“What do you mean?”
She swallowed. “We were jet skiing along the coast. Spencer said he wanted to explore some sea caves. He said he researched which ones we should visit.” Her eyes unfocused. Her voice was almost a whisper. “I’m sure he did.Did plenty of research. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.”
Jason suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this story was heading.
Tayla had stopped talking.
He didn’t want to push her, but they needed to hear the rest. “Okay. So, you left Enzo’s boat, on the jet skis. Then what?”
Her head bobbed. “We went straight to a cave. One he chose. When we were near the entrance, my jet ski died. The dial said it had fuel, but it acted like it didn’t. Spencer tossed a rope to me and towed me into the cave. I told him we should go back to the boat, but he said he wanted to explore the cave since we were already there.”
She twisted her hands in her lap. “It was a small cave. Narrow. With a low ceiling just a few feet above our heads. Near the back of the cave, there were some rocks you could kind of climb on. He wanted me to get off my jet ski and stand on the rocks so he could take my picture. He told me . . . to take my life jacket off for the picture. And, like an idiot, I did.”
Tears were in her eyes now. Every muscle in Jason’s body was a knot of fire-hot tension. Listening to her story unravel was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
She flattened her hands on her lap, fisted them, then flattened them again. “After he took my picture. I noticed the rope was gone. He said he accidentally dropped it in the water.” Agitation seeped into her tone. “Then he said he was going back to the boat to get another jet ski for me. He wanted me to stay in the cave and wait for him. “ She closed her eyes and shook her head. “He’d been acting weird all morning, but at that point, I think I knew . . . I think I knew what he was doing.”
Her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “But I didn’t want to believe . . . I didn’t want to believe what was happening. I argued with him. I told him his jet ski could hold both of us, that I could ride back to the boat with him. He wasn’t listening. He looked at me when he started his jet ski. Looked me right in the eyes. No emotion. No second-guessing himself. He realized I knew what was happening. And he didn’t care.”
Heavy silence hung in the air for two breaths. “My life jacket was still hanging from the handle of his jet ski when he left the cave. And I knew he wasn’t coming back.”
Jason glanced at Leland, who looked like his brain was about to explode.
She’d been staring at nothing in particular while she recounted the last few details. Now, her gaze locked with Jason’s. Deep hurt and fear swam in her unshed tears. But he also sensed a flicker of hope fighting the pain.
“The water started to rise. High tide, I guess. The cave filled . . .”
Jason grabbed her hand.
Two tears ran down her cheeks.
“How did you survive?”
“An air pocket.” Her voice faltered. “There was a rock I clung to. Near that pocket of air.” Her shoulder rose with a half-shrug. “That worked until the tide receded.” She lifted her eyes to his. “I prayed that same verse . . . ‘The Lord is my rock . . .’” She shook her head. “I couldn’t even remember the rest of the verse that day. I just repeated that part over and over. I don’t think God is a literal rock for most people. David probably meant ‘rock’ as a metaphor when he penned that psalm. But for me that day . . . God gave me an actual rock.”
She sucked in another breath, her emotions warring with her resolve. “Anyway, when the tide went down, I wasable to swim out. I climbed on some rocks outside the cave and waited for help.”
Jason rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.
She pushed the tears off her face and sniffed. “The police told me later Spencer wrecked his jet ski. They found his body and the jet ski near a rocky area not far from the cave.”
Leland leaned forward with more emotion on his face than Jason had ever seen. “Why didn’t you tell me the whole story? The police told me they found both of your jet skis wrecked. They said you both tried to swim to the beach. Spencer hit his head on some rocks and you made it to shore.”
Tayla nodded. “That’s what the police assumed. When they asked me, I just nodded. I didn’t want to talk about it. So they thought I was confirming their theory. Then when his parents showed up . . . I couldn’t . . . I just couldn’t tell them the truth. I always liked his parents. They were wonderful to me.”
Jason wasn’t sure if he was holding her hand, or if she was holding his, but he felt her squeeze his fingers when she looked into his eyes again. “What was I supposed tosay? Tell his mother that her son tried to kill me? He was dead. She was mourning. I just couldn’t do that to her.”
“I understand. I do,” Jason said.
She looked back at Leland, whose expression twisted with everything from anger to grief to guilt. “I’m so sorry Leland. I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just couldn’t admit the truth out loud. Not to his family. Or anyone. It was easier not to talk about it. That made me a coward, I know. But not anymore. I hate that it happened, but I’m not afraid to talk about it now. No more secrets.”
Leland nodded. “It’s okay, Tayla. It’s okay.” He sagged in his chair and hung his head like the truth just ripped years off his life. He raised his eyes to Tayla. “But why? Why would he do that to you? I didn’t see that coming. Why?”
“I’ve asked myself that question a million times.” She sighed. “I always come to the same conclusion. It was easier for him. Easier, and better for his reputation, than a divorce. He wasn’t happy, Leland. He wasn’t the man I thought he was. He was tired of me a few months into the marriage. I kept telling myself things might get better, but they never did.”
Her voice tripped over the emotion building in her throat. She coughed and startedagain. “His reputation was always very important to him. A divorce would have hurt his business and devastated his family. But me dying in a tragic accident would have made everyone feel sorry for him. The image of the mourning husband might even have helped him with some business dealings. He would have done anything for money. And I do meananything.”
The emotion on Leland’s face squeezed Jason’s heart. He’d wanted to protect Tayla so much that he hadn’t told her what he did for a living. But she’d suffered unimaginable trauma, and he hadn’t even known.
