The bed's shaking. For a moment, staring out into the darkness with the delicious electric blanket heat of Rune behind me, I think we're having an earthquake. But I realize it's Rune. He's dreaming, and it must be a nightmare.

I untangle from him carefully and sit up. The rain has stopped. Through the bright moonlight streaming through the window, I see Rune moving like he's struggling, muttering angrily at the same time. At first, I can't make out what he's saying, but as I listen, snippets become clear.

"Get off me," he keeps repeating through clenched teeth as he jerks and grapples with some unseen foe.

Oh God, is this about Franklin? I reach over and gently touch his shoulder, but he's so wrapped up with the drama playing out in his head that he doesn't wake.

"Rune," I say, shaking him firmly, "It's Shelby, you're having a nightmare."

It takes me three times before he finally hears me, sitting up and looking around wildly.

"Shit!" he jumps up and runs to the bathroom. I hear the door slam for the toilet alcove and then violent retching. I turn on the lamp on my side of the bed. As Rune continues to heave up everything in his stomach, I run into the bathroom, turn on that light, and fill the glass next to the sink with water. I run back into the bedroom, find his toothbrush and toothpaste in his toiletry bag, and bring those into the bathroom as he's coming out, looking pale and haunted.

"Thanks," he murmurs as he takes the glass. I watch him rinse out his mouth and spit it into the sink before putting a little toothpaste on his toothbrush with shaky hands. This breaks my heart.

I will myself not to cry as I go back into the bedroom and sit on the bed to wait for him. I don't want to kill Franklin Haus, but I'd like to make him very, very sorry.

"Do you need anything?" I ask when Rune comes in a few minutes later, sets the water on his nightstand, and flops back onto the bed beside me.

"No," he sighs raggedly, "thanks for waking me up," he's holding his hands over his eyes, "that was the worst dream yet."

I flip off the light and lay down facing him, running my hand over his chest, "Want to tell me about it?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asks, dropping his hands and staring at the ceiling.

"Yes," I say, scooting closer to him and linking the fingers of my free hand with his. Rune puts our clasped hands on his chest. His heart is still pounding from the adrenaline, making our hands shake.

"It's a variation of the same nightmare I've had ever since I got word my mom's medication had stopped working, that she was declining rapidly," he tells me, speaking quietly, his voice rough, "I'd asked permission to leave the set, to go home to be with her, but Franklin and the director weren't giving it."

"What?" I ask, astonished.

"Yeah, they wanted me to work another day while they found a flight. I refused," he says, picking up the glass of water again, drinking, and setting it down, "It felt like a weird power thing."

He's rubbing his fingers back and forth across his mouth much more agitatedly than usual. He's quiet for a long time.

"It's okay, Rune, whatever you need to say," I tell him, I lay my head down on my pillow so I'm not staring straight at him.

"That whole day was such a fucking nightmare. Both Uncle Hank and Julia were trying to find me a flight, while Franklin's admin team was warning me not to leave. I fell asleep at two am, after finally getting to talk to my mom and begging her to hold on until I got there. She'd been totally out of it with the pain. It had taken the hospital hours to get the right combination of medication so she could even be coherent. I wanted to leave immediately, but she didn't want me to make the drive at night without sleep."

He sniffs a few times, and then his chest shakes, and he's crying in earnest. I scoot closer and press against his side, holding him, being as present as I can for his grief.

"I had my alarm set for 5:30," he finally continues, "so I could get a few hours of sleep before driving home because I knew whatever Franklin said, I did not trust his team to do anything after the disorganized mess of the film shoot."

"Where were you?"

"In the Utah desert, near the Nevada border. Instead of waking up to my alarm, I woke up to Franklin going down on me," and as he says this, he starts to sob and curls into me.

I rotate onto my back and take his head on my chest, wrapping my arms around him, telling him it's all right as I caress his hair. We stay like that for a good long while, until he cries himself out.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I'm getting you wet and snotty," he apologizes in a shaky voice.

"Don't worry about it," I reach behind me, pull the hand towel off my pillow, and hand it to him.

"Thanks," he wipes his face and my damp t-shirt before laying his head back down on me, "I hit him so hard once I came fully awake I knocked him off the bed. I almost broke his fucking jaw. I wish I had."

"How did he get into your hotel room?"

"It wasn't a hotel. It was a rental in the condo complex where they had us all staying for the shoot. Somehow, Franklin got a spare key."

"He truly is evil," I say, flabbergasted.

"I certainly believe that now," Rune gives a shuddery sigh. "The worst is Franklin didn't leave. He stood there lecturing me, telling me if I wanted to go home, not ruin my career, and have a real shot at starring in Shogun, I'd better stop playing naive and start showing some real appreciation."

"God, what a monster," I kiss Rune's brow and wipe away the tears I can feel with my fingertips.

"Oh, it gets better," Rune wipes his eyes on the towel again, "He actually unbuckled his belt and started unzipping his pants as he told me all this as if he expected me to blow him in response. Somehow, I managed to push him out the door without killing him. Ten minutes later, I was in my car driving home for California."

**

The next day at two in the afternoon, Butterscotch and I are driving back across the Hood River Canal Bridge under a completely clear sky. But signs of the storm are present. The bridge has Jetsam and Flotsam strewn about, which haven't been cleaned up yet. I smile as I reach over to pat the dog's head. I'm so tired I ache, but I don't care. I'm blissed out, enjoying the gorgeous panoramic view of the forested Olympic peninsula in the rearview behind me and the Kitsap one in front.

It always amazes me how the water is usually smooth on the South side of the canal and so choppy on the North, moving into the greater Puget Sound. That mix perfectly reflects my mood. Mostly, I'm giddily content, but my heart is broken by how dreadfully Franklin has behaved towards Rune. I'm trying my best not to dwell on it. But it's hard.

We spent the first part of the day having a large late breakfast of blueberry pancakes at Lorelei's insistence and then tracking down a new battery for Gunnar's old truck. Once the guys got the truck running again, I dropped Rune back off at the Ferry, and Gunnar and Lorelei headed off to their cousin's horse farm for the rest of their vacation to help with the horses.

I'd love to be there too, but I don't know them well enough to invite myself along. Plus, I want to be alone with my wild array of emotions, and I can help best by drawing a coloring page for the cause. Gunnar promised to give me the details as soon as possible.

Since I'll throw myself in bed for a nap as soon as I get home, I call Vivienne to see if I can catch her now. She texted me last night that she wanted to connect today, but I didn't notice it until this morning.

"Girlfriend, I need some help taking my own advice!" Vivienne says without preamble when I dial her up on my Bluetooth.

"Whoa, what's going on?" I ask, surprised because Vivienne sounds genuinely rattled.

"I'm not quite sure what to do," she admits but doesn't continue.

"About…?" I nudge. This is so not like her.

"Tyler Perry," she sighs and laughs. She sounds as giddy as I feel.

"Are you working on his new series?" I ask excitedly, "Did the meeting go well?"

"I am. I mean, yes, I did for two days," Viv says, sounding uncharacteristically unorganized, "my part's all done for now."

"How did it go?"

"The filming was so much fun. The actors and the writing team said they really appreciated my input. And Tyler seemed interested in what I had to say. So yeah, it was great."

"So, what's the problem?" I'm baffled, "Aren't these all amazing things?"

"He asked me out on a date."

"Sweet!" I squeak. "When are you going?"

"I'm not sure I am," Viv says, sounding serious now, "that's what I need to talk about."

"Wait, why in the world wouldn't you go?" I ask, turning South off the 3 onto Big Valley Road. Beside me, Butterscotch looks excitedly out the window as if she knows we're getting close to home.

"Because first, I don't know that I'm ready to go on a date. It feels like it should be too soon. And I don't know what kind of date it is," Vivienne says.

"He didn't tell you if it's for lunch, dinner, or something else?" I ask.

"No, he did! It's for dinner on Saturday night, but I don't know…"

"But isn't he one of your dreamboat favorites?" I say, using one of Vivienne's favorite terms, "Isn't he the dreamboat favorite?"

"Exactly," she nods, "he's a lot of women's dreamboat favorite, just like your charming Rune."

"Yes," I say happily, "and I have a lot to catch you up on that. Does it seem too soon?"

"No, that's what's weird," she admits, "It feels exciting but good."

"So…" I am so confused.

"I don't want to bust my fantasy of him being this gorgeous, talented, and amazing person by going out with him," she says in a rush, "only to find out he just wants to fuck the black sensuality coach to check off a box of some fantasy bucket list of his."

Whoa. Vivienne's frank, but I've never heard her sound like this.

"I hear you," I say because I can understand that wouldn't be any fun, "is that the vibe he gave you?"

"No. In person, he's very down to earth. I mean, he's charming, but he's a lot quieter than you'd imagine since he can be so outlandishly funny."

"Maybe he just really likes you, Viv, isn't that a possibility?"

"Oh, he definitely likes me," she laughs, "he sent me a dozen hot pink roses along with the invite; they're my favorite color of roses too."

"Wow, who does that?" I ask, amazed, because this is something I've only seen done in rom-com movies. No man has every given me flowers.

"Exactly. Don't you think it's a bit much?"

"Have you experienced a lot of that?" I ask, "Men who are over the top in the beginning but just want sex with someone exotic."

"More than I can say," she says dryly, "not as a sensuality coach because I wasn't single. But as a successful black marketing chick in the Hollywood realm? Yeah, it happened all the time. Not with flowers, but certainly invites to top restaurants, and even weekends away. Being together with Matthias for so long, I sort of forgot about it."

"Do you want me to ask Rune what he knows, if anything, about Tyler?" I ask, "Find out if he's got a reputation as a player?"

"Yes, please!" Vivienne says appreciatively, "And now I want to stop chewing on it. Tell me all the news about you, and your handsome next-door neighbor."

"Oh boy, Viv," I say with a self-conscious laugh, "have I got updates for you!"