Shifting Dreams (18 page)

Feeling playful after the heaviness of the morning, Caleb smiled. “Bear, you should always make time for a beautiful woman.”

Low let out a disgusted sound, but Cathy only laughed. “Don’t make him too much of a charmer, Chief. He already has the little girls following him.”

“Please, call me Caleb. It’s really nice to meet you. I love my trailer.”

Apparently, that was exactly the right thing to say, because Cathy launched into a lively conversation about the joy and satisfaction of restoring Airstreams. Caleb had trouble keeping up. The woman was a firecracker and obviously shared the same keen intelligence as her daughter. Soon, she had Caleb and both boys laughing along with her as she told stories about life on the road. Jena came out, took their orders, then left with a raised eyebrow pointed in his direction. He just smiled, pleased to see the little flush rise in her cheeks.

The four were interrupted by the somewhat manic figure of Mayor Matt just as they were finishing up their lunch.

“Cathy!” he said with a broad smile. “So good to see you.” Then his smile fell. “Well… not under the circumstances, of course. I’m so sorry about Alma. Such a tragic accident.”

Suddenly, the lively mood of the table fell flat. Aaron squirmed next to him, and Caleb looked at Cathy.

She smiled at the man graciously. “Thank you, Matt. How are Missy and the baby?”

“Great!” The man’s mood lightened again. “So happy he’s finally here. She delivered just a few days after… well after. She was getting a bit testy being overdue.”

“That’s to be expected. Not a fun time to be pregnant with all the heat.” It may have been fall, but the days were still steaming. “I heard she delivered at home?”

“Her sisters were there. Her other deliveries with the girls were so easy, she wanted to try it at home. She said it would be more relaxing.”

“More and more girls are doing that these days. And one of her sisters is a nurse, right?”

“Yep. So, are you and Tom staying for a while?”

“We’re not sure how long we’re staying.” She glanced at Caleb, then back at Matt. “Lots of things to take care of with the extended family.”

Extended family? Caleb frowned. How big a family did they have? He seemed to recall Jena mentioning she was an only child.

“Of course.” Matt nodded. “It’s just, there’s a council meeting next week, and I was wondering if Tom would be taking Alma’s place on the—”

“Not really the time to be talking about that kind of thing, is it?” Cathy’s voice was sharp, and she glanced at Caleb. “And you’d have to ask Tom about any of the town business. Not my area.”

Well, that had cooled off the conversation considerably. Matt looked crestfallen and took a step back. Cathy had shut him down quickly, and Caleb wondered why. Did Cathy want to avoid talking about Alma in front of the boys? Or want to avoid talking about the town council in front of Caleb? The archaic form of city government Matt had described to him started to seem more and more odd the longer he was here.

As far as Caleb could tell, there were no elected leaders in the city except Mayor Matt. The town council controlled every decision and consisted of the oldest members of the seven families that had settled Cambio Springs. Where did that leave the families who had moved in since? Why did they agree to it? Caleb wasn’t even sure it was strictly legal, but he had no idea what the laws were regarding that kind of thing.

Matt made some excuse, then left to go pick up an order at the counter. Cathy looked at the boys, then at Caleb.

“Who wants a piece of pie?”

He was dreaming again.

This time he wasn’t running; he was stalking. He felt the cool metal of the rifle on his fingers, his right hand resting comfortingly on the stock. He moved quietly through the brush as the silver coyote slinked next to him.
 

What was he hunting? He followed the game trail past the springs and farther into the canyon until he heard it. The high whine of the pup echoed through the canyon a moment before he heard the cat scream. He moved faster and the coyote trailed him, jumping over dry gullies and dodging the shadows of cottonwoods that filled the moonlit night with soft puffs drifting in the breeze. The pup yipped again, this time in terror.

It was on him. The slinking form of the bobcat crouched over the small pup in the rocks. Where was the mother? The coyote growled next to him as he raised the rifle. He sighted in the moonlight and squeezed the trigger, hitting the predator in the neck with one shot. The wolf puppy scurried off as he approached the animal, but when he drew closer, he realized it wasn’t the bobcat.

The black eye of the silver coyote stared up at him before his mouth pulled up in a bloody grin.

You did the right thing.
 

No!
He screamed in his head.
I didn’t want to shoot you.

You did the right thing.

He kneeled down and stared at the blood soaking into the sand.
I didn’t want to shoot you.

You did what you had to do. I was going to kill him.

You weren’t supposed to be here.

The coyote blinked.
I forgive you.

But I don’t forgive myself.
He reached out and touched the animal’s silver fur, soaked with blood at the neck.

They forgive you.

“No,” he whispered. “They hate me.”

They hate me more. Forgive yourself, Caleb.

His heart was pounding.

No—

Caleb blinked awake. The light from the half moon was glowing through the window and someone was pounding on the door of the trailer. He brushed his hand over his face and sat up.

Who was pounding on his door in the middle of the night?

He moved toward the pounding, still halfway dreaming. Was he still in the canyon? Had he fallen asleep there and this was a dream?

He pushed open the door to see Jena standing there. She was wearing the same shirt she’d worn the first time he saw her. The one that made her boobs look really great. And her hair was all tangled over her shoulders. He blinked again.
 

Still dreaming. But this was a way better dream.

She stood with her hands on her hips in the moonlight.
 

Caleb gave her a sleepy grin. “Gotta love that attitude.”

Then she frowned. “What?”

He stepped toward her, not hesitating a moment before he closed on her lips.

Oh… this was better than his other dreams about her. She stood stock-still for a moment until his tongue teased the crease of her mouth, then she opened for him and made that sexy noise in the back of her throat. Mmm, Dream Jena was so much more accommodating than Real Jena.

She tasted like lime and sugar. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her skin into his bare chest. She needed less clothes. He wanted to feel all of her.

“Why are you wearing clothes?” he murmured against her lips, nipping at her bottom lip as she pulled back with a gasp.

“What?”

Caleb pulled her back for another kiss, but she pushed him. He ducked to the side and sucked her earlobe between his lips. “Mmm, take off your shirt, honey. I want to feel your skin.”

She slapped a hand on his bare chest. “Oh my—what is wrong with you?”

That was kind of weird. Slaps usually didn’t sting in dreams. He pulled her hips into his and pressed them together, murmuring into her neck, “Trust me, nothing is wrong with me that you can’t cure.”

Jena pinched his earlobe. Hard. Ouch.

Oooouch
. He pulled his head back and she slapped him. More ouch.

“What do you think you’re doing, Caleb Gilbert?”

He blinked again. Then rubbed his eyes. Oh…

“You’re not Dream Jena.”

Her eyes widened. “Dream Jena?”

“I thought I was dreaming. Wait—what time is it?”

“One in the morning. I was helping Ollie out at the bar tonight.”

“Wearing that?” He frowned. “That’s my special shirt.”

She sputtered. “You—you’re special…” She pinched his ear again.

“Ow!”

“Wake up, you idiot!” Then she seemed to notice the very evident tent in his pajama pants. “And get that situation under control.”

“Want to help me out with it?” He slapped a hand over her mouth before she could curse at him. “Sorry. Sleeping. No filter.” She bit his finger. “Ow! Stop hitting and biting me. Unless… you’re into that. I mean, it’s not usually my thing, but I could—”

 
“You need to stop talking right now, before I kick you in the nuts and never speak to you again.”

 
He raised two hands to rub his face. “Man, you’re mean when I just wake up.”

She stood glaring at him as he blinked and slapped his cheeks. Strangely, Mad Jena did little to calm down the problem down south she kept glancing at every few seconds. He smothered a smile. Maybe it wasn’t such a problem after all.

“Okay,” he said after a couple deep breaths and a few more bracing slaps. The night air was crisp and he wasn’t wearing a shirt, which woke him up more than anything. “Why are you pounding on my door at one in the morning? Unless you do want to help me out with that situation you were referring to, in which case, we should go inside. I’m not much of an exhibitionist, and I’m pretty sure your kids could see us from the house.”

“You are such an asshole.”

“Duly noted. You’re pounding on my door in the middle of the night. Why?”

“What were you saying to Aaron at the diner today?”

He frowned. “What?”

“Before you started charming my mother with your polite-as-shit cute cowboy routine, what were you and Aaron talking about?”

He smiled. “Your mom likes me, doesn't she?”

Jena pulled at her hair, obviously frustrated. “Caleb!”

“There are so many better ways you could be shouting my name right now.”

She held up a furious finger at him. She was practically vibrating with anger. “You cannot blame that on the sleep at this point. I will slap you.”

Jena moved toward him and Caleb ducked to the side, slipped behind her, and pulled her back into his chest, wrapping a long arm around her waist as he pulled them back to lean against the cool aluminum siding of the trailer. Then he ducked down and whispered in her ear, “Can’t slap me now, can you?”

She was still tense, but he felt her move into him, ever so slightly, and he smiled. Curious Jena was even better than Dream Jena.

“Let me go.”

“Why are you mad? I was just talking to him. He was sad about Alma.” He paused and leaned his chin down to rest on her shoulder. “I was just trying to help. I’m sorry if I upset you. He’s a great kid, and I hated to see him so down.”

Her shoulders relaxed a little, and he rested his cheek against her neck. “He said you’re going to find out why she died.”

“I am.” He let his nose run along the shell of her ear. She smelled like the bar, but underneath? All Jena. He took a deep breath and felt her shiver.

She put her hands over his where they lay at her waist, but she didn’t pull them away. “You have to stop investigating this. It was an animal attack.”

“I believe you. It was also murder.” He brushed his lips against her temple. “I know it, and you know it. I’m not sure how it all fits together, but—”

“Caleb—”

“I can’t let it go,” he whispered, tightening his arms around her. “She deserves more than that, and you know it. Why won’t you help me?”

Jena stilled for a moment, then slowly pried his hands away from her waist. He let her. She stepped away as he leaned against the side of the trailer, watching her. She didn’t look mad at him anymore. She looked upset, maybe even a little scared. Caleb wanted to rage at whatever unseen thing had put that look on her face.

“You’ve got to stop. Let it be, Caleb.”

“You know I won’t.”

Her mouth firmed and a sad resolve came into her eyes. “Then you better stay away from my kids. I won’t have them hurt because of you.”

His instincts pricked. “Why would they get hurt because of me?”

Jena opened her mouth, then closed it.

“Why, Jena?”

She shook her head and started backing away. “Just stay away from them. And me.”

Chapter Thirteen

Saturday night, Jena and Allie tucked their kids into the den at Jena’s house for a mass sleepover while the grown-ups had a meeting. Tom and Cathy had gone to meet with the other elders about who would take over Alma’s seat on the council; so Jena, Ted, Allie, Alex, Ollie, and Devin sat around the table behind the house, Jena checking carefully to see if there was any movement from Caleb’s trailer. It was completely dark.

Was he out? Where would he go?

“Who’s working The Cave tonight, Ollie?” she asked.

“My cousin Sandra said she could watch it. She’s a pretty good bartender and the band I scheduled for tonight had a breakdown outside of Vegas, so it shouldn’t be too busy.”