very sharp. I may have overestimated your need to suppress perceptions; it’s more likely that you’re a dreamer because you’re able to channel your perceptions. That should make you very accurate and very clear.”

  “But my dreams sometimes tell me things that haven’t happened yet.”

  Phailin looked thoughtful and asked whether the dreams were about friends or strangers. Stephanie responded that they had almost always been about herself or her friends.

  “There’s your answer. You’re able to link to people you care about; that’s why you see their futures and not people you know casually. Some people think both déjà vu and predictive dreams hint to the same thing—that our consciousness travels back and forth through time or that our impression of time is incorrect.”

  “What do you think?” She watched her new friend shrug.

  “In Asian culture, there are many philosophies about the mind’s link to the spirit. I believe anything can happen.” She changed topics. “Now, I want you to close your eyes and think of all the colors of the auras spectrum.”

  “What? I thought we were focusing on dreams now.”

  “We were.” Phailin’s voice was patient and kind. “I want to try an experiment.” After Stephanie’s eyes had been closed for about a minute, Phailin started whispering different combinations of auras. Each time she would say when to start over and picture the colors from the bodies outward in order.

  “Open your eyes and tell me what colors you perceive about me, even if you can’t actually see them.”

  Stephanie looked at her.

  “Pink. Blue. Yellow.”

  “Very good. Now, look up my birth traits and compare them to the colors you named. My astrological sign is Cancer.” She slid the astrology book across the table.

  “Okay, here goes.” Stephanie skimmed the pages and wrote notes on a pad Phailin gave her. “You are a very loyal friend and you need balance between the spiritual and the practical. That goes along with the pink. You’re a good communicator, intuitive, and sympathetic, which is indicated by the blue. Yellow makes you organized and charming.” It had taken nearly fifteen minutes for her to come to those conclusions.

  “Which color is most dominant?”

  “Pink. Friendship is strong in you.” Stephanie was confident.

  Phailin nodded and smiled. “That was a very good basic assessment, especially considering that we just met.” Her smile broadened. “Your friend was right. Even if you can’t see colors yet, you will; you’re already able to pick up on them. Keep trying and don’t worry about being right—only focus on trying to see them.” She explained ways to practice that.

  Stephanie nodded and returned the smile.

  That evening, as she cooked dinner, Stephanie told Chaz about her afternoon. She and Phailin had spent almost three hours at the library and she had gained a much better understanding of what Karen and Phailin could do.

  “Apparently, more complex charting can be used to understand particular events in a person’s past or to heal disruptive elements of a person’s emotional character. I think that Karen is able to make those changes happen by using aromatherapy and teas.” She shook her head at all of the information she’d learned. “And, once Phailin started comparing the details from the charting to the characteristics in astrology, things got more complicated than I could absorb. I wonder what a complete analysis would look like if we had a star chart done based on our rising and descending planets, and whether the moon is ruling, and all of that other intricate stuff of the zodiac.” She dumped vegetables and hot pepper flakes into the skillet of sautéed chicken along with some heavy cream. “Karen could get paid to do this for people.”

  “Would you like to have a complex chart done?”

  “Not really.” She frowned and slapped a hand that was trying to snatch a strip of yellow bell pepper from the skillet. “I already know everything I need: you and I make a pretty good team.”

  “You knew that on the day we met.” Chaz laughed and snagged a piece of chicken and fanned his mouth as the heat hit his tongue. “I remember how you looked at me, as if we were long-lost friends. Our souls connected right away.”

  “Yeah, they did. It’s just cool to understand why.” Stephanie poured the hot mixture over a large bowl of pasta and carried it to the breakfast counter. Chaz stepped behind her and, as soon as her hands were free, grabbed them and crossed them around her waist. He leaned forward to kiss his captive’s neck and temple.

  “I thought you were hungry,” she commented as she leaned back against him.

  “I am.” He laughed and nibbled her ear. “Italian for dinner; you for dessert. Deal?”

  “Deal.” She wiggled out of his grasp and slid onto a stool. “Chaz, if you felt our souls connect, why did it take you so long to come back to me?” Stephanie was remembering the amount of time that passed between that first date and his appearance at the wedding reception. She reached for her glass of wine and watched him ladle dinner onto both plates.

  “My job. I wasn’t supposed to get attached to anyone, remember?”

  “Speaking of your job; I know you like what you’re doing now, but do you have any idea when you’re supposed to testify?”

  He nodded his head. He’d forgotten to tell her about his meeting with Steve, so he summarized what had been said. “A definite date hasn’t been set, but we’re hoping that my role will be done right before Thanksgiving.”

  “That’ll be great! I miss Karen and Victor, so maybe we’ll be able to visit them before Christmas.”

  The rest of the dinner conversation was lighthearted with jokes about some of the houses she had picked for him to see, comments about the latest photos of little Victor that his dad had sent via email, and debates over whom should do the laundry vs. doing the grocery shopping. All the while, they shared an ease with one another that seemed to have always existed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Stephanie wasn’t very interested in college football; she preferred to watch the NFL teams. However, it seemed that almost everyone Chaz knew was a huge fan of the University of Cincinnati’s Bearcats, so it wasn’t surprising that one of his FBI friends who’d gone to school there was throwing a huge game-day party. It was the homecomin
g game against Syracuse.

  “You’ve got to cheer for Syracuse,” Victor had insisted jokingly.

  “No way!” Stephanie watched Karen punch her husband in the arm and was happy to be able to see her friends via the computer. “You are in enemy territory, Steph. I don’t expect you to root for UC, but don’t get yourself killed by cheering for their rival.” She shifted the ever-growing baby so he couldn’t press keys or leave fingerprints on the computer screen. At seven months old, he was energetic and curious.

  Stephanie smiled. She missed them.

  “I honestly don’t care who wins. Chaz was invited, so I’m going.” In fact, she was looking forward to it. If she was going to be in his life forever, she might as well meet as many of his friends as soon as possible. She’d been practicing reading auras and was pretty confident she could detect most personalities; she wanted to get an idea of who to befriend and who to avoid.

  Although it was nearly November, the temperature was in the upper 50’s. In Erie, she might have expected a light snowfall before Halloween. Instead, she was able to dress in a short-sleeve, scoop-neck sweater and a zip-up sweatshirt.

  She carried a tray of brownies and homemade strawberry muffins with red frosting into the house: bearcat colors. Chaz was only by her side for a few minutes, just long enough to introduce her to the hostess and abandon her to join the men at the grill outside of the covered patio.

  “He’ll be back in no time at all,” Holly informed her. “The tub of beer is out there but the real liquor is in here. “I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

  Stephanie didn’t need much time to assess Holly. Yellow balanced by orange: perfect for a vibrant, efficient hostess.

  “I probably won’t remember names at first,” Stephanie apologized.

  “Oh, you’ll remember mine.” A woman who was noticeably taller than Stephanie stuck out her hand. But it was not her height that was unsettling; it was the fact that she seemed unfriendly despite the wide smile. “I’m Janine.”