“It’s horrifying how your life can change in a moment.”
“Yes it is,” Sara said softly.
They were quiet, sitting side by side and looking across the mowed lawn. In the distance they heard a loud burst of sound, familiar in South Florida as the streets were always being repaired. The swamp was trying to reclaim its land.
In the next second, they heard a man shout, “Look out!” Then came a crash from the direction of the cottage.
“Jack!” Sara said. In an instant, she was running.
Reid, younger and with longer legs, ran ahead of her. Before she got through the massive growth, he shouted, “He’s all right.”
Even with this reassurance, Sara didn’t slow down. Jack was sitting on the ground and beside him was a pile of bricks, both loose and in mortared clumps. One of the chimneys had fallen to the ground. It was easy to see how close he’d come to being hit by the falling debris.
Jack seemed dazed and he was rubbing his head. Sara went to her knees and began pushing his hair back to examine him.
“I’m not hurt,” he said.
Reid was standing in front of them and he was looking up at the roof. “I’m going up to see...” He didn’t finish, just went into the little house. Sara knew that in the loft was an overhead door that allowed entry to the roof.
She sat down beside Jack. Her whole body was shaking in fear of what could have happened. Falling bricks could be lethal.
He put his arm around her small shoulders and drew her head to his chest. “It was Evan,” he whispered.
Evan was Jack’s half brother, who’d died years before. Sara’d had too many ghostly encounters in her life to be shocked by his words.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Lenny’s scarred face appeared. He looked at Jack, at the fallen chimney, then at the roof. In an instant, he disappeared.
“Tell me what happened,” Sara said softly.
“I got a text from Kate saying to meet her by the cottage. I assumed her showing was canceled. I saw one of her cards on the ground and bent to pick it up. Then I heard a shout.”
“Someone yelled, ‘Look out,’” Sara said.
“Yes. I turned to look and there was Evan. I froze. I couldn’t move. He was...”
Sara squeezed his hand. Jack had never recovered from his brother’s death.
“When I didn’t move, he ran at me,” Jack said. “Just like when we were kids, and I dodged him as I used to do. Then... Then...”
“Then the chimney came down.”
Jack nodded, his eyes filling with tears. “Evan promised. When he was six, I ran after a dog that was chasing him. It bit me.” Jack lifted up the leg of his jeans to show a scar. “Evan was very upset. He was afraid I was going to die and he said he’d save me back. He just did.”
Sara held his hand, her head on his shoulder. When she looked up, she wasn’t surprised to see her brother. He had on a bathrobe over blue boxers. That he hadn’t take time to fully dress showed how upset he was. He’d heard it all.
Barbara Adair came through the trees. She was beautifully made up and had on a gorgeous silk kimono.
“What the hell?” It was Gil, and he was studying the bricks on the ground. He picked up one that looked like it had been burned on one side.
In silence, Lenny slipped around the side of the house and touched Gil’s arm. The two men hurried away together.
Everyone was looking down at Jack and Sara, their expressions asking questions.
Jack recovered first. “Wrong place, wrong time,” he said almost cheerfully as he disentangled himself from Sara. He stood up and offered his hand to her. “The cottage is in worse shape than I thought, and a chimney came down. My men and I will do a thorough inspection today and make some repairs. Until then, everyone needs to stay away.”
“I agree,” Randal said, then offered his arm to Barbara. “May I escort you back to the house? And may I say that you look as beautiful as the dawn?” They were soon out of sight.
Gil came back around the house, his face serious.
