The Dream Jumper's Promise

Chapter 26

As they were sucked back to reality, Jamey watched the form of Noble embracing a disintegrating Hank. In less than two seconds, he was sitting up in theMolokaihotel bed, with Obi staring at him from the bedside.

Tina woke up gasping. “Oh, my God!” she cried.

Jamey was still holding her hand. “You okay?"

She didn’t answer.

“You jumped Noble’s dream.” He wrapped his arms around her shaking body. “It’s okay."

“Noble killed Hank!” She wrenched herself free to face Jamey. “Noble pushed Hank, and he fell off that cliff. They were fighting."

She wasn’t crying and he worried that she was beyond that point. He nodded. “It’s true, then.”

“You suspected Noble?”

“I had a hunch.”

“Oh, my God, Jamey. I watched Noble kill my husband in this dream.” Tina’s eyes were frantic. “And then you arrived.”

“You screamed.” He took her hand. Remember, we don’t know if it was a true remembrance, or only your dream, or Noble’s dream, or what.”

“It happened. I know it.” Her voice was tiny and far away. “They were brothers, criminals, and this was all some sort of scam. My mother figured it out, somehow. I bet she had an investigator on Hank from the very beginning. She did that to another one of my boyfriends years ago, and he broke up with me. When I told my parents that Hank and I were marrying, she probably hired an investigator. She would’ve spared no expense digging up dirt on my fiancé.” A sob escaped from her throat.

Jamey whispered into her hair. “It might have been nothing, Tina. It might have been just a dream. Nothing more. Did you hear a ringing during the dream?"

“Yes, what does that mean?"

He didn’t want to tell her just yet. Give it a chance to sink in. “Dunno. But, I heard it too.”

“Like a distant school bell.”

The sign of a remembrance. A memory dream. Noble’s memory. “It was probably nothing.” He needed to soften the blow if he could. She’d just had her first dream about the past and it was a whopper. Like holding a pillow against her stomach to absorb a punch in the gut, he offered what he could. “It might have been just your subconscious telling you what it suspects. Not real.”

“They were after my paintings. Hank and Noble were con men and wanted my grandmother’s paintings.” She looked at him. “Those things must be more valuable than Hank told me."

Jamey kissed her hair and she slumped against his chest.

“And if it was real, everything I knew about Hank would be a lie.” Her voice was pitifully small.

“No. Hank loved you. I know that for a fact.” He had to tell her about being inside Hank’s psyche, feeling Hank’s emotions for that short time. “Remember the dream where I became Hank? We were in the same body, and I felt his love for you. It was a profound love, like nothing he’d ever known. And I knew he had a secret.” He pulled back and looked directly into her face. “I know he would want me to tell you this. He thought you were too good for him and that he didn’t deserve you. Hank adored you, Tina. I know that because I was inside his head and heart in that dream. You were the one thing in his life that was good and honest."

Tina pushed away and retreated into the bathroom to cry by herself.

When Jamey returned from the continental breakfast buffet with coffee and muffins, the shower was running. He’d call Katie at the shop to check in, while Tina was showering.