Lover of My Dreams (20 page)

He closed his eyes tiredly and rubbed them. A vision of Rachel flashed in his mind. She was lifting her arms out to him and smiling. She was wearing the white nightgown he had dreamed about, and she was pregnant with his baby.

He opened his eyes quickly and reached for his medical textbooks. Studying would help him get his mind back on track. And he needed to get himself back on track right now.

* * * *

Rachel grabbed for her ankle as she fell to the ground. She couldn’t help but cry out from the pain, and was angry to find tears filling her eyes. She got up slowly, using her stick to help her, and hobbled back into her tent. Once inside, she sat down on her cot and put her head in her hands. It was then that she realized that her shirt was unbuttoned except for the first button on the very top.

“Damn!” she swore in embarrassment. This was not going to be one of her better days.

She quickly buttoned the rest of the buttons, praying silently that neither Roy nor Sam had noticed, and reached to get her warm jacket and pulled it on. Once it was zipped, she reached into her suitcase and pulled out a small blue zippered pouch and opened it to find something for her aches and pains. She felt like she had a fever, too. Once she found the small bottle, she opened it and removed two capsules, then poured a cup of water from the jug next to the cooler and downed the medicine. She poured the remainder of the water from the cup onto a cloth and wiped her face, feeling a little refreshed by its coolness.

She stood slowly and exited the tent. She poured some hot water into the waiting mug and dunked the tea bag slowly. Discarding it in the small trash bag beside the picnic table, she spooned in a teaspoon of honey, stirred it slowly, and brought it with her to her lounge chair.

She sipped the tea slowly and looked out across the campground. She was still so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. It would be best if she got to work on her book so that her mind would be occupied and she would be able to put her anger and embarrassment aside. Her work would take her away from the thoughts and realities of this world and bring her to the beauty and perfection of her written fantasies. Real life held no promise or gentleness for her, but with her book, as with all of her books, she was allowed to live a life that was filled with loving, touching, caring, and tenderness. Isn’t that what every woman wanted after all?

She put down her mug and tucked her blanket around her legs, then picked up her laptop, put on her glasses and got to work. It wasn’t long before she was immersed in the love story that she had created. It was the best escape she could ever hope for.

* * * *

Sam kept his distance from Rachel for the entire day. He watched her from his camper but didn’t dare go near her for fear she would attack him with her stick. He smiled at the thought and couldn’t help but admire her strength. He was enjoying every moment with her, and he had to admit that she was really beginning to wear down his resistance.

Roy’s words had started him thinking. There was no doubt that Sam enjoyed the dinner that he and Rachel had shared the night before. He had found himself smiling and laughing more than he had in a long time. He appreciated her humor and felt comfortable with her, just as he had when they were growing up. Life had been hard for both of them. Even though they had been apart for many years, he knew that they still shared a deep friendship.

His dream had made him think that he might possibly have been the recipient of divine intervention that had allowed him to glimpse a part of his future. Whatever it was, he couldn’t help but admit to himself that he would not be averse to having something happen with Rachel if that was what was meant to be. The memory of loving her, the possibility of filling her body with his child, and the experience of being the recipient of her touch and caring made him happy. A sense of calm came over him as he thought about the possibility of a loving future with Rachel as something that was actually within his grasp.

After lunch he drove into town to get supplies and was disappointed to find that it didn’t eat up as much time as he had hoped it would. He found himself wishing the day away so that he could go and check on Rachel at the end of the evening just to make sure that she was all right. He knew he should probably wait the two days, but he had decided to check on her around dinnertime. Maybe she would have cooled down a little by then.

Dinnertime came and went. Sam felt uncomfortable to be eating alone. That fact alone was very telling. He hadn’t felt that way a mere two days before. Rachel’s presence had changed that.

When darkness replaced the light of late afternoon, he made his decision. He took his clipboard and flashlight and started out for his final check of the campground. The last site he would check would be Rachel’s. He was determined to talk with her. He hadn’t seen any light or campfire and was worried that she hadn’t taken care of herself by eating anything.

When he got to her site, he stood before her tent, unsure what to do. The area around the tent was clean and orderly. Her tent was zipped up tight and no light shone from within. Her car was still there, so he knew that she had to be inside her tent. He hesitated a moment, fighting with his instincts to go into Rachel’s tent and see that she was okay. After a moment of indecision, he turned and walked back to his camper, mumbling under his breath that he had to respect her privacy. He had no right to intrude. He wasn’t too crazy about how he was feeling about that fact either.

Once inside his camper, he tugged off his coat and set aside the flashlight and clipboard then sat at the table and tried reading one of his textbooks for a little while. After only a few minutes he put the book aside and turned down the lantern. Standing, he removed his clothes and pulled on a clean pair of black sweatpants and sweatshirt and climbed into bed.

The night was quiet and cold. He tried to concentrate on the sound of his own breathing as he lay there thinking. He closed his eyes to sleep, but the events of the day kept playing over and over in his mind. He kept seeing the anger on Rachel’s face. He heard Roy’s voice telling him what had happened to his cousin.

He could imagine the fear she must have felt when she had been attacked. He hated that she was alone and hurting. Watching her as she stumbled around her campsite wasn’t helping the fact that he felt guilty about causing her more pain.

Thoughts of his dream about her were also filling his mind. He remembered how he had held her in that dream. He remembered how he had touched her swollen belly and had felt something very close to pure happiness at the thought of finally being a part of such a special love. He kept thinking about how it felt to see Rachel lift her arms to him to embrace him. He also thought of the possibility of his child growing inside of her. Despite his determination to stop thinking about her, he found himself thinking about making love to her and filling her body with his life.

When he had seen her today, he had found that he wanted to hold her. His dream about her had reinforced what he was already feeling and made him desire her as more than a friend. When she had stood before him with sparks of anger shooting from her eyes, he was stunned by his reaction to her. He admired her strength and was impressed by her abilities. He thought back on their time together as friends when they were growing up and realized that he had always admired her and had looked to her for the caring and support she had been always ready to give.

He missed the easy friendship that they had shared. He missed the fun and mischief they had gotten into. She had been so much a part of his youth that he had taken it for granted. Roy was his best friend. He had never really put a label on what Rachel was to him. As he thought about her, he still couldn’t define exactly what she was to him. He just knew that she was someone very important to him, and he couldn’t get her out of his thoughts.

When he and Roy had stood outside her tent and she had confronted them with well-deserved anger, he had felt so many conflicting emotions. He was contrite at the justified anger she had for them. He was concerned for her health. He was sad for the loss of the easy friendship that they had once shared. And he had to be honest with himself. He was incredibly aroused by her.

The sight of her naked body beneath her clothes had tempted him beyond reason. His desire for her had intensified by the unexpected display of her beauty. He swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut tighter as his body quickly grew excited and hard at the memory of seeing the pearly softness of her full breasts as they peeked out at him from behind her unbuttoned shirt.

His body had reacted with pure desire and need. He wanted her with a passion that was completely foreign to him. He had desired other women before, but never with the intensity that he wanted Rachel. How was he ever going to last the summer keeping his desires under control? Rachel Williams was a beautiful, kind, and strong woman.

He admitted to himself that he had no choice but to want her as his.

“I haven’t seen her since yesterday afternoon, Roy,” Sam told him worriedly as they stood beside Roy’s truck.

“I still don’t think we should bother her yet,” Roy said quietly as he looked across the campground toward the site where Rachel had set up her tent. “She was pretty mad at us yesterday.”

Sam hesitated a moment then nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’ll give her until lunch. If I don’t see her by then, I’m going to check on her.”

“You’re the doctor,” Roy said, smiling. “You could always tell her that she has to calm down and let you check on her medical condition.”

“Oh, I’m sure that will go over big,” Sam said sarcastically. “No matter what, I’m going to make sure that she’s okay. I’ll give her until noon.”

Roy smiled and climbed behind the steering wheel of his truck. He knew that he was leaving his cousin in capable hands. He could put his worry for her aside for now and concentrate on worrying about his own wife instead. He started the engine of his truck and put it in gear then reached for the paperback book that lay on the seat beside him.

“By the way, here’s one of Rachel’s novels,” he said, handing the book through the open window to his friend. “Paulette said this one was the best one to give you.”

Sam accepted the book and looked it over quickly. He had never read a romance novel before. It should prove interesting.

“
Dreams of the Heart
,” he read the title out loud. “Am I going to need a cold shower after I finish this one?” His question was a joke, but he really did wonder how erotic Rachel’s book was.

Roy shook his head and smiled. “Don’t knock it until you’ve read it,” he warned. “You just may be surprised.” He started to drive away when he stuck his head out the window. “And you definitely will need a cold shower. Too bad you don’t have one handy. Guess you’ll just have to jump in the stream!”

Sam chuckled to himself as Roy drove away and made his way out of the campground. He looked across the clearing toward Rachel’s site then turned to walk to his camper. He would be able to view her site through his camper window from the bench seat at the table without worrying about being seen. He knew she would really be furious if she happened to come out and catch him watching her.

He seated himself at the table, opened her novel and began reading. Early morning soon turned into late morning, and late morning soon became early afternoon. The sound of a car driving into the campground brought Sam’s thoughts back to the present. He looked out the window and saw that Rachel’s campsite still remained void of movement. He looked at his watch and gasped when he saw that it was already after one o’clock.

He looked at the book in his hand and realized that he was more than halfway through it. It certainly had held his interest. Roy was right. It really was a very good story—not at all mushy or full of fluff as he had expected it to be. The erotic love scenes were very beautifully written and he found himself thinking about making love to Rachel in the same way that her characters made love. When he was reading the love scenes, he had pictured himself as the hero and Rachel as the heroine. He had been hard most of the morning from thinking about Rachel being naked.

He thought about the vivid dream he had of making love to her, burying himself deep inside her body. He had to admit to himself that he really wanted to do just that. He put the book aside, carefully marking his place with an envelope that had been in the stack of mail that Roy had just brought him.

“I really do need to jump into the stream,” he said out loud in frustration as he stood up and reached for the container of water on the sink. He tugged at his jeans to ease the discomfort he was feeling from the hardness of his body. He reached down to cup himself, closing his eyes as erotic thoughts of Rachel flashed through his mind. He squeezed his cock, gasping at the incredible feeling, and wished suddenly that Rachel was the one touching him and releasing him from the torment of his body. His breathing grew ragged and labored as he pictured Rachel taking him into her mouth and easing his ache, or taking him deep into her body and pulling his release from him.

He leaned forward and placed both hands on the edge of the small sink, trying to breathe deeply and evenly to help calm his tense body. He poured some cool water into his hand and splashed it over his face. Wiping off the excess water with the nearest towel, he threw it onto the counter next to the sink and opened the camper door to step out into the sunshine of the day, not even bothering to shut the door behind him. He suddenly found that he was in a hurry to check on Rachel.