Read Viator (The Viator Chronicles Book 1) Online
Authors: Jane Ralston-Brooks
Viator (The Viator Chronicles Book 1) (37 page)
Aleesha laughed. “I hope you never see me look like that again. But you looked a lot worse than me, darling. I never want to see you like that again either.”
Erin smiled and looked at her cards and flowers. “Is Bruce in Portland?”
“Yes, he’ll be back in a few days.”
“Is … Gary still here in the hospital?”
Aleesha shook her head and frowned. “No, he left the day after the accident. His injuries weren’t nearly as bad as yours. He wouldn’t talk to me, though. Just told me to go away. And then he left. I’m sorry.” She was silent a few moments. “What happened, Erin? How did the accident happen?”
Erin’s stomach ached again and she closed her eyes. “I found out about Gary’s business,” she whispered. She looked at Aleesha’s puzzled expression, unsure how much she should say. “He’s involved in human trafficking.”
Aleesha’s mouth dropped open, and she shook her head. “Are you sure of this?”
“Yes. I confronted him, and he admitted it. We argued in the car—I’ve never been so angry, and he was furious. He lost control of the car. I was a fool. I didn’t let myself see until it was too late.” That was all she could bring herself to tell Aleesha. She felt the pain welling up inside her, remembering how Gary had admitted so much more than that. He had taken William’s life. Taken him from her.
Aleesha stood up and paced the room. “That is horrible. You poor dear. I’m so sorry. That explains his behavior.”
She sat down on the bed again and took Erin’s hand. “This morning I called Kenneth to ask him if he’d seen Gary, and he told me Gary had left the country—he went to Amsterdam. I didn’t know how I was going to tell you.”
Erin gasped. “He’s gone?”
Aleesha nodded.
“He’s lucky to be alive. I hope he turns his life around, but I also hope I never see him again,” Erin said. “Leesh, the week before the accident I was trying to reach Michael Woodward, but he was gone somewhere. Did he come back?”
“Yes, he did, but he’s gone again. He’s got a cabin near Mt. Hood. Bruce said he went there.”
Erin looked down at her hands resting in her lap and fought back tears.
“He was here for a few days,” Aleesha said. “He showed up the day after the accident, and he practically camped here by your side until you started to wake up. Then he told Bruce it was time for him to go.”
Erin lay her head back on the pillow, the pain of her injuries throbbing, and she desperately wished Michael was still there.
Chapter 53
Gwen ran into the house waving a picture in her hand. “Mommy, look what I made at Mrs. Edna’s.”
Erin put down the dishcloth and took the picture. It was a drawing of a small butter-yellow cottage with a fountain in front.
“This is beautiful,” Erin said. “You’re becoming such a good artist. This house looks familiar—did you make it up or have you seen this before?”
“I made it up. I want to live in a house like that when I grow up.”
“That would be fun.”
Matt got up from the table where he’d been building a Lego castle. He looked at Gwen’s picture. “I think we’ve seen that house somewhere before. It looks familiar.” He turned to Erin. “You look pale, Mom. You’d better lie down for a while. It’s only been three days since you got out of the hospital.”
“Maybe I’ll go sit on the beach with a book.”
“I’ll help you.”
He ran upstairs and grabbed a blanket and Erin’s book and brought them outside for her. He told her not to worry about him and Gwen—he’d keep an eye on Gwen for a while.
Erin sat on her blanket on the beach and leaned back against a driftwood log. She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her face. She was still very weak.
Her thoughts drifted to her time in Domus, to Salina and Lord Ariston. She thought about what Ariston had told her—that William had been there, protecting her.
Her thoughts moved on to Michael, and she could see him vividly in her mind—his dark hair falling into his eyes, his cheekbones and angular jaw, his black clothes. She hadn’t seen him since they had quarreled, both awake and in the dream—that terrible dream. She shuddered to think of the things she had said, and she could still see the anger in his eyes. She had treated him so badly, and yet he had come to her. And he had kissed her. Why had he left the hospital? He must have stayed only long enough to know she would be all right—to know he had done his job. She couldn’t blame him. Sadness made her stomach hurt, and a cool breeze raised her skin in goosebumps.
The sound of a boat motoring past woke her from her thoughts, and she looked out over the Sound. The water sparkled in the setting sun, and the breeze mingled the scent of the salt water with the fragrance of the flowers in her garden. She opened her book but couldn’t concentrate on the words. Glancing at the rocky beach beside her, she sorted through the stones, selecting some creamy white ones and gathering them into a small pile.
The crunch of tires pulling into her driveway made her turn around. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and she was shocked to see Michael’s Lexus.
She turned around again and looked out at the water, her heart pounding. His car rolled to a stop. The car door slammed. She stood up to go back to the house, but Michael had seen her and was walking to the beach, the breeze blowing his hair away from his face.
He was close enough for her to see his serious expression—his eyes searching. She didn’t know what to say to him and looked down at her feet.
He walked to the steps that led down to the beach and stopped.
“You look well,” he said.
She felt her face flush and looked up at him. “Thank you.” She seemed frozen in place. He stood still and kept his eyes on hers. A seagull flew overhead and dropped a clam on the rocky beach, then swooped down to grab it up again.
Erin was finally able to move. She walked the few short steps toward him. “I mean thank you,” she said. “Ariston told me all that happened.”
Michael stepped down to the beach and touched her cheek with his fingers, a question in his eyes. “You remember?”
She nodded her head slowly. “All of it. How can I tell you how sorry I am? Or thank you enough?”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “You don’t have to say anything.”
He leaned down, and his lips found her mouth. His kiss sent a thrill through her whole being. She turned her head and looked into his dark eyes.
“Thank you for taking me to Domus. I think I’ve seen a bit of heaven,” she whispered.
He smiled at her. “And I followed you all the way to hell.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling his warm pine scent. “I’ll have to make it up to you.”
Michael laughed and kissed her again, long and leisurely, his mouth tender and warm. The tide was out, and the first stars glimmered in the eastern sky. He took her hand, and they walked up the steps to Erin’s little house.
About the Author
Jane Ralston-Brooks grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, where the nearby Cascade Mountains, Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands gave plenty of opportunities for hiking, sailing, and childhood vacation fun. Jane's grandparents built a cabin near the beach close to Anacortes, and her father's sailing adventures took the family from the cabin throughout the San Juan Islands every summer. Viator takes place just down the road from Jane's grandparents' cabin, on the same rocky, driftwood-strewn beach.
Jane writes technical and marketing copy for a tourism-consulting firm that helps transform places into successful destinations. Traveling is a big part of the job, and Jane has been all over the U.S. and Canada, as well as many spectacular places in Europe and the Caribbean.
Jane currently lives in Arizona with her husband Roger, orange kitty Gingersnap, and three scorpions.
Contents