In His Dreams Read Online Free Page A

their meal, Jeff stopped himself, recognizing the old feeling-sorry-for-himself syndrome. He needed to take a long vacation and give himself a breath of fresh air. “I appreciate your invitation. This is really great.”
    Marsha leaned over to slip on her sandals. “You’re welcome. It’s nice to have company.”
    He stood and brushed off the sand from his damp swimsuit. “I’d better get Bonnie thinking about changing clothes.” He reached out and extended his hand to help Marsha rise.
    She grasped it and stood, then gathered her towel. “I’ll see you inside.”
    He watched her bound up the incline, still feeling the pressure of her small hand in his.
     
    Marsha gathered the dirty plates from the table, eyeing Bonnie’s T-shirt spotted with spaghetti sauce. Another smear clung to her cheek. She was nearly a teenager, yet so far from it.
    “Thanks again. This was delicious,” Jeff said.
    His comment pulled Marsha from her thoughts. “You’re welcome anytime.”
    “It’s nice eating a home-cooked meal made by someone else, for a change.” He slid back his chair and rose. “Thanks, Barb, for all your work.”
    “No problem,” she said from the living room. She’d taken flight to the sofa immediately after dinner.
    Jeff leaned back and tugged at the waistband of his shorts.
    “Need some exercise? How about a walk on the beach?” Marsha asked as she gathered the dessert dishes into the kitchen and slipped them into the sink.
    He didn’t answer but wandered to the screen door and gazed toward the lake.
    With no response, Marsha decided to wait a moment before breaking into his thoughts. She returned to the living room and lowered the wings of the drop-leaf table they’d used for dinner, then slid the furniture against the wall. “It’s still daylight, and maybe we can catch the beginning of a sunset on our way back.”
    “Sounds good,” he said, then turned his attention to Bonnie. “Want to go for a walk, Bon?”
    Focused on a coloring book, she curled up her nose. “I don’t want to walk.”
    “It’s good exercise.”
    Bonnie frowned and turned away from him.
    Jeff lifted his shoulders with a sigh and gave Marsha a hopeless look. “Not worth the battle. I guess we’ll forget that idea.”
    Barb stirred, closing her magazine. “I’ll stay here with Bonnie.”
    To Marsha’s amazement, Barb smiled at Bonnie with a playful wink.
    “We can color.” Bonnie sent Barb a pleading look from the floor and wagged the coloring book at her.
    Barb slid off the sofa and settled beside Bonnie, then grasped a crayon. “We’ll be fine.”
    Marsha didn’t know what to say. She gaped at her sister spread out on the carpet beside Bonnie. Being willing to stay back wasn’t the surprise. Agreeing to color with Bonnie was.
    “Thanks. We won’t be long.” Jeff knelt beside Bonnie. “Okay, Bon?”
    She nodded while focusing on the crayons.
    Marsha slid open the screen and stepped onto the deck as a warm breeze wrapped around her and she descended the three steps to the sand. As she ambled down the path to the lake, her gaze drifted to the tall grass and the myriad wildflowers—oxeye daisies, orange hawkweed and bladder campion—that flanked her trek to the beach. The bright colors stood out among the spikes of timothy, wild oats and oxtail. Sometimes amid life’s weeds, she’d found a few bright spots in her life. Today seemed to be one of them.
    Jeff strode behind her and, when they reached the beach, he motioned to the left. “Let’s head that way.”
    She nodded, slipped off her sandals, tossed them on the grass and walked beside him, feeling his arm brush against hers while they struggled to keep their balance as their feet sank into the shifting sand.
    Spending time with Jeff seemed strange yet familiar. It took her back to years earlier when life had still held wonderful promises. In her mind, she could hear Don and Jeff tossing barbs back and forth as brothers seemed to do, and the memory