Dream

Chapter 1

Lucy Monroe sat in her car watching the rain as it covered her windshield in a sheet of water. Her oldest and best friend, Thomas Kane, had asked her to meet him at one of the coffee shops in town at a ridiculously early hour. She knew it was due in part to his busy schedule, but it was also because he knew she hated going into town. The people of Belfort, Louisiana, had never embraced Lucy or anyone in the Monroe family.

She reached up and pulled her woolen hat lower over her head of silver gray hair, or the mark of the devil as some in the town referred to it. It was in fact, a very rare genetic trait that had been passed down through the generations. She wasn't an albino; she just had silver hair. However, now it was trendy, or at least it was in the big cities, in Belfort though it was still the mark of the devil.

The trait, along with the gift, as her grandmother referred to it, generally skipped a generation and her mother, Faith Monroe, had been born with thick black hair that Lucy had always envied, but it was the only thing for which she envied her mother. She was a useless soul, who had lost herself to drugs and men at a very young age.

Lucy's attention was caught by Thomas's bright red truck as it pulled into the parking spot next to her little, beat up car that was at least two decades old. Cutting her engine, she opened the door and got out quickly, slamming it hard behind because it was the only way to make sure that the door stayed closed. She then headed for the door of the café without looking to see if Thomas was behind her, knowing he was.

He bumped into her as she stopped in the doorway of the coffee shop to assess the situation. Only a few brave souls were sitting at the tables, and most of them paused in what they were doing as they caught sight of her. Pretending that they weren't there, she moved to a table at the very back of the restaurant while Thomas moved to the counter to order them their drinks, a tea for Lucy and a coffee for him. She kept her back to the room and sat with her hands on the table in front of her, not looking at anyone as she stared out of the window into the wet darkness.

"Thanks for meeting me, Lucy," Thomas said as he slid into the seat across from her.

"Does Hope know?" Lucy asked, reaching for her tea, and wrapping her hands around it.

"Yes, I told her." He nodded as he let his gaze slide across the people in the café, unafraid to meet their eyes.

"How did she take it?" Lucy looked up at Thomas, gauging the honesty in his answer.

The twisting of his mouth and the red on his cheeks let her know that she hadn't taken it well. Hope, Thomas's very pregnant wife, had never liked Lucy, she believed, like everyone else in the town, that Lucy was evil. She was also jealous of Lucy's and Thomas's friendship and felt threatened by it. It was the main reason that Lucy made a point of seeing as little of Thomas as possible over the last two years.

"She'll come around," Thomas insisted.

Lucy gave him a sad smile, Thomas had always believed the best about everyone, and she was thankful for it because without it he never would have been her friend, and other than her grandmother he was her only friend.

"So why did you get me out of bed at this ungodly hour?" she asked, the subtle play on words was not lost on Thomas as he gave her a grin. Thomas had always gotten her dry wit that went over most people's heads.

"You know the LeClair mansion?"

"Sure, we used to run around there as kids." Lucy nodded, remembering that it was the only place that she and Thomas could safely play together because all the other kids were too afraid to go near the site. It had been their playground, and she had a lot of fond memories of the times they had spent there.

Now, looking back, her lack of fear was probably another reason that all the kids had been afraid of her as well.

"Have you heard of a man named Zebadiah Abbott?" He watched her as she stirred her tea, waiting for it to cool.

"No, why? Should I have?" Thomas knew about her gift, he believed in it, but he wasn't sure how it worked, and to be honest, neither was Lucy.

"He is a very wealthy businessman out of New Orleans and he bought the LeClair mansion."

Lucy nodded, remembering that the house had recently changed ownership. "Is he going to tear it down?" The thought saddened Lucy, and it was a beautiful old house with an old soul.

Thomas smiled like he had won the lottery, and it caught Lucy off guard. She stopped stirring her tea, and her eyes narrowed as she waited to hear the rest. Thomas was notorious for getting them into trouble, and that smile was generally the precursor to it every time.

"No, he is doing a full restoration of the property. He's already hired two different contractors, and they both failed and packed up and left within a month!"

"Thomas!" Lucy said, excited for him. Thomas had been in business as a contractor for over five years, but he had a hard time finding work locally, and Lucy truly believed it was because of his association with her. He denied it, but she didn't believe him for a minute. "Did you get the job!" she hissed in excitement.

He nodded, his eyes dancing. "I'm going to sign the contract today, but I'll need your help."

"How?"

"The house likes you, and I need you there. Also, there is a ton of woodwork in the interior and a lot of built-ins that need restoration, and I know that you can do both. You'll be the lucky charm that allows me to finish the job," he insisted.

Lucy's passion and job was restoring old furniture, and she loved what she did, bringing long forgotten things of beauty back to life was soothing to her soul, but she only received the occasional order from an acquaintance that ran an antique shop, so the idea of steady work doing what she loved was thrilling. "You played in that house just as much as I did, it knows you just as well." Lucy shook her head, dismissing the idea, even though she was pleased by the notion of them being back in the house together. "Besides, I don't think Hope would go for it."

"I already told Hope it was a done deal, and I'm not working on the house without you Lucy." His eyes met hers across the table. "You need the work just as much as I do, and you know it."

Lucy sipped her tea and looked out the window. She did, things were tight with her and her grandmother, and if she didn't find a job soon she would have to go back to the big city to find one.

She caved. "Since your forcing me to do this, when do we start?" She turned to look at him, her light silver grey eyes meeting his soft brown ones, and a quick flash of his future filled her vision, blocking Thomas's excited gaze. She quickly saw Thomas, living in a large house, accepting an award, and wearing a suit. "It's the right choice Thomas," she assured him as she blinked away the vision.

He took a deep breath and smiled. "Thank you, Lucy!"

They talked a little more about the job, but when a steady stream of customers started to arrive, they both knew that it was time for Lucy to leave before someone took notice of her. They parted ways, making plans to meet at the house that evening before the both disappeared out of the side door.