CHAPTER 12
DREAMS
Jo awoke suddenly in the early morning, in her own bed. Ian had agreed to take her back home to get cleaned up and pick Clair up from Dean’s before Marie arrived. She was sweating and her heart was racing uncontrollably as she bolted upright gasping. She was having another nightmare but this time she remembered a few slight details. It definitely involved Mia and she thought she remembered Ian being there and although the rest was unclear she was left with a horrible sick feeling deep in her gut.
“What’s the matter?” Ian asked, rubbing her back.
“Just a bad dream,” she said dragging a hand across her forehead.
“Another one,” he said pulling her down into his arms and stroking her hair.
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? You’re drenched in sweat.”
Jo could not shake the sick feeling in her stomach; she got out of bed and headed to the washroom on the pretense of going to take shower. She sat on the floor and leaned over the toilet, breathing heavily, with beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. When she was finished vomiting, she decided she might as well have a shower and get ready to pick Clair up. She was sure that once Clair was safely away from Mia that she would feel much better.
“Would you rather I left before your sister gets here?” Ian asked, as Jo came out of the washroom looking slightly pale.
“No I’d rather you didn’t, she should meet you,” Jo said, pulling on a long sleeved shirt and tugging the sleeves down so they concealed the majority of her hands.
“Are you trying to cover your band of eternal bond,” Ian said smirking at her.
“Yes, and I want you to as well. I don’t want to have to answer any questions before I have a chance to talk to Clair. It will be difficult to explain a wedding that neither my daughter nor my sister were invited to.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” he asked.
Jo approached Ian and pulled her arms around his neck, “I happen to know that you are very resourceful and I have no doubt you’ll come up with something creative.”
Ian shook his head and made his way to the bathroom. He came out ten minutes later with his hair dripping and a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Will this do madam?” He asked, revealing a bandaged hand.
“I knew you would be creative,” Jo smiled.
“You do realize that it’s almost June don’t you?” Ian said, as he eyed her long sleeved top.
She stuck her tongue out at him in response.
Clair was just as happy to see Jo as Jo was to see her, and she seemed relieved somehow as she got into the car and continuously eyed her mother.
“What?” Jo asked laughing and taking relief in the fact that Clair was still wearing the Lapis Lazuli necklace that Lena had made for her.
“I don’t know, something is different about you,” Clair said.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jo said. “How’s your father?”
“He’s doing really well. Dana’s been ringing the phone off the hook, I think she wants to come back,” Clair said, with her eyebrows furrowed, “I think dad was waiting for me to leave before agreeing to it.”
“Does it bother you that she wants to come back?”
“Yes! Dad wasn’t good enough for her when he needed looking after, now he’s better and she’s ready to play wife. What a phony!” Clair was clearly upset.
“Well your dad is a grown man, besides I don’t want you worrying about him, you’ve done enough. I want you to have a good time with your cousins and enjoy yourself.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing them, it’s been a while. How’s Ian doing?”
Jo subconsciously tugged her sleeve to make sure her hand was covered, which drew Clair’s attention to the fact that she was wearing such a warm top.
“Ian’s fine, he’s waiting at the house to see you before you leave,” Jo said quickly before Clair had a chance to question her about her choice of wardrobe for such a warm day.
Ian was sitting on the doorstep waiting for them. As they stepped out of the car he approached them and gave Jo a quick kiss before taking Clair’s bag for her.
“Hey Ian, it’s nice to see you took good care of my mother while I was away,” then she caught sight of his bandaged hand, “what happened?”
“It’s nothing, I cut my hand on a broken glass while I was doing the dishes,” he said, making his way to the front door.
Clair hung back for a minute with her mother, “I forgot how hot he is,” she said, nudging Jo.
Ian had prepared lunch for them and the three of them sat at the kitchen table and ate while they waited for Marie. Jo was uncomfortable as she was so pre-occupied with keeping her rings covered.
When Clair went upstairs to pack, Ian picked up a dishtowel and joined Jo at the kitchen sink.
“I bet you wish you had thought of bandaging your hand instead of pulling your sleeve down every few minutes?”
Jo glared at him because he was absolutely right.
The doorbell rang and Clair came running down the stairs, “I’ll get it,” she said, with obvious excitement as she ran to the door.
Clair led Marie into the living room where Jo waited nervously with Ian. Next to Clair and Ian, Marie was her closest friend. Although the two of them fought as children, as most siblings do, they had grown very close as adults. Jo had taken it very hard when Marie moved away with her family. Jasper had to relocate due to work, and so Jo was left without any family close to her, and Dean had often complained about the long distance charges on the phone bill.
Marie walked directly over to Ian and shook his hand, “You must be Ian, it’s nice to finally meet you. My niece has told me all about you,” she said, stressing the word niece. “It seems my sister is trying to keep you a secret,” she gave Jo a playful look, “and now I can see why.” She looked Ian up and down from head to toe and turned to Jo so that her back was to Ian and gave her a thumbs up. “He’s gorgeous,” she mouthed and then gave her sister a big hug.
“How is everything Marie?” Jo asked, taking a seat on the couch and tugging at her sleeve.
“Everything’s fine with us, it’s you who have had an eventful few months from what I hear,” she took a seat next to Jo. “How is that block head of an ex-husband you have?”
Ian gave a snicker as he took a seat across from the two of them and Clair just rolled her eyes and flopped down on an armchair.
Jo gave Marie a reproachful look, “Marie! He’s fine according to Clair. I haven’t seen him.”
“What about that poor girl that worked for you? Have they figured out what happened to her?”
“No, they’re still investigating,” Jo looked thoughtful and fell silent.
Ian eyed Jo, she knew instantly that he had picked up on the thought that had just gone through her mind, but to her surprise it was Clair that spoke.
“You’re going to sell the café aren’t you?”
Jo was astonished, “I’ve been thinking about it.” She had not only been thinking about it but she had decided as much that very morning. The fact that Clair knew this unnerved her and she was even more confident in her decision to send Clair to Marie’s.
Jo caught Ian’s eyes and he raised his eyebrows and gave her a meaningful look.
“I had a feeling,” Clair said. “I guess I don’t blame you, I know I couldn’t go there everyday knowing that Stephanie was killed right at the front door.”
Ian leaned forward and looked seriously at Jo, “Are you sure? You love that place.”
“Like Clair said I can’t walk through that door everyday knowing what happened to Stephanie, and Anna is in no state to work, nor do I think that she’ll come back. It just seems like a good time.”
Marie patted Jo’s knee, “Well if you do sell, you’ll finally have some free time to come visit us for a bit.”
“That would be a nice change,” Jo agreed.
After ma
ny tears and hugs and promises to call, Ian and Jo waved goodbye to Marie and Clair from the front step. As they turned to go inside, the beautiful red rosebush, that Jo had made blossom at Lena’s, caught her eye. She had taken the plant home and planted it in the front yard where it had blossomed spectacularly. Jo walked over and pulled a rose to her nose and inhaled, she then snapped off one single flower and carried it inside with her. As she set the flower on the counter and thought about what spell she would use on it, Ian spoke.
“It’s not your fault you know? What happened to Stephanie,” he said hoping up and taking a seat on the counter.
“I should have been there,” Jo said, raising her hands over the rose, “I have been neglecting the café since I found out about what I am. Mia only went after Stephanie to spite me, it could be Anna next time or anyone for that matter.”
“You can’t possibly blame yourself for this,” Ian said, while unwrapping the bandage from his hand.
“I don’t,” Jo said, closing her eyes, “I just feel like it’s time to move on.”
She stood quite still and chanted something Ian could not make out under her breath. When she opened her eyes there was a stunning arrangement of red roses in place of the single rose that she had placed on the counter.
“That still amazes me,” Ian said, “Who are those for anyway?”
“Stephanie’s parents. Her funeral is the day after tomorrow. I really am dreading it,” she said, fussing with the stems of the roses, “will you come with me?”
“Sure if you want me to.”
Jo picked up the phone and called to set up an appointment with the real estate agent. She knew that once the investigation was finished she would have to summon enough courage to go to the café and clean out her personal belongings. She really did feel that it was time to move on, like she had reached a new chapter in her life. The only regret she had about selling the café was the fact that she had met Ian there, and they had spent so many memorable moments in her office together. Apart from that she was surprised at how easy it was for her to make the decision. It may have been the fact that she nearly killed Dean there, or the fact that Stephanie had died there, but it felt like the right thing to do.
Ian drove Jo to Stephanie’s house, where she left the arrangement of roses on the doorstep. There were several cars parked in the driveway and Jo assumed that family and friends had gathered to pay their respects, and she did not want to disrupt them. She remembered when each of her parents had passed away, she was grateful that people had stopped by to give their condolences, but she much preferred to be alone with her thoughts or sitting quietly with the rest of the family. It was difficult to make forced conversation or sit in awkward silence with those who didn’t know what to say. What bothered Jo most were the people who thought that it would make her feel better if they told funny stories, when the last thing she felt like doing was laughing.
Jo could not even imagine what Stephanie’s parents were going through. The thought of loosing a child was agonizing enough but losing your only child must be down right unbearable. Jo did not know what she would do if she were in the Grayson’s situation. How would she survive such a tragedy?
Tears began streaming down her face as she looked out of the window, praying she would never have to know the feeling of losing her little girl. Was it unfair to be grateful that Mia had not gone after Clair? Or maybe she just couldn’t get to Clair because of the protective amulet she had been wearing. Could it be that the only reason Clair was still alive was because of the necklace Lena had made for her? Whatever the reason Jo was extremely thankful.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the coolness of the window. Her eyes had been burning from all the crying that she had done since the previous night, and the lack of sleep due to the nightmare she had been having. The movement of the car was soothing and lulled her slowly into a drowsy sleep. The yell that escaped her own mouth jolted her awake.
“Another bad dream?” Ian asked, looking at her concerned.
“The same bad dream,” Jo said running her fingertips across her forehead.
“Can you remember what it was about?”
“Not clearly,” Jo lied, because this time she remembered exactly what the dream was about but did not want to discuss it with Ian.
“Are you okay to meet with the agent? I can call and cancel.”
“No, I want to get this over with as soon as possible,” Jo said, taking a deep breath trying to shake the churning in her stomach.
After meeting with the real estate agent, Jo asked Ian to drop her off at Lena’s shop and to go pick something up for them to eat while she spoke to Lena.
When Jo entered the shop, the bell tinkled its merry little tune and Lena’s eyes automatically looked to the door. She was in the middle of a conversation with a young woman who had long, wild, crimson-red hair and Lena paused mid sentence, holding up a hand to silence the young woman, and beckoned Jo over to them.
“Jo I’m glad you stopped by, I’d like to introduce you to Azara,” she said, indicating the beautiful young woman.
Jo took in Azara’s enormous emerald eyes, that closely resembled Lena’s and held out her hand in greeting. Azara hesitated for a second then took Jo’s hand. There was a sudden rush that Jo knew to be the same rush as when she had first shaken Lena’s hand.
“Another witch,” Jo said.
“Yes, Azara is my niece,” Lena explained, “and an extraordinary witch.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Jo,” Azara said. “My aunt has told me a lot about you.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Jo said, inclining her head slightly.
“Well Aunt Lena I have to go, we can continue this conversation later,” Azara said, looking relieved to conclude the intense conversation with her aunt.
“Please don’t leave on my account,” Jo said, “I can come back another time.”
“I wouldn’t hear of it,” Azara said smiling at Jo, “it was nice to meet you, I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”
Lena eyed her niece as she headed to the door, “I take it I’ll be seeing you soon as well,” Lena called after her.
“Of course,” Azara said grinning widely, as she stepped out into the warmth of the day.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important,” Jo said, turning to Lena.
“No not at all,” Lena said, waving a dismissive hand, “Azara and I were just brain storming. As I said she is a gifted witch and we get together occasionally to compare notes.” Lena studied Jo’s face for a moment, “What’s troubling you?” She asked.
“A bit of everything I suppose,” Jo said giving a hallow laugh.
Lena stepped around the counter and placed an arm around Jo’s shoulders, “I’m sorry about what happened to young Stephanie, she was a wonderful girl.”
“Yes she was,” Jo said, feeling tears building in her eyes once again. “I can’t believe she’s gone.”
“And Clair has gone as well, to her aunt’s, I mean. You’ve sent her away?”
“Yes, ” Jo said.
“It seems by the circles under your eyes that you’re not sleeping well,” Lena said, making her way behind the counter and taking out a small wooden box, “here.”
“What’s this?” Jo asked.
“My special tea,” Lena replied.
“I don’t have trouble getting to sleep,” Jo began, “it’s staying asleep that I’m having a problem with.”
“Nightmares?” Lena asked.
“Yes. I’ve had the exact same dream three times.”
“When did they start?”
“A few nights ago.”
“The night you were bound to Ian?” Lena asked.
Jo thought for a minute, now that Lena had mentioned it, that was when the dreams began. She had had trouble sleeping on and off since she first found out that she was the one who was supposed to get rid of Mia, but this particular nightmare began the night her and Ian bec
ame bound to each other.
“Yes,” Jo said wide eyed, “why is that?”
“Well I can’t be completely sure, but as I told you before, your bond will be much stronger now that you and Ian are joined with magic. Can you remember the dream?”
“The first time I couldn’t remember anything, I just felt sick to my stomach, and now I know why.” Jo looked down at her hand, focusing on the band that encircled her finger. “I dream of Mia killing Ian, she drives a stake through his heart in front of me, and I can’t do anything to stop it, and then I wake up suddenly, always at the same part. I never dream passed that.”
“It may just be a fear that you have and it’s manifesting itself into a dream,” Lena said, obviously trying to comfort Jo.
“But why don’t I dream of her killing anyone else? I’m terrified for Clair’s safety but I never dream of her harming Clair, only Ian.”
Lena thought for a moment, “I don’t really know if there is any actual purpose to your dream, although I do agree that it is odd to have the same exact dream, usually there would be some varying factors,” she paused seeing Jo’s distress. “Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can find out,” she smiled at Jo and patted her hand. “You should go, your husband is getting impatient,” Lena said pointing at the shop window.
Ian stood outside glaring in the window at the two of them, his arms crossed in front of him and one foot tapping the pavement. Jo rolled her eyes and went out to meet him.
The next two mornings Jo awoke with the sun, sick to her stomach after being jolted awake by her usual nightmare. On the second night she had considered not sleeping at all just to avoid dreaming, but Ian had talked her into having a cup of Lena’s tea, which helped her drift off quickly, but did not stop the nightmare from materializing. She now, once again, found herself on the bathroom floor. As she sat there on the cold tiles, with her forehead resting on the rim of the toilet, Ian came in and leaned against the doorframe. He looked at her in contemplation and then went and sat next to her on the floor.
Jo had made it clear on the previous night that she did not want Ian near her while she was being sick, but he couldn’t just sit in bed and listen to her, nor could he stand in the doorway and watch her.
“Go away,” Jo groaned.
“I’m not going anywhere, so you better get used to it,” he whispered in her ear and then kissed the back of her head.
Once she was sure there was nothing left to expel, Jo stood up slowly, taking Ian’s hand for support and insisted on brushing her teeth before letting him tuck her back into bed.
“Feel any better?” Ian asked, snuggling up next to her.
“Yes.”
“Good, start talking.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t believe for one second that you are this ill over a dream that you don’t remember, so you might as well spit it out. You’re not leaving this bed until you tell me what the problem is.”
Jo’s stomach churned as she reluctantly began telling Ian about the dream that had been disrupting both of their sleep. She was surprised that as she spoke and relayed the details of the dream to Ian, she suddenly began to feel better. The sick feeling deep within her stomach began to ease, and the clammy sweat that had broken out on her forehead disappeared. By the time she had finished retelling every minute detail of the dream and all the fears that related to it, she felt like her old self again.
Ian stroked her hair, “There, now isn’t that better?” He asked.
“Yes, surprisingly. I thought that telling you about it would make me feel worse, but I feel so relieved.”
“Haven’t you learned by now that you can’t keep things from me? I think you’ve forgotten how your thoughts affect me.” Ian pulled away from Jo and lay his head down on the pillow next to her so he could look at her and he took her hand in his. “We’re in this together,” he said, kissing the back of her hand.
Jo smiled at Ian, taking in his beautiful face. How wonderful it was just lying there next to him. She moved closer to him and kissed him sweetly, her mind and body suddenly alert to how much she needed to be with him.
“That’s more like it,” Ian said smiling, “I miss those thoughts. I was starting to think that I would be doomed to visions of Mia driving a stake through my heart forever.”
“You knew?” Jo said looking aghast and pulling away from Ian slightly.
“Of course I knew. Why are you so surprised? I’ve had a portal into your mind since the day we met.”
“So why did you bother asking me to tell you?”
“Because,” Ian said, brushing a strand of hair from Jo’s face, “I knew you wouldn’t feel better until you told me yourself.”
Jo shook her head and moved closer to Ian again. He was right, why was she surprised? He always knew what she was feeling. Why did she think that she could keep anything from him? A few months ago she could at least disguise her feelings, but now he seemed to see right through her.
She lay content in his arms letting her mind wander freely as she stroked his chest. He was so darn irresistible and she felt a stirring inside of herself that had nothing to do with nightmares. She had been so caught up with all the bad that had materialized around her, that she forgot about the good; about the extraordinary connection she had with Ian. It was comforting to know that she had him, he meant so much to her and she was just as determined to protect him, as she was to protect Clair.
Ian suddenly grabbed her and rolled her onto her back so that he was on top of her, and he pinned her arms over her head with one hand.
“I was thinking,” he said, kissing her on the neck between words, “are we going to have a permanent residence, or just keep going back and forth between houses?” He nibbled on her ear as he waited for her to respond.
“I don’t know,” Jo said wrapping her legs tightly around his waist and turning to catch his lower lip with her teeth, “I guess maybe we can spend some time at your house…”
“Our house,” Ian corrected, moving his lips back to her neck.
“Our other house,” Jo said, “It’s nice to have the choice don’t you think?” She said, biting his shoulder playfully.
“Yes, choices are nice,” Ian said, rolling her swiftly over so that they switched positions, and she was now lying on top of him. “Especially if we don’t feel like entertaining Marcus and Isabella, who by the way, have been ringing my phone off the hook.”
“Why?” Jo said, now changing rolls and nibbling on Ian’s ear.
“I don’t know I haven’t answered.”
Jo pulled back to look at him, “Why not? What if it’s important?”
“If it was important they would be knocking on the front door as we speak.”
No sooner were the words out of Ian’s mouth when there was a loud banging at the front door, followed by impatient ringing of the door bell, and the sound of Marcus’s voice calling them.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ian said, groaning and rolling his eyes. “Where are you going?” he then asked, as Jo got up and grabbed her robe.
“It could be important.”
“No, no, no,” Ian said shaking his head, “just ignore them, they’ll go away. Pretend we’re not here.”
“Oh come on, get dressed,” she said throwing him his pants, “they wouldn’t have come if they didn’t need to speak to us.”
Ian grudgingly got dressed and followed Jo down the stairs to the front door, feeling very bitter towards Marcus and Isabella. It was the first time in days that Jo was relaxed and happy, and feeling like her old naughty self, and he wasn’t about to welcome the interruption graciously.
Jo opened the door and didn’t know what hit her. Isabella flung herself at Jo and squealed something neither Ian nor Jo could make out. Jo’s first reaction was that Isabella was about to take a bite out of her, but after hearing her incoherent excited babble, she let down her guard. Marcus walked in casually behind her with an enormous grin on his face.
“What are you going on about?” Ian said, giving Isabella an irritated look.
Isabella’s voice was frantic as she held up her left hand. “We’re getting married,” she chimed, jumping up and down.
Ian gave Marcus a questioning look but remained silent.
“That’s fantastic!” Jo said sincerely, closing the front door and leading them into the kitchen, where she started pulling out ingredients for breakfast.
Isabella sat at the counter facing Jo; she was absolutely beaming. “Marcus told me that you offered to marry us, but we’ve decided to have an old fashion wedding so my family and friends can be there.”
“I’m thrilled for the both of you, no matter what kind of wedding you have,” Jo said, shooting a look at Ian, who was still glaring at Marcus.
Marcus stood behind Isabella and rubbed her shoulders, “It’s important for Isabella to have everyone there and seeing as you two are the only family that I have, it made sense to do it this way.”
Ian finally spoke up, “You came all the way here to tell us that you were getting married?”
“You wouldn’t answer your phone and besides we didn’t come just to tell you we’re getting married, we came because we thought we should ask you in person?”
“Ask us what exactly?” Ian asked uneasily.
“Ask you to be our Best Man and Maid of Honor,” Isabella blurted out, not being able to control herself.
Marcus walked over to Ian who was now standing next to Jo. “Ian you’re all that I have left, and it would mean a lot if you would stand next to me on my wedding day.”
Ian could not bring himself to be rude to his brother. Marcus was indeed the only family he had left and looking at him standing there, fighting back tears and shuffling his feet nervously, made Ian feel like they were little boys again.
“Of course I will,” Ian said, clapping Marcus on the shoulder.
“What about you Jo,” Isabella said, her eyes wide, “will you be my Maid of Honor?”
“The honor would be all mine Isabella.”
Isabella let out her loudest shriek yet and jumped off of her seat to embrace Jo and then planted a kiss on Ian’s cheek. This caught Ian completely off guard and he couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Marcus also gave Jo a hug as he thanked her quietly in her ear. Jo patted him in silent response as she peered over his shoulder at her own husband, who had a wide smile on his face. Ian knew by the look in Jo’s eyes that his moment of kindness towards his brother had just earned him substantial brownie points with his wife, and although it had not been his intention, he would be rewarded greatly for it.