Dandelion Wishes

Chapter 25

I love the new house.

We have all our friends staying with us until we find a place. Katie and Jared get a room, Chase and Abby get a room, Andrew and Danielle get a room, and Parker and Gabby get a room. Our house is six bedrooms. We have a spare. We all fit comfortably. Our property is three acres and we have a pool, a hot tub, and we put up fences and a barn, so now Midnight is home with us.

I'm opening a third store here in Portland. It's three in the morning and I can't sleep.

I've been trying for hours but my body just won't shut down.

I look at my husband's sleeping form. His chest moves up and down slowly. His messy dark hair is across his forehead. I reach over the brush his hair our of his eyes, and I kiss his forehead.

He's not holding me tonight.

We normally fall asleep holding each other, but most days we wake up and my arm is on his chest or I'm spooning him.

His right hand is above his head and his left is out, hanging off the side of the bed.

I sit up.

Normally people say if you can't sleep to get up and walk around. I kiss Ty's forehead and jump in the shower. I throw on one of his shirts and a white thong. We had sex tonight so I was naked to start with. I throw my wet hair into a messy bun and tiptoe downstairs. I walk normally once I'm downstairs because all the bedrooms are upstairs so I won't wake anyone up. I get a glass down from the cabinet and fill it with water, take a sip, and set it on the counter. I let out a low hiss when I stub my toe on the island. I reach for the island top, holding my hurt toe, jumping up and down like a baby. My hand hits my cup and knocks it off of the counter onto the floor. I sigh, irritated, and pick up the plastic cup. I put it in the sink and turn on my heel to head to the linen closet in the living room. I slip in the water and go crashing down next to the island. I slam into the wall of it and fight a temper tantrum when I break the wall of the island.

Pissed, I peer at it through the darkness, and then I reach over and open the fridge to let some light in so I can see.

Confused, I see a dark hole.

I don't think I broke the cabinet.

I shut the fridge and clean up the water, and then I get a flashlight from the first drawer and climb into the hole.

I shut the door and shine my flashlight on the back.

It has a handle.

Good.

I shine my light around.

I'm sitting on a staircase.

Crouching, I move down. Once I'm further away from the kitchen floor, I stand up straight. I go all the way downstairs. I flip a nearby switch.

Light floods the room and I gasp. I'm standing in a library. There is a ladder that is hooked to the bookshelf.

It's a two story library, but you get books that are too high to reach from the latter. There is a fireplace, a couch, and a coffee table.

The book shelves are stocked.

I look at the door next to the stairs. It opens to a hall. I follow it and it opens into a bathroom with a sink, toilet, shower, and tub. I go back into the library and look around.

Silently, I pull a book off the shelf.

It's Twilight.

I pull random books and some are from our time today and some are from the eighteen hundreds.