Page 213 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

He snagged her hand and laced their fingers as they moved toward the railing and large drop-off to the water below.

“Nate, what’s going on?”

He slid his thumb along her skin. “Sanchez and I have been putting our heads together… I didn’t want to mention anything until after your big night.”

“Okay,” she repeated, swallowing and finding her shoulders growing tenser by the second, not quite sure what to expect. Nate was usually so upfront. It surprised her that he’d kept something from her.

He stopped and leaned against the metal pole. “I wanted to run some thoughts by you—talk to you about your nightmares.”

She licked her lips. “What about them?”

“I was thinking—what if your dreams are more than what they seem?”

She frowned. She’d been expecting him to say pretty much anything but that.

“Take the locket, for example,” he continued, holding her hand tighter. “You dreamt about it—were sure you’d seen it before. Then we found out it belonged to Samantha.”

Her frown deepened as she shook her head. “I’m not sure—”

“What if your dreams are little glimpses into your life before Samantha disappeared?”

“You mean like repression—repressed memories?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if you saw something. Maybe somewhere deep down, you know what happened that night.”

She shook her head more adamantly as goosebumps skittered along her skin. “I couldn’t—I don’t… Of course I don’t. I don’t remember her. I can’t remember anything about her no matter how hard I try.”

“It’s just an idea,” he said with a shrug. “I asked Matthew about it and he said it’s not entirely out of the question.”

She pressed her free hand to her stomach, finding herself suddenly nauseated. “I just—I can only recall what I’ve drawn and even that’s foggy.”

“It’s just an idea,” he repeated as he sent her a small smile and brought her fingers to his lips.

She nodded even when she wanted to be finished with their conversation—to get back in the Tahoe and go home.

He moved to hook his arm around her waist and hold her close. “I’m not trying to upset you.”

“I know, but I don’t see how it could be.”

He slid his palm along her back. “I walked out to the old cottage today—the one in Brewster’s Forest. The roofline you created looks so similar—identical.”

She remembered their hike weeks ago—the heaviness she’d felt as she took pictures of the haunted, shadowed place. “I’m sure it’s because we’ve walked out there before.”

“I don’t know. The rug you made looks like one Mini and Leah had picked out for the cabin living room. Leah and Lily mentioned it last night when they saw your dreamscape.”

She stared out at the endless Atlantic, struggling to take in what Nate was saying. Nightmares were bad enough. But horrible dreams that were actually memories?

“I don’t think we can ignore this. There are too many coincidences connected to the same place.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “One of these days, I’m hoping you’ll let me take you back out there—see what you think when you look at the cottage again.”

Her gaze flew to his as she pulled free of his embrace, barely able to tolerate the idea.

“Callie—”

“No.” She took several steps away, crossing her arms in defense. “I don’t like it there.”

“I know. I might be way off base about this whole thing… I’m not sure how I’m going to move forward until we figure this out.”

It was hardly fair to ask Nate to deal with the questions of her past and not participate. Oftentimes there was little she could do to help, but she could certainly give him a hand with this. “Let’s go.”