The pumpkin spice cafe

Cheers went up from the crowd, and shouts of encouragement and welcome pulled Jeanie’s smile even wider. Logan felt his own lips tip into a matching smile. For the coffee. He was happy about the coffee.

‘I am having a little bit of an issue, though,’ Jeanie went on. ‘I’ve been hearing strange noises at night. It’s ... um ... been very disruptive to my sleep and I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what it might be?’

‘Murderous farmers?’ A

‘It’s probably just raccoons,’ Mac suggested. ‘I’ve seen a few fat ones digging out in the trash.’

Jeanie shook her head. ‘I don’t know. It really doesn’t sound like animals. And it’s a bit different every night. Sometimes like a banging, sometimes like a scratching.’

Oh, the crowd liked this little tidbit. Suddenly the room was erupting in theories.

‘Teenagers! Out causing trouble.’

‘Just a little mischief. It is October, after all.’

‘It’s probably a stress dream. I do dream readings. Come see me!’

‘It’s been very windy lately.’

‘You’re just anxious, hon.’

Jeanie’s head swiveled from person to person, listening to each crazy suggestion.

‘Could be haunted.’

Jeanie’s gaze snagged on Noah, captain of the SS Ginger, the town’s one and only fishing tour company and Logan’s other best friend. Lover of tall tales and beautiful women.

‘Haunted?’

‘Yeah.’ Logan could see Noah’s auburn-haired head bobbing in assent. ‘Definitely. Those buildings on Main are crazy old. It’d be crazier if they weren’t haunted, honestly.’

Logan would chuck something at the back of his friend’s head if he thought he could hit him from here. He’d brought Jeanie here to find a more plausible explanation for her noise problem, not to further support her ghost theory. Although, looking around the room now, he did not know why he thought this crew would come up with a more reasonable answer.

‘That’s what I thought, too! But Logan thought that was a crazy idea.’

‘Oh, did he?’ Noah asked, one copper eyebrow raised as every head in the room turned to look at Logan. The question was written all over their faces. Not anything about noise or ghosts, but all about him and Jeanie. Mostly, how was he already acquainted with the cute new girl in town?

Nope, not cute.

Just a new neighbor.

He felt the heat creep up his neck.

‘I think there could be something to this theory,’ Mayor Kelly cut in before Logan had to answer any questions. And for a second, Logan was grateful. Until the next words left the mayor’s mouth. ‘Actually, now that you mention it, I had a dream about this.’

Dear God, save him. Not a Mayor Kelly dream. He really was in hell. This was officially the last time he’d try to save the town from caffeine-addicted zombies.

‘A dream?’ Jeanie asked, completely i

He rubbed his side. Hazel’s elbows were pointy as hell, and her glare was even sharper when he looked at her. But he kept his mouth shut. He had no desire to argue with her again about whether or not her father was clairvoyant. Another mistake he was learning from.

Never mind that, it was completely nuts to run an entire town based on your dreams. Even if it did happen to work out every now and then. And the town happened to be called Dream Harbor.

Mayor Kelly had stepped back toward the podium, ready to launch into the whole story of how he’d had a dream about becoming Mayor of Dream Harbor exactly one year before he was elected, and how he dreamt about that big ice storm before it happened, and the time he knew the nursery school had electrical issues and the electrician said he’d prevented a fire by calling him in time. Logan couldn’t bear it.

‘He has dreams,’ Logan blurted out. ‘Uses them to make decisions.’

Mayor Kelly beamed. ‘That’s right. Thank you, Logan.’

Jeanie glanced between him and the mayor, a bemused smile on her lips. She was having a good time. Damn it, if that didn’t make it worth subjecting himself to this insanity.

‘And your dream says that the café is haunted?’ she asked.

Mayor Kelly shook his head like she was being silly. ‘They’re not always that clear. But I did have a dream two nights ago about a stranger. That must have been you.’ He patted Jeanie on the back. ‘Although we’re nearly friends now!’

‘Get on with it, Pete.’ Some of the regular meeting-goers were getting antsy.

The mayor shrugged good-naturedly. ‘Of course. Anyway, in the dream there was a stranger in need of help.’ And then the mayor’s eyes lit up in a way that Logan found very ominous. Even more so when he directed his delighted gaze at Logan.

What now?

‘Oh, that’s right,’ Mayor Kelly went on. ‘In the dream, our very own Logan Anders was the one to volunteer to assist our new neighbor.’

‘Were there zombies involved?’ Logan muttered under his breath.

‘What’s that?’

‘Nothing.’ Logan waved a hand. ‘Never mind.’

The mayor had known him since he and Hazel became friends in ninth grade. He knew Logan as well as anyone, and there was no way in hell this was a real dream. This whole thing was yet another attempt at the town to get into his business. And after last time, he was determined not to let that happen.

‘I vote for just the wind. Are we done here?’ Logan asked, sounding like more of an ass than he meant to, but he refused to let Mayor Kelly interfere with his life. Dream or no dream. He also refused to notice the way Jeanie’s smile had slipped at his harsh tone.

‘You can’t just ignore the mayor’s dream, Logan,’ Isabel piped up from the side of the room where she was swaying side to side to keep little Mateo asleep in his sling. ‘You remember the nursery school.’

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Yes, I remember the nursery school.’

‘And I didn’t move my car before that ice storm and that huge limb came down right on top of it,’ book-club Jacob added.

Half the room was nodding at him now and throwing out their own cautionary tales about ignoring the mayor’s dreams. If he hadn’t lived amongst these lunatics his whole life, Logan might be appalled. But instead, he was just weary.

‘It’s okay,’ Jeanie’s voice cut in through the commotion. ‘Logan doesn’t have to help. I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon.’ She still had a smile on her face, but it was the fake one. The one she’d given him this morning when she was trying to convince him she was fine. It was the lost one, the one that tugged on him.

Damn it.

‘I’ll do it.’

The crowd stopped talking, pleased with itself.

Jeanie smiled at him from across the room. Her real smile.

‘I’d be happy to,’ he added. And to his surprise, he meant it.