Haunted (Wolf Lake) Read Free

year since the bedding had be en washed – yuck!  She had visions of flopping down on the patchwork quilt that covered the bed only to be overtaken by a massive cloud of dust.  It would be like something out of a dumb sitcom…or at least that’s how the scenario played out in Amelia’s head.
    “Laundromat tomorrow,” she murmured to herself.  She wasn’t impressed that her to-do list seemed to be getting longer instead of shorter.  But, she figured, that was her own fault for neglecting the cabin for so long.
    Amelia wearily trudged back to the tiny living room and sprawled out on the couch she’d vacuumed earlier in the day.  She was out like a light.
    The slumbering redhead’s dreams were filled with chaos.  Giant, elephant-sized spiders chased her through a maze of mirrors.  Her heart pounded in her chest as they advanced on her, snarling.  Apparently dream-spiders have fangs – who knew? 
    Right before her eyes, the spiders turned into wolves.  Amelia’s breath caught in her throat as she slowly backed away, trying to remain calm.  She didn’t dare turn her back on them for fear that they’d attack her from behind.  She inched her way backwards as she frantically tried to think of an escape plan.
    Then her shoulder blade hit a mirror in the never ending maze.  Amelia’s heart sunk and she could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate as panic set in.  There was no way out.  She was trapped. 
    Just as she was sure she was dead meat, Jake emerged from behind one of the mirrors.  He took her hand and led her to safety.  Amelia found herself standing in an exquisite , predator-free garden with her husband at her side.  His presence calmed her. 
    “Where are we?” she asked, looking around.  No one else was in sight.
    “It doesn’t matter,” he said dismissively, leaning down to plant a feather light whisper of a kiss on her forehead.  “We’re together.”
    Amelia felt her nipples stiffen at once as her husband stood close to her.  His green eyes sparkled with passion and his sandy hair fell across his forehead haphazardly.  She could smell his aftershave and hear his heartbeat.  If she really concentrated, she could swear she could feel the heat from his body.  She reached up to touch his face, wanting to feel his rough stubble against her soft skin. 
    Her hand went right through him.
    It was around that time Amelia realized she was dreaming.
    Amelia didn’t experience lucid dreaming often.  Usually the second she realized she was dreaming, her eyes popped open and the opportunity to control and actively participate in her very own private fantasy was gone.  But this time, perhaps due to sheer will, she managed to hang on to the edges of her fictitious world.
    Trapped on the border of reality and her subconscious, Amelia fought to remain in the dream.  Why return to a world devoid of her husband when he was right there in her dream, standing right in front of her?  True, she couldn’t touch him…but he was still there.   She felt him. 
    The image of her husband standing in front of her was fading.  It was as though he was becoming less and less by the minute, evaporating like water droplets on a hot day. 
    “Come back!” Amelia cried out desperately, reaching for Jake.  “Don’t leave me again!”  Once again, her hands slipped right through him as though he was made of fog.
    “I’ve never left you.”
    Amelia awoke with tears dampening her eyelashes. 
    She simultaneously loved and hated the dreams in which Jake visited her.  Being able to spend a few brief, fleeting moments with him – even if only in her mind – was precious.  But it was also torture.  When she woke up from a dream about her dead husband, Amelia’s grief was always magnified tenfold. 
    “I miss you so much,” she said to the smiling groom in the wedding photo on the wall. 
    Amelia’s stomach chimed in with a loud growl.  She looked outside and was surprised to see it was