Jessie thrashed around in bed, smacking Maddie in the face as she did so.

Maddie opened her eyes and looked around, trying desperately to orient herself. Suddenly, everything came to her: She was downstairs in the guest room. Jessie and Avery were asleep beside her.

Jessie began moaning softly. “No . . . No . . . Please -” She gasped. “Ike . . . Maddie! No!”

“Jessie,” Maddie said quickly, taking the younger blond girl by the shoulders and shaking her gently. “Wake up, Jess. It’s only a dream. Jessie, wake up.”

Jessie’s brown eyes flew open. She focused on Maddie and threw her arms around the older girl’s neck. “He was going to hurt you,” she gasped.

Maddie put her arms around Jessie and rubbed her back. “Sh,” she murmured, trying to keep the younger girl calm. “It’s okay. It was just a dream.”

“He was going to hurt you!” Jessie repeated.

“Who?” Maddie asked. “Jessie, who was going to hurt me.”

Jessie took in a shaking breath. “Ike. He was driving the truck in the fire department parking lot again and he ran me over again. And then he kept going and tried to run you over. Maddie, he was going to hurt you.”

“Oh, Jessica,” she whispered. She threaded her fingers through the little girl’s golden hair with one hand and continued to rub her back with the other. “Ike won’t hurt me,” she told her. “Tay told me that. You believe Tay, right?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah,” she whispered.

“Ike’s not going to hurt me, and he’s definitely not going to hurt you,” Maddie said. “Ever.”

“Why?” Jessie asked.

“Because he loves you,” she told her. “People who love you don’t hurt you.” Then, more to herself than Jessica, she added, “I know that now.”

Jessie looked up at her friend. “Then Ike loves you, too,” she said softly. “He won’t hurt you, so he loves you, right, Maddie?”

Maddie bit her lower lip. “Something like that,” she said. Before she could add anything else, Jessie was talking again.

“I’ll never hurt you, Maddie,” she said. “I love you.”

Maddie felt her eyes fill. “I love you too, Jessica.”

Jessie buried her head in her friend’s shoulder just as the tears streamed down Maddie’s face. “You should go back to sleep now,” Maddie said quietly.

“No,” Jessie pleaded, squeezing Maddie with all her might. “Please don’t make me go to sleep again. Stay up with me, please?”

Maddie nodded. “I’ll stay up with you,” she whispered.

“All night?”

“All night.”

“She had another dream, didn’t she?”

Maddie looked up from the dining room table. Taylor looked back, blue eyes inquisitive. “How did you know?” she asked.

Tay gave a little smile. “She looks like she’s going to fall asleep in her breakfast. Did you tell Mom and Dad?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Not yet,” she confided. “Tay, would you go with me when I do?”

He nodded. “Yeah,” he told her obviously.

She smiled. “Thanks.”

Just then, Zac walked into the room. “Jeez, what is it today?” he asked, taking a seat to the left of Maddie. “Jessie’s half asleep, Maddie’s half asleep, Ike’s still asleep. Must be the water.”

“Isaac’s still asleep?” Maddie asked. She glanced at her watch. “It’s nearly eleven.”

Zac shrugged. “Maybe he couldn’t sleep,” he suggested.

“Speaking of which,” Taylor prompted. “Don’t you think . . . ?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, standing up from the table. “You still coming with me?”

Tay nodded. “I said I would.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Zac demanded, standing up as well.

Maddie grinned at him. “I’m asking for your hand in marriage and Tay’s offering to be the best man. Okay?” she asked sarcastically.

Zac’s eyebrows pulled together. “Fine, don’t tell me,” he pouted.

Shaking her head slightly, Maddie took a step toward Zac and kissed his forehead. “Okay, we won’t,” she said.

Startled, Zac looked at her. His cheeks flushed and he sat down at the table, paying strict attention to his breakfast.

Taylor smiled at Maddie as they walked into the kitchen. “I still think he’s a little young for you,” he teased.

“Shush or you’re next,” she warned.

The two of them made their way into the back room. Both Walker and Diana were there, sitting on the sofa together. Maddie and Tay crossed over to them. Taylor cleared his throat. “Um, Mom, Dad, Maddie has something to tell you.”

Walker and Diana looked up and focused on Maddie’s face. “Yes?” Walker asked expectantly.

Maddie swallowed hard. “Well,” she began slowly, “the thing is that . . . Jessie’s been having these . . . nightmares.”

“About what?” Diana asked cautiously. Maddie could tell she was dreading the answer.

She tried to reply, but her throat was sandpaper. Taylor saw this and replied for her. “About the accident, Mom. Two nights ago, she dreamt that she was at the fire station and she was hit again. Only, Ike was driving the truck.”

Diana found her husband’s hand and squeezed it. “And she had another last night?”

“Yes,” Maddie managed to reply. “The same thing. Only this time after Isaac ran her over, he came after me.”

Diana closed her eyes and squeezed them tight. Walker sighed. “Taylor, wake your brother, please. You mother and I need to talk to Jessica alone.”

“There’s a park less than a block away,” Maddie said helpfully. “We can all go there.”

Walker nodded.