The night was late, and a profound silence had fallen. Moonlight spilled its cool, clear glow across the ground.
The nights had grown increasingly cool with the coming of autumn.
Renee had just arrived home and was standing in the courtyard, listening to her furry children all chattering at once.
Blueberry said, "Earlier today, that peregrine falcon, Zephyr, came by. He left when he saw you weren’t here."
Pudding tattled, "Bella and Pippi had a fight today."
Bella hurriedly explained, "We already made up!"
Pippi nodded his head vigorously. "WOOF! Bella and I are best friends!"
Renee’s lips curved into a smile, her eyes filled with mirth.
"Renee!" A faint voice suddenly called out.
Renee froze, a puzzled look on her face. She murmured, "I think someone’s calling me. Did you guys hear anything?"
"We heard him," Bella said before scampering toward the main gate. "He’s over there!"
Renee’s gaze followed, and soon she saw a familiar figure standing outside the ornate bronze gate.
"Renee!" Sean Fuller, wearing a black jacket, waved energetically at her.
A flash of surprise appeared in Renee’s eyes. She walked over quickly to open the gate. "Hank, did you come by yourself?"
She glanced at the car behind him but didn’t see Michelle Fuller.
"Renee, I’ve run away from home." Sean Fuller sighed. "Can you let me stay for the night?"
’Run away from home?’
Renee found it amusing. She didn’t know what new game he was playing, but she nodded anyway. "Sure. Come on in."
She opened the gate wide.
Sean Fuller drove his car into the parking area.
Rhea Dempsey and Diana Jennings were still awake, discussing a TV show in the living room. They both looked surprised when they saw Renee walk in with Sean Fuller so late at night.
"Hank, you’re here. Didn’t Michelle come with you?" Rhea Dempsey asked instinctively.
Diana Jennings poured him a glass of water.
"Thanks, Sister Bella." Sean Fuller drank half the glass of water and then explained, "Aunt Rae, I’ve run away from home. I’ll have to impose on you all tonight."
Rhea Dempsey was speechless.
Her gaze shifted between her two daughters before she frowned. "Why did you run away from home?"
"I got into a fight with my sister," Sean Fuller replied.
Rhea Dempsey asked with concern, "What happened? Was the fight so bad that you had to run away?"
While Renee was off to the side messaging Michelle Fuller, she heard the pitiful, aggrieved tone in Sean Fuller’s voice.
"Aunt Rae, my sister doesn’t care about me at all! She thinks Ginny is more important than me! She’s gone too far!"
Rhea Dempsey and Diana Jennings knew that Ginny was Michelle Fuller’s Golden Retriever.
They hadn’t expected Sean Fuller to have run away because he’d lost a competition for favor against Ginny.
For a moment, Rhea Dempsey didn’t know how to comfort him. "Hank, don’t take it to heart. Just stay here for now."
"Thanks, Aunt Rae." Sean Fuller expressed his gratitude, then tapped his phone a few times and handed it to Renee.
"What is it?" Renee didn’t take it, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
Sean Fuller said, "That woman has sent me a ton of messages. Renee, can you reply for me?"
Renee took the phone, and as she looked down at it, her slender brows slowly furrowed.
The screen was filled with messages from Yvonne Morgan.
[Sean, I dreamed of you last night.]
[Did you know, we got married in my dream, and we were so happy.]
[We even had two kids...]
[Sean, has it been a long time since we last saw each other? Why do I miss you so much?]
[Sean, you’re the first person who ever made my heart flutter, and I believe you’ll be the last.]
[Did I scare you? Why aren’t you answering me anymore...]
Renee was at a loss for words.
’Yvonne Morgan really had a knack for harassment.’
Sean Fuller met her gaze and sighed, "Renee, I’m really at my wit’s end."
Renee gave him a reassuring look. "Don’t worry, leave it to me."
Holding Sean Fuller’s phone, she quickly typed in the message box.
[Yvonne, it must be telepathy. I dreamed of you too.]