Ryan's Return (29 page)

Instead of leaving he threw his things into his suitcase. Kara sat back on the bed, watching him take his fury out on a stubborn zipper and a pile of clothes that wouldn't fit in. Finally he gave up and threw the bag across the room. Then he stormed down the stairs. She waited for the front door to slam, but nothing happened.

Five minutes later she heard the sound of a power saw. In surprise she walked down the hall to her room. Ryan had chopped off the branches of the tree and was putting plywood over the window.

She wanted to ask why, but when he looked at her with an expression so grim, so bleak, so closed off, she couldn't do anything more than say thank you. She didn't return to his room, but to Angel's room. Seeing her daughter's cozy bedroom stripped of its stuffed animals, posters, and boxes of collectibles only made her feel worse.

She curled up on her daughter's bed with an extra blanket and stared at the shadows on the ceiling. She didn't know if Ryan stayed or if he left. She just knew that she had never felt so alone in her life.

"Leave me alone, Andrew." Loretta's head tossed back and forth on the pillow of the bed as she clutched her abdomen with her hand. She started to cry as pain ripped through her.

Andrew stared at her in alarm, then looked over at Billy, who had backed up against the bedroom door, unsure whether or not he wanted to stay. It had taken them a long time to get to Loretta's house. The streets were completely flooded.

Upon arriving at her house, he and Billy had had to crawl through a downstairs window as there were already several inches of water holding the door in place. At first Andrew thought she wasn't there, then he'd heard her scream and had raced upstairs to find her clutching a pillow to her chest.

"We have to get you to the doctor," Andrew said. "Billy, go downstairs and make sure the boat is still there."

Billy ran out of the room.

"No time," Loretta gasped. "I can feel the baby coming."

"The baby can't come now," Andrew said in horror. He didn't know anything about delivering babies. He hadn't even been in the room when Becky Lee delivered Billy. She had wanted her mother with her, and he had been relieved to give up that duty. The waiting room had been close enough for him.

"It's coming, Andrew."

"What are you doing here?" he shouted in frustration.

"I came back to find my cat."

"Good God, Loretta, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking my cat was going to drown."

"What about your baby?"

"What about it? It wasn't supposed to come for another two weeks. Ow ..." She cried out as the pain overcame her.

"Jeez, Loretta." Andrew reached out to touch her, but he didn't know where to put his hands, what to do, or what to say. "I'll call 911."

"The phone's out," Loretta said.

Right. He had tried calling her earlier. "Let me just carry you downstairs and get you in the boat."

Loretta grabbed his arm and screamed, "Forget the fucking boat, the baby's coming now."

"It can't."

"It is."

"All right. I'll boil some water or something."

"They only do that in the movies, Andrew."

"Well, what do you want me to do?"

"Get me some towels so I don't bleed all over the bed."

Blood. There was going to be blood. Andrew took a deep breath. He wasn't good around blood or crying women.

"What are you waiting for -- an invitation?"

"Okay, I'll get you the towels. Don't go anywhere."

"No, I think I'll go dancing."

Andrew raced to the door. Billy was sitting on the top stair. "Is she okay, Dad?"

"No. She's having a baby."

"Uh, what -- what are we going to do?" Billy stuttered.

Andrew found strength in that halting sentence. He couldn't let Loretta down, and he couldn't let Billy down either. "We're going to help her, that's what. Why don't you go downstairs? Check the garage for a CB radio. Loretta's dad used to have one."

"Okay."

"I shouldn't have brought you with me," Andrew muttered, suddenly realizing they could be trapped in Loretta's house if the water kept rising. "What kind of father am I?"

"You're my father," Billy said proudly.

"I've got to get you out of here."

"No, I want to stay with you. I'm not afraid of the river."

Andrew hesitated, then nodded. Billy was afraid of a lot of things, and despite his words he knew his son had a healthy fear of the river, but maybe it was more important to stay together than to send him away. He would protect his son no matter what the cost.

Loretta screamed his name, reminding him there was another life at stake -- make that two more lives at stake. "Don't take anything Loretta says too seriously, Billy. She's not herself."

Billy grinned as Loretta let fly a string of curses that would make him the coolest kid in school if he could remember them.

Andrew found towels in Loretta's linen closet and brought everything he could grab, including a big beach towel. He threw them all on the bed, accidentally covering Loretta's head in the process.

"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry."

She glared at him, brushing strands of sweaty hair from her forehead. "You are an idiot."

"Me? I wasn't stupid enough to go looking for a cat when I'm about to have a baby."

"Get me a knife."

"What for?"

"So I can kill you before I kill myself."

Andrew looked at her warily. "I think you should calm down."

"I think you should go to hell."

"I'm only trying to help."

Loretta's face contorted with pain, and Andrew's heart went out to her. Without thinking he put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed her arms until the pain subsided.

"I am so scared," she whispered. "What if something goes wrong? What if I hurt the baby?"

"You won't."

"I might. I always screw up. You know I do."

"Not this time."

She twisted the sleeve of his shirt between her fingers. "I can't do this alone, Andrew."

"You don't have to. I'll stay with you."

"Really? The water's coming up."

"I can swim."

"But you have Billy with you."

"He's worried about you, too."

"He's a good kid." Loretta smiled weakly. "I didn't mean it when I called you an idiot."

He stroked her forehead. "I am an idiot, stupid for not realizing how much I love you."

"You love me?" she asked in wonder.

"God, yes."

"Even now?"

"Especially now."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"Another pain?" he asked in alarm.

She shook her head. "No one ever said that to me before." She playfully slugged him on the arm. "What took you so long?"

"I had to grow up first."

"Yeah, me too."

Her eyes met his, and he knew that they had both come a long way to get to this point.

"Andrew, about the baby's father."

"It doesn't matter. I'll be the baby's father if you'll let me."

"You're a generous man. Raising Billy alone, now offering to raise my baby."

"I want a family, Loretta. The blood doesn't matter, just the love."

Loretta's face tightened as she began to pant. "It's coming again."

"Hang on. Breathe."

Loretta started to gasp deep, wrenching breaths of air that made Andrew's stomach twist into a knot. It was unbearably difficult to watch her in pain. What was he thinking? He couldn't do this. He wanted to run, to hide, to get the hell out of town. But when Loretta looked up at him with her big brown eyes, when her fingers wrapped around his, he knew he wouldn't leave her. This time he would stay. This time he would fight for the person he loved.

"You can do it, Andrew," she said softly. "I have faith in you. I always have."

He hoped her faith wasn't misplaced. He had never been anyone's hero, never really risen to any occasion, usually too afraid to try; but this time he had no choice. He would do it. He would deliver this baby. Or die trying.

His confidence soared in front of her adoring face. Then the lights went out.

"Oh, God," Andrew said as Loretta began to cry. "It's okay. I've got a flashlight." He turned it on, pointing it toward the ceiling and away from her eyes. "Billy," he yelled.

Billy came to the door with his own flashlight. "I'm okay, Dad."

"Good. We need candles. Loretta, where do you keep the candles?"

"Downstairs in the kitchen," she gasped. "Don't leave me," she begged.

He heard the fear in her voice, the sudden doubt, and knew that as much as she wanted to have faith in him, it was difficult for her to trust him. He had run from her before, every time she tried to get close. "I'm not going anywhere." And he didn't have to, because Billy was already back with the candles.

"Good job, son. I knew I could count on you."

"I found the radio and put out an SOS. I'm not sure anyone heard me. There was a lot of static."

Andrew lit the candles and set them around the room. "Billy, you might want to wait outside."

Billy nodded with relief. "Okay, I'll keep my eye out for another boat."

Loretta began to pant again, alternating between crying and screaming. She called Andrew every name in the book as he tried to talk her through the contractions. When he finally got the courage to lift her dress and spread her legs, he could see the baby's head.

There was no time for thinking after that. No time to be afraid or embarrassed or inhibited. The baby came into his arms in a mess of fluid and blood and tangled limbs. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Andrew tenderly wiped the baby off with a towel.

"Is it okay?" Loretta asked fearfully.

"She's beautiful."

"It's a girl?"

"A beautiful little girl." Andrew felt the tears come to his eyes as the baby blinked her eyes open and a tiny scream came out of her mouth as she squirmed in his arms. "She's perfect, ten toes, ten fingers -- perfect."

Andrew cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a towel, then placed her on Loretta's chest. She started to cry as she tenderly touched the baby's head. "How could anything so beautiful come from me?"

"How could it not?"

"Dad?" Billy hovered in the doorway. "Is it okay?"

"More than okay. Come on in and say hello to -- I guess we can't call her Andrew," Andrew said.

Loretta smiled. "How about Andrea?"

"Perfect."

Billy joined them on the bed. Andrew put one arm around his son and the other around Loretta's head. He finally had the family he had always wanted.

When Kara woke up the next morning, the house was freezing. Wrapping the blanket around her body, she walked down the hall, stopping by Ryan's room. His things were gone. The room looked bare, as if he had never been there, as if they had never made love on the bed, never found joy in each other's arms.

But she still had the house, she reminded herself as she walked downstairs and looked out the front window. The river was almost at her doorstep. She was out of time.

Ryan was right. She couldn't stay here. She couldn't leave Angel alone, not for another second. It didn't matter that deep in her heart she knew Angel was okay, that the river would never reach Josephine's house. What mattered most was that she had left Angel alone, as her mother and father had left her alone in the shelter.

How could she have done the same thing to her daughter? How could she have made the same mistake?

Kara ran up the stairs, dressed hurriedly, and threw a few of her clothes into an overnight bag. Then she went downstairs and out the back door, up the small incline behind the house where she had parked the car, and drove into town, trying not to look back, trying not to go back, because she was terrified that the next time she came down this road, her house would be gone.

She arrived at Josephine's house just before nine, expecting to see her daughter and aunt having breakfast in the kitchen. Instead she found Ryan on the phone and her aunt pacing back and forth across the room.

"Where's Angel?" Kara asked immediately.

"She's gone." Josephine held out a note.

Kara took the piece of paper with shaky hands.

I have to find the necklace, Mom. If I don't find it by this afternoon, it will be too late. I'll be careful. Love, Angel

Ryan hung up the phone and turned to Kara with worry in his eyes. "There's no one left to look for her, Kara. The river is supposed to crest in thirty minutes. There are flash flood warnings up and down the river. Every available man is helping with the evacuation."

"I'll go on my own then."

"I'll go with you," he said, his voice carefully even, not angry as he had been the night before, but not loving either.

"I thought you had left town."

"I couldn't go, not like this."

"I'm sorry, Ryan. I was stupid. You were right. I put the house before everything and everyone. I didn't mean to. I love Angel, you know I do." Her voice broke as she thought about her daughter all alone in the storm.

Ryan pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I know you love Angel. I was wrong, too, about a lot of things."

Although she would have liked to stay in the comfort of his embrace, they were wasting time. "I have to find her."

"We will. I tried Jonas, but the phone is out."

Kara stepped out of his arms. "Jonas can't still be in his house. It's right next to the river. Heck, it's probably in the river by now."

"Oh, he's still there." Ryan's mouth drew into a taut line. "He told me he wouldn't leave, not for anything. Not even if the water rose over his head."

"He didn't mean that."

"Yes, he did. I saw it in his eyes, Kara, the same look I saw in your eyes last night. I think that's what scared me.

"Maybe he came to his senses, too."

"I hope so."

"You can take my boat," Ike said as he came into the kitchen. "It's hitched up to my truck. Drive down as close as you can, then take it in. It's a small rowboat, but you may need it."

"Not your boat," Josephine said, her eyes suddenly filled with fear. "Remember the leaves. Danger and your boat."

"But I'm not going, Josie," Ike said.

"I'm afraid. Something terrible is going to happen." She put her hand to her heart. "I can feel it."

"We're going to stop something terrible from happening," Kara said with fierce, motherly determination.

"Take care of yourself." Josephine gave Kara a quick hug. "And you," she said, turning to Ryan, "you bring our girl home."

"I will. I don't suppose your crystal ball knows where she is?" Ryan asked.

Josephine shook her head. "I think if you find Jonas, you'll find Angel."

"You have to come with me," Angel cried. "The lady says you're in danger." Angel waded through the water in Jonas's living room. She grabbed his arm and tried to move him, but he wouldn't budge.

"I told you to go away," Jonas said. "I don't believe in your ghost."

"She's not my ghost. She's your wife," Angel said hotly. "Her name is Isabelle. And she sent me to get you. Her necklace is lost in the branches of the tree your father planted. She said you could tell me which one it is. Please," Angel begged.

Jonas stared at her in shock. She couldn't be telling the truth. She was a foolish, fanciful girl with a wild imagination. She had probably heard some story about Isabelle running off with her grandfather and made the rest up. But Angel began to cry with frustration.

"Why? Why is this so important to you?" Jonas asked, holding her shoulders with his big, thick hands.

"Because she's my friend. And she's sad. She said she's sorry about everything that happened. She said she still loves you, and if I can find the necklace, you'll know what really happened. She said she wants to see you one last time."

Jonas felt his heart begin to beat at an ungodly pace. His anxiety level rose so high, he almost couldn't breathe. What really happened?

Isabelle had left him. She had run off with another man. That's what had happened. But what was the necklace that Angel spoke of? Could it have been Isabelle's locket? No. Now he was starting to believe the foolish story.

But this child, with her big brown eyes and her captivating voice, almost made him believe that there was some secret left to be uncovered.

"You have to come," Angel said one last time.

Jonas looked around his house. "I can't leave." And he couldn't. He had vowed to stay here till the end, to protect his home. A man had nothing without his home.

God, who was he kidding? He'd had nothing since Isabelle left, and less still when the boys had gone.

Angel slid out from under his hands and ran out of the house. He watched her struggle through the water, finally reaching the upper end of the driveway and dry ground.

He wondered if he should go after her. Or if he should stay here where he belonged.

"Isabelle." He whispered her name, remembering her bright eyes, so like Angel's, her loving nature, her ready smile, her warmth. He had wanted to control her, to keep her by his side forever. But the same passion he adored had made her want more than he could offer.

She hadn't loved him enough to stay. He hadn't loved her enough to go after her.

Now he knew they had both made a terrible mistake. But it was too late. She was gone. His sons were gone. All he had left was this house. He closed his eyes, feeling dizzy. He saw Isabelle again in his mind. He heard her voice calling to him.

This time he would go. He gave the house one last look. There was nothing here" that could touch him, nothing that he could put his arms around, nothing that he could love. Why hadn't he seen that before? Why had he been such a fool?

Jonas pulled on his raincoat and ran after Angel. He knew where the tree was. He knew where she was going. He just hoped he could get there in time, because that tree was probably underwater by now.

Angel saw the lady again, pointing her fingers to a particular tree. Angel also saw the gold strand twisted in the branches. She could climb up there and get it. She knew she could. But the tree bent halfway over the river. By the time she reached the necklace, she would only be a few feet above the water in the middle of the river.

"Don't," the lady said suddenly. "It's too dangerous. You will fall."

"I won't fall."

"I can't let you do this."

"You're my friend."

"Jonas isn't coming, is he?"

Angel started to climb the tree.

"No, stop."

"But you said if I helped you find the locket, you would get your family back."

"That's true, but -- "

"You told me to believe. You told me not to give up."

Angel didn't wait for more protests. She had to get the locket. She had to set the lady free. The tree was wet and slippery. Every inch made her body stiffen with fear, but she kept on going. She could almost see the necklace when the tree branches began to sway and crackle. The branch she was on suddenly bent in half, landing her feet in the water.

She could feel the rush, the terror, as she clung to the branch. Slowly she pulled herself out of the water, climbing onto another branch. With her hand outstretched she finally reached the locket, and with a little maneuvering, she pulled it free from the branch.

Inside the locket was a picture of two little boys and the words, With my love, Jonas.

The river suddenly roared, and a wave of water came at Angel so fast she froze with terror. Suddenly the tree was engulfed in water, as if a bridge had broken upstream. She looked over to where she had started her climb and the ground was no longer there. She was trapped in the tree.

Angel heard someone call her name. She saw a man in a boat. It was Jonas. He told her to hang on. Angel could do little else. She looked for the ghost, but she couldn't see the lady through the branches of the tree, nor could she hear her voice over the roar of the river.

Jonas finally got to the tree, but when he tried to grab hold of the branches, the current was so strong that the boat went out from under him and he fell halfway into the water. Angel screamed and reached out a hand to him, trying desperately to pull the big old man out of the water.

She didn't know where her strength came from, but suddenly he was next to her, clinging to the branch as she was. He gasped for breath, his eyes wide and shocked. "How did you do that, kid?"

"I don't know." She handed Jonas the locket.

His mouth dropped open. "Isabelle's locket. She swore she would never take it off, not until her dying day. But how did it get here? How?" he yelled.

The lady floated down in front of them. "I was coming back, Jonas. I knew I couldn't leave you or the boys. But the river came up too fast and the boat tipped over. I -- I couldn't swim well enough. I wanted to get to you, but I got so tired. I'm sorry. So, so sorry."

Jonas stared at the image as if he were mesmerized. "My God, you're real."

"Not anymore. I haven't been real or whole since I left you. I loved you, Jonas. I was a fool to think the city or Harry could offer me more than I had with you."

"I loved you, too, Isabelle," he whispered.

The lady reached out her hand. "May I have the necklace, please?"

Jonas looked at the locket in his hand. Angel watched them both with utter fascination, hardly believing that the ghost was real, that Jonas could see her, too. But something was wrong. Jonas was wrapping his fingers around the locket and shaking his head. The lady called his name again, telling him that time was running out, that she needed her necklace.

The tree began to sway, cracking under their weight. Angel watched the branch in horror, wondering if she and Jonas were going to die here, too.

Kara grabbed Ryan's arm as she saw her daughter and Jonas clinging to a tree in the middle of the raging river. A terror so overwhelming, so debilitating, made speech impossible. She wanted to shout at Angel to hang on. She wanted to tell Jonas not to let her daughter fall. And most of all Kara wanted to tell the damn river that if she really were a woman, she would not swallow up a little girl and an old man.