Dreams: Part One (3 page)

Specter watched him closely but didn’t move.

“What is it with you, lady?“ Colby said without turning around. The rigid line of his broad shoulders gave undeniable evidence of his volatile mood. “Why the constant come-on and then no follow-through? That’s an adolescent’s game. You’re no kid.“

Diana closed her eyes. “No, you’re right about that. I’m not exactly a kid.“ She opened her eyes, and gazed at his back. “But, then, neither are you. Why the heavy pass followed by the macho temper tantrum when I fail to put out, as the kids say? You’re forty years old, Colby. Too old to be acting like a teenager who isn’t getting what he wants in the back seat of a car.“

Colby whipped around, gray eyes lit with an unreadable combination of emotions. “Sorry,“ he said laconically.

“Guess I misread the signals.“

“I guess you did,“ she snapped, her heart sinking. This wasn’t the way she wanted the evening to end.

He didn’t move. For a long moment they simply stared at each other, neither offering a graceful way out of the highly charged situation.

“What do you want from me?“ Diana finally asked helplessly. “A couple of quickies? A one-night stand?“

“Do I look stupid? Nobody with a brain larger than a cockroach’s does one-night stands these days.“

“True,“ Diana agreed readily. “So what do you want?“

“Isn’t it obvious?“ He shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, and began to pace restlessly back and forth across the small room. “I want an affair with you.“

“A few days? Weeks? Maybe the whole summer?“

He shot her a glowering look. “Yeah, maybe the whole summer. Maybe longer. As long as it lasts, for Pete’s sake.

As long as it’s good for both of us. Damn it, who the hell can answer that kind of question? Do you always have to have answers?“

Diana laced her fingers together and glanced down at them. “I’m a businesswoman,“ she explained with soft apology. “I like answers. I tend to look before I leap.“

“Do you grill every man who takes an interest in you? Do you have to analyze everything to death? Get all the answers before you take any risks? No wonder you’re not married.“

Diana’s head came up swiftly as fury arced through her. “Get out of here, Colby.“

He stopped his pacing as the raw anger in her reached him. He grimaced. “Sorry,“ he muttered brusquely. “That was out of line.“

“Yes, it was. I want you to leave. Now.“

He ran his fingers through his hair again. “Look, forget I said that last bit, okay? I had no right.“

“No right at all. Now leave before I sic my dog on you.“

Specter growled obligingly and got to his feet. He watched Colby carefully, anticipation in every line of his massive body.

“Don’t threaten me with your damn dog.“ Colby shot Specter a grim glance and then stalked toward Diana. “If you want to kick me out, do the job yourself.“

“I’m trying.“

Colby stopped a few steps away from her, regarding her with frustrated male anger and something else-something that might have been desperation. “I said I was sorry.“

Diana raised her chin. “Why bother to apologize? I’m sure you meant every word:“

“No, I didn’t mean every word,“ he exploded. “Believe me, I sincerely regret every word. I wish I’d kept my mouth shut.“

Diana walked to the door and opened it. “Good. Now please leave.“

“Diana, wait. I want to talk to you.“

“There’s nothing left to talk about.“

He moved slowly toward the open door. “I wonder if you’re going to regret this as much as I will.“

“Probably not,“ she said dryly. “I have nothing to regret.“

“Lucky you.“ He strode past her, out into the night.

Diana closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. Outside in the yard the engine of Colby’s black Jeep roared to life. Diana listened to it for a moment. Then she drew a deep, steadying breath and looked at Specter.

“I think,“ she said to the dog, “that I may have just made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Either that or I had an extremely close call.“

Specter came and leaned against her, offering silent comfort. Diana stroked his fur with an unsteady hand. “He scares me sometimes, Specter. But he fascinates me, too. I can’t shake the feeling that I know him from some other place or some other time. Part of me says he’s dangerous, but I can’t figure out how I know that. And why do I have this strange feeling that he needs me? Worse yet, why do I need him?“

Scarlet mist and thundering red water roared past him. The waterfall had turned to blood.

High above him yawned the black depths of the cave. Hidden in its deep shadows lay the entrance to the small
grotto. The wrenching sense of longing and desperation that lapped at him in painful waves originated in that
secret place.

He was working his way up the path behind the falls, knowing he would not be free until he had satisfied
whatever lured him from within the cave. He could not leave until he had done what was required. But he also knew
he could not do it alone. He needed her, but she must come to him willingly this time or they would both be trapped
forever.

Colby snapped awake, shuddering as the last of the dream fragment faded. It was getting worse. He’d had the dream many times during the past twenty years, but it had never been as intense, as real and disturbing as it was this summer.

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He started to switch on the lamp and changed his mind at the last instant. He didn’t need light to show him that his hands were shaking. He could feel the faint shivers in his palms.

Annoyed, he got to his feet and padded, naked, downstairs to the old-fashioned kitchen. He opened the aging refrigerator, and stood contemplating its contents in the weak glow of the appliance light.

He had his choice of leftover tuna salad, sliced cheese, or pickles and beer. He chose the tuna and the beer.

Closing the refrigerator door, he carried the bowl and the bottle over to the scarred oak table where he had eaten his haphazard meals as a boy.

Aunt Jesse hadn’t been into cooking, either for herself or for the small nephew who had landed on her doorstep after the death of his mother. She’d been far more interested in her doomed career as a poet. Colby had learned early to keep food stocked in the refrigerator. If he forgot to do the grocery shopping, he and Jesse didn’t eat.

Looking back he realized the kitchen experience had been good, practical preparation for the future. He owed Jesse for that much, at least.

Now, at forty, it was easier for him to feel a certain sympathy for Aunt Jesse’s eccentric ways, her poet’s ravaged temperament, her tendency to wallow in long bouts of depression and her desire for privacy. She had never wanted or needed anyone else, but she’d been stuck with Colby.

His hands were steady again. With a quick, practiced movement, Colby opened the bottle of beer. He took a long swallow of the brew and thought about how badly he’d screwed up earlier that evening.

He’d probably gotten exactly what he deserved.

What the hell had happened to him during the past few weeks? He’d been unable to get Diana Prentice out of his mind. She’d been haunting him in almost the same way the dream fragments had. But he’d figured he could do something about Diana, even if he was helpless against the dream. He could take Diana to bed and satisfy his obsession with her.

But tonight he’d gone too far. He’d blundered uncontrollably through the delicate spider web of a situation, and the whole thing had disintegrated in an instant.

He’d behaved like an idiot.

But what was done, was done. Colby was used to putting his mistakes behind him. Lord knew he’d had enough practice. The problem now was to figure out a way to recover all the ground he’d lost by trying to jump on Diana tonight.

Because somehow he had to find a way to make her see him again.

“You wanted the windshield washed, Miss Prentice?“

Diana smiled through the dusty glass at the lanky young man dressed in jungle fatigues. Eddy Spooner waited, poised with a rubber-bladed squeegee.

“Please, Eddy. It needs it.“

“You bet. One thing we get plenty of around here during the summer is dust. You waiting for Colby to hit the post office?“

Diana’s smile turned wry. Apparently everyone in Fulbrook Corners knew she and Colby had been dating. “That’s right. Have you seen him yet this morning?“

“Nope.“ Spooner squinted past the pumps toward the small post office building on the opposite side of the main street. “No sign of him yet. You’re a little early.“

“Yes,“ Diana admitted softly, “I am.“ She’d driven into town early this morning precisely because she hadn’t wanted to miss Colby when he showed up to collect his mail.

Diana considered the post office neutral ground. It seemed safer to try reestablishing the lines of communication with Colby there where they had first met, rather than taking the risk of going to the old, decaying house where he was staying.

Spooner stared at her through the windshield as he slowly raked the squeegee across the glass. Spooner did everything with a lethargic lack of interest. “You and Colby are hittin’ it off pretty good, I hear.“

“Really?“ Diana made the response very cool. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her relationship with Colby. Especially to a gas station attendant.

“It figures Colby would take a crack at the first classy broad we’ve seen around Fulbrook Corners in a month of Sundays. He always did go for the fancy ones. Folks said he had no business aimin’ as high as he did. But I always told him – what the hell, go for it, man. What do you have to lose? Me and him used to spend a lot of time talkin’ about women.“

Diana took a closer look at the man who had been filling her gas tank once a week for the past few weeks. For the first time, she realized that Eddy Spooner was about Colby’s age, maybe a year or two older. It struck her that these two men must have been contemporaries while they were growing up here in Fulbrook Corners.

That realization came as a surprise. Eddy Spooner looked as if he came from a different world than the one Colby inhabited. It wasn’t just the jungle fatigues and heavy old military-style boots Spooner wore that gave that impression.

Nor was it the thinning blond hair that fell to his collar. It was something else, something to do with the expression of lingering bitterness that marked what had probably once been a handsome face.

Spooner was the kind of man who would spend a lifetime blaming others and an unkind universe for everything that went wrong in his world. He looked like a man who’d seen a lot of dreams go up in smoke.

“You and Colby were friends as kids?“ she ventured.

“Sure. Me and him used to hang out together. Sort of lost track of him after he left town. I spent a few years in the army and then came back here. But Colby, he lucked out. He didn’t come back until this summer. Wonder why he bothered to now? He never did think much of this town and after what he did, most people in town sure don’t think much of him.“

Diana started to ask another question. Her curiosity about Colby was running rampant again. But before she could open her mouth, the familiar growl of a Jeep’s engine caught her attention.

“There he is now. Looks like you timed things just right.“ Spooner dropped the squeegee into a bucket and came around to Diana’s window. “Ten bucks even for the gas.“

“Thanks, Eddy.“ Diana reached for her purse, one eye on the black Jeep that was coming to a halt outside the post office.

Spooner took the money and stared at Specter, who was sitting in the passenger seat watching attentively.

“That’s sure some dog you got there.“

Specter yawned, showing a lot of teeth. He was used to such observations.

“He’s a comfort to have around at times,“ Diana murmured, patting Specter’s shoulder.

“Yeah, a lady livin’ alone needs a dog. I used to have me a dog. Real nice Shepherd. But he died a couple years back.“ Spooner turned his head to watch another car, an aging blue Cadillac, pull into the post office parking lot.

“I’d
better be on my way,“ Diana said, turning the key in the ignition.

“If I was you, I wouldn’t go rushin’ into the post office just yet,“ Eddy advised. “Not unless you want to wind up in the middle of a real mess.“ There was a twisted smile on his face, as if he was taking a perverse pleasure in a secret knowledge of whatever was about to happen.

“Is something wrong?“ Diana asked bluntly.

“Probably. See that big blue Caddy that just pulled up out front?“

“Yes.“ Colby had disappeared into the post office. Apparently he hadn’t noticed her car parked across the street yet. Or if he had, he was choosing to ignore it. This was not going to be easy.

“See that old lady gettin’ out of the Caddy?“

“What about her?“ Diana asked impatiently. She briefly switched her gaze to the aging, gray-haired woman with the regal bearing who was getting slowly out of the passenger side of the Cadillac. She was being assisted by her driver, a large, beefy man of about forty-five whose potbelly strained the buttons of his shirt.

“That’s Mrs. Fulbrook herself. Fulbrooks have owned just about everything in this town ever since my great grandpa’s time.“

“Is that right?“

Spooner must have sensed her lack of interest. He flattened one greasy palm on the roof of Diana’s Buick and leaned down to look at her through squinted eyes. “You don’t know nothin’ about the high and mighty Mrs. Margaret Fulbrook, do you?“

“What should I know about her?“

“Well, for starters,“ Spooner said, drawing it out as slowly as he could, “She’s Colby Savagar’s mother-in-law.“

“His mother-in-law!“

“Yup. And I’ll tell you somethin’ else. She hates his guts.“ Spooner stepped away from the car, apparently satisfied that he’d finally gotten her full attention. “See you next week. Miss Prentice. Nice talkin’ to ya.“