High Meadow

by Joan Wolf

  I don't know. I've never been in this situation before. I don't know.

  Kate was someone who had always known her own mind, and this uncertainty made her feel uneasy. She thought of Alberto's words, that she only loved two people in the world, and she thought that he was right. But those two people had always been enough for her. Was that still true?

  What if Mom wants to marry Alberto? What would I do then?

  Damn. Life was going along so smoothly until Daniel came along.

  The scariest thing was that she wasn't sure if she wished that things could return to the comfortable past or if she preferred to venture forth into the future. Finally, she fell asleep and dreamed she was being chased down a long, dark hallway by something terrible. Then she was in a room with Daniel, and the terror subsided. Somehow, she knew she was safe as long as she was with him.

  * * *

  27

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  Before they left for the park the next morning, Kate and Daniel made a stop at Publix to get some food and snacks into the kitchen. Then they headed to Disney, getting off the tram at Epcot. There was so much to see that Ben decided not to break up the day with a swim in the pool. They started at Spaceship Earth, then methodically saw most of the other exhibits available. Kate particularly liked the Living Seas exhibit.

  "I never realized how educational Disney was," she said to Daniel, as they came out of the exhibit. "This is a great opportunity for Ben to learn."

  She and Daniel were almost identically dressed in khaki pants, blue knit shirts, and moccasins. They had laughed when they saw each other at breakfast in the morning.

  "The Connecticut influence," Daniel had said wryly.

  "The comfort influence," Kate had returned.

  They were together all day long, united in their enjoyment of their son. They got home at five o'clock and, even though it was a little chilly, there were some children in the pool, and Ben wanted to go in. So Daniel took him to the pool while Kate stayed behind. She had picked up some pasta and sauce in the morning and was going to make it for dinner.

  Daniel had objected when she had done so, but she had said it would be easier than dragging a tired Ben out to a restaurant for dinner, and he had given in.

  When Ben finally returned to the unit, wrapped in a big towel, he was shivering. "Daddy will fix a hot shower for you," Kate said. "Then get dressed and come down for dinner."

  Daniel took him upstairs, then returned to talk to Kate. "I'm sorry we were so long, but he was playing with the oldest boy from the other family, and he was having so much fun that I hated to pull him away."

  "Couldn't you see that he was shivering?"

  "He was moving too fast for me to notice."

  "Well, he'll survive, I suppose. I'll put the pot of water on the stove to boil."

  "Are you sure you wouldn't rather eat out?"

  "I'm sure. We can eat out tomorrow night if you like."

  "Can I do anything for you?"

  "Nope. Why don't you go and watch the news or something?"

  "Yes, ma'am." A few moments later, Kate heard the sound of the television come on.

  They ate dinner, then Ben and Daniel played checkers. "Can we go swimming again tomorrow morning, Daddy?"

  "I'd rather not, Ben. It's too chilly in the mornings."

  At that moment Kate came downstairs from the bedroom, where she had been telephoning Jean to make sure everything was going all right in the barn. "Your father's right," she said. "You were freezing when you came in tonight. It is December, after all."

  "But I told Todd I would meet him at the pool."

  "Todd's mother will probably say the same thing I did."

  "No, she won't. He's expecting me, Mommy. I have to be there."

  "No, you don't," Daniel said authoritatively. "We're going to the Animal Kingdom tomorrow, and that will keep you occupied enough."

  Ben scowled.

  Kate said, "This discussion is over, Ben. It's time you got into your pajamas."

  As an unhappy Ben trooped up the stairs to the bedroom, Daniel said to Kate, "I can take him if you think it will be okay."

  "No. You were absolutely right to tell him no. He was almost blue when he came in tonight. He never has enough sense to come out when he's cold."

  "He was having a great time."

  "He will have a great time at the Animal Kingdom, too."

  They put Ben to bed, then went downstairs to the living room and watched CSI on television. At ten o'clock, Daniel switched the TV off and came back to sit on the sofa. He stretched his legs out in front of him comfortably, and asked, "Would you like to make love with me tonight?"

  Kate's head turned. "I beg your pardon?"

  "I asked if you would like to make love with me tonight." He spoke almost lazily, contemplating the feet stretched so comfortably in front of him.

  'Are you serious?"

  He turned and she saw his eyes. "Perfectly."

  Kate's heart began to pound. She said uncertainly, "I've never done it before."

  "I know. You told me. Would you like to try it with me?"

  Kate bent her head and looked at her hands in her lap. He looked at the exposed nape of her neck and enclosed it with his hand. "Your skin is so beautiful," he said. "You are so beautiful, Kata."

  She looked up from the contemplation of her hands and stuck her chin in the air. "All right. Let's do it."

  His eyes sparkled. "I always said you were brave."

  "I don't feel very brave," she confessed.

  "It will be all right, darling. Believe me, everything will be all right." And he bent his head and kissed her.

  This kiss was different from the one they had exchanged the previous night. That had been careful and tender. This was urgent and intense, and it seemed to ignite something inside her, and she wasn't afraid anymore. She accepted his kiss, and then, sliding her arms around his neck, she returned it. One of his hands slid under her shirt and cupped her breast. Kate murmured with pleasure, and, after a minute, her hand began to caress the shiny dark hair at the back of his head.

  "Let's go upstairs," he said. The touch of his hand on her breast was exquisite.

  "Yes," she said.

  He rose with his usual grace and, bending for a minute, picked her up as easily as if she had been a child. He carried her easily, too, up the stairs and into his bedroom, where he set her on her feet beside the bed.

  "You should know this," he said. His hands were on her shoulders and he was standing so close that Kate had to tilt her head far back to look up into his face. "I don't think I've ever wanted anything the way I want you right now." His voice sounded normal, but she could see, above the opened collar of his shirt, a pulse beating rapidly under the warm olive skin.

  Kate asked, trying to sound natural, "Should I get undressed?"

  "Why don't we both get undressed?"

  Kate pulled her shirt out from her pants, then pulled it over her head. She tossed it on a chair, then she unhooked her bra. Daniel also pulled his knit shirt over his head and Kate gazed at him, for a moment almost unconscious of her own naked flesh, so interested was she in the smoothly muscled expanse of Daniel's chest, shoulders, and upper arms. Without his shirt he didn't look as slim as he did with his clothes on.

  When she was just wearing her panties he took her hand. "Come to bed, Kata," and she went.

  For one of the few times in her life, her clever brain was stilled, and all she was aware of was Daniel's hands touching her, his mouth caressing her. She arched up against him, her slender body pressing against the strength of his. He buried his lips in the short silk of her hair.

  "Kata." He made her name sound like a love word.

  She kissed his shoulder. His fingers moved caressingly along her inner thigh. Then he touched her, and her breath caught and her body tensed and feeling flooded through her. She looked up into his face and, as their eyes met, something passed between them—something so intimate, so tender, that Kate's throat
ached.

  "Okay?" he asked softly.

  "Okay," she replied.

  He continued to touch and caress her, and Kate felt her body ripen in response. Soon fire was running through her veins, and an incredible tension was building in her loins. "Daniel," she said. "Daniel."

  "Hold on," he muttered, "this might hurt." And then he was coming into her.

  She climaxed just as he entered her, so the cascading pleasure of orgasm was mixed with the burning pain of his penetration. She cried out but did not try to pull away. She heard him say her name, heard the love words he was using. She felt the power of him within her and, even though it hurt, it was splendid. Without realizing it, her nails dug into his shoulders. She would see the marks of them the following day.

  When he had got his breath back and his heart was no longer hammering, he held her in the crook of his arm, and she nestled her cheek into the slightly damp hollow of his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and she turned her lips to the smooth bare skin of his chest. "Wow," she said.

  "I'm sorry I hurt you."

  "It wasn't too bad."

  "I can't believe you were still intact after all those years of riding horses."

  "I think I'm bleeding. I'd better go and clean up."

  "Do you have to leave?"

  "Yes."

  Kate went into the bathroom and discovered she was indeed bleeding. She did a cleanup job, enveloped herself in the robe that was hanging on the hook, went back into the bedroom, and sat on the edge of the bed. She said, "I begin to see why sex is so popular."

  His eyes were half-closed and he looked as if he were going to fall asleep. "Is that a compliment?"

  "It is."

  One eye opened all the way. "Wait until we try it the next time, after you've healed a bit."

  "Mmm."

  The other eye opened. "Come here."

  She crawled into the middle of the bed, next to him, and once more he cradled her in his arm. "Sleep with me."

  "I can't. If Ben wakes up and I'm not there, he'll come looking for me."

  "He won't wake up."

  "He might."

  He made a sound of frustration.

  "I'll stay for a little while."

  "Okay," and he buried his lips in her hair.

  He was so warm, so big, so comforting. Kate actually fell asleep and didn't migrate back to her own bedroom until four o'clock in the morning.

  Kate did not awaken until eight o'clock, an unheard of time for her. Ben's bed was already empty. She got up, took a shower, and went downstairs about eight-twenty. Daniel was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper, which had been left at their door.

  "Where's Ben?" she asked.

  "Isn't he in his bed?"

  Fear caused Kate's heart to thud. "No, I woke up at eight, and he wasn't there. I thought he would be down here with you."

  "I haven't seen him." Daniel put down his newspaper. "The little brat has gone to swim in the pool."

  Relief flooded through Kate. "That must be it. He went to swim with that boy."

  "Let's go get him."

  "All right."

  The two of them half walked, half ran the short distance to the swimming pool, but all they found there was a bald man swimming laps. "Have you seen any children?" Daniel asked him.

  "There were two boys swimming here when I came, but they left," the man told him.

  "Which way did they go? Did you notice?"

  "Actually, I think they went with someone."

  Kate's hand flew to her mouth.

  Daniel asked, "Who did they go with?"

  The man, who had been treading water, swam over to the side of the pool. "Are you missing your children?"

  "Yes." So far Daniel had done all the talking. Kate just stood there in frozen silence.

  "Jesus," the man said. "They went with a guy I thought must be their grandfather."

  "Maybe he was Todd's grandfather," Kate said in a voice even she didn't recognize. "Do you know where Todd's family are staying, Daniel?"

  "I don't know the unit number, and I don't know his last name either."

  "What are we going to do?"

  "You go back to the apartment and wait by the telephone. I imagine that Todd's parents will either telephone to tell us where Ben is, or they'll bring him home. I'll wait here by the pool in case his father comes looking for him like we went looking for Ben."

  "All right." Kate felt incapable of thought. Terror had petrified every other faculty. She had actually turned to leave when a man dressed in jeans and a red knit shirt came into the pool enclosure.

  "Shit," Daniel said.

  The man recognized Daniel and came over to him. "I'm looking for my son. He slipped away from the unit this morning, and I think he might have come here to swim with your son."

  Oh my God, Kate thought. Oh my God. He's been kidnapped.

  Daniel was looking very grim. "You didn't send him here with his grandfather?"

  "His grandfather? His grandfather isn't with us. Apparently he made plans with your boy yesterday and, when we said he couldn't swim so early, he sneaked out on us."

  "My son did the exact same thing. This man here saw the two boys go off with a man he assumed to be their grandfather."

  "Oh no. Oh God. Do you think they've been kidnapped?"

  "It looks that way," Daniel said.

  I don't believe it. I can't believe it. This isn't happening. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph make it not be true. Watch out for Ben. Keep him safe. Please, please, please keep him safe.

  Daniel said, "I think we had better call the police." He looked at the man in the bathing suit, who by now had climbed out of the pool. "Will you tell the police what you have told us?"

  "Of course." He had draped a towel around himself but he was looking cold. "I'll need to let my wife know what's happened, though. She's expecting me to return for breakfast." "Come to my apartment," Daniel said commandingly. "We can make the phone calls from there."

  The two men and Kate automatically began to follow him as he turned and headed toward the exit from the pool enclosure.

  It took the police about five minutes to respond. Almost the first thing they asked was, "Do you think the kidnapper knew the boy was your son, Mr. Montero?"

  "I have no idea," Daniel replied evenly. "I was with him at the pool yesterday, and anyone who bothered to notice would have known he was with me. But the only other people at the pool were Tom Robbins and his kids."

  "Yeah, nobody else came by," Tom Robbins agreed.

  The policeman said, "Still, that doesn't mean someone wasn't watching. The pool is visible from any number of rooms." He turned to the man in the bathing suit, whose name had turned out to be Ron Blake. 'Are you sure the boys went with him willingly?"

  "Yes. It's why I didn't take much notice."

  "Would you be able to identify the man?"

  "You know, I don't think so. I saw him only briefly. I have to confess my thoughts were that I was happy the kids were going, that I would have the pool to myself to swim laps."

  The burly cop who was in charge said, "There are two possibilities here. The boys were taken by a pervert, or the main target was the Montero boy, and the purpose was ransom."

  Kate felt dizzy. It was scarcely a second before Daniel's arm was around her. "Come and sit down, Kata," he said. "Let me get you some water."

  Kate sat down because if she didn't, she was afraid she was going to fall down. What will I do if Ben is killed? How can I go on living?

  Daniel said strongly, "We'll get him back, Kata."

  She looked up at him and nodded. She forced her brain to function. "I hope it's ransom and not the other."

  He put his hand on her shoulder and said to the cop in charge, "What do we do first?"

  "First I'll put out an alarm for my men to look for an elderly man with the two boys we'll describe. Then we'll get a tap on your phone, in case the kidnapper tries to get in touch with you."

  Kidnapp
er, Kate thought. Ben has been kidnapped. Oh my dear God. Ben has really been kidnapped.

  "I have to call Mom," she said to Daniel.

  "Why don't you give it a few hours? There's no point in scaring her if it's not necessary."

  "Do you think they'll be found in a few hours?"

  "Every cop in the area will be looking for him, Kata. There's a good chance he'll be found."

  "Okay. I'll wait, then."

  But the hours went by, and nothing happened. Two policemen as well as Tom Robbins waited by the phone, but there was no ransom call. There was no report that a policeman had found the boys. All there was, was silence.

  Kate was in anguish. Her worst nightmare had come true. She had lost Ben.

  She said to Daniel, "If only we had let him swim this morning, you would have gone with him and he would have been safe."

  "I know, Kata. It just never occurred to me that he would sneak out on us. He's usually such an accommodating child."

  "If I hadn't been so tired from last night, I would have heard him get up. I never sleep until eight o'clock."

  He didn't try to reassure her. "I've thought of that, too. But it's pointless to keep going over the past. What's done is done. We have to concentrate now on finding him."

  "Do you think we will find him, Daniel?"

  "I do." He sounded calm and confident. "I just have a feeling that this will come out all right, and we'll be looking to hand Ben his head for scaring us this way."

  It helped enormously to hear that confidence from him. She gave a wobbly laugh. "I'll kill him when I get my hands on him."

  "We both will."

  But the day passed into the evening, and still they heard nothing. Two policemen remained in the apartment monitoring the phone, which never rang.

  Kate mentioned calling Molly once more, but Daniel said, "Isn't this the day for her chemo treatment?"

  "Is this Friday?"

  "Yes."

  "You're right. She had chemo today. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow."

  "Good idea."

  The police got a call that a man and two boys had been picked up, and Kate started to hope. But then word came through that the boys weren't Ben and Todd, and she started to despair.

  The night crept on. Kate was exhausted, but she couldn't think of trying to sleep. She curled up in the corner of the sofa and, on and off, Daniel held her.