Deadly Dreams

by Mary Stone

  She closed the door and wobbled a little in her fancy heels. On the field to her left, a giant tent had been set up. With her mother’s help, she lifted her train and walked across the grassy field, to the tent, with its flaps open and waiting for her.

  Time to get this show on the road.

  The guests stood in unison and turned toward her, waiting for her to make the trip. The trip that would change her entire life and make her a wife.

  She looked over at her mom once more. “You’re not lying to me?”

  Rhonda laughed and hugged her arm tighter, almost like she was afraid she might run away. “Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now.”

  “Not about the man. Heck, not even about the event anymore. Linc planned most of it, so I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s mostly about the dress. It’s the one thing on the checklist Linc didn’t have a hand in.”

  Rhonda’s smile almost brought tears to Kylie’s eyes, she looked so proud. “That dress is so you, Kylie. Linc will love it, I promise.”

  She hoped. She’d gotten the stain on the bodice out, and then she’d spent a long time thinking of the jewelry and accessories she wanted to wear with it. She’d selected a pearl choker, and she’d decided to wear her hair long, with that long, romantic piece of tulle for the veil. Just like that photograph.

  “All right. I’m ready.”

  She looked over and nodded at Erik Coulter, one of Linc’s older brothers, who was handling Vader, the ring bearer. He dipped his head to go into the tent and walked the dog down the aisle. A moment later, she heard a commotion as someone shrieked. She peered in in time to see Vader streak down the aisle, tackling the priest like a football player stopping a first down.

  Kylie grabbed her bouquet tightly and clenched her teeth. “This is going to be a disaster, isn’t it?”

  Her mother craned her neck as the shrieks and gasps turned into laughter. The priest was laughing too. She patted her daughter’s hand. “Even if the whole world ends today, it’ll be just perfect. Imperfectly perfect. You’re perfect. Because you two are finally together, and today you become Mrs. Linc Coulter.”

  She smiled at her mom. Yes, that was true. In the grand scheme of things, what did Vader’s excited antics or the flowers or the tent or the dress really mean?

  All that mattered was that she was in love with Linc, and today they would become each other’s forever.

  “Okay,” she said again. “I’m ready.”

  At her nod, a violin quartet began to play the wedding march, and they proceeded to walk down the aisle.

  She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry.

  But since when did anything happen to her, and she didn’t cry?

  So, of course, she cried.

  The second she saw Linc, all the love she felt for the man slid down her face, mussing her waterproof makeup. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was the look on Linc’s face. It was a look of awe, of such powerful love, that it took her breath away.

  And what was that?

  Was he crying a little too?

  She couldn’t stop smiling, and it wasn’t one that she’d put on for the photographer or the video cameras. It was because, for the first time, she finally felt like she was where she was meant to be. And she loved him so much she felt like her heart was going to explode.

  When she reached the front of the aisle, Rhonda kissed her and helped her arrange her train and veil. Then she put Linc’s hand in hers and moved aside.

  Kylie gazed into Linc’s eyes.

  Yep, definitely tears. He couldn’t hide it this close.

  “You look beautiful,” he murmured to her, his smile so wide, she’d never seen him smile like that before.

  The rest of the ceremony was a bit of a blur. Vader disappeared with the rings to go canoodle with his girlfriend, Storm, who was resting on the side aisle next to Greg. Kylie got so excited for the kiss that she jumped into Linc’s arms before they were officially announced as man and wife. She tripped on her train a little when they turned to face their guests.

  But none of that mattered.

  “Presenting to you, Mr. And Mrs. Lincoln Coulter,” the priest said, as the whole tent—fifty-five of their closest friends and family—burst into applause.

  Linc wrapped his arm around her, lifting his chin proudly, and walked her back up the aisle. “That dress is really something,” he said to her.

  “You like it?”

  “Hell yes. You look like an old-time movie actress. That’s right up my alley. What can I say? I have a hot wife.”

  Her face hurt from smiling so much as they made their way to the end of the aisle. As they did, she finally noticed people she hadn’t when her eyes were focused at Linc. There was Jerry, her new stepfather. Jacob Dean, Linc’s best friend, along with his girlfriend, Faith. Annie, her best friend growing up, and her husband. Linc’s brothers and their kids, and his parents. All of them wishing them well on their marriage.

  It was growing chilly outdoors, so another tent had been set up for the reception. Before that, she and Linc went out to the field behind the house as the sun finished setting to have their photos taken.

  Holding her hand, they walked together, alone, into the sunset, the photographer following at a considerable distance. He leaned into her and kissed her cheek. “Are you happy?”

  “More than I could ever imagine,” she said to him, feeling like she was going to cry all over again. “This is like a dream. I never thought I could feel this way.”

  He took both of her hands in his and gazed into her eyes, his warm chocolate-brown eyes melting her, body and soul. “Good. I’m going to do everything possible to make sure you stay that way. That’s my mission in life.”

  He leaned over and kissed her as the sun began to disappear, painting the sky with a palette of color.

  Kylie got just the exact recreation of the photo she was hoping for when they paused in the field to kiss—with one addition. Storm had limped out to join them, and of course, wherever Storm went, Vader was never far behind. It was their first family photograph.

  When the photographs were done, they went in to the reception, to more applause. The DJ announced them as man and wife, and then they went onto the dance floor for their first dance. As “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley began, she smiled as Linc waltzed her around the floor, astonished. She didn’t even know he could dance this well.

  “Do you approve?” he asked her.

  “Yes, I do, but…how is this our song? What made you choose it?”

  He grinned. “It was playing in the vet’s office the first time I met you. Remember?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Was it? How did you…?”

  “Because when your world gets flipped around, you tend to remember everything, even the most insignificant details. I remember all of it,” he said, kissing her.

  After the toast from Linc’s father, they walked around, thanking all the guests for coming. Because it was intimate, she’d met most of the people before, and she felt the love swelling in the room. They went around as a couple, kissing a lot of people, fielding congratulations. When they stopped in front of Greg, he kissed her. “So, you’re taking a week off. What’s the honeymoon looking like?”

  She shrugged. “We’re going to the beach in a few weeks. Just for a long weekend. We need to be somewhere with the dogs, because of Storm. We didn’t know when she was going to have her babies. She’s about to give birth any moment now.”

  After the excitement at Tallulah Gorge, they’d taken Storm to the vet for emergency surgery. They’d had to amputate her front leg, but during the surgery, they learned she was pregnant. Both dog parents had been floored.

  Linc had never gotten her spayed, planning on letting her have a couple litters of puppies he could one day grow into SAR dogs. One day. And to a male dog of his choosing.

  But it appeared that nature, and Vader, had made other plans.

  Kylie and Linc strongly suspected that any day no
w, there’d be little Newfoundland/German Shepherd mix puppies running around the house. Yes, ten or so little Vaders…the horror. Kylie wasn’t worried, though, because thankfully, she’d have the Dog Whisperer around to train them.

  Though they both knew, as their old sofa and the broken handle on her new Jeep could attest, Vader sometimes defied even the best dog trainer’s directions.

  This was going to be an adventure.

  That was okay. Kylie felt ready. Ready for the next step in her life. Even if it meant not becoming a PI. They’d talked about it before, and since Linc seemed eager for kids, she admitted that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have to give up on being a private investigator and maybe start working for Linc full-time.

  No, she wasn’t a Dog Whisperer, but she could help him with his SAR videos and website, and around the farm.

  Though she hated giving up being a PI, which she loved, she was ready to do what she needed to do, because it felt like anything with Linc was the right choice.

  “Well,” Greg said. “Don’t think you need to rush back into work anytime soon. I know how you hate taking those vacation days, but you deserve them. Both of you need a little time off.”

  “Thanks,” she said, stroking his hand fondly. For a man who’d been such a grump when they first met, she couldn’t believe how much she’d come to love him.

  He straightened his tie. “So, tell me…don’t I get to dance with the bride?”

  She gave him a look. He was always so, well, grouchy, and he’d always harrumphed at her, whenever she’d tried to liven things up by dancing around the office. “You want to? I mean, you even know how to?”

  “Hell yes. And I know how you like to dance.”

  Linc grinned at the two of them. “Knock yourself out.”

  “Well, all right then. Let’s cut a rug,” she said, taking his hand.

  She led him out to the floor, where a slow song was playing. He twirled her around, and she followed his lead. For a big grouch, he was surprisingly graceful and light on his feet.

  “Now that you’re an old married woman, are you expecting to be barefoot and pregnant right away with that dreamy man of yours?”

  She laughed. Way to be direct. “What, are you trying to get rid of me? Actually, I thought it was you that would be barefoot soon, on an island, or your retirement yacht, or something.”

  He nodded. “Oh, that’s an idea that’s been batted around. But when you came on, I decided I had to do something first.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Me? What?”

  “Get you enough time under your belt so you can get your PI license and take the business over from me.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “You heard me. You ever think of owning your own business?”

  “Yes, but…when did you decide that?”

  “About fifteen seconds after I hired you and realized you wanted to do everything but what you’d been hired to do. I looked at you and thought, this is just the tenacious little thing this broken-down business needs to keep it going. Up until then, I’d planned to get the filing squared away, clean up the office, pull the shingle off the front door, and call it a day.”

  “Really? But…” She trailed off, just trying to imagine it. She was so shocked, she let him dip her. Right then, a feather could’ve knocked her down.

  When she looked back into his eyes, he was smiling. “Yeah. Tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

  “No, I have. I just…I mean, Linc keeps saying I could stay home if I want and work for him.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Hmmm. You want that?”

  She glanced over at Linc, who was dancing with her mother. “Well, that’s beside the point. We’re a team now. He has enough money to support us with his grandparents’ inheritance, and he wants me safe. He wants kids, and he thinks the business of private investigations is a little dangerous.”

  “Kylie, kid. You’ve been shot. Kidnapped. Nearly bitten by a poisonous snake. Had your car torched. Nearly had your fiancé murdered. I’d say Linc’s right. It’s been a lot dangerous for you. And knowing you, that’s not likely to change.”

  She nodded. “True.”

  “But I can tell you love it.”

  She nodded again, a small smile appearing on her lips.

  “What’s more, you’re damn good at it. So I guess it’s up to you, what you want out of life. I don’t think you can go wrong either way. But will you really be happy if you give it all up for good?”

  When he said it like that, she knew she’d be sad if she gave it up. It was something she’d need to give enormous thought to. “Okay, I’ll think about it. How would it work?”

  He shrugged. “Any way you want it to. I could stay on as a consultant until you have your license. The building’s a lease, so you can operate out of anywhere, but we can work out a deal and I’ll transfer everything else over to your name. The accounts, the assets, everything else. I don’t need it, and the business means more than money to me.” He gave her a wink. “Would be nice to see it live on.”

  She hardly knew what to say. They finished out the dance with her having a bit of an out-of-body experience, imagining what it would be like to run her very own business. For a girl who barely a year ago had been waffling around trying to decide on her future, this was a massive step.

  Kylie Hatfield, a business owner.

  Er…Kylie Coulter, a business owner.

  She practically shivered with excitement at the thought.

  She hugged him as the song came to an end, her mind still dwelling on the opportunity. In another six or so months, she could have her license, and the entire business could be hers.

  Theirs. She’d share it, of course, with her husband.

  All the goods, all the bads. The profitable clients, and all the danger that went along with it.

  She kissed Greg’s cheek. “Thank you. This is so much better than business cards. It’s like a dream.”

  He laughed. “Just don’t make it a deadly dream.”

  When the dance was over, she walked back to their sweetheart table in a daze. Linc was sitting there, having just said goodbye to his little nephew, finishing the last of his strawberry champagne. He noticed something was up right away. “You okay?”

  “Well…yeah. But I guess…” She stopped. It was silly to have a deep conversation like this, when the name of tonight was to celebrate their love. That was what she wanted to concentrate on. “It’s nothing.”

  He grabbed her hand and kissed it. “It’s something. Just tell me. If Greg is closing up shop, it’s not a big deal. I told you that. You can stay home, I can support us, and we can get started on that family right away. No problem. So—”

  “It’s not that,” she said breathlessly. “No. He is planning to retire soon, but he wants to leave his business to me.”

  Linc’s eyes bulged. “To you?”

  She nodded. “All of it. The accounts, the name, the assets. The building is just a lease but…everything else.” Even as she said it, she realized what a tremendous opportunity it was. One that was impossible to turn down. But she saw the worry in Linc’s eyes. She squeezed his hand. “I didn’t tell him yes. We obviously have to discuss it.”

  “Yeah. It’s dangerous. Especially if we have a family.”

  “You think your job is free of peril? After what we just went through with Tanner Peck? Both our jobs are dangerous,” she reminded him, cupping his face with her hand. “I wish there was a way we could combine them. You know, that way, we could keep an eye on each other.”

  He nodded, thinking.

  She waved the idea away. “Oh, but you’re going to be so busy soon. Training a new litter of SAR dogs? You probably won’t even have time to breathe.”

  “Now, wait a minute,” he said, his forehead wrinkling in thought. “It wouldn’t be a terrible idea.”

  Her heart jumped. He was thinking about it? Seriously?

  But then she realized they were both frowning
when only five minutes ago, they’d had ear-to-ear grins on their faces. They had to stay in this moment. That’s what everyone always said to her: Your wedding day goes by so fast. Enjoy every last minute of it.

  Right now, that’s what she wanted to do. She didn’t want to think about the future.

  She shook her head. “Maybe not. But we don’t have to decide anything right now, husband. Right now, I want to enjoy my wedding reception. And then my wedding night.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “Come on, let’s dance.”

  Kylie Jane Hatfield Coulter took her husband’s hand and led him to the center of the floor. “Oh What a Night” was playing, and when she stepped into his arms, nothing else mattered.

  33

  Spring bled into summer, and soon, Kylie had her brand-new PI license. Greg was still in the picture as a permanent consultant, but since he was semi-retired and living in a waterfront condo on Lake Norman further east in the state, she didn’t see or hear from him as much as she’d like.

  Still, business was booming. Because she and Linc had decided to combine the two ventures, she’d moved the investigations business up to the farmhouse, and worked out of there with Linc. Greg had given them the blessing to change the company’s name to Coulter Confidential, so the two of them had set up an office in the front living area, two desks butting up to one another.

  They had a very comfortable setup in what had once been the unused dining room of the house, with state-of-the-art computers, and of course, a Keurig.

  What they didn’t have was downtime.

  “Great, Ollie,” she said with a smile as she cradled her phone between her cheek and shoulder. She reached for some of the papers she’d printed and tripped over a tail. Then she went back, feeling for the back of her chair, and tripped over a furry head. “I’m so glad to hear things are good for you. Thanks for checking in. Talk again soon?”

  Kylie hung up and absently sat down on her chair and rolled up under her desk, stapling a report together. As she started to reread it, she felt a wet sensation on her butt.