Autumn pushed open the glass door leading into the coffee shop. Terri shot to her feet and waved from the back of the room.
“Over here!” she called out.
Autumn wove her way through the tables that were packed with morning coffee drinkers and sat down in one of the small wrought-iron chairs, gratefully accepting the double-shot, non-fat latte that Terri shoved toward her.
“Thanks. Next time it’s my turn.” Autumn took a sip of the hot foamy brew that was her favorite morning drink and saw her friend frown above the rim of her paper cup.
“I thought you were staying home last night,” Terri said.
“I did.” Autumn sighed, catching the concern in Terri’s glance. “But I didn’t sleep very well, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Honey, those dark circles are a dead giveaway.” She grinned. “I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep, myself, but I bet I had a lot more fun.”
Autumn rolled her eyes. Everything about the two women was different. Where Autumn was interested in sports and loved being out of doors, Terri was obsessed with shopping and the latest fashions. And when it came to men, they couldn’t have been more opposite.
“I thought you stopped seeing Ray.” Autumn took a sip of her coffee. “You said he was dull and boring.”
“I wasn’t with Ray. I’m through with Ray. Last night at O’Shaunessy’s I met this really hot guy named Todd Sizemore. We really clicked, you know. We had this, like, incredible karma or something.”
Autumn shook her head. “As I recall, you said you were going to reform. No more one-night stands. You said from now on you were going to get to know the guy, make sure he wasn’t just some deadbeat.”
“Todd’s not a deadbeat—he’s a lawyer. And the guy is terrific in bed.”
Terri always thought the guys were great in bed the first time they made love. It was after she got to know them that the problems began. Autumn’s emotions were too fragile to handle casual sex, but Terri was far more outgoing and spontaneous. She dated as many men as she could fit into her busy schedule and slept with whomever she pleased.
Autumn rarely dated. Except for her two teaching jobs—one at the grammar school and the other at exclusive Pike’s Gym where she gave classes in rock-climbing, her passion in life—she was kind of shy.
“So I know why I didn’t get any sleep,” Terri said. “What about you? You didn’t have that weird dream again, did you?”
Autumn ran a short, neatly manicured nail around the rim of her cup. “Actually, I did.”
After the second time it happened, she had told Terri about the dream, hoping her friend might have seen or read something that explained the occurrence.
“Was it the same? A little girl named Molly gets into a car and the guy drives away?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“That’s weird. Most people have recurring dreams about falling off a cliff or drowning or something.”
“I know.” She looked up, a tight feeling moving through her chest. “There’s something I’ve never told you, Terri. I hoped I wouldn’t have the dream again then I wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
Her friend leaned across the table, shoulder-length dark brown hair swinging forward with the movement. “So what haven’t you told me?”
“This same thing happened to me once before—when I was a sophomore in high school. I began having this nightmare about a car wreck. My two best friends were in the car. And another kid, a new kid at school. I dreamed the new guy got drunk at a party and drove the car into a tree. It killed all three of them.”
Terri’s blue eyes widened. “Wow, that really was a nightmare.”
“Back then I didn’t say anything. I mean…it was a dream. Right? I was only fifteen. I thought if I mentioned it, everyone would make fun of me. I knew they wouldn’t believe me. I didn’t believe it myself.”
“Please don’t tell me your dream came true.”
Autumn’s chest squeezed. She never talked about the nightmare. She felt too guilty. She should have done something—said something—and she had never forgiven herself.
“It happened exactly the way I dreamed. The new guy, Tim Wiseman, invited my friends Jeff and Jolie to a party. Tim was a year older and apparently there was liquor there. I guess they all got a little drunk, which Jeff and Jolie had never done before. On the way home, Tim was driving. It was raining and the streets were wet and slick. Tim took a curve too fast and the car slid into tree. He and Jeff both died instantly. Jolie died a couple of days later.”
Terri stared at her in horror. “Oh my God…”
Autumn glanced away, remembering the devastation and overwhelming grief she had felt back then. “I should have said something, done something before it was too late. If I had, my friends might still be alive.”
Terri reached over and captured Autumn’s hand. “It wasn’t your fault. Like you said, you were only fifteen and even if you’d said something, no one would have believed you.”
“That’s what I tell myself.”
“Has it happened again anytime since then?”
“Not until now. The first time, before my friends died, my mom had been killed two years earlier in a car wreck, so I figured maybe that’s why I dreamed the dream, but now I don’t think that was it. I keep hoping this isn’t the same, but what if it is? What if there’s a little girl out there somewhere who’s about to be kidnapped?”
“Even if there is, this isn’t like before. You knew those kids. You don’t have any idea who this little girl might be. Even if she exists, you don’t know where to find her.”
“Maybe. But if I knew the people in the dream before, maybe this little girl is someone else I know. I’m going to check the school records, take a look at student photos. Maybe the face or name will click.”
“I suppose it’s worth a try.”
“That’s what I figure.”
“You know I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Thanks, Terri.”
“Maybe you won’t dream it again.”
Autumn just nodded, hoping that was true. But she couldn’t help remembering how vivid the dream was and how clearly she could recall it.
She finished her coffee as she got up from her chair. “I’d better get going. Class starts at nine and I’ve still got to change into my climbing clothes.”
Terri smiled. “Maybe this summer you’ll meet someone interesting in class. With all those hard bodies around, there’s got to be someone.”
Autumn ignored the remark and waved as she headed for the door. Terri was always trying to help her find the right man, but Autumn steered clear of most men. Since high school, she’d had nothing but disastrous relationships. In college she had fallen in love with Steven Elliot, a fellow student at Washington University. She and Steve had dated seriously their sophomore through senior years. Autumn was madly in love with him and they talked a lot about marriage and kids.
It seemed her future was set until that afternoon just before graduation when Steve told her he wanted to end the relationship.
“I just don’t love you, Autumn,” he had said. “I thought I did, but I don’t. I never mean to hurt you, but I have to get on with