Page 55 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

“Glad to hear it.”

“I guess my husband was right, and I let my dreams get the best of me.” As soon as the words left her lips, she realized her mistake.

“Dreams?”

“Nothing. Not important.”

“Annabelle, I know we haven’t known each other all that long, but I feel like we’re becoming friends. I’m pretty good at reading people—it’s what I do for a living. You can talk to me.”

She bit her lip. She would love to unburden herself, but he was a client. “I appreciate it, but…”

Chase stopped walking and looked in her eyes. “Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“I wasn’t that impressed with Riggs. The only reason I’m with the company is you. Investigative reporters stick their noses in other people’s business, but I’m not digging for a story. I just want to help if I can. I’m good at keeping a confidence. Part of the code.”

They walked over to a bench and sat.

She looked at him, then plunged ahead. “I’ve been having some strange dreams, and some things in the dreams have come true.” Annabelle watched Chase’s face closely for a reaction. So far, he merely looked interested. She told him about the plane crash and the accident with the pickup truck. “Anyway, um, I had a dream that my daughter was in the hospital, and I can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen while she’s away skiing.” Once she started, she couldn’t seem to stop. “I said no, but then she talked to James, and he said yes, and now I’m here, and I can’t stop it and…You must think I’m unhinged.”

Chase reached out and put a hand on hers. “I think nothing of the sort. There’s a long history of people seeing the future in dreams. I don’t know what your dreams are or what might come true, but I think we can definitely get messages from the universe, warning us. But let’s break it down. What exactly did you see with your daughter?”

A wave of relief overcame Annabelle, and gratitude that finally someone was listening to her. “Nothing specific. More like quick images where she’s lying still, eyes closed. And then I’m in the waiting room in the hospital, and everyone is blaming me.”

“Okay, so, if something were to happen on the ski trip, you are the one who said no, so no one would blame you, right?”

She considered that. “I guess, yeah, maybe you’re right.”

“Sounds like some of what you’re dreaming are visions, and maybe some are regular, from your imagination.”

She thought about the fiasco at James’s office. She nodded. “I need to distinguish the dreams my worries and anxiety concoct from these other dreams about the future.”

“The trick is how to tell the difference, I would think,” he said.

“Exactly. Maybe some are coming from me, like the ones about my kids. But others are showing the future, like the plane crash and the pickup truck. I haven’t figured out why.” She wasn’t ready to tell him that she’d dreamt about him. She didn’t want to freak him out.

“It must be scary,” he said.

Annabelle felt herself tear up. Chase wasn’t making her think something was wrong with her, the way James was. “It is. I don’t understand why this is happening to me.”

“People have been having visions in their dreams for centuries.”

She tried to lighten the mood. “I’m no prophet, but I guess you’re right about that. Thank you for not making me feel foolish, and for listening.”

“Of course. What does your husband say?”

“That I should see a therapist.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know much about this kind of thing, but it doesn’t sound to me like you need a doctor. Maybe try to find someone who knows more about it.”

“I’ve done some research, and apparently it’s not all that uncommon. There are people who specialize in visions and dreams, but some of their methods seem a bit out there.” Annabelle decided to tell him a little more. “I dreamt I was here, weeks before any of this was set up. I even dreamt I stayed at this hotel.”

He stared at her. She was mesmerized by his eyes as she flashed back to her dreams of him. Not wanting him to probe further, she stood. “Shall we take that Ferris wheel ride now?”

“Okay.” He smiled, and her eyes were drawn again to the dimple by his mouth. Why did he have to be so damned cute?

They got their tickets and took a seat. Her stomach did a flip-flop as the wheel began to turn and they rose higher. The view was magnificent as the sunset painted the sky a vibrant orange over the blue Pacific. “It’s so beautiful here,” she said.