Dream Makers: Dream Of Me Part 1

Dream of Me.

The Dream Makers Series.

Quinn Loftis.

Dedication.

For Bo. Thank you for making all my dreams come true.

Acknowledgments.

For everyone who has believed in me, stuck by me, encouraged me, helped me and listened to all my worries that this book wouldn't be good enough. I truly hope I prove myself wrong. Thank you truly from the deepest part of my heart for reading my books. I can't imagine a greater compliment than to know you took your time to sit down and immerse yourself in the world and characters I tried so very hard to make enjoyable. I hope I meet and exceed your expectations, and if I do not I promise to try even harder on the next book.

Dream of Me Synopsis.

Since the dawn of time, Brudair, otherwise known as the Sandman to the world, has faithfully lived out his purpose, faithfully performed his duties. He has never questioned his lot among the immortals, until now, until her. Sarah Serenity Tillman, a consummate beauty both inside and out, is a high school senior five months from her graduation. She has great plans, dreams of leaving the small town of her childhood behind her forever. But destiny has other plans, and it's the Sandman's job to make sure those plans are fulfilled.

The tall muscular Sandman, known as Dair to his friends, dressed in black, wrapped in shadows, is more than a myth. And he has a job to do. His very existence makes him a creature of the night, because dreams, (yes the legends got that part right), were indeed his specialty. But his purpose was more than just weaving dreams for sleeping children. No, his dreams were made to influence, made to ensure that certain special individuals, those individuals who would change the course of history, actually accepted their chosen destiny.

Little does Serenity know that she is Dair's next a.s.signment. And the dream that he weaves for her, if she follows its influence, will change the course of, not only her life, but possibly the whole of history as well. But she isn't the only one being influenced. The beauty inside of her was weighing on the Sandman, lighting up the darkness that was his constant companion. Her light was warmth, it was life, and he didn't understand how he had survived the previous millennia without it.

The Sandman was indeed greater than anything humans had ever imagined, and his purpose was vital to the course of history. So what happens when the weaver of dreams gets so distracted by a mere human that he ignores his own duties in the immortal realm? How can an immortal who was never meant to have a mate, join a young woman in her destiny without irrevocably changing the lives of millions and potentially altering history in a way the Creator never intended?.

Prologue.

"In the evening, while the children are seated at the table or in their little chairs, he comes up the stairs very softly, for he walks in his socks, then he opens the doors without the slightest noise, and throws a small quant.i.ty of very fine dust in their eyes, just enough to prevent them from keeping them open, so they do not see him. Then he creeps behind them, and blows softly upon their necks, till their heads begin to droop. [...] Under each arm he carries an umbrella; one of them, with pictures on the inside, he spreads over the good children, and then they dream the most beautiful stories the whole night." ~ Hans Christian Anderson Dair was pretty sure that if ever an angel had an equal on earth, Sarah Serenity Tillman was it. He watched her as she carried boxes, helped organize each booth for the sale, and brought plates of food to everyone after having taken it upon herself to order and pay, though no one realized she had, for the pizza. She appeared tireless. After five hours of helping three churches put together a large fundraising craft fair/bake sale, Serenity still had a smile on her face. She was asked the same question by every elderly lady with purple hair in the county, and with each one she patted their arm, smiled warmly, and answered with just as much patience as she had the very first time. Dair was just waiting for the moment when she finally threw her hands in the air and said to h.e.l.l with it, the way most would have. But as he watched her get into her car waving at the pastor's wife and telling her she would be back at 6:00 a.m. to help tomorrow, he realized that Serenity was not most people. She was something else and he wanted to know more. Not just because she was his next a.s.signment but because she was different and he wanted to know why.

The next day, she did just as she said she would. She was the first one at the building to help with the fundraiser. After lunch she told a lady named Pearl, apparently the person in charge of the entire event, that she needed to leave. She apologized profusely and then explained that she had volunteered to help her aunt decorate the library for Christmas, to get the Angel tree organized, and to wrap the gift boxes for the presents they were sending overseas to the soldiers still stationed there.

"I truly am sorry, Mrs. Pearl," Serenity said sweetly. "I didn't realize I had overbooked myself."

"You go on, honey," Pearl waved her off. "You've done more than enough. I think we can handle it from here. Thank you for everything."

"It wasn't a problem. I'm glad I could help."

Dair had watched as she decorated the library, made posters for the canned food drive and Angel tree, and then wrapped twenty small boxes that people could take and fill with things to send the soldiers. The entire time she talked happily with her aunt, Darla, who might be the only person as angelic as Serenity. They sang Christmas hymns and told stories of memories from the previous year's Angel tree event. Not once did she complain that her feet hurt, or that she was tired, or that she had had to smile so much in the past two days that she was sure her face would split in half. Her kindness was contagious, Dair noticed, because people smiled when they saw her coming. They went out of their way to wave at her or stop and talk to her, and he could tell that they genuinely liked Serenity.

He could have finished this job days ago, but he continued to observe her daily life for a week. The only time that Serenity ever allowed her weariness, worries, or any emotion other than care and kindness, to show was in the privacy of her room and only to her cat, Mr. Whitherby. It was in those times when the house was quiet and still that she would pour out her heart to her faithful, but cantankerous, feline sounding board. It was also during those times that Dair truly got to know and begin to understand Serenity Tillman.

He had been weaving the dream every night for the past four nights, while silently watching her during the day. And still after four days he had yet to get the entirety of the dream into her mind. It was on that particular night that he felt the burden of his position for the first time in a very, very long time. He listened to her talking to Mr. Whitherby, and his soul shrank at the frustration and hint of fear he heard there.

"I've never been afraid to go to sleep before, Mr. Whitherby," she told the large cat that lay in her lap flicking his tail as he purred under her attentive petting. Her hands stroked down his back over and over in a methodical rhythm. "It's not necessarily that the dream is scary. It's just that it is not what is supposed to happen; it's not what I want for my life. I feel so selfish for wanting out, especially when I've allowed others in this town to rely on me." She paused and took a deep breath letting out a long sigh. "I've already told Mrs. Brown that I can't look after her dog on Tuesdays, and I've told the Humane Society that I won't be there every other Sat.u.r.day anymore, and yesterday I called the afterschool program at the elementary school and told them I couldn't be a mentor any longer. Maybe I'm stopping all these things too soon, but I just want to have a clean break when it's time for me to leave. Is that selfish of me, Mr. Whitherby?"

No, that's human of you, Dair thought to himself. Didn't she see that she couldn't just take care of everyone else all the time? Didn't she know that eventually everyone else would drain every little drop from her without ever wondering if Sarah was being taken care of? There was no doubt that Serenity's Aunt Darla and Uncle Wayne loved her, and would do anything for her, but they couldn't meet all of her needs. They couldn't fill every void inside of her.

If Dair was honest with himself, he would admit that he wanted her with a pa.s.sion he had never felt before. As the ocean's tide was drawn to the bank and helpless to deny the pull of the moon's call, so he was drawn to her. The human female had no idea he even existed, and yet he longed for her to see him, know him, and want him as he wanted her.

In that moment, as she stared at her cat and her weary eyes filled with tears, Dair realized that he wanted to be the one to meet those needs. He wanted to be the one to take care of her when she refused to take care of herself. But though she fascinated him, this Sarah Serenity Tillman, he had a job to do. And this fascination was one that he could not afford. It didn't matter that his feelings had grown beyond her being an a.s.signment for the Sandman. She was human; he was something more than human. His kind were never to mix with the Creator's children, and yet Brudair could not deny his need to see her, be with her, and know more and more about her.

When she finally drifted off to sleep hours later, she wasn't aware of his presence. Instead she was lost in her dreamsdreams that he helped create. That was what he did. He was the Sandman, after all, and dreams were his specialty. His name, Brudair, was Scottish Gaelic that literally meant dream, though the messengers of the Creator often simply called him Dair. Humans had heard of him, of course, but they thought of him as a myth, like the tooth fairy. They even had stories about him and his job as the Sandman but they were way, way off. Oh, he did give dreams but not to everyone and not only to children as the human myth implied. No, his job was much more important than just making sure that children had pleasant dreams.

The Sandman's job was to go to the people designated to him by the Creator and influence their dreams for the Creator's plan. These people were not just everyday Joes. The people on the list were people who would influence the course of history, usually in some major way. They would save a life, lead a country, start or end a war, or perhaps find the cure to a deadly illness. They were game changers and it was Dair's job to help influence them to move in the direction the Creator wanted them to go. His dreams did not guarantee that the humans would follow because they had free will. They were able to make their own decisions about the direction of their lives. He could no more force them to do as his dreams suggest than he could turn himself into a human. There were times in his long existence that he wished he could just tell the humans he visited why they must go a certain direction in their lives, but that was not his place. And he didn't always know the full plan of the Creator.

So, since the beginning of time, he, the Sandman, aka Brudair, had been casting dreams. His life was one of solitude, his only interactions being with the messengers of the Creator and inside the minds of the humans he visited. He had never been bothered by this existencehad never questioned the Creator's design for his role in the human world. Not until now. Not until her.

The very first night he had come to her, she had drawn him in by her gentle spirit. He had watched her interact with her family and seen the selfless way in which she helped them. Dair had seen her fret over her future because she didn't want to leave those she loved, even though she so desperately wanted to get out of the small town where she grew up. He had listened to her pour out her heart to her cat, who followed her around like a loyal dog. She shared all of the worries that she quietly bore. But it was the times that he had seen into her mind while she slept that she had become even more alluring. She was so very in tune with her thoughts, even while asleep, that he had had to be very subtle about his suggestions. She seemed to question her own dreams while slumbering. Questioning was rare, and also troublesome, because it often caused the human to wake up before the dream could take root. Serenity, as she liked to be calledhe had learned from his completely unabashed spyingwas making his job take longer than normal because he had yet to plant a full, complete dream in her mind.

She stirred, drawing his thoughts back to the present, and he found, as he stared down at her, that he didn't mind at all that his job was taking longer than normal. He wasn't ready to move on to the next human. Dair wantedno, he neededmore time with her. He longed to know more about her, to hear her voice, and to watch her live selflessly, putting others' needs before her own. She baffled him because of her behavior. It wasn't normal for a human to think of others first. From his long, long time in the world he had seen how self-serving the human race could be, and Serenity truly was a diamond in the rough on that rock called earth.

"Sleep, Princess of Peace," he whispered to her. "Let go of all those burdens you bear and listen to the tale I weave." He took a step closer, and another, until he was standing right beside her. It was too close, and yet not close enough. He hummed as he entered her mind with his own and began to build the dream once again.

Dair tried to create the thoughts in such a way that she would believe they were created by her own subconscious. He gave her very subtle suggestions and for a few minutes he thought that perhaps she was finally going to accept that there was nothing strange about the dream she was having. But as she rolled over onto her back and pushed the hair from her face, he knew she was already beginning to wake. Her eyelids fluttered several times before finally rising, revealing startling sea green eyes. Her eyes seemed to meet his but he knew that couldn't be because she couldn't see him, not unless he truly wanted her to. She blew out a deep breath and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Then, as she had done every night he had woken her up, Serenity reached for the notebook on her bedside table and began to write down her thoughts about the dream. The pages of the notebook crinkled as she flipped to the next empty page. Then the only sound in the room was the scratching of the pen as she wrote about the things he had planted in her mind.

"You're a determined one; I'll give you that," he told her, regardless of the fact that she couldn't hear him. Dair knew that she wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon so he took a seat in the chair at her desk and watched as she turn her head, deep in thought. As minutes turned into an hour, he considered that perhaps he should get some sort of hobby for times such as this when he was simply waiting. But then he thought that such a thing might distract him from Serenity.

"That's sort of the point, you stalker," he grumbled to himself. But, stalker or not, he didn't leave and he knew he wouldn't. Instead, he would sit there, watching and wis.h.i.+ng that he could reveal himself to her. Dair knew that would never happen, but for once he allowed himself to dream. Though he did not require sleep, he submitted himself to day dreams filled with sea green eyes and a voice that spoke to the empty places inside of him.

"It can't be normal," Serenity said as she looked over at her faithful cat. She reached over and scratched him under his chin, much to his delight as she continued to talk to him. "I just can't believe that my mind is coming up with these ideas. There has to be another explanation." When she pulled her hand away from the feline, he stood and arched his back, stretching as only a cat could. Then he walked gracefully over to her only to then ungracefully plop himself onto her lap over the notebook in which she had been scribbling.

"Demanding much, Mr. Whitherby?" Serenity asked the male cat. He gave her a look that Dair could only interpret as get over it, and then he proceeded to lick his paws and clean his face. "Well, don't let me interrupt your bath while I try to figure out how on earth I'm having dreams that I think are telling me to stay in this small town-this town that I would practically give my right arm to get out of." Mr. Whitherby made a grunting noise that caused Serenity to smile which, in turn, caused Dair's breath to catch in his chest as he stared at her.

Serenity had a smile that could make a man want to move mountains for her. It was all innocence and joy wrapped up and surrounded by love. She was a girl who truly knew how to love without strings attached and that love came bursting through when she smiled.

"I want to make you smile like that," Dair told her. There was no response and his heart broke a little more, just as it had done each day he had returned. The life she represented was not for him and being near her only made him want it more. He needed to leave her, but as he listened to her laugh and saw the life that danced in her eyes, he didn't know if leaving was something he could do. The idea of never seeing her again, of not being able to be a part of her life, caused such pain that he didn't know how to cope. Dair was so unexperienced with the emotions running through him, there were times when they threatened to overwhelm him. The only thing keeping him grounded was Serenity's calm demeanor. As he finally stood to go, he walked over to her, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. It was the second time he dared to do it, and he found that he would endure many horrific things just for one real touch. For one touch that she could feel from him, and one that he could feel from her, he would face any punishment that would be sure to come his way.

"Goodnight, Sarah Serenity," he said gently as he walked to the closed window and began to step through it as if it were open to the outside world. He looked back one more time at the girl who held him captive. "I wish you could dream of me. I would dream of you if I were capable of such a thing."

Chapter 1.

"Indeed G.o.d speaks once, or twice, yet no one notices it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when sound sleep falls on men while they slumber in their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction." Job 33:14-16 Serenity stared out of her window as she watched the sun begin to break over the horizon-the reminder that once again she hadn't been able to sleep past sunrise. The disturbing dream had started four nights ago. Well, disturbing wasn't really the right word. There was nothing disturbing about the actual content of the dream. There were no monsters or terrible falls or anything like that. Rather, in the dream, Serenity was nineteen, though how she knew that little fact she didn't have a clue, but she was sure of it. Despite being nineteen, she was still living in Yellville, Arkansas, the tiny town of 1,204 people nestled in the Ozark Mountains. This disturbed her greatly. It wasn't that she didn't like the town. It was just that she felt as though the rest of the world was moving on, growing, and changing while she stayed stuck in the little quaint town in the middle of nowhere. She was eighteen and only five months from graduating from high school. And regardless of the persistent dream, she had no intentions of staying. There was a part of her that felt so very guilty for leaving when she had so many responsibilities, most of which she had yet to relinquish. She was attempting to prepare not only herself but also those in the community for her departure.

Serenity had not come to the decision to leave easily. She hated to leave her Aunt Darla and Uncle Wayne. They had raised her since she was nine after her parent's death, and they had been nothing short of amazing. She worked a part time job to help them make ends meet because there weren't a whole lot of riches to be had in Yellville unless you came to it with your pockets already lined. Serenity didn't want to put them in a tight spot by leaving, but she also didn't think she could spend the rest of her life in the small town. She wanted to see the world, to experience things that she never would in the mountains of Arkansas. Her attention was drawn away from the golden rays of the morning sun when she felt Mr. Whitherby, her obnoxious albeit strangely comforting cat, winding himself around her legs. She looked down at him and couldn't help but smile at the huge fuzz ball.

"Another day in paradise, Mr. W," Serenity told him as she reached down and scratched behind his ears. He made a swipe for her hand when she pulled away but, being clawless, caused no harm. "I can't sit around and pamper you all day no matter how much att.i.tude you give me. I've got things to do, people to see." Her cat plopped down on his haunches and stared up at her with an almost bored expression. She laughed. "Okay, so maybe there isn't really much to do, but I do have school and then work, so make yourself useful and go fix me some breakfast." Of course, he didn't do anything other than yawn and flop over on his side, making it perfectly clear just how unimportant her day was to him. Serenity shook her head at the defiant little beast and headed for the shower.

"Made your favorite," Aunt Darla said as Serenity entered the eat-in kitchenshowered, clean and dressedway too early if she did so say herself. "Cheese and ham croissants. Your uncle is already gone; he's going to help hunt down a mountain lion that is killing the Thompson's goats. They've planned to be out overnight and then go to Bill's house for supplies before they head out again." During the summer months, Wayne was a guide on the White river. But not just a guide, he was one of the best. Wealthy people from all over the world came to Cotter Trout dock to get to spend a few days on the river in hopes of catching the big one with Uncle Wayne. She'd been out with him a couple of times, and though some girls her age might think being on a fis.h.i.+ng boat for hours on end would be boring and tedious, it was anything but with Uncle Wayne as the guide. He was one of those people that could make anyone feel at ease. His easy going att.i.tude and ability to talk to just about anyone made him very likable. Not to mention he had a certain love of dirty jokes and was eager to share his material on new, unsuspecting victims. Serenity was beginning to believe he liked the shock factor as much as he liked delivering the punch line. During the winter months, when the fis.h.i.+ng season slowed down, he did odd jobs. Sometimes he cut firewood or helped others with their goat or cattle herds. He stayed busy to be sure.

"So they're going to be out in the cold overnight?" Serenity asked.

"They gotta do whatever they can to kill whatever is killing off his goats. That's the Thompson's livelihood; every goat killed represents bills not paid," Darla told her. "I'm going to get dressed; don't leave without saying goodbye."

Serenity gave her a 'thumbs up' as she filled her plate with the wonderful goodness that was her aunt's cooking, too focused on her food to turn and look up at her. She was amazed that they weren't all severely overweight because her aunt was a firm believer in feeding anyone and everyone as often as possible. Homemade food was her version of a hug and it didn't hurt that she was a fantastic cook. Twenty minutes later Darla reemerged dressed as cave woman.

"Story time today?" Serenity asked around a bite of croissant.

Darla nodded. "Favorite day of the week." She smiled warmly and Serenity loved knowing that her aunt enjoyed her job so much. She had worked multiple jobs most of her life, not having any time for herself. But since she had begun working at the Marion County Library, she had been able to quit her other jobs, and Serenity had seen a distinct change in her aunt's demeanor. Suddenly, she was bright and eager for the day because she truly enjoyed her jobnot just because it was the only way she could get through the long days.

"What's the story today?"

Darla began was.h.i.+ng the dishes left over from making breakfast as she spoke. "It's a book version of the Disney movie, The Croods. Have you seen that movie? It's so hilarious."

"No, I haven't seen that one, but I've heard it's good," Serenity admitted.

Darla turned and looked at her as she wiped her hands off with the dish towel. "You work too hard for someone your age, Sarah Serenity." Her aunt had a habit of calling her by her first and middle name. Serenity had decided it was a Southern thing. "Why don't you cut back on your hours at the vet clinic? I know you think we can't get by without the money that you contribute, but we'll be alright."

Serenity shook her head. "I don't want to cut back on my hours. I love working with the animals. There's no drama with animals and they love unconditionally."

"I imagine that college boy that just started working there isn't hard on the eyes either," Darla said with a grin.

"Please," she huffed. "I don't have time for the nonsense called boys."

The look Darla gave her told her that she didn't quite believe her. In truth, Serenity just hadn't found anyone that she would want to put the energy into that a relations.h.i.+p takes. Sure she noticed good looking guys, and Darla was right, Jackson, who had started working two months ago at the vet clinic where she worked, was definitely easy on the eyes. But other than that, he did nothing for her. She wasn't willing to give her heart to anyone who didn't make mountains move for her. She wanted the heart pounding, toe tingling, stomach dropping kind of attraction that took her breath away every time he walked into the room. Until that happened, she was not available for any type of relations.h.i.+p with the opposite s.e.x.

"Okay well, have a good day and be safe." Darla gave her a quick hug before heading out.

"Have fun being a Crood," she hollered over her shoulder. Serenity glanced at her phone for the time and saw that she still had an hour to kill before she would need to leave for school. She let out a low sigh as she slumped down in her chair. She was tired. The lack of sleep caused by the dream was definitely beginning to catch up with her. But she didn't know how to make it go away. She'd never given much thought to dreams and whether or not they actually meant something or were simply the result of an unconscious mind being given free reign during slumber. Perhaps, it was time to do some research on dreams. She did know there were many religions that believed very firmly in the idea that dreams could be prophetic. Even in the Bible she read dreams had often been a message from G.o.d to his people. She'd been raised with a Christian background, and while she was still attempting to find where she stood in her own faith, she figured a book that had been around for a couple thousand years might have something important to say about the subject. She decided she would include it in her research along with some other sources. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until she could use the internet at the school or library because her aunt and uncle's house was far enough out that the only internet they could get was dial up. She snorted out a laugh as she considered her aunt doing the cave woman look and how appropriate it was considering the distance their house was from civilization. It often made her feel like they lived in the Stone Ages.

Serenity pulled into the parking lot of the high school and sat staring as her cla.s.smates filed into the school. The bitter cold of the mountain December was enough to keep her from wanting to leave the comfy warmth of her car. She had five months until she graduated-five more months of teachers, high school drama, and terrible cafeteria food, though that was her own fault because she was too lazy to make her own lunch and unwilling to let her aunt make it for her. She was eighteen for cripes sake; it would make her feel like a b.u.m if her aunt was making her lunches. Serenity rubbed her eyes, attempting to push away the drowsiness, still battling the sleepiness that threatened to overtake her. The warm air blowing from the car vents wasn't helping. Finally with a resigned sigh, she grabbed her book bag and climbed out into the frosty winter air. It stung her lungs and immediately did the job of waking her up. She knew she had better have her wits about her if she wanted to navigate the ice covered parking lot without ending up as the morning entertainment. It never failed that at least once or twice a week one of the students ended up on their backsides like an overturned turtle with their limbs flailing in the air as they skidded across the ice. Most took the good natured ribbing given by their cla.s.smates pretty well, laughing along with them. Frankly, when your tailbone hit that ice it was either laugh or cry because you instantly felt a distinct kind of pain, which was often accompanied by a string of curse words.

As she entered the building, having made an uneventful trek through the parking lot, Serenity headed for her locker nodding to several of her friends. She hadn't grown very close to any of them because her time had been so limited over the course of her high school career. As soon as she had learned to drive she had started working, volunteering, and helping as much as possible. Deep down she thought her desire to help others was her penance, a debt owed because of the death of her parents. She wondered if they had been taken from her so soon before their time because of something she'd done, or not done. Perhaps, G.o.d was punis.h.i.+ng her for not being good enough, for not obeying more, or for not being the model daughter she could have been. Because of her lack of involvement at her school, she didn't have a best friend that went to her school. Her best friend had already graduated and was now twenty-two years old and working at the local tourist-attracting restaurant called The Fireside Restaurant and Mountain Store. Serenity had met Glorious Day, and yes that was really her name, one day at the library when Glory had been looking for books on Multiple Sclerosis. Her mother had been diagnosed with the devastating disease and Glory and her father were her caretakers. Glory and she had immediately hit it off despite the four year age difference. Since then they had hung out as often as possible and texted relentlessly. With Glory she had finally found someone she could be completely herself with. Glory accepted her no matter what. Serenity knew her aunt and uncle did as well but it was different with them. She felt like they had to love her because they were sort of her parents, and didn't parents have to love their children unconditionally? But Glory didn't have to, yet she did anyway. Although she loved Glory like a sister, she also desperately wanted to escape the fate that had been given to her best friend. Glory was stuck. She would live in Yellville probably for the rest of her life. The idea made Serenity feel trapped and if she thought about it too long, she would begin to feel like the walls were closing in around her. Serenity never mentioned it to Glory because she didn't want to hurt her, but every now and then she would see the sadness in her friend because she too knew that she wouldn't be going on any grand adventures. Glory didn't hold it against her mother. She loved her mom and was completely willing to help take care of her, but Serenity knew that it still wasn't enough to take the sting away from the lack of a future ahead of Glorious.

The rest of her day was as uneventful as her walk from her car to the front doors that morning. She didn't have much homework, which was a definite plus considering she was desperate to do some research on her dream. Her phone rang as she was climbing into her car, and she searched through her bag until she found it.

"How goes the wonderful world of waitressing?" she asked Glory.

"Let's just say that it's a good thing you chose the vet because, girl, you could not handle the excitement that goes on at the fire pit." Glory had nicknamed the restaurant the fire pit after the ma.s.sive fire place that took up one whole wall of the dining area got out of hand one day after a waiter had dropped a grease filled bucket on it when he tripped on the leg of a chair. They had managed to get the fire out before it did too much damage, but from that day forward the Fireside Restaurant was deemed the fire pit.

"Let me guess," Serenity said as she considered the many scenarios that had previously happened to her friend. "One of the male tourists got handsy with you when you offered him some pie? Or perhaps Shelia finally fell out of one of those low cut tops she's always wearing while she was bending over after she conveniently dropped the silverware in front of the male customers?"

Glory laughed. "I think I've shared way too much with you about the goings-on of the pit if those are the things you think of first."

"Well, if it isn't one of those then it's hardly worth mentioning," Serenity teased.

"Then I guess I don't need to tell you that Tommy Peaping hit on Shelia, and she accidently spilled his water on his head."

Serenity let out a bark of laughter. "Awe man, poor Tommy Peepers," she breathed out using the nick name that everyone in town had used for him for as long as she could remember. "When is he going to learn that girls like Sheila only go for a certain type of guy, and it isn't guys with names like Tommy Peaping?"

"Well, I don't feel sorry for him. What do I always say? The definition of insanity..."

"Yeah, yeah I know...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results," she finished for her.

"It's true. He keeps. .h.i.tting on that hoochie thinking she's suddenly going to think he's the best thing since tampons but it isn't going to happen."

"Maybe he likes the abuse," Serenity pointed out.

"Maybe so. Whatever the reason, it keeps the customers entertained. You headed to the flea hospital?"

Serenity rolled her eyes at her friend's quirkiness. Serenity guessed she came up with nicknames for just about everything in an attempt to entertain herself. "Yep," she answered giving the 'p' a slight pop as she finished the word. "I'm going to try and get off a little early because I want to hit up the library before it closes."

"Why on earth would you hit up the library? They definitely don't have any money to be taken. If you're going to rob someplace, at least go for something worth your time, like the armored truck that goes to the bank each week."

"I'm not going to even ask why you have thought of something like that, Glory."

"Puuhlease, you're the one who said you were going to hit up the library," Glory pointed out.

"You must be exceptionally bored if you are turning my statements into absurd scenarios," Serenity pointed out. "Why don't you come to the vet and help out. You'd get to meet Jackson."

"Hmm, tempting, because you know I completely appreciate the hotness of the opposite s.e.x, and he seems to be the talk of the town since he moved here a few months ago. But, I just don't feel like attempting to put on the whole happy face, notice me, let me try to convince you I'm the greatest girl you'll ever meet front. It's exhausting."

"One of these days you're going to have to put yourself out there. You can't hide forever." Serenity had to admit that part of the reason she wanted Glory to find a man was because she was leaving, and she didn't want her best friend to be alone once she was gone.

"Okay, enough counseling for one conversation. Get your b.u.t.t to work and try not to drool too much over your fellow flea lover."

"Bye, Glorious," Serenity chuckled when her friend growled at her for using her full name; she hated that.

Dair followed Serenity from her school to the veterinary clinic where she worked. Being who he was, and what he was, had its perks when it came to travel. He didn't need a car. Dair had the ability to will himself to the location he wanted. It was known as 'transporting' in the spiritual realm. As he continued on the path that her car was taking, he told himself it was because he wanted to keep her safe. If you asked him from what, well, he really couldn't tell you. He hadn't been informed of any immediate danger to Serenity, but there was always life itself. She could be in a wreck or be hurt by some crazy human, of which he knew plenty because he had been in some depraved minds over the decades. She was so fragile, so mortal, and she didn't even know it, or if she did she didn't pay any heed to it. What do you expect her to do, Dair, surround herself in bubble wrap and never leave her house? he asked himself. He supposed that option wasn't really feasible, but he wouldn't deny that the idea had its merit.

Dair trailed her into the clinic, unseen by anyone or anything, until the cat that was lying on the bench in the waiting area hissed at him. He had found that some animals were more sensitive to the spiritual world and could actually detect him, if not see him outright. Other animals' reactions were often just as unfriendly as the cat's because they sometimes felt that he was something that should not be there. He waved his hand in front of the feline's face and the animal quieted immediately and then drifted off to sleep. Sleep dust indeed, he chuckled to himself.

"Hey, Serenity." A deep voice drew Dair's attention from the sleeping cat. His eyes narrowed on the boy named Jackson. Dair had discovered something new about himself, which was a feat in and of itself considering how old he was. He had realized that jealousy was an emotion that he was not immune to. From the moment he saw the way Jackson looked at Serenity, a possessivealmost animalisticneed to claim her came over him. He didn't like the gleam in the human's eyes or the way he smiled at her or talked to her. Okay, so he didn't like that he breathed air in the same vicinity as Serenity. Perhaps, he was a tad out of control when it came to this new emotion of jealousy.

"Hey, Jackson." Serenity smiled at the boy and Dair ground his teeth together. "How is Mrs. Green's dog doing today?"

Jackson took a step closer to her and then leaned casually on the counter where the human owners checked in their animals. Not a step further Dair thought and fought the desire to plant the words in the boy's head. He could only imagine the look on his face when he heard Dair's voice in his mind. And he found that he took a little too much pleasure in inducing fear in the male.

"Layla is doing better," Jackson answered. "She's even gone outside twice without having to be carried."