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“But the ring…” I insist.
“Easy, Bree,” my brother says.
“It’s all right,” Ennis says. “A few months later, I had a horrid dream about Patty. I can’t recall the details—I couldn’t then, even though it caused me to wake up in a cold sweat—but the gist was that something terrible had happened to Patty in Colorado.”
“Which it did,” I say.
“Yes, though I didn’t know that at the time. But I felt I had to investigate, so I returned to Colorado…and this time, I took the ring.”
“For Patty?”
“Yes. If I found her, I was going to slip it on her finger and never let her go.” He chuckles softly. “I never did like the ring, but the color…just like Patty’s hair. It’s like it had been mined specifically for her.” He closes his eyes.
ENNIS
I returned to the same hotel—the only one in Snow Creek—and was walking around town, still feeling a profound loss, when I saw Daphne exit the small medical building.
“Daphne, love?”
She turned and ran into my arms. “Ennis! What are you doing here?”
“Just walking around town a bit. I had no idea you were here.”
Daphne broke the embrace. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to town!”
“I didn’t know I was until two days ago. It was a rash decision.”
“Oh. Is everything okay?”
“I had a nightmare about Patty, and I had to come.”
“Patty? I figured she was still in Africa.”
“She is, as far as I know. But I had this horrid dream about her. That something terrible had happened. Here. In Colorado.”
“I’m so sorry. But why would that make you want to come all the way out here? Not that I’m sorry. It’s wonderful to see you. You should stay with us on the ranch.”
“That’s kind of you, but I’ve already booked a room at the hotel. The same room Patty and I stayed in when…”
“Oh. That’s an eerie coincidence.”
“Actually, I requested it.”
“Why would you do that?”
A chill raced up my neck. I had no answer for her. “I don’t know. I just did. I said the words before I thought about them.”
“Are you still in love with her, Ennis?”
I nodded. “It’s only been a little over three months. I’ve tried getting over her. Tried telling myself that she left me. That leaving her home was more important than I was. I can’t fault her. The Peace Corps is amazing. But she never once mentioned the thought to me. I’ve always thought it strange that she just left without saying anything to anyone. Especially not to me or to you. So when I had the dream, I couldn’t help but be freaked out by it.”
“It was just a dream, Ennis.”
“I know that, love. But haven’t you ever had a dream that spoke to you? That felt so damned real you could almost feel it?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I have, actually.”
“Then you know what I mean.”
