Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals

happiness on the table next to the couch and rubbing against the lamp while mrowing and purring loudly.
    “Get down from there, you’ll knock the lamp over,” said Jack as he shooed her off. He stretched out on the couch and Cat instantly jumped on his chest. After a few turns to settle herself, she curled into a ball on his chest and began working her mojo on him. He was fast asleep almost instantly.
    Images began to form in his head as faces, places, smells, feelings, and memories all morphed into each other randomly and yet it all made sense as only dreams do. It seemed like he had been asleep forever when he opened his eyes and found himself staring into Cat’s face. She had been poking his cheek with her paw, and when he finally opened his eyes, she mrowed in triumph. He rolled his head to look at the clock and saw that only forty-five minutes had elapsed, but it was enough. He felt refreshed. “How did she know?” wondered Jack.
    “What do you want, Cat?” he said. She mrowed again and jumped off his chest as if to say, “Come on, time to get up. You can’t waste your whole day being like me. Feed me, why don’t you.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, but I’m going for a run first. I’ll feed you when I get back,” said Jack.

CHAPTER 57
    AS JACK HEADED down the road, it felt like it would be a five- or six-mile afternoon. He had spoken to Max, and she and Patti were going to stay for a drink before leaving to get ready to go out later. Jack assured her that he would be back in plenty of time. As he went past Ben’s he glanced over. There were a dozen or so cars already parked out front as the early birds began to arrive. If he didn’t think about the events of the past two weeks, it was all so normal. Ahead, he could see the seemingly endless stream of traffic on the boulevard as vacationers began leaving the beaches to begin their preparations for round two.
    Just as he reached the boulevard, a gap opened in the traffic and he didn’t even have to break stride to get across. He smiled to himself. That was a good omen. His plan was to run inland on mostly back roads for two reasons: less traffic and shade. The day may have cooled, but it was still warmer than he would have liked for running. The back roads would help a bit.
    By the time he had covered the first mile he was beginning to sweat, his breathing had steadied, and his stride was smoothing out as he began to feel the change. No longer was he a sedentary being, waiting for life to come to him; he now felt alive, moving toward it on his terms. He could feel the flow of energy coursing through his body. And as his physical state settled into this new reality, so did his state of mind. He felt as if he were floating over the roads. He didn’t feel his feet or legs, he hardly noticed that he was breathing, and the trees, houses, and fences that he ran past hardly made a blip on his radar. The occasional car that passed him seemed almost invisible as he moved along in this near trancelike state.
    His mind drifted. Images and questions flashed through his head. He saw Daniel’s face at that small airport in Belize after he had disappeared. At the time it had made no sense. Now, after his surprise visit to Irrepressible and the story he had told, followed by his death in York, it was all beginning to make more sense… .
    The further Jack ran, the more disturbing his thoughts became, and his fear increased. The final miles back were a blur as his pace ceased to be leisurely. He didn’t break stride until he had reached the parking lot at Ben’s. He glanced over as he considered whether or not he should stop to check on the girls.
    It was at that moment that Patti and Max emerged from Ben’s. They saw each other at the same time. The girls waved and he veered in to say hi.
    He was still breathing hard when they came together. “You okay?” asked Max.
    Jack just nodded as he walked in small tight circles with his hands on his hips. After two revolutions, between gulps of air he managed, “Yeah … yeah, I’m fine.”
    “You don’t look fine,” said Patti.
    His breathing was getting more under control, “No, I’m fine. I just pushed it a little at the end.”
    “Patti’s going to follow me over to my place so I can grab some clothes for tonight. Then we’re going to hers. Why don’t you meet us there. Dave’s coming over, and then we can all go into town together.”
    “That works for me,” said Jack. His breath was still