To my shock, it was Daniel. “Hey,” he said. “Henry let me in.”
For a minute I just stared at him. He was wearing a thin, white t-shirt that hugged his big arms and big shoulders. He was wearing plaid pajama pants, and his hair was a little messy, as if he’d rolled right out of bed to see me. Actually, everything about him screamed a comfortable man who had just rolled out of bed, and it was strangely sexy.
I didn’t know why he was here, but I was more than a little glad he was. Just having him in my room made me feel a strange mixture of nervousness and happiness. That was nice too.
Sitting up slowly, I smiled. “Uh, come in. Sit.”
He sat on the side of the bed. “I couldn’t sleep. I was worrying about you worrying.”
This guy was so sweet it made me want to wrap him in a big hug.
Instead, I did what came instinctively to me. I scooted over and patted the spot I’d just vacated. “Sleep here.”
“You sure?” he asked, smiling.
I nodded.
He kicked off his shoes and slid under the blankets with me. Then, glanced over at me, and ran his fingers through his auburn hair. “I should warn you, sometimes I snore a bit.”
“I should warn you. I’m so tired that I’m going to pass out soon.”
“Good,” he said. “You sleep. I’ll sleep. But keep in mind, the bear in me is going to know if there’s an issue.”
“Music to my ears,”I said with a sigh as I scooted down and set my head on my pillow.
“Is it okay if I hold you a little?” He seemed nervous.
“Of course. I love to be cuddled while I sleep.”
“Well, you know they call people cuddlebearsfor a reason.”
I gave a tired laugh and rolled away from him, surprised my eyes were already fluttering shut. At any other time, on any other day, there was no way I could sleep with this hottie in my bed. I’d spend the whole night holding myself stiffly, scared to snort or fart, or whatever I did while I slept.
But today? I had zero shot of staying awake.
After a second, his arms went around my waist, and I sighed. He scooted a little closer, leaving a small amount of space between our bodies, but I could still feel the heat radiating off his body. It was comforting. I fell asleep quickly, and my sleep was like the dead.
For a while.
At some point, the dream started. I was a little girl standing on the beach outside of our house. My parents were smiling, but sensed something was really important. My mom carried Henry on her hip and said something, but I wasn’t sure what. My dad waved me over to follow him. We ducked behind the steps leading from our house to the beach, and I saw that my dad had dug a deep hole and that there was a metal container in the hole.
I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I knew he was telling me this box was really important. He started to bury it while I played with the bows on my purple dress, and he accidentally got some dirt on one of the white bows. I remember that really clearly. My mom couldn’t get the stain out, and I got upset and never wore the dress.
This happened. It wasn’t just a strange dream.
I woke with a jerk, as if I’d fallen from a high distance. Light drifted through the blinds of my window, and the clock flashed that it was seven in the morning. The dream… it’d felt so real. No, itwasreal. A memory.
Daniel's arm wrapped around me from behind, and I turned to look back at him as he blinked rapidly. “Are you okay?” he asked.
His question brought it all into focus, and I felt my heart race.
“Yes, but I know where it is.”
“Where what is?”
“What they were telling us about. The answer.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “That’s crazy, because… because I do, too.”
