“Shannon isn’t answering at home either, Lawrence.”
“Where can she be? Willie says she’s been keeping herself away from everybody and everything.”
“I don’t know, but I’m not waiting here any longer. To hell with what the police said about staying here in case she comes back or calls. I can’t believe that DeeDee thought she could just walk out the door and find her way to Shannon.”
“We don’t know that’s where she’s gone. Her note just said that she wasn’t going to be afraid. She’d find Kaseybelle and believe in the magic.”
“Kaseybelle! That’s it, Lawrence. She made a lunch. She took Hap. She’s gone to find Shannon. She’s out there somewhere. For nearly three hours she’s been out there. I’m going to join the search.”
“Jonathan, half the law enforcement officials in the county are already looking for DeeDee. They have mounted an organized, systematic search. You’ll just go off half-cocked, and next we’ll be looking for you.”
“Suppose she made it to the road and someone picked her up? Get me that television reporter, the one from the mall. Have him broadcast it on the air.”
“You want me to invite the press up here?”
“I’ll bring in that reporter and let him interview me personally if it will help us find DeeDee. Lawrence, it’s getting dark. Suppose she’s hurt, afraid?”
“They’ll find her, Jonathan.”
“Dammit, this wouldn’t have happened if I’d brought Shannon back.”
Shannon wasn’t certain that a cab driver would attempt the drive up the mountain, but her promise of double fare solved the problem. She didn’t know how she’d get through the locked gates, either, but she’d figure that out when she got there.
At the base of the mountain there were police cars and rescue vehicles with lights flashing and communication equipment squawking.
“What’s wrong, driver? Stop and ask. Has there been an accident?”
He didn’t have to stop, an officer flagged him down with his flashlight. “Where you headed, buddy.”
Shannon answered for him. “Officer, I’m trying to get up the mountain. What’s happened?”
“There’s a little girl missing. We’re searching for her.”
“What little girl?” Shannon felt the blood in her veins turn to ice. “What little girl?”
“Jonathan Dream’s daughter. Do you know anything about it?”
“DeeDee, oh no! Please let us pass. I have to get up there.”
“Your name, ma’am?”
“Shannon Summers. Please, let me through.”
A quick check on his portable phone and he waved the cab through the blockade.
Through the woods, on either side of the road, Shannon could see the men with flashlights moving back and forth. The gate was open. At the castle Lawrence met the cab, opened the door, and pulled Shannon to her feet. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “See if you can stop Jonathan from self-destructing. I’ll take care of the cab driver.”
Jonathan was in the study, staring out the window, his head leaning against the glass. Such wretched despair. Such aloneness. Such heavy pain.
“Jonathan?”
He turned slowly. He hadn’t shaved, his heavy five-o’clock shadow covering his scowling face with blackness. His wild gaze slammed against her, taking her breath away and leaving her heart without its beat. She stumbled from the force of his fury.
“Why are you here?”
“I came because—because I—because you were right.”
“Right? Fine. But you’re too late. It doesn’t matter anymore, unless DeeDee managed to find you and you’ve brought her home.”
“Too late? No, that can’t be.”
Jonathan watched her as she visibly gathered her courage and straightened up to the full height of her slight figure. What was he doing, punishing the woman he loved because his daughter loved her too?
“No, Jonathan,” she said, and took a step toward him. “You made me face myself and see that I wasn’t responsible for my mother. I was there for her for all those years. When I left her, it was because it was time.”
“Like you left us?”
Jonathan wished he could call the words back. Destroying Shannon wasn’t what he wanted to do. But he didn’t seem to be able to stop himself.
“Like I left you. But I know now that I have choices I didn’t have with Sofia. I can choose to be here, choose to take a chance. And you gave me the courage to choose, Jonathan, you and DeeDee.”
“Just like you gave DeeDee the courage to believe she could have the thing she wanted most in the world. Then you took it away.”
“I know. I was wrong. That’s what I came to say.”
“Oh, and what is that?”
“I love you, Jonathan. I want to be with you. Here, or anyplace else in the world. Nobody can create a fantasy world, Jonathan. Not even us.”
“Try telling that to DeeDee. She believed in your magic so much that she decided to go and find you. She’s gone, Shannon. Gone! Try waving that magic wand of yours and see if you can find her. We can’t.”
The man standing before her wasn’t the Jonathan who cut down the tree. He wasn’t the man who’d taken his two favorite girls to Fantasy World to ride the carousel. This man was the angry barbarian who slayed his enemies and fed them to the lions. He’d finally become the Phantom of the Opera, and he was being destroyed by his love.
Until she saw what he was working through his fingers.
The tiny, carved, pewter possum. He was holding it there in the shadows, in the light of the fire, staring at her with the stark need of a man who was dying.
“Oh, Jonathan,” she whispered, and held out her arms. “Please, I love you. We need each other. I’ve come home. Let’s not hurt each other anymore.”
And then she was in his arms and felt his trembling. She didn’t know who started crying first, and she didn’t care. They cleansed the hate and kindled mutual comfort as they held each other without speaking. Too many words had been said. They’d forgotten the magic of allowing themselves to feel. Now it came slowly back, thawing the ice, forging two beings into one.
Until at last Jonathan pulled back, lifting her head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was so afraid that I just struck out. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. You never believed me when I told you that I’d hurt you. I always hurt people.”
“Only because you love them. Love gives us the power to hurt and be hurt. It also gives us the courage to start again. We have to find DeeDee now, Jonathan. Then we’ll find us.”
He kissed her, softly, gently, making the kiss a promise.
“Now,” she said, pulling away. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
“Well, she’d been pretty quiet for a few days. Mrs. Butterfield said she was watching that television program about Kaseybelle spending the night in her friend Deanna’s castle. Afterward she seemed preoccupied.”
“And—what made you think she was coming to me?”
“She told Mrs. Butterfield. Though she didn’t know what DeeDee meant at the time. It was only later that we put it together.”
Shannon took off her coat and moved toward the fire. “What exactly did she tell Mrs. Butter?”
“She said that all she had to do was be like Kaseybelle. If she wasn’t afraid of the dark, the magic would make everything all right.
“It didn’t make any sense to Mrs. Butterfield. DeeDee isn’t afraid of the dark. It was the next statement that finally got through. She said that she wasn’t afraid any more. All she had to do now was wait for you. If you didn’t come, she’d go and get you, even if Daddy didn’t want her to.”
“But what makes you think she went to find me?”
“The missing food. She packed a lunch. And she took Happy. We haven’t been able to find either of them since early afternoon.”
Shannon stared into the flames. “There has to be some connec
tion between DeeDee’s disappearance and the Kissy Chocolate television program. She said she would learn not to be afraid anymore?”
“That’s what Butter said. But she thought she was talking about her legs.”
“No, that’s what Kaseybelle said in the program. She went to the castle tower to conquer her fear of the dark. The power of her magic helped her to be very brave, for which she was given a reward.”
“What does that have to do—”
“The tower room. Jonathan, have you searched the turret where I stayed?”
“I—I don’t know. Mrs. Butter and Lawrence searched, but DeeDee can’t get up there. Her legs are getting stronger, but she’d never make that climb.”
Shannon sprang to her feet. “Oh, yes, she would. That’s how she intended to conquer her fear. Come on.”
She ran down the corridor to the main steps, reached the second floor, and headed for the tower.
“But what about Happy? We’ve called and called. He would have answered.”
“Not if he’s in the tower. It’s practically soundproof. He wouldn’t hear you.”
“God, I hope you’re right.”
At the door Shannon paused, took a deep breath, and reached for Jonathan’s hand. If she were wrong and the room was empty, she didn’t think she could survive. “Don’t let her know how worried you were, Jonathan.”
The door opened to a room drawn in shadows. Happy padded over and gave both Jonathan and Shannon a wet, slurpy greeting before wandering through the door and down the stairs.
“She’s here, Shannon. Look, in the bed.”
DeeDee was sleeping, her tearstained face relaxed in innocent dreams. Beside her lay the Kaseybelle doll and in her hand was the magic wand that Shannon had given her for Christmas.
Shannon felt Jonathan’s arm slide around her, and she laid her head on his shoulder. She knew what it meant to feel peace as they stood, united, looking down at the child.
Then DeeDee opened her eyes, her lips curving into a broad smile.
“I knew you’d come,” she said. “I loved you here.”
“I know,” Shannon said, “I felt it.”
“And you aren’t going to leave us, are you?”
“Absolutely not, never again.”
Jonathan lifted DeeDee into his arms.
“Daddy, look out the window. Look at all the lights. Fairy lights. It’s the Milky Way, here on our mountain. I knew it all along.”
Dinner was a joyous affair. DeeDee explained in great detail to Lawrence about Milky Way Land, about the fairy lights. “That’s the way it will be when we get married,” she said with authority. “Won’t it, Daddy?”
“Hey, I think we ought to ask our bride, don’t you?”
But he didn’t have to ask. Throughout dinner he’d felt the tingling return, the warmth of the connection reestablish itself. If the linkage became any more pronounced, they’d probably glow in the dark. And DeeDee would think that it was part of the magic.
Jonathan had sent the searchers away. He’d even agreed to a televised interview by Noel Cross, where he thanked all the people who’d come to help. In a surprise gesture he also announced that the castle in the background was going to be reproduced in the valley below and turned into a center for the treatment of trauma victims. It would be called the Magic Through Love Miracle Center, established in the name of Mona Drew.
Finally, when DeeDee’s eyelids began to droop, Mrs. Butterfield suggested it was time for bed. She walked DeeDee toward the door, where the little girl stopped.
“You were right, Shannon. All you have to do is believe and you’ll get what you want most in the whole world. But sometimes it isn’t easy.”
Afterward, in the study, Jonathan took his coffee and walked toward the window. “She’s right, sometimes it isn’t easy.”
Shannon came to stand beside him. There was an awkwardness between them that hadn’t been there before. “You’re right. But anything worth having is worth fighting for.”
“Can we make it, Shannon? Can we get beyond the fantasy, the magic, and live in the real world?”
“Definitely not.”
He put down his cup and turned to face her. “What does that mean?”
“I’ve done a lot of thinking since I left here, Jonathan, about magic and fantasies.”
“So have I.”
“I believe that I’ve figured out the answer. All magic has as its foundation one thing that makes it possible. Without it, the magic would never be believed.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s very simple. The fantasy of magic is love. People who don’t have the capacity for love don’t believe in magic. I created Kaseybelle because I needed love. I believed in her for love. She is the love that kept me safe for you.”
“How do you explain me? I never believed in anything, certainly not love. Love’s brought me the deepest hurt and the darkest lows.”
“We wouldn’t appreciate the light if we didn’t have darkness, Jonathan. Love can only grow when we let it. You made your own world to protect you, to keep you and DeeDee safe for me.”
Jonathan thought he’d never seen such beauty as in Shannon standing beside him, looking up at him with trust and acceptance. She was giving him her love without demands, without reservation. Could it really be that simple?
“Is love another word for ‘magic’?” he asked, taking her hand.
“Oh, yes, and magic is forever.”
And then he kissed her. It was a gentle, giving kiss. Jonathan Dream would never be able to conceal emotions once freed. Like the detonation of a dam, the full force of his intensity and passion swept over her, propelling her beyond the mountaintop.
“Do you love me, Shannon Summers?”
“Is that a question?” she asked breathlessly.
“You betcha.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her up the stairs.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Where else? The Milky Way.” He climbed the turret steps, pressing her against him, planting fiery little kisses across her forehead and along her cheek. The fire zigzagged down her body, fusing with the blaze being fed by his fingertips until she felt as if she were imploding. Inside the room he let her down, unbuttoning buttons, flinging clothes behind them until they were both naked. The only light was that of the moon, streaming through the windows. The only heat was the heat they created with their need.
“You’ll always be magic to me,” he whispered, as he placed her on the bed.
“I want to be,” she answered, studying him in the moonlight. “This had to be a fantasy, my being loved by a scarred warlock, a night vision, a phantom who is too savage to be real.”
“I’ll have the scars repaired. I don’t need them anymore.”
“No, don’t,” she said, “I like them. They’re part of you. And you’re a part of me.”
And then he was. They didn’t go slow. Her arms were around his neck and her legs were around his waist. He was plunging inside her, joining with her, branding her with his need and searing her with his essence. Together they began to tremble. Together they died and survived, each knowing that this moment would never come again. Yet each becoming the other’s courage.
• • •
Snow covered the mountain. Lighted stars hung from every tree limb, turning the snow into a moving kaleidoscope of color. The world was a jeweled fairyland for the wedding of Jonathan Dream and Shannon Summers.
Jonathan created Shannon’s wedding gown. He took the gold from the sun and the silver from the moon, spinning an illusion that made her an angel. DeeDee, wearing a matching dress that covered her almost-discarded braces, led the bridal procession down the grand staircase, dropping silver flowers and golden leaves before them.
At the bottom of the stairway beneath a golden arch was Jonathan.
With his dark hair flowing roguishly across his shoulders and the devilish patch covering his eye, Jonathan looked every inch the Turkish king his blue-satin jacket ha
d been made for. As Shannon came to stand beside him, he held out his hand. Once they touched, he knew that the magic was there. The love he felt for this woman who’d filled his life with joy was not a fantasy.
The minister said the words, and they responded. After the ceremony the minister announced that they were man and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Drew, and Mr. Drew could kiss the bride.
“Mrs. Drew?” Shannon asked with lifted eyebrows.
“Of course, the only dream we’ll ever need is the fantasy we share.”
Willie, Mrs. Butterfield, and Lawrence watched as a shower of silver fell from somewhere above, covering the bride and groom and DeeDee with stardust.
But Jonathan and Shannon didn’t need the illusion. They carried their magic in their hearts. The stardust was only the visible expression of the promise of forever.
Beyond the castle the night sky provided a royal velvet canopy above the twinkling stars. Then the snow began to fall, large, lacy flakes that turned the mountain once more into a wonderland.
“Look, Jonathan, it’s snowing.”
“I’m sorry, darling. Looks like we won’t be able to leave right away for that trip to Paris.”
“So, we’ll stay right here, in our magic place. Will you mind?”
“No,” he said, lifting her in his arms. “The only honeymoon I want is here, with you.”
“By the way,” he asked later as they lay entwined in each other’s arms in the turret room, languishing in the afterglow, “when are you going to tell me about the possums?”
“Oh, that’s a tale for another time,” she whispered, sliding her body over his. “Will you wait?”
“Is that a question, wife?”
Wife.
Mother.
The promise of forever.
“You betcha,” she said.
THE EDITOR’S CORNER
Welcome to Loveswept!
We’re celebrating May Day with two exciting e-originals! Spring and romance come to Star Harbor for one sexy sheriff and the town’s beautiful doctor in Elisabeth Barrett’s scorching third Star Harbor book LONG SIMMERING SPRING. We also have Toni Aleo’s exhilarating debut TAKING SHOTS – the first in a red-hot new series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins. These books will definitely turn up the heat.
Night Dreams Page 14