Part 27 (1/2)

FOG HAD SETTLED OVER THE WATER, and Kari strained to see across the deck. She heard a voice and realized there was someone else on the boat, someone besides her and Tim. It was a woman, and she was laughing.

”He loves me, not you ... face the facts.” Her cold, cackling voice sent a s.h.i.+ver down Kari's spine.

”Ashley?” Kari peered through the cloud cover once more, but couldn't make out the woman's face.

Whoever she was, Tim sat beside her, his arms crossed. And at the mention of Ashley's name he released a loud huff. ”Ashley's not here. Don't you know who it is, Kari?”

Anxiety squeezed her ability to breathe. She stared at Tim and saw not even the slightest trace of love. ”I guess I thought” ”Kari ... Kari, it's me!” Before she could finish her sentence, a voice she knew and loved called at her from the distant sh.o.r.e. Ryan. It was Ryan Taylor-she was sure of it.

She spun in the direction of the beach, but through the thick cloud covering all she could make out was a far-off, shadowy image. ”Ryan?”

236 Tim jumped up and grabbed her wrist, squeezing it until she winced in pain.

”So that's it. You're still seeing Ryan Taylor? I knew it!” His voice rose. ”It was always Ryan, wasn't it? You always loved him more.”

Kari shook her head, her throat thick with fear. ”That isn't true. I love you, Tim. I want our marriage to work. I want things to-be right”

”Aren't you finished with her yet?” A slinky blonde walked up and circled her arms seductively around Tim's neck. She leaned down and covered his throat with small kisses, working her way toward his lips.

Kari felt her eyes grow wide. ”Get away from him!” She stood and glared at the woman, her heart pounding out a rhythm she didn't recognize. ”He's my husband!”

There was a thud, and the boat made a sudden stop. Water rushed across the deck and came up around their ankles. Tim released his hold on Kari and glared at her as he leaned into the blonde. ”I don't want you, Kari. I never have.”

He laughed at her as his words faded into the damp air. The fog was lifting now, and Kari's heart rate doubled. There was a hole in the boat. They had two minutes-three at the most before they sank. Even now the water was almost to their knees. Kari stared at Tim and the other woman and struggled to understand what was happening. ”You have to try. You can't just give up on everything we promised each other.”

”Kari, can you hear me?” Ryan's voice stopped her short, and she turned once more toward the sh.o.r.e. This time she could see him, tall and handsome, his eyes filled with a love that shone across the murky lake.

”I can't, Ryan.” She began to cry even before she finished saying his name. ”I'm married.”

He shook his head. ”You're going to drown, Kari. Jump! Get out of the boat before it's too late.”

Kari's entire body shook with fear. Ryan was right. She looked back at Tim, but the woman was sitting on his knee now, running her fingers through his hair.

Kari shouted the warning: 237.

”We're going to sink!” But neither of them made any response whatsoever.

Ryan's voice came again, more urgent this time. ”Jump, Kari ... please. I'm here ... I'll help you!”

The water was up to her waist, but before she could speak, before she could make up her mind about whether to stay in the sinking boat or swim for sh.o.r.e, she felt a sudden lurching followed by a crackling sound as the boat fell apart beneath her. Tim and the other woman disappeared beneath the water, their arms around each other as if unaware that they were sinking.

”Ryan, help me!” Water ran into her mouth. Just as she was about to swim away from the wreckage, her ankle twisted between two pieces of wood, trapping her foot and sucking her underwater.

”Ryan!” Her m.u.f.fled voice sounded beneath the surface, but there was no way he could hear her. Foot by foot, she felt herself being pulled to the bottom of the lake, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free.

Her lungs burned, desperate for air. Help me, G.o.d, I'm dying.... Get me out of this.... Get me”

And then a desperate, primitive scream reached her ears, vibrating through the water closing around her. The scream came again and again and finally a fourth time.

”Kari?” Her mother was in the doorway, hurrying to her bedside. ”Dear G.o.d, Kari, what is it? You scared me to death.”

Kari shut her eyes tight and opened them again. There was no sinking boat, no far-off sh.o.r.eline. The scream she heard had been her own. ”Mom . . .” Kari was breathless as she looked at her mother and tried to remember what day it was, why she was at her parents' house and not at her own. ”What's-what's happening to me?”

Her mother pulled her close, stroking her hair, causing her to 238 release what was left of her tears. Her head sagged on her mother's shoulder as memories from the previous day all began to come back to her. The time on the lake, the memories, the realization that she and Ryan had misunderstood each other so many years before.

The kiss.

”Honey?” Her mother's voice was kind and gentle, as it had been when she was a little girl. At least she had this place, this family to come back to, this love that knew no limits.

She drew back, rubbing her eyes. ”I was dreaming.” ”I'm sorry.”

Kari nodded and reached to the bedside table for a tissue. ”I need to call Tim.”

At the mention of his name, a shadow pa.s.sed over her mother's eyes. ”He called last night. I told him I'd tell you.”

A quick breath caught in Kari's throat. ”Last night?”

”Yes.” Concern lined her mother's forehead. ”Just after nine.” Just after nine.

Kari thought back and knew exactly where she'd been at that time. Face-to-face with Ryan Taylor, her arms around him, holding him close and... ”What did you tell him?” ”I said you were out with a friend.”

Kari's shoulders dropped and she exhaled. ”Thanks. He wouldn't understand about ...” Her voice faded.

”About you and Ryan?” Her mother peered deep into her eyes, and Kari felt her cheeks grow hot.

”Yes.” There was silence for a moment, and her mother leaned over her knees.

”You got home late.”

”I won't lie to you, Mom.” Kari sniffed and dried her cheeks once more. ”I still love him. But that's the last time I'll see him.” The lump in her throat was back, and a single sob escaped from her throat.

”Ah, honey.” Her mother's arms were around her again. Normally the tiny pink-and-yellow rose border that framed the bedroom walls and the picture window overlooking the dirt road 239 out back were enough to help Kari feel grounded, but not today. This morning there was only one way she could find peace.

Her mother stroked her hair and studied Kari's face. ”I'm going out to the mall shortly. Why don't you take a shower and come with me?”

Kari choked out a single laugh and shook her head. Go to the mall? When her life was in full-blown crisis mode? There was only one place for her to go now. ”I can't.” Kari blinked back the thoughts. ”I'm going home. For good.”

”Well-” her mother reached over and took her hand-”you know you're always welcome here.”

Kari eased her legs from beneath the comforter and sat on the edge of her bed.

”I know, Mom.” Kari leaned over and laid her head against her mother's shoulder.