“I suppose.” Raquelle paused. “He’s not a quitter. If there’s any way—”
Landon only wondered if there was a way for Eddie to beat back the odds and come out of this whole. “I agree.” He strove to maintain a positive attitude while being realistic as well.
“How’s your mom?” Raquelle broke into his thoughts.
“She’s good.” Landon recalled that his mother andRaquelle got along nicely during the marriage, each respecting the other. But as one would expect, after the divorce, they pretty much drifted apart socially—just as he and Raquelle had. “Mom met a man on a dating site last year, and they got married six months ago.”
“How nice,” Raquelle cadenced. “I’m happy for her—them.”
“Me too. Though I have to admit it’s still a bit hard getting used to her now being Mrs. Chuck Pritchard.”
“You’d better.” She chuckled. “Practice makes perfect.”
“True.” Landon only wished their own marriage had not fallen apart. But it seemed like the only option at the time. Was it?
Raquelle said thoughtfully, “I should go.”
“Okay.” He enjoyed talking to her, however brief. “I’ll be in touch,” he told her, wanting to say more but leaving that door open for now.
“Bye.” She disconnected.
Landon went into the living room, grabbed his guitar, and sat on an accent chair. He began to play it, while imagining Raquelle playing the piano alongside him in a soulful duet of sounds. Maybe they could still recreate the music that was once such a big part of their lives.
Or at least work their way back toward the passions they shared.
But first, the matter of Eddie’s vanishing act still needed to be resolved, knowing that Raquelle was unlikely to think in terms of moving forward with her own life until she got some answers.
Chapter Six
Raquelle accepted Eddie’s invitation to have lunch with him aboard his Crest Savannah 250 SLSC pontoon. He warned her it wasn’t anything special. Just ham sandwiches, potato chips, oatmeal cookies, and beer or wine—her choice.
As it was, she didn’t need anything special. Apart from being open-minded with food, she was happy to spend time with her brother—something that had become less and less frequent in recent times because of their busy schedules. But with no other living relatives, Raquelle was determined not to let her relationship with Eddie fall by the wayside.
Not if she could help it.
So she drove to the marina, exuberant and ready to dine, laugh, reminisce about their childhood when both had such fun but couldn’t wait to grow up—and even try to break down where things went wrong in their failed relationships.
As far as Raquelle was concerned, nothing would be off limits. She just wanted to be herself and expected the same from Eddie.
When she arrived at Knotter Marina, Raquelle routinely left her car and headed for the walkway. She nearlybumped into a tall man wearing a hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans, and dark running shoes. The hood was covering his head. He glared at her with dark eyes but said nothing.
Neither did she as he quickly walked away as though late for an appointment.
Raquelle turned from the man and resumed moving across the dock toward her brother’s boat. She glanced nonchalantly at the rude man who almost bowled her over and saw him look back at her, as if sensing she was looking, before vanishing from sight. Refocusing, she gave a sweeping scan of the other boats docked on opposite sides of Eddie’s pontoon.
Just as she got within a few feet of it, Raquelle saw Eddie on board waving at her, grinning cheerfully while inviting her to climb aboard. She giggled while accepting the invitation.
But before she was able to take another step, the pontoon suddenly exploded into flames. She watched in horror as her brother was being burned alive, his screams excruciating to hear.
Feeling an overwhelming urge to help him, Raquelle started to race toward the boat while crying out for help. Before she could get there, powerful arms held her back, against her wishes. Unable to break free, she twisted her neck and locked eyes with her ex-husband.
As determined as she was to save her brother, Landon was just as driven in preventing her from burning to death too.
When she looked back to the boat that was totally engulfed in a ball of fire and fury, Raquelle screamed as though she were being consumed by the fire.
RAQUELLE HEARD MOANScoming from her mouth as she opened her eyes. It took her a few moments to adjust to the darkness in the wee hours of Saturday morning to grasp that she was in her rustic platform queen bed. The terrifying experience was only a nightmare.None of it was real, thankfully, she thought. Not that it took away from the reality that Eddie’s boat was bombed and that he was probably supposed to be on it. But he wasn’t. It gave her something to hold on to.
He might still be alive. And not physically harmed.
