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I don&039;t sleep in a coffin

I sleep in o to bed the moment the kids head off to school, and wake up a couple of hours before they get out Ideally, I could sleep through the entire cycle of the day, but I&039;m a mom with kids and ideally is out the

My sleep is deep and usually drea in ways that I can&039;t fully co my eyes, usually minutes after my children have left for the day, I aue So �Dor perhaps nearly dead�Dand the deep sleep itself revives me, rejuvenates me, rebuilds me in supernatural ways that I will never understand

And the moment my head hits the pillow I&039;oes off at its loudest setting I awaken grudgingly and exhausted, fully aware that I should still be sleeping, and that I should never, ever be seeing the light of day Nevertheless, I do get up I do face the light of day, and I keep trying to be the best mom I can

My sleep is usually dreareat bird I fly slowly, deliberately,slowly I never seem to be in a hurry

Sometimes I dream of my kids, that I infect thery for blood, shunned by society, living a secret life of fear and confusion and pain I usually wake up crying

Today, I did not wake up crying Today, I woke up with a smile on my face Yes, I was still exhausted and could have used a few more hours of sleep, but nonetheless I woke up with a happy heart

Today, I drea creature of a man with the broadest shoulders I&039;d ever seem and a lowed arin wasme in the deep dark woods Sometiest wolf I&039;d ever seen

In the dreaa behind the trunk of a massive pine tree as he searched the forest for , and I had a sense that we could do this forever, if we so desired That nothing could stop us Ever Finally, I stepped out from behind the tree and just stood there on the wooded path Kingsley, the otten about such hunger Pushed it aside I had assumed such a look would be forever lost to ust and horror

But not with Kingsley He hungered for me

More important: He acceptedhis face toflashed out of the corner of olden ao I tried to ask Kingsley about the amulet but he lowered his face to mine and took ht I would go again

And that&039;s when I awoke, s

Wow

A ot out of bed and, averting h the blinds,room There, under the china hutch, I found the box and opened it Inside was the medallion with the three ruby roses

I reached in and turned it over There was blood on it A tiny speckle that I had sley refused to discuss the ain, how could he have even known about the ain, I reminded myself, it was just a drea of another man? You are a married woman Dreams like that could lead to trouble

A lot of trouble

I returned the ain

It had been, after all, a hell of a dream

26

Before I becaent for the Departh its acrony as the FBI, uys; in particular, real estate scam artist and loan swindlers and those who preyed on the poor

Anyway, Chad Helling and I had been partners for just over two years when I had been forced to quit and find a night job He understood Or, rather, he understood the given reason

He and I were still close, and through hioverne, I did so work for hi "Hey, sunshine"