Falling Awake

little. “Well, I suppose they are now, given that they were addressed to me. They were delivered this afternoon.”
    “What’s inside?”
    “According to the letter that accompanied them, about thirty years’ worth of Dr. Martin Belvedere’s personal dream research. Evidently he religiously sent copies of his work on extreme dreams to his lawyer to hold for publication after his death. Kind of ironic, actually, because the first thing his son, Randolph, did after he took over the center was destroy all of his father’s research. Guess he didn’t know that Dr. B. had a backup plan.”
    “Sounds like the old man knew his son pretty well.”
    “Yes. A sad situation. They were estranged for years. Randolph still has a lot of unresolved father issues.”
    “Why did you get all of Belvedere’s papers?”
    She exhaled deeply. “According to the lawyer’s letter, Dr. B. trusted me to see to it that his theories were not lost or destroyed. Belvedere yearned for validation and vindication, even if he had to get it after his death.”
    “And he stuck you with the job of making sure he was not forgotten in the field of dream research.”
    “Yep.”
    “What are you going to do with those cartons?”

    Glumly she surveyed the large boxes. “Rent another storage locker, I suppose.”
    “That’s going to cost you over time.”
    “I sort of figured that out for myself.”
    “But you’re going to take care of them, just like you’re taking care of the cat, aren’t you?”
    “I owe Dr. B. a great deal. If it hadn’t been for him I’d probably still be answering phones at the Psychic Dreamer Hotline.”
    He smiled. “Something tells me that sooner or later you would have escaped the hotline. Ready to go?”
    “Yes.”
    He opened the door and looked at her as she went past him out into the blustery evening. She could feel the electricity crackling in the air in advance of the storm.
    “Want me to put the top down?” he asked.
    Surprised, she glanced at the sleek vehicle sitting in front of the house. Delight and anticipation welled up inside her.
    “Oh, yes,” she whispered. “That would be lovely.”
    He smiled again, as if he had already guessed her answer and was pleased with it.
    t he drive along the bluffs into town was the most exhilarating experience Isabel could remember in a long, long time, maybe the most exhilarating thing she had ever done in her entire life, she reflected.

    Ellis handled the sleek, sexy sports car exactly as she had suspected he would: with absolute control and intuitive competence. His reflexes were perfectly in sync with the powerful engine and precision steering.
    The heavy clouds were closing in fast, blotting out the last of the sunlight. It would be a while before the rain struck but the steel-colored waters churned and boiled in anticipation.
    She felt a little high, she realized. It was as if she were channeling some of the atmospheric energy.
    Ellis glanced at her. “You like storms?”
    “I love storms.”
    He smiled his mysterious smile.
    The wind howled around the Maserati. Isabel could feel her hair lashing around her face. She laughed.
    “Talk about a really great flying dream,” she said.
    “You ever actually have one of those?”
    “I have them all the time.” She turned her head to look at him through her wild hair. “What about you?”
    “Oh, yeah.” His hands flexed slightly on the wheel. He did not take his attention off the road. “And you’re right. This sure feels like one hell of a flying dream.”
    h alf an hour later, inside the restaurant, he took off his dark glasses, slipped them into the pocket in the lining of his jacket and looked at Isabel across the table.

    He knew all about dangerous thrill rides, he thought. He took psychic risks in his dreams, physical risks working for Lawson and huge financial risks as a venture capitalist. But he also knew how to protect himself from the really hazardous stuff in life. He had learned that lesson at the age of twelve. When it came to intimate relationships of any kind, he had always been very careful to play it safe. If you never loved, you never had to mourn a loss.
    Tonight he was on the verge of tossing a lifetime of caution out the window. There was no doubt in his mind that sitting across from Isabel was far and away the most reckless thing he had ever done.
    If he had any sense, he would turn around and walk away right now, he told himself. But he knew he wasn’t going to do that.