Read Online Second Chances by Kathy Ivan - Free Book Online

over by the old house where we grew up.   Its twilight, just starting to turn dark and the park lights turn on.  Sharon’s not in the dream but I can feel her close by, as if she’s a part of it, but separate, waiting." 
    "That doesn’t sound too bad so far."
    "It’s not.  Like I said, it’s not a bad dream or a nightmare.  I’ve just been having the dream a lot recently.  Nearly every night.
    "The same dream?"  Rose voiced the question softly.
    "Pretty much it’s the same. Little tweaks here and there, but the message is always the same.  Terry wants something—something I can’t give him."   Regret and sadness filled Ryan’s voice. 
    "Can’t?"
    "What he wants is impossible."
    "Terry wasn’t the kind of man who’d ask for something if it was impossible.  He always found a way to make the impossible not only possible but probable.  Never took no for an answer."
    Ryan laughed.  "Yeah, you knew him pretty well, didn’t you?  Terry always found a way to get what he wanted.  Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."
    "What does he want?"
    "He wants to come back."
    He watched Rose’s eyes widen at his words, heard her sharply indrawn gasp, but she remained silent studying him intently.  What is she thinking?  Does she think I’ve lost my mind? 
    "Terry wants to spend one more night with Sharon.  Here at the lodge where they spent the first and only night of their honeymoon together."
    "Ryan, you know that can’t happen."  A hint of sadness filled Rose’s whispered reply. 
    "Of course I know it."  Ryan’s voice hissed out in a strangled whisper.  "I miss my brother, but I’m not crazy.  He and Sharon are dead.  There’s no coming back from that.  It’s just . . ."
    Ryan’s hand speared through his hair, before he rubbed his sweating palm across his trouser leg, wicking away the dampness, the nervous gesture incongruous with his outwardly calm exterior.  Damn it, I’m blowing this.  Just calm down, talk it through.
    "In the dream, Terry says they have one chance to come back, to be together."
    "Tell me, honey."  Rose’s quiet tone was filled with love, no condemnation, and it touched him to the depths of his soul.  He knew she loved him, he never questioned that fact.  They’d been together for three years before they’d gotten married, had been married for five years.  It never got old, but it had gotten—comfortable.  He couldn’t imagine a life without her, didn’t think he’d ever loved her more than he did at that moment. 
    "In The Dream , Terry says the veil between our world and his, our reality, is at its thinnest on the anniversary of their deaths.  They could come through on that night if they have a host.  Bodies they can occupy so they can be together. "
    Ryan saw the moment everything clicked and she realized exactly what he was saying.  Saw the slight tremor in her hand as she picked up her crystal glass and drained the water in one gulp.  Watched her place the empty glass carefully and precisely back onto the tabletop and fold her hands in her lap, fingers entwined.
    "You want us to be their hosts?"
    "Am I insane, Rosie, to even consider something like this?  I’d do anything for Terry and Sharon if I could, but this, it’s so out there."
    "In your heart do you believe they can come back, even for the one night?"
    Ryan stared at his wife, searched her face for a clue to her thoughts, what she felt.  He knew this moment marked a make it or break it point in their relationship.  They’d never lied to each other or tried to hide the truth of any situation, big or small, and he wasn’t going to start now.  Not when this was so important. 
    "Yes, I believe."
    Smiling, Rose reached across the table and took his hand in hers.  He stared down at their linked fingers before looking back at her.  Her blue eyes sparkled in the glow of the candlelight, a twinkle in their depths. 
    "It’s crazy.  Then again, you and I have always been a little crazy,