Every Last Breath - Jessica Gaffney Page 0,5
bulldozer actually and there is the evil laugh. Like a demon.”
Dr. Gibbons clicked her pen. “What does that mean to you?”
“That’s someone is hiding something from me.”
“Okay. Is that something you can handle?”
Maggie huffed. “I have handled it; so why am I dreaming about it?”
“There could be a number of possibilities, but the reason you identify with the most is what’s important. Can you tell me when it appears in the dream?”
She thought about it. “It’s after I’ve fallen. Right as I’m calling for Vala.”
“And, has Eli appeared in the dream yet?” The doctor asked, studying Maggie’s body language and facial expressions.
“No, but I can tell I am looking for him. It’s more in a curious way, not in a concerned manner.”
“And why do you think that is?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it means I am not afraid.”
“Could it mean anything else?”
Maggie started to thump her leg on the floor. “Maggie, are you afraid that it means something that it obviously can’t.”
She took a tissue. “I think I’m afraid that Eli will become like his father.”
“But you know that fear is not real. You are raising a wonderful boy and Jack is not here to hurt him.”
Maggie had days when she wanted to scream. She didn’t care what the facts were Jack was still here because he was in her mind. And she wanted him out.
The session ended too soon, as most of them did. She didn’t mind the doctor’s suggestions, because it drew her out of the lonely levels of fear that often isolated her. The adage of you have nothing to fear but fear itself, was ringing true.
A quick prayer and two songs into her playlist, Maggie was ready for work. The kennel was a small house with a few outdoor buildings behind it. From the unmarked mailbox you’d never know the place existed, and that was how Klaus wanted it. His dogs were not for everyone and neither was he.
It was beautiful here. The air blew softly with a pickled gray sky. Maggie zipped up her coat and stuck her keys deep into her fitted jeans. Real women, Colorado women, didn’t carry purses. Make-up was minimal, which suited her just fine, and most of your wardrobe consisted of long sweaters, boots and rugged yoga gear, not that she participated.
Eli’s six hour school day, was a four hour work day, the drive to school from Klaus’s was over 45 minutes. It wasn’t much time, but it was worth it. Papers were piling up and the desk looked like something you’d find on a “Hoarder’s R Us” TV show.
She unlocked the office door and entered the wood paneled room. She removed the archaic clipboard from the wall and penciled in her hours. A quick survey of the room revealed Klaus had been cooking. He prepared all the food for his dogs, a weekly chore that took up the entire morning. The phone rang and she let it go to voicemail.
Turning on the computer, she reminded herself that Klaus needed to update things around here. It’s not like he was hurting for money. His security dogs ranged from five thousand to over twenty. He was the best trainer in the state, according to the Denver Police and the DEA. It also made Cascade the perfect place for her and Eli to settle down. Not that they did much of that.
Maggie was notorious for keeping to herself. And in this small town she preferred to use Colorado Springs as her base. Eli went to school down the mountain, and she accomplished other errands in that town, putting a forty mile distance between her and the city, should anyone come looking for them.
This was the West, the untamed part of America. Though the Springs was a melting pot, her county was mostly locals, and the town’s geography was not conducive for smartphone’s and other modern essentials. That was something Maggie embraced. It would make it easier for her live under the radar. She had deleted all her social media and web-based content, not even her mother knew where she was.
CHAPTER 3
Target was not busy for an early afternoon. Eli sipped his slurpee and pushed the carriage. She guided him around each turn, worried he may knock into a clothing rack or ram another shopper. The blonde haired boy was eye level with the handle, making some other patrons smile while a handful looked worried.
Maggie picked up some dog food with a super coupon her mother had sent her. She didn’t have time to