Margie was frowning and Juan leaned over and kissed the top of her head. She was the little worrier. “It’s okay. I’ll come back soon. Jason, can you watch them?”
“Sure,” Jason answered with a typical teenager shrug. “I can do that...Daddy One.” He smirked a little and Juan lightly tousled his hair. “Make sure they get down to dinner and that they don’t feed Jack too many cookies.” He sounded like a Dad. Wow.
Jack gave him a reproachful look and Juan grinned.
“Dog farts in the middle of the night are no fun, Jack,” Juan informed the dog, who whined a little in response. Kneeling down, Juan let himself be engulfed by little arms and kissed the kids one by one. Standing, he felt his throat tighten with emotion.
Jason stood up and gave him a quick, light hug, then flopped onto the bed next to Jack. “Don’t worry about the kiddies. I got it covered, Dad.”
Juan felt tears in his eyes. He joined Travis at the doorway into the room and together they walked across the living room. “Daddy One, eh?”
“I blame Jenni,” Juan answered. Travis grinned and opened the door to the hall. “Ornery beyond the grave, ain’t she?”
Juan laughed as he headed down the hall. “That’s our Loca.”
3. Grasping Shadows
The sun was still blazing hot outside when Katie drew the curtains and turned down the air conditioner. She felt tired after her morning walk and decided to lay down again. At eight months pregnant, she was too big to run anymore.
Laying down on the bed in the cool darkness, Katie tried not to think of the latest news from Rune and the recon mission Travis was sending. Her eyes easily closed and sleep fell over her immediately.
She dreamed of her mother… “…Katie, of course you love your best friend. She is your best friend. Just because you love her doesn’t mean you have to kiss her. You’re just confused…”
“But, Mom, I’m in love with her. I need you to understand,” her teenage voice answered.
“Don’t be foolish, Katie-girl,” her mother chided.
Agitated, she fought the dream away, not wanting to remember her mother’s unrelenting refusal to accept her for who she was. The dream wavered then Lydia sat at the kitchen table as her mother fussed with dinner.
“…and this is simply ridiculous. Women do not marry women,” her mother was saying to Lydia.
“Sit down, Katie,” Lydia’s sweet voice said as she patted the chair next to her. Katie moved into the dream and took the seat next to her dead wife. Her dream mother continued to cook, filling the room with fragrant, delicious aromas.
“You look lost,” Lydia decided, and gently swept Katie’s hair back from her face.
“I was looking for Jenni,” Katie answered glumly. “I never see her in my dreams.”
“I know, honey.” Lydia smiled sweetly. She reached out and squeezed her hand. “It’s not time yet.”
Katie’s mother turned, saw their clasped hands, and quickly turned back to the stove.
“I miss her, Lydia. So much. She’s my best friend,” Katie whispered emotionally, tears in her eyes. “I need her here. I am so afraid. I don’t have you or her here to help me through this. I feel so emotional over the baby and so lost. Travis tries, but he doesn’t understand how this feels.” Katie pressed her hand to her stomach.
Lydia fastened her gaze firmly to Katie’s face and said, “Katie, look at me.”
With tears glittering on the edges of her eyes, Katie obeyed. “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be fine. Travis will take good care of you and the baby. But you need to be careful. Things are about to become very, very difficult. Very dangerous.”
“I can’t deal with anymore loss,” Katie whispered.
“I know, honey. I know. But you need to listen to me. You’ve always been strong. You’ve always been confident. Trust your instincts. Do what you know is right and don’t back down.”
“I need Jenni,” Katie insisted, her hands trembling. “You know, Jenni,” Lydia said with a smile. “She’ll be there when you need her. She won’t let you down. But until then, you need to be strong and listen to your instincts. Do what you know is right.”
Lydia looked up sharply toward the door, then back at Katie. “I need to go now. Remember what I said.” Standing, she kissed Katie gently on the forehead and smoothed her hair before fading away.
Katie’s eyes opened to see a sliver of sunlight had found its way through the closed curtains and was drawing a line of glowing light over the floor. The motes of dust swirling in the beam danced like little fairies and she smiled to herself. For some reason, Jenni felt very close in that moment. The door opened and she rolled over to see Travis slip into the room. For a brief moment she saw Juan outside the door.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Travis hesitated, then slid onto the bed. “Recon came back with photos.” “It’s not good, is it?”
“No. It’s not.” Katie rolled over and lay on his lap, her arms around him.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“Lydia warned me.”
“Oh,” Travis answered, his fingers lightly brushing her shoulder. He seemed uncertain of what to say.
“I never dream of Jenni,” Katie said finally. “Just Lydia.” Pulling herself up, she kissed his lips lightly.
Travis stroked her hair and said, “I’m sure you will dream of Jenni.”
“She’s come to Juan and Jason and now Rune. Why not me?” Katie couldn’t help the hurt from leaking into her voice.
Travis rubbed her cheek and looked thoughtful. “Maybe it’s just not time yet.” Katie pouted then let out a heavy sigh. “Lydia told me that, too. You two conspiring behind my back?” Sliding off the bed, she tried not to feel put out.
With a laugh, her husband stood up and laid his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “Katie, your spouses got to stick together. You’re kinda tough to handle at times.”
Katie made a face at him, then laughed a little. “Fine, okay.” She shook free of her hurt feelings and forced herself to concentrate on the moment at hand. “So the recon wasn’t good.”
“Nope. It’s not. We’re meeting in about five minutes. We need you there.”
“Does everyone in the fort know yet?”
“Not yet. We’re getting the core group together to come up with strategies on how to handle telling the fort populace.” A shadow of fear flickered over Travis’ features and he looked haunted. His hand rested lightly on her belly and he kissed her forehead.
“Oh, shit. That bad, huh?” Katie felt her throat tighten and her pulse quicken. “Yeah,” Travis answered. “Yeah.”
Katie rubbed her suddenly wet palms against her jeans and headed to the door. Travis opened the door for her and she looked out to see Juan gazing back at her. His forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat and he looked pale under his tan.
“Shit.”
“Yeah,” Juan answered. Travis shut the door behind them leaving the room empty save for the stream of sunlight glowing brightly in the darkened room. Then the curtain shifted and the light was gone, leaving the room empty and cold.