Dream a Little Dream of Me

by Daniels, Cobie

  As you will know by the time you read this, I came into your room to leave you a gift that I truly hope you like. I so wish I could see your reaction. I’ll have to be satisfied with the hope that you will like it and that it’ll bring you happy memories. As I sit here and reflect, I cannot help but smile. The awkwardness of that first day. I thought I had you all figured out. Typical young handsome Englishman from a well-to-do, educated family, who was never told no. Always used to getting his way and what he wants. I went to school with many privileged handsome, young men like you. I saw how they treated the quiet, unassuming girls like me. We were a conquest. You were no different, as far as I was concerned. What I didn’t have figured out was that you and our friendship would become my most treasured memory to take back home with me.

  You have a heart of gold, Gareth. You may not think so, but I know. You are going to change the medical community and save lives because of your golden heart. Time will show you this as you continue your journey. As I close my letter, please believe me when I say that I don’t believe that our lives crossed paths by accident. My life is wildly better and more complete because of the summer I spent here with you and your mother. Thank you for proving me wrong for all the right reasons. I wish you nothing but the best in this life, Gareth, and in all that you set out to do.

  Yours always,

  Kelsey

  Gareth got up from the chair and closed his bedroom door. Resting his back to it, he let out an exhausted breath as he slid down to the floor. Staring at the beautiful painting, Gareth finally gave himself permission to let go of all the emotion that he’d been holding back for weeks. Keeping his head between his arms and knees up, he cried himself into oblivion. He remained in his room for the rest of the day, allowing the grief and sadness to wash over him. It would take him weeks to process the reality of losing a friendship that he’d never get back, of missing out on the chance he knew he never really had, and of resolving the regret he felt for not being with Kelsey the final nights that she remained in York.

  June 3, 2014

  One Last Kiss

  Another weekend had come and gone. The six o’clock alarm was going off as Kelsey and Jason both chose to groan and turn over. Finally, the dogs began to stir, and they knew that they could no longer ignore the rising sun and all that had to be accomplished. Jason got up, let the dogs out, and promptly crawled back into bed with Kelsey, wrapping himself around her. “Five more minutes,” he moaned.

  Kelsey didn’t argue but turned over to face him. “We really do need to get up, Jason.”

  “Not yet,” he pouted.

  Kelsey laughed. “We have so much we need to do before we leave, not to mention the packing.”

  Keeping his eyes closed, he started to kiss her lightly on the lips. Feeling herself become a little greedy, she began to kiss him back as he started using his thumbs to roll and circle over her nipples. Desperately not wanting to, Kelsey pulled back and rested her forehead on his forehead. “We will never get out of here on time if we don’t stop right now.”

  “Oh, god Kels, are you going to make me wait to finish this tonight?”

  “Afraid so, husband.”

  “Then give me one more kiss to remind me what I have waiting when I come home.” She launched into Jason with fire and passion, kissing him with intensity and stroking his already hard cock. Pulling back, she whispered, “We will certainly finish this when you get home tonight.” Pushing herself out of the bed, she walked naked into the bathroom, which allowed Jason to enjoy the view.

  Jason looked at his list of things that needed to be wrapped up. The remaining obligations of the contract on the new stadium would be finalized today; then he would need to submit the updated permits to the city for the new highway expansion proposal they’d won the bid on. Kelsey was headed in for her last day at work for the month. The time for the trip that Jason had bought her for Christmas was here, and she was finally getting excited.

  Jason grabbed a cup of coffee to go, and Kelsey grabbed her packed lunch out of the fridge. As they walked to their cars, Jason set his coffee on the hood of the truck, and before Kelsey could climb in her car, he came up behind her, spun her around, and placed both his hands on her face. “I need one last kiss.” He devoured Kelsey, kissing her and leaving her breathless. Softly pulling away, he rested his forehead on hers. “Don’t forget that we have unfinished business when we get home.” Smiling, he let go of her, stepped backwards to his truck, grabbed the coffee off the hood, climbed in, and pulled out of the driveway. All the while Kelsey watched him as her heart rate finally slowed back down to normal and the throb between her legs stopped long enough for her to get in her car. God I love that man was all she could think as she put the car in reverse and made her way to work.

  As usual, work was never dull or boring. After lunch the final countdown in her mind was on to get out of there for a whole month. The idea that by this time on Thursday she would be in Italy floored Kelsey. After all these years of talking about it, now they were actually going to see all the beautiful paintings and statues of the Sistine Chapel, The Pieta, and the David. A dream come true.

  As she put her purse away, she got a phone call from a number she didn’t recognize. She declined the call and figured that, if it were that import, they would leave a message. A minute later the phone rang again. Retrieving the phone out of her back pocket, she saw it was the same number. She again declined the call. A minute later a voice message popped up. Something felt very off. The uneasy sick feeling that had plagued her over the holidays was back with intensity in that moment. She hit play on the voicemail.

  “Mrs. B, it’s Mac. We can’t find Mr. B and were hoping you knew where he was. Will you call me back when you get this message?” A part of Kelsey wanted to panic, but she tried to remain controlled as she immediately called him back. In the conversation she explained that she and Jason left home at the same time that morning. He was going straight into work to tie up loose ends before taking a whole month off. When Mac said that he had not been seen or heard from since nine forty-five, the raw sick feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified.

  “I’m on my way.” Kelsey hung up with Mac and ran to the closest computer. She logged into the cloud and used the location services feature to find Jason’s phone and see if she could locate him. According to location services, he was on company property, but in the back near the giant rock and gravel piles. Those piles were so tall that Kelsey was sure they were just blocking his truck from view. It was also possible that he silenced his phone and forgot he’d done so. She let the managers know that she needed to leave a little earlier than anticipated to help locate her husband and calm concerns. She didn't admit it was to calm the worry she was experiencing. Management completely understood and wished her a wonderful time on her trip.

  As Kelsey drove to Virginia Beach, she called Jason’s number multiple times only to continually get his voicemail. The knot in her belly was so tight that she was nauseated. As she pulled up to the front offices, she was greeted by a police car. She hopped out of her car. As she walked inside, the office manager and Mac were being asked questions. “Oh, there you are, Mrs. B!” said Mac sounding relieved. “Have you been able to reach him?”

  “No, I haven’t. Bonnie, did he come in this morning?” Bonnie was their front office manager who had been hired by Jason’s father. She was a loyal employee and didn’t hide the fact that she was very worried as this was not like her boss to go missing in action all day. “He did come in. He took a phone call from Michael Dupree, and then fifteen minutes later said he was going to run some errands but would check back in before heading home. He told me to reach him on his phone if I needed anything. I had a couple of questions for him about an hour after he left but have only been able to reach his voicemail.”

  Kelsey looked at the clock and saw that it was two thirty. Abruptly leaving the front desk, she walked back to his office where she jumped on his laptop. She logged back into the cloud and looked
for his phone. It was in the exact location as forty-five minutes ago. Something clicked in Kelsey, and she knew everything was very wrong. Heading back to the front, she asked Bonnie, “What time did he leave here this morning?”

  “Nine thirty.”

  “When did you try to call him with your questions?”

  “Around ten forty-five. He told me he was going to drive back and talk to Mac and the rest of the drivers.” Mac nodded and went on to say, “That’s exactly what happened. That meeting was over with by nine forty-five, though.”

  Bonnie then picked back up, “Jason said he was going to the stadium to speak with the manager after seeing Mac, and then heading to the city to drop off paper work for the new highway contract.” In her most serious and sullen voice Bonnie also added, “Mrs. Bauer, Michael Dupree didn’t come into work today.”

  Before anyone could blink, Kelsey sprinted to her car. Throwing it in reverse, she sped around the corner, recklessly driving through the gate station. She drove to the very back of the property, bobbing and weaving around the giant gravel and rock mounds. When she got to the fourth one, she hit the breaks, and her heart plummeted. She saw Jason’s truck with the driver’s side open—but no Jason.

  She started to pull the car forward and had to stop as she was trembling too fiercely to drive. She turned the car off and slowly opened her door. As she stepped out and stood up, in a quaking voice she called his name. “Jason? Jason, you answer me right now.” The only response she heard were crows fussing above on the power lines. In a voice she didn’t recognize as her own, she yelled, “Jason, goddammit you answer me right now!”

  Fear completely engulfed her, and she sprinted in utter panic to the truck. As she neared it, she came to an abrupt stop and began to scream. A scream so piercing that the employees on the back of the property heard her. They later explained that the desperate cries they heard would haunt them in their dreams.

  Kelsey found his lifeless body slumped over on the seat. Clutching him, she pleaded through her wild tears, “Please, oh god, Jason please don’t leave me, not like this.” Mac and the police officer and another truck driver came around the corner and were immediately overwhelmed by the sight. Mac pulled Jason’s body out of the truck and onto the ground. Kelsey pushed him away and screamed, “Get away from him, and call 911!” Down on the ground, she pulled her husband’s body into her lap and was holding him while rocking back and forth and wailing uncontrollably.

  Forty minutes later, her screams had dissolved into hiccuped sobs. The ambulance was on scene, more officers arrived, and crime scene investigators were in route. Kelsey’s parents had been called but had not yet arrived to help coax their daughter away from his body. Officer Hooper, the young policeman who had been there since she arrived at the office, was now down on the ground, trying to talk to her while she was still holding and rocking Jason’s body.

  In a complete trance, Kelsey grew eerily quiet and frighteningly still. “Mrs. Bauer, can you look at me?” The shock was still throughout her, and her eyes remained locked on her husband. “Mrs. Bauer, I know you are devastated.” As he said that, the news helicopter could be heard overhead, making low wide circles around the property. “Mrs. Bauer, this is a crime scene, and the longer we sit here, the more we contaminate the scene and any evidence that will help capture the person who did this. I know your world is shattered right now, but I also know you want to find out who did this. Let me help you up and get you to your family who…” Before he could finish she muttered a name that Officer Hooper couldn’t understand. “Ma’am, I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  Kelsey kept her gaze fixed on her husband, brushing his blood-soaked hair back off his face. She finally looked up at the young officer and in a terrifying calm said, “Michael James Dupree. He did this. He’s the one that did this to my Jason. He’s the man you’re looking for.”

  Acknowledgments

  This is the part I try not to forget the important people.

  To my editor Jessa Sexton. I don’t believe for one second our meeting was happenstance. You are simply the best.

  To Courtney of The Designing Women at Formatting Fairies, thank you for an outstanding cover.

  To my beta readers - Beth Aigner, Brittany Brown, Helen Dunn, Donna Magrini, Carrie McCord, Kim Mullins, Joshua Phelps, andChristine Surh for taking the time to read this when it was full of holes and mistakes.

  I am grateful for each and everyone of you.

  To Zoe York for your continued support and answering all of my ridiculous newbie emails.

  To Heather Melito-Dezan for answering my “suspicious” legal Facebook messages.

  To Michelle Young for making sure all my “Englishisms”

  did the queen proud.

  To Melissa Blue Photo thank you for the gorgeous head shots.

  To Michael Malkin for being a friend and resource through this process. Don't forget the little people when Complex hits TV. Mazel Mazel.

  About the Author

  Cobie Daniels lives in the Tidewater region of Virginia with her husband Sam, three Norwich terriers and two miniature donkeys Bob and Bill. When she is not writing, she is doing one of the following three things: hosting The Cobie Daniels Show podcast, training for her next runDisney half marathon or saving the world one password at a time.

  For more information visit my website where you can follow me on Twitter or Instagram, like me on Facebook, or listen to my podcast.

  @cobiedaniels

  CobieDaniels

  www.cobiedaniels.com

  authorcobiedaniels@gmail.com