by Donna Ball
~
Epilogue
They wore cable knit sweaters and jeans, for although the sun was bright, the late November wind had a bite to it as it swept across the deck of the big gothic gray house on the beach. Faraway someone tossed a stick for a black dog and watched it trudge into the breaking surf to retrieve it; closer in, a man and a woman tossed a Frisbee against the wind, laughing and chasing when it went awry. Other than that, the beach was deserted.
“This is my favorite time of year,” Carol said, cupping her hands around a mug of hot brandied coffee and smiling at the antics of the Frisbee players.
“Thanksgiving is just around the corner,” Laura said.
“You're invited. We're having turkey.”
“Thanks.” She swung one foot onto the cedar picnic table and sipped her own coffee. “I'm going to New York for Christmas,” she announced.
Carol stared at her, and Laura looked embarrassed.
“Winston has a buying trip,” she explained. “And I thought—Rockefeller Center, Saks Fifth Avenue, all expenses paid—why not? Could be kind of—I don't know, romantic.”
Carol smiled. “Good for you. Bring him for Thanksgiving. And don't worry about the office. I'm closing the whole place down for the holidays.”
Laura chuckled, and then let the amusement fade into a smile of quiet contentment. Her eyes, too, went to the Frisbee players on the beach.
After a time she said, “She looks so good, Carol. Sometimes it's eerie. Almost as though she'd never been away.”
Carol nodded. “For us, too. Sometimes she forgets, you know. She wakes up in the morning and she's fourteen years old again and none of it ever happened and, God, I want to keep it that way. But I know I can't.”
“What do her doctors say?”
Carol smiled. “She's doing good. Better than they expected. She'll make a full recovery.” And now a quiet determination came into her voice. “I know she will.”
Laura reached across the space between their chairs and squeezed her hand. “I know she will, too.”
Another moment passed in sun and wind and comfortable silence. Then Laura said, “Is it true Carlton is pleading insanity?”
Carol nodded. “He'll get life in a mental hospital. I don't know whether to be furious or relieved. It spares Kelly, but...”
She didn't finish. She kept thinking about that moment when Kelly held the awl above Carlton's throat, when Carol could have stopped her but she hadn't. These days, however, she thought about it with less and less guilt.
Laura said nothing, and didn't have to. Carol knew her friend understood what she had left unsaid.
“There are parts of it,” Carol said in a moment, “that the doctors don't think Kelly will ever remember. I'm glad.”
Laura agreed quietly, “Me, too.” Then, “Will she be able to start school next year?”
“We're bringing in a tutor after the holidays and we think she'll be ready for classes by next fall. She'll probably only be a year behind. She's so bright, Laura. And she picked up her music right where she left off.” Carol gave a throaty chuckle. “I never thought I'd be glad to hear that CD player going again. And you should see the sound system Guy’s getting her for Christmas. Never mind, you don't have to see it; you'll hear it. No matter where you are on the island, you'll hear it.”
Laura chuckled. “I consider myself forewarned.”
Carol's smile was wistful as she looked down the beach. “Sometimes,” she said, “it’s almost as though we turned back time.”
Laura looked at her across the brim of her coffee cup. “If anyone deserves to do that,” she said, “you three do.”
Carol smiled gratefully, and they were silent for a time, watching the beach.
The Laura asked, “So how are you doing? Are you going to be up for cooking a turkey?”
Carol had spent most of the summer recovering from surgery for a pinched nerve in her back, and she winced at the memory. “You better believe it. I might not be able to lift it out of the oven,” she admitted, “but that's what husbands are for.”
Laura gave her a thumbs-up, then cocked her head toward the sliding glass door that was open to the faint sound of a buzzer from within. “That must be the lasagna. Do you want me to go down and call in the troops?”
Carol hesitated. “Do you mind setting the table instead? I'd like to do it.”
Laura smiled. “Be my guest.”
Carol put aside her coffee cup and went down the stairs to the beach. But she didn't call to them right away. She stood on the boardwalk watching them play, the dark-haired girl and the tall slim man, loving them with all her might, and listening to the sound of their laughter on the wind.
##
More spine-chilling suspense by Donna Ball
NIGHT FLIGHT
She’s an innocent woman who knows too much. Now she’s fleeing through the night without a weapon and without a phone, and her only hope for survival is a cop who’s willing to risk his badge—and his life—to save her.
SANCTUARY
They came to the peaceful, untouched mountain wilderness of Eastern Tennessee seeking an escape from the madness of modern life. But when they built their luxury homes in the heart of virgin forest they did not realize that something was there before them… something ancient and horrible; something that will make them believe that monsters are real.
EXPOSURE
Everyone has secrets, but when talk show host Jessamine’s Cray’s stalker begins to use her past to terrorize her, no one is safe … not her family, her friends, her coworkers, and especially not Jess herself.
RENEGADE by Donna Boyd
Enter a world of dark mystery and intense passion, where human destiny is controlled by a species of powerful, exotic creatures. Once they ruled the Tundra, now they rule Wall Street. Once they fought with teeth and claws, now they fight with wealth and power. And only one man can stop them… if he dares.
Also by Donna Ball
The Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series
SMOKY MOUNTAIN TRACKS
A child has been kidnapped and abandoned in the mountain wilderness. Her only hope is Raine Stockton and her young, untried tracking dog Cisco...
RAPID FIRE
Raine and Cisco are brought in by the FBI to track a terrorist …a terrorist who just happens to be Raine’s old boyfriend.
GUN SHY
Raine rescues a traumatized service dog, and soon begins to suspect he is the only witness to a murder.
BONE YARD
Cisco digs up human remains in Raine’s back yard, and mayhem ensues. Could this be evidence of a serial killer, a long-unsolved mass murder, or something even more sinister… and closer to home?
SILENT NIGHT
It’s Christmastime in Hansonville, N.C., and Raine and Cisco are on the trail of a missing teenager. But when a newborn is abandoned in the manger of the town's living nativity and Raine walks in on what appears to be the scene of a murder, the holidays take a very dark turn for everyone concerned.
The Dead Season
Raine and Cisco lead a group of troubled youth on a winter wilderness hike that turns deadly.
The Ladybug Farm series by Donna Ball
For every woman who ever had a dream… or a friend
A Year on Ladybug Farm
At Home on Ladybug Farm
Love Letters from Ladybug Farm
Christmas on Ladybug Farm
Recipes from Ladybug Farm
Romance Revisited by Donna Ball
MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER
He was a cowboy looking for a wife. She was a lady specializing in brides. They were made for each other... They just didn't know it yet.
A MAN AROUND THE HOUSE
He was the answer to a busy working woman's dreams. But was he too good to be true?
FOR KEEPS
He's an animal trainer who lives by one rule: never get attached. She's a social worker who knows all too well the price of getting involved. It may take an
entire menagerie to bring them together, but eventually they both must learn that sometimes it's for keeps.
STEALING SAVANNAH
He was a reformed jewel thief now turned security expert and her job depended on his expertise. But could he be trusted not to steal the most valuable jewel of all-- her heart?
UNDER COVER
She's working on the biggest case of her life, and her cover has already been blown-- by the very man she's investigating. Now they must work together to solve an even bigger mystery-- their future together.
THE STORMRIDERS
They were thunder and lightning when they were married, and their divorce has been no less turbulent. But trapped together during a deadly blizzard with the lives of an entire community depending on them, they discover what's really important, and that some storms are worth riding out.
INTERLUDE
Sometimes a chance encounter is over in a moment, and sometimes it can last a lifetime.
CAST ADRIFT
She was a marine biologist on short deadline to find a very important dolphin, with no time to waste on romance. He was a sailor who knew there could only be one captain on his ship-- himself. But two weeks at sea together could change everything...
~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR….
Donna Ball is the author of over a hundred novels under several different pseudonyms in a variety of genres that include romance, mystery, suspense, paranormal, western adventure, historical and women’s fiction. Recent popular series include the Ladybug Farm series by Berkley Books and the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series. She lives in a restored Victorian Barn in the heart of the Blue Ridge mountains with a variety of four-footed companions. You can contact her at http://www.donnaball.net