It was still dark when Matt awoke to a noise that he first thought was one of the dogs fretting to get out. He opened his eyes, trying to make anything out in the gloom, when he realized that it wasn’t one of the dogs. It was Holly. She whimpered and moaned, pushing against his chest, and she kept saying something.
“Please don’t,” she pleaded, pushing and pushing. “Please. Sam, you can’t. Please!”
Matt froze. Did he wake her, or let the dream play out? He didn’t want to startle her. But when she started trying to hit him, he didn’t have much of a choice.
He shook her. “Holly! Holly, wake up! It’s a dream, sweetheart.” He didn’t even realize the endearment had fallen from his lips, but it felt right for some reason. “Holly, wake up. Wake up.”
She moaned. He almost thought she’d fallen b
