Read Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) for Free Online Page A

Alex, leaning
back in her seat and closing her eyes, ending the conversation.
    "Yeah, nature." Nathan frowned, talking to
himself.
    Cape Fair, Missouri
    Listening to one of her favorite symphonies, "The
Planets" by Holst, Jessica wondered how and when the earth had become such a
dangerous place to live. "We've done it to ourselves," Jessica thought. "We let
our technology get ahead of our morality and ethics, using our planet as a
plaything and testing ground, all under the seeming assumption that if we
screwed it up we could always find another planet to live on."
    She sighed and closed out the file she'd
retrieved from the internet--something about bioengineering that was too
complex for anyone without a degree in the subject to understand. That was the
biggest problem with researching a topic on the internet. It was wonderful to
have access to so much information, but it was often too much information, and
lately it had all become a jumble of scientific terms to Jessica. Mrs. Philpott
had been right, she and John did have a lot to learn about the environment, and
they had spent much of the past two weeks researching the topic as Samantha
slowly recovered from pesticide poisoning. They had been lucky with Sam. Her
illness had come more from an allergic reaction than actual poisoning. John had
made sure they would not receive any more pesticide spraying of any kind and
was researching organic gardening and farming. The doctors still weren't sure
if there would be any residual effects; however, Mrs. Philpott had been
reassuring tonight when she came to check in on Sam.
    "John," Jessica called out over the hum of the
dishwasher and the rippling music flowing from the speakers. "What do you
suppose Mrs. P was after tonight?"
    John looked up from Richard Preston's The Hot
Zone with a questioning glance. Turning down the CD player, he asked, "What
do you mean what was she after? She came to visit Samantha."
    "Well, it felt to me that she didn't just come
to see Sam. She was preoccupied and distracted. Except for when Sam was talking
about her dreams. You know, that one she had about the earthquake--and by the
way, she is watching way too much TV with all that quake coverage since she's
had to be home in bed. We have to find more activities for her, but anyway,
when Sam was talking about the dream, Mrs. P was suddenly totally focused on
her. Like Sam was the only one in the room. No, wait a minute, that's not
right. It was like Sam and Harry were the only ones there," Jessica said.
    "Hmm...she did watch Harry pretty intensely all
evening. Like she expected him to sprout wings any minute," John said slowly. "Now
that you mention it, she paid a lot more attention than usual to Samantha. And
did she ask you if you'd been dreaming much?" Jessica shook her head. "Well,
she asked me, and then laughed it off when I asked her why she wanted to know.
You don't think she's getting into some sort of new-age creative dreaming
nonsense, do you? I really hope not because she's a nice, level-headed, old
lady," John said.
    "Nice old lady! John, you're terrible," Jessica
said, laughing.
    "Well, you are certainly my nice old lady, so
how about retiring for the night with your old man?" John said suggestively.
    Jessica burst out laughing and said, "Honey, you
just can't quite pull off that leering old man persona. Come on, let's go to
bed and I'll show you how much fun a nice, almost-middle-aged lady can be."
    As they walked out of the den and down the hall
to the stairs, John asked "Should we check on Sam?"
    "No," Jessica answered, turning to wrap her arms
around his lean, well-muscled body, "I did earlier and Harry is right there
with her to keep an eye on things. You couldn't ask for a better nurse. Now,
did I tell you that I received a package from Victoria's Secret today and black
lace is featured prominently in the contents?"
    "No, you didn't. And did I tell you yet today
how much I love you?"
    She laughed softly and, taking his hand,