Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (16 page)

For a fe
w
moments, her mind filled
as she pictured the s
cene.
The tree stood in a spot she’d passed every time she drove to Beaufort. Her eyes filled
w
ith tears
w
hich she successfully fought from flo
w
ing.

“Ta
ylor.
” Her father hesitated a minute, but his eyes never left her face.
“
I talked to
Larry Murphy
.
He told me the Coast Guard and the
W
ater and Safety helico
pters
will
make one more run
than call off the
air
search.
”

She hardly recognized
his voice.

“The
DNR
boats
plus the police patrols
will
continue for another day.”

Taylor stood
up, stepping
back in horror. “Dad, they can’t. He’s out there. I’m sure he’s alive. If he
w
eren’t, I’d kno
w
?
W
ouldn’t I? Isn’t that ho
w
love
w
orks? He and I are t
w
o parts of a
w
hole. Aren’t
w
e?” Her tears threatened to cascade
do
w
n her cheeks
.

“Taylor, I’m a practical man. I believe in God, but
w
hether
w
e sense trouble for those
w
e love, I don’t know
, because I didn’t.

He’s talking about Mother, even though he hasn’t said her name.

“
Perhaps, that’s normal
not to kno
w
.” He shook his head. His face sho
w
ed his pain. “I
have
no
idea.”
He stood up
, taking
hold of her shoulders. “Honey, talk to Mary
about that
.
She says she’s ‘gets messages’ at times
. Some of her predictions are accurate, some aren’t.
”
He shrugged.
“Pe
rhaps, she can help.
W
hy not try?
”

“
Will
she ans
w
er me?” Her voice revealed her doubt.

“Many times during my life, unex
plainable events have occurred.
Mary, at times, tried to
w
arn me or at least make me
a
w
are something
w
ould happen.”
He took
his daughter’s arm and led her to the
w
ide
,
w
indo
w
seat overlooking
the yard. Th
ey sat side-by-side
w
ith her father’s
hand holding hers.

“Ye
ars ago, Mary predicted
your mother
w
ould die in a car crash, but not
until you
w
ere a gro
w
n
w
oman.
She might not even remember telling me about this.
The only reason she told m
e
w
as I constantly
w
orried
Julia Ann
w
ould die and leave you
w
ithout a mother. Every girl needs her mom.”

For all the good she did.
She
overrode her emotions and
concentrate on her father’s
w
ords.

“
Another time, she
w
arned me that I shouldn’t let you drive the horse van to that sho
w
,
the one in Camden.
She
w
ouldn’t
tell me
w
hat
w
ould happen
if I didn’t. Just insisting
I go
w
ith you
.”

Taylor nodded. “I
remember not being pleased at having
my father
for a
chauffeur
.”

He squeezed her hand.
“I
change
d
my schedule, cancel
led
appointm
ent
s
, etc. She
can be persistent
.
” He grinned slightly.
“
On the
w
ay home, a
w
heel
fell
of the van
, injuring
one of the horses.
”

She nodded remembering the te
rrifying moment and the horrific
screams from Rocky. He survived
the accident
, but never jumped again.
Today,
Horseback
Heroes
used him for lessons.
Pulling herself back to the present, she heard her father’s voice.

“
Am I a
disciple
w
ith these t
w
o foretold
incidents?
I still can’t say
.
Perhaps, Mary
w
as being cautious. Since th
at time, I heed her advice. Taking that extra measure of caution, I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders. “
I
f
you believe asking
her
w
ould help, do so
.”

Dad al
w
ays had the ans
w
ers, often not
w
hat she
w
ished to hear.
She could come to him
w
ith any problem
;
he’d solve i
t or help her find a solution
, usually by challenging her to discover her o
w
n truth about a situation. Today, the tides had turned
for he had just suffered a terrible loss. “
W
hat can I do for you?” She
squeezed
his hand
as if bonding them together
.

He released her
, stood up,
w
alked back to his
desk
chair
and sat
do
w
n
.
W
ith her f
ather, these actions portrayed his
need
to share something possibly unpleasant.
Shifting on the cushioned
w
indo
w
seat, Taylor pulled her legs
up, sat Indian-style,
w
aiting
apprehensively.

“Let’s talk about
w
hat I, the practical man, do kno
w
. Mary is handling the funeral arrangements.” He stopped, took out h
is handkerchief
,
ble
w
his nose and
returned
it
to his pocket
, “The hospital called.
Your mother
w
asn’t drunk
w
hen she hit that girl.” He ble
w
his nose again, harder. “F
orgive me, Taylor, but I assumed
she
w
as.”

She fle
w
off the seat
, going
to him.
He placed his ar
ms around her
w
aist and sobbed.
“Dad, I did, too.”

Once a
gain, they comfo
rted each other. Finally, her father
slid his hands from her
w
aist, grasped hers
w
ith his, and stared at her intently. “Taylor, please listen.
W
e have guests in the house.
They came to help celebrate your
w
edding.”

She fought back the lump filling her throat.

“They expected to st
ay until tomorro
w
at the latest.
They can’t stay indefinitely. They have their o
w
n lives to live and their o
w
n jobs to do.
W
e must let them get on.
W
e must let them go.”

“But, Daddy, I’m sure that later this afternoon, someone
will
find Rod.
W
e can still have the
w
edding. ”

“Taylor,” he interrupted
, his voice gentle, but firm
.
“
W
e have no idea
w
hen
w
e’ll find Rod. His boat could have floated do
w
n the Broad to
w
ard the Atlantic. He could be any
w
here. The bridal party can’t just
w
ait for his discovery. They have lives to lead, families to care for, jobs to return to.
” He repeated emphasizing each
w
ord.
“
W
e must be fair to them.”

She started to speak, but her father continued. “Dearest daughter,
w
e
will
discover
w
hat happened, but our guests must be allo
w
ed to go home.”

Pulling
a
w
ay
,
she battled
her anger, her fear, and the truth
.
W
hat should have been the happiest time of her life had
become
the blackest portion.

“
S
omething else you must consider.” He stood as he spoke.
“
I
f Rod hasn’t been found alive
by this time
…
”
He left the rest unsaid.

Crossing her arms in front of her
w
aist, she
vehemently
shook her head. “
No, no! He
can’t
b
e
gone
. I
w
ould feel it in my heart.
” She touched her breast. “
I don’t.” She held her arms
. “
W
hen t
w
o people
love eac
h other,
they are connected. I can’t accept he’s gone.
”

As
if exhausted, her father
rested his hands on the top of the desk
. “I didn’t kno
w
about
your mother
’s
injury.
I didn’t kno
w
she
w
asn’t drunk. Does that mean that I didn’t love her?”
His hurt showed in his tone of voice.

“Oh, Daddy, of course not.
I didn’t
mean …
”
W
hy had she insisted? He’s told her he didn’t feel the separation.
She hugged him
a
w
k
w
ardly
, his right shoulder
touching
her chest.

He pushed off the desk top
, breaking her hold, and straightened his shoulders. He looked
do
w
n at his daughter
, the love and care
beamed from
his eyes
.
“In a novel or on TV the people
experience psychic revelations. Honestly,
I don’t kno
w
w
hat
’s
true
.
Perhaps if
w
e could be tied psychically to our love ones, it might help
w
hen
trag
edy hits one or the other. M
aybe it
w
ouldn’t.
As I’ve said before
,
I had no idea about your mother.