| Chapter 7 Howie grabbed the phone as Nick stood in the kitchen watching Tara walk down the path to the pond on the back of their property. "Hello, Carter residence," Howie said. "Howie? Is that you?" Brian asked. "Yeah, how are you?" Howie asked. "Um, not to good, is Tara there?" Brian answered. Howie looked past Nick to see Tara walk over the hill, "Bri, she's not where she can talk right now, Nick's here though," Howie said. "That's OK, tell him that Lee and I are gonna stop by," Brian said. "OK, see you soon," Howie said and hung up. "Who was on the phone?" Nick asked still looking out the door. "It was Brian, he and Lee are coming over," Howie answered. "How'd he sound?" Nick asked. "He sounded like he was scared to death," Howie answered. Nick turned to look at him, "I've got a bad feeling about this," he said. Howie nodded his head in agreement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara made her way down to the pond and sat down in the grass next to the shore. She was still shaking from the dream. She had to figure out why she was having them again, and what they meant or it was gonna drive her crazy. Tara laid down in the grass and stared at the sky. It was a beautiful day, crystal blue sky and white puffy clouds. The birds were singing and a slight breeze was stirring the leaves in the trees. She watched the clouds drift by for a minute then she closed her eyes. God, it's me. Please help me figure out what's going on. Why are the dreams back? What is it that I'm suppose to know? I know I'm human now, and probably not privileged to know a lot of what is going on, but why would I have the dreams and these feelings if I didn't need to know? Please give me some kind of sign, if not for me for Brian. I know this is about him, but I just can't get past the darkness. And while I'm at it, why are Brian and I still so connected after all this time? I know we drive Nick and Leighanne nuts with it. Oh, and then there's Howie. I don't know exactly what's bothering him, but I can feel a sense of being alone when I'm around him. Please help him find what he's searching for. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick opened the door to find Brian and Leighanne standing there. Brian looked like hell, and Leighanne looked a little miffed. "Hey guys, come on in," Nick said. "Hey Nick, can I talk to Tara it's really important," Brian asked nervously. "Uh sure, she's out by the pond," Nick answered. Brian immediately headed through the house and out the back door. Leighanne walked into the living room to find Howie sitting on the couch. "Hey, when did you get here, and why didn't you tell us you were coming?" she said with a smile. Howie laughed, "It was kinda spur of the moment, but I got here this morning." "Lee, I have to ask this. Did Brian have some sort of dream or something?" Nick asked sitting on the couch. Leighanne looked at him, "Yes, it was an awful one too. He won't tell me anything about it though. Don't tell me Tara had one too." Nick nodded his head. All three exchanged worried glances. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian made his way to the pond and looked around. "Tara, where are you?" he called. "Over here," she said sitting up where Brian could see her through the tall grass. Brian walked over and sat down next to her. Tara could see the worried look in Brian's eyes, "You were there too?" she asked. Brian nodded his head, "What does it mean?" Tara looked away from Brian as a tear made it's way down her cheek, "I don't know, they aren't talking to me." Brian grabbed her chin and pulled her head around, and wiped the tear from her face. "What do you mean they aren't talking to you?" he asked. "Them," Tara said pointing towards the sky. "Oh, I see," Brian replied. "Brian, I don't know what else to do. I've been here since I woke up praying, and I'm getting nothing," Tara said. Brian could tell that she was hurt that she couldn't communicate with them like she used to. He took her hands in his and looked at her, "Let's do this together then." Tara smiled at him and together they began to pray. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne, Nick, and Howie were catching up on things when the phone rang. "Good Lord, it's Grand Central Station around here," Nick commented on his way to the phone. "Hello," he said. "Hey Nicky, whatcha up to?" Kevin asked. "Hey Kev, not much and don't call me Nicky," Nick replied with a laugh. "Yeah, whatever. Anyway, Kris and I were wanting to have a cook out tomorrow, you guys wanna come?" Kevin asked. "Who's gonna be there?" Nick asked, knowing what Kevin's cook outs were like. "Oh, just you guys, Brian and Lee, if I can ever get them to answer the phone, me and Kris, and Kira one of Kris's friends," Kevin answered. Nick looked over at Howie, "Kira? Which one is she?" he asked. "She's the one that owns the book store in town," Kevin answered. "Oh OK, she's kinda cute," Nick said, "Is she seeing anyone right now?" "Um no, and why are you asking that?" Kevin said becoming confused. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Howie is here," Nick said clarifying himself. "Oh, and Nicky's playing matchmaker huh?" Kevin said laughing. Nick laughed, "Well yeah, might as well." Kevin laughed even harder, "You charging for that service?" "I might. Anyway, yeah we'll be there, and Lee and Bri are here so I'll tell them," Nick said. "All right, see you tomorrow," Kevin said. "K," Nick said and hung up. "What was all that about?" Leighanne asked. "Oh nothing, Kev and Kris are having a cook out tomorrow, they want us all to come," Nick replied with a huge smile. "Why am I suddenly worried?" Howie asked looking at Nick. "What?" Nick asked. "Nick I know that smile, and it only means one thing---TROUBLE," Howie said. "No, No, one of Kris's friends is gonna be there, that's all," Nick said. Leighanne started to laugh, "Nick, maybe you better leave the matchmaking to people who actually know how to do it," she said. "Ha Ha, very funny," Nick replied. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian and Tara had been praying for a while when they could feel the presence of someone with them. They both opened their eyes to see Tracy standing in front of them. She knelt down next to them. "Tracy, what are you doing here?" Tara asked. "I'm answering a prayer," she said with a smile. Tara could feel Brian's hands shaking. She looked over at him, "Brian, do you remember Tracy?" He nodded his head, but was afraid to say anything. Tracy smiled at him. Tara turned back to Tracy, "What is going on? Why are we having the dreams again?" she asked. Tracy looked at her, "That I can't tell you, but I can tell you this. You two are connected because you need to be, the feelings that you two have about things need to be taken seriously." Tara looked at her confused, "Tracy, do you know what's happening?" "No, I don't, but I do know that we aren't the only ones at work here," Tracy said. "What do you mean?" Brian asked. "She means that angels aren't the only ones watching you," Tara said. "Brian, since you've been working on your solo album, there have been other forces trying to stop you," Tracy said. Brian's eyes grew wide, "You're kidding right?" "No, I'm afraid not," Tracy answered. Tara and Tracy both could feel the fear in Brian. "Brian, always trust in God, He will get you through this," Tracy said. Brian nodded his head again. "Tracy, why do I still feel like I have some of the power you do?" Tara asked. Tracy turned to look at her, "Because you do. You will always have it while you live here. And it will be there when you need it," she answered. Tara looked at her confused, "So am I human or not?" "You are human, but you're a human who we work through," Tracy answered. Brian looked at Tara and smiled at her. "Oh, I see," Tara said a little taken aback. Tracy took them both by the hand, "You two have a bond that not even heaven could break. Use it, be wary of your feelings, and act on them. That will be the thing that gets you both through what is to come. And always know we are watching." Tracy disappeared from their sight. Tara and Brian sat in silence for a few minutes, not really knowing what to say to each other. Finally Tara spoke, "Bri, I don't think we should tell the others about this." Brian nodded his head, "Yeah, sometimes I think they already think we need to visit the loony bin." Tara laughed, "What are we gonna tell them? They already know something's going on." Brian took a deep breath and thought for a moment, "I guess we'll tell them that we're sharing dreams again. We did it before, don't guess it'd be any different now." "Yeah I guess," Tara replied, "Bri, are you OK?" Brian looked at her and she could see the fear in his eyes, "If I lied would you believe me?" he asked. Tara shook her head, "Remember what Tracy said, trust in God. And I'll be here to, whatever we're dealing with, we'll face it together OK?" "OK," Brian said, "You think we should be getting back, it's already getting dark." Tara looked around, they had to have been out there for several hours. "Yeah, we better go before they send a search party for us," she said. They both got up and headed for the house. Chapter 8 |