This one was larger, and it contained a big bed and two closets. It must have been her father’s. She choked back a sob and picked up a long-sleeved shirt draped over a chair in the corner that could only have belonged to him. It was covered in dust and was brittle beneath her fingers. Evidence of her dad lay around everywhere. A comb rested on top of the chest together with a pencil, and a pair of leather boots rested neatly outside the closet door.
The last room was opposite the master bedroom and she opened the door to peer inside. A white crib and a single bed stood near the window. She walked over to the crib and touched a mobile of small stuffed animals that hung over it. A fluffy blanket was tucked around the mattress, and it peeked out through the slats. This room smelled fresh and the quilt had been cleaned, and the floor had been scrubbed until it sparkled.
“This was your room.”
Aspen spun around as Dylan spoke from the doorway.
“Your dad would bring you here because you’re a Dream Walker, but he couldn’t bring your mother. She’s not part of us.”
Absolute sadness fell over her as he spoke. “So I’ve been here with him before?”
“Yes, I’ve been told that he brought you here at night. He wanted to make a home for you but he couldn’t leave your mother behind. Demothi tried to create a spell to get her to come over. We haven’t had humans here for centuries, so it was very difficult to do. Your dad died before Demothi could finish the spell.”
This was too much for her to process and she collapsed onto a fluffy rug on the floor. “My poor dad. He told my mom the truth all along. He’s just been a distant memory for me. I remember him vaguely, when I see someone smile in a special way or if I smell a certain type of aftershave. But I can’t picture him anymore,” she added sadly.
Dylan held out his hand and she slipped her fingers through his. He pulled her up gently as his power seeped into her.
“It’s okay. He would have wanted you to have this. I’ve been trying to fix the place up and clean it ever since I saw your room. You need somewhere to go when things get rough at home.”
A smile crept over Aspen’s lips. “Have you really been here all this time?”
Dylan smiled and nodded his head. What he’d done was heartwarming, and she couldn’t believe that he’d cared enough to do this for her.
“Yes, when Ruby told me that you didn’t need people to look after you, I realized she was right. She said if you were a princess, you’d want to be independent. I thought you’d like having a place of your own, and I knew about your dad’s house. Leeman told me it was all good after I’d spoken to him about it.”
Aspen jerked involuntarily at his words. The warm feeling she’d experienced evaporated suddenly. “That’s so thoughtful of Ruby,” she said woodenly. She looked away from Dylan as she spoke. “Has she seen the place yet?”
“She’s stopped by quite a few times already. You can’t believe how much she’s done with the backyard. I cleaned up there initially. I’m working my way forward, but it’s so handy having a Fire Walker when you need to burn yard trimmings. Come with me, I’ll show you what it looks like.”
“No, that’s okay. I want to spend a few minutes here, if you don’t mind. I’ll look outside in a minute.”
Aspen’s heart was crushed. He’d been with Ruby all this time—she should have known.
Dylan frowned at her silence. It was hard to muster the excitement she knew she should be feeling, knowing that Ruby had been with him all along.
“I’ll ask Demothi about the spell he worked on. He hasn’t had any success with it before, but he’s learned a lot since then. We can keep fixing the place and as soon as the spell is working, your mom can come and live here too.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, and this time her words were heartfelt.
Chapter 16
Leeman’s Solution
The house was quiet when Aspen finally arrived back. She greeted her mother and ate supper before Stephan returned. After a quick bath, she finished up her homework and slipped under the cold sheets of her bed.
Dylan had said that her body would disappear if she traveled to Lanta with the dream catcher, but it would remain behind if she dreamed. It would be better if she was still in bed when her mother checked on her at night, but she was so eager to get back to her father’s house that it took a while to fall asleep.
Stephan’s voice boomed and Miriam’s music throbbed loudly while she lay on the bed in the darkness. This would soon change, she promised herself. There was no way that Stephan could interfere once her mother was in Lanta. Or was there?
The weight of the dream catcher was comforting around her neck, and her eyelids drooped gradually. With a start, she woke to the warm light of Lemona on her cheeks.
Her father’s house was just up ahead, and she ran as fast as the cumbersome leather shoes and skirt she wore would allow her.
Once she entered the house, she saw that her friends were already hard at work.
“Wow. Thank you so much, guys.”
“Don’t thank us, grab a bucket and cloth and get started,” Sandy’s sassy voice shouted from the kitchen. Dylan and Ginny were busy in the living room.