Magic Moment (14 page)

Chase made light of her anxious concern. “He was probably watching you because you’re so damn beautiful.”

Laura’s dismay remained. “You don’t understand. When I looked out the window, he was closer. To get a better view of the boat.” Panic gripped her. “That’s how I know. He’s watching us.”

His eyes hardened into steel flecks. Laura grabbed for him, but despite her efforts, Chase ran out the door. She feared for his safety as he raced up the stairs. She watched through the new window as he leaped over the boat’s side, and flew down the wooden boards. His sneakers hardly hit the planks. She watched his image fade, and her heart pounded. Terror sped through her body. She was afraid to go up on deck, afraid someone might be waiting to snatch her. Then she saw Chase’s cell phone on the desk and dread overpowered her.

Vivid images ran wild. Suppose they waited for Chase at the end of the dock. Or in the parking lot. Suppose they grabbed him, overtook him, and stuffed him in a car trunk. He didn’t have his cell phone to call for help. Chase had told her, always have your cell phone. He didn’t have his.

Bile rose in Laura’s throat, choking her. Her introduction to
Madre,
the panic and fright as she had lain bound and helpless, returned.

“Chase,” she croaked.

They were going to kill him. They were taking him from her, and he wasn’t coming back.

She sobbed uncontrollably. Her chest grew heavy, she gulped for air and her legs weakened. Her lungs struggled to take in air. She crumbled to the floor in a heap of wretched tears.

Which was how Chase found her as he rushed back into the cabin.

“My God.” He hunkered down and gathered her in his arms. “I got you, honey. Little breaths, Laura. Take little breaths.”

He held her, murmuring soothing words. Laura wished she could stop crying, but she shook with fear. Her tears refused to let up. Driving sobs heaved from her throat, piercing the tiny space. Her cries clogged her airflow, and she gasped for breath.

Chase repeated, “Little breaths, little breaths” until finally her tears eased, and she took in air again. Gently, with his arms locked around her, he lifted her into a standing position, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I’m with you, honey,” he whispered, stroking her hair.

She yanked her head back. Wet eyes focused on him. Bitter anger replaced her distress. “You dumb jerk,” she spat. “Your cell phone. Always have your cell phone. You ran after him, alone.”

She clenched both hands into fists and pounded his chest. “Suppose there had been more waiting for you.” Again, the powerful wails began.

“Honey,” he whispered.

“You-didn’t-have-your-cell-phone.” She emphasized these last words with harder blows, then collapsed against him once more.

“Laura, I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to do.” His arms tightened around her. “I ran out without my cell, without a weapon. You’re right. Always have your cell phone.”

“If I have to obey the rule, so do you,” she garbled, sucking in air.

He held her close. “You’re absolutely right.”

They stood in the center of the room; Laura locked in Chase’s arms. After a while, she calmed, her tears diminished, and the only sound as he held her was the ocean waves slapping against the boat.

• • •

With Laura resting, and the window replaced, Chase guided the boat back onto the open sea. He had read about Laura’s breakdown in one of the Internet articles. How people, men and women, who endure a trauma seemed fine, living life as if the nightmare had been put behind them, then one small, trivial incident occurred, and the agony and horror returned.

Chase had expected Laura’s emotional crash would come the first night they made love. After her initial hesitancy, she was fine. They continued making love, and they were fine. No, they were more than fine. They were fantastic together.

But her collapse circled, lingering and waiting to show itself. A forgotten cell phone was Laura’s breaking point.

Chase had sprinted to the end of the docks, but no man — or woman, for that matter — had been anywhere in sight.

On the other hand, his father knew
Madre
was docked in Beach Bay. The stranger, possibly dispatched by Dick or Oliver Daniels, perhaps wanted to ascertain that Laura was with Chase. Perhaps the intention wasn’t to harm her, at least not in broad daylight, but to confirm Chase’s story and regroup for the next step. If that were the case, Chase was more than relieved that
Madre
was back on open water.

“Chase.”

His wife stood in the doorway. Her buttery blonde hair attractively tangled, she chewed nervously on her bottom lip, her eyes still raw and spent from her earlier tears.

“Did you have a nice nap?” he asked.

She nodded, remaining set in the doorway. Her timidity and vulnerability wrung his heart. Helplessness overwhelmed him, wishing he could make all the bad that had happened go away.

One hand on the wheel, he held out his free arm, beckoning her. “Come here, honey.”

Her footsteps were swift. When she reached him, her arms slid around his waist. Chase pulled her close.

“I’m sorry. The way I acted earlier. My hysterics.” She nestled against him. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.”

“I don’t know what got into me,” she whispered, her tone embarrassed. “I never carry on like that.”

“You saw someone who frightened you. You were frightened when I ran off, that I would be harmed. You were worried. A wife being worried about her husband’s welfare, what a novel concept,” he quipped.

Wind gusts assaulted
Madre’s
deck, and rain pounded against her sides. A violent storm raged along the coast, nature’s rampage forcing the vessel to dock at a lakeside marina in Fisherman Point, Maryland. The newlyweds, secluded for three days, barely noticed the outburst, spending their time talking, joking, and making love. Caught up in being with Chase, and enjoying being his wife, Laura forgot the stranger on the pier.

By dawn on the fourth day, although a light drizzle remained, the Coast Guard gave the “all clear” for travel. Chase was confident they would reach Sea Tower, the small town where his aunt lived, before dark.

Laura found him in the galley. His back to her, he was hunched over the bar, scanning a map. Coming up behind him, she pressed into his solid, muscular frame, her slender arms sliding around his waist.

“Remember the day we were married?” She laid her cheek against his shoulder. “I stopped at a pharmacy?”

He turned and faced her, wearing a wide grin. “You insulted my toothpaste. Claimed it wasn’t minty fresh and you wanted your own.”

She eased back and held up a thin, long rainbow-striped box with a torn lid. “I also got a few of these.”

Chase fingered the box, focusing solely on the big, red print. “The ‘ES’ means extra strength?”

“Extra sensitive. Most home pregnancy tests instruct you to take it ten days after you sense conception.”

His eyes widened. “Home pregnancy test?”

She smiled. “For two dollars more, and since you’re not married to a cheapskate, I got the extra sensitive. Gives results sooner.”

His features bore a blank, vacant stare. “Laura … ”

Her grin faded. Perhaps, he had reconsidered. He realized that even after they were divorced, he remained tied to her, along with the real responsibility of providing for a child.

Anxiety replaced her enthusiasm. “The nuns at Saint Theresa’s lectured us it only took one time,” she said plainly. Saint Theresa’s was the Catholic high school that Laura had attended. “For you and me, the first time was it.”

Laura held her breath.

“You’re kidding? Right?” he asked.

His expression remained blank. Dread crept through her. If he no longer wanted a child, she would raise and love this baby on her own. She and her child didn’t need a man in their lives.

“I’m not kidding.”

With one huge scoop, Chase enveloped her in his arms. “Hot damn!” He pulled away. “Oh, wait a minute. Here, sit down.”

He pulled out a stool and nudged her to sit. “Are you sick? Throwing up? Any pain? You need vitamins, right? The first time, you say? Isn’t that something? Did you have breakfast? What did you have?” His brow crinkled. “You didn’t eat a granola bar, did you? They’re all sugar and no nutrition.”

Laura studied her child’s father and sighed with relief. The man beamed.

“I’m not sick, or in pain, or throwing up. Nothing.”

“Are you sure?” His thoughts came in a rush. “What’s the first thing we need to do? I guess get you to a doctor. You got a doctor? Never mind, we’ll get you one. When’s the baby due?” The crinkled brow returned. “You probably won’t know until after you see the doctor.”

Laura gently ran her fingers through his hair. He was so adorable. He had to calm down. At this rate, the doctor would prescribe vitamins for her and Valium for him.

“I’m fine. I figure the baby’s due around Christmas,” she said.

“Should you take that test again? To be sure?”

“I took two. The instructions state I should take it again in two days. By then we’ll be at Aunt Lonnie’s, and I can see her doctor. A blood test will confirm.”

“You mean you could be wrong?” His voice held a hint of panic. “Maybe you’re not pregnant?”

If she were wrong, his letdown was evident. “I’ve had friends who’ve used this exact brand. I don’t know anyone who had a positive turn out to be a negative.”

“You’re getting the best. The best doctor, the best hospital, live-in nurse. We’ll get you the best.”

“Chase, Aunt Lonnie will recommend a doctor. She won’t send us to a quack.”

Chase had spoken so fondly of Lonnie during the journey, to Laura his aunt already felt like her family.

“You haven’t changed your mind?” Laura palmed her stomach. “I mean, sure, we’re married for convenience’s sake, but there will be a baby. You want to be part of the baby’s life?”

His eyes held her. “You bet. I’m happy to be a father. I’m happy to be
your
baby’s father. When we first discussed having this child, I told you I wanted to be part of my child’s life. You want a divorce once we get to the bottom of who wanted to hurt you … ”

“ … because you shouldn’t be stuck with a wife you only married to solve a sticky problem.”

“But my child isn’t a problem.” He pulled her close. “I’m not going to bring a child in this world and move on whenever it suits me.”

• • •

Many people, unfamiliar with the area, considered the Chesapeake a town on a bay. The Chesapeake Bay, a long water mass, stretched for miles with petite towns and major cities littered along the way.

Sea Tower was a tiny community filled with acres of trees and perfectly landscaped gardens, two-story, white picket fence houses, and cobblestone paths. Aunt Lonnie, older sister to Chase’s late mother, was a slight, petite woman in her early sixties with short pixie-styled brown hair. She and her nephew shared the same sapphire blue eyes.

On a cloudy late afternoon, the three stood on Lonnie’s white-painted porch passing around greetings, hugs, and well wishes.

“A baby, too!” Lonnie hugged Laura for the third time, then Chase. “I should have known you’d pull this, Chase,” she scolded him affectionately. “I don’t have a chance to recover from the news you’re married, and you spring a baby, too.”

“Aunt Lonnie, Laura and I want to stay in Sea Tower, at least until after the baby’s born,” Chase said. “Can you recommend a doctor? Laura hasn’t seen one yet.”

If Aunt Lonnie thought the couple showing up on her doorstep, out of the blue, and announcing an intention to stay in Sea Tower was odd, she didn’t let on. “Of course, I can.” She smiled at Laura. “Sea Tower isn’t John Hopkins, but we have good people. Dr. Dora Silver. You’ll like her.”

She ushered the couple inside. Laura admired the house’s style with its walnut hardwood floors and the living room’s brick fireplace. She particularly loved the gigantic front porch, complete with swing and rocking chair. She saw herself on a sunny, pleasant spring day, sitting on the porch and rocking her baby.

Lonnie insisted they have tea. She must have sensed their visit, she told them, because she had apple/blueberry muffins fresh from the oven. The kitchen was homey with a bright orange glow burning in the small brick and stone fireplace. The fireplace added to the room’s coziness. The cabinets and wall paneling were walnut, as were the round table and chairs.

Over tea and muffins, Lonnie wanted all the details, where the couple had met, married, why the big secret. Since Laura had been the company’s bookkeeper, they had kept their relationship quiet, Chase concocted. They wanted their wedding the same.

“I never fantasized a big, flashy wedding,” Laura said. She wasn’t fibbing, either. A parade of bridesmaids and securing a small bank loan to purchase a designer gown had never appealed to her. “Our wedding was simple and perfect.” She had always concentrated her efforts on the life afterwards.

Lonnie beamed, not hiding her excitement for them. “As long as you’re both happy and the baby’s healthy.”

“We are happy,” Chase said. “And the baby will be healthy. That’s why we want to stay here. Sea Tower has a lot of good karma.”

Dr. Silver had a ten o’clock cancellation the next morning. After snapping up the appointment, Laura and Chase set out in Lonnie’s Toyota compact for a Chase Donovan-guided tour of Sea Tower. Extremely charming, Laura felt what he called the town’s “good karma” instantly. The houses, nearly all like Lonnie’s, were narrow, two-story colonials with similar wooden porches. Everyone had a garden, and with the onslaught of spring, was involved in the planting process. Rakes and hoes were left wherever they had dropped, waiting for the gardener, whether an amateur or professional.

They picked up Lonnie for dinner, a seafood house called, aptly,
Seafood Shack
. The most delicious crab cakes in all of Maryland, Chase promised his wife. He wasn’t wrong.

Laura was exhausted. She headed for bed while Chase and his aunt took to the kitchen to end the day with a shot of Irish whiskey. Decorated in pink and white, the bedroom had a summer cottage feel. Laura struggled to stay alert, wanting to be awake when Chase came to bed.