by Kim O'Cain
In her sleep, Ashlyn kept saying, “Blue Eyes don’t leave me. Please don’t ever leave me. I need you.”
Every time she spoke, he jumped from his chair and hovered over her bed. Blake wasn’t sure who she was talking about. He couldn’t remember if Derek had blue eyes. At some point he dosed off in an unnatural position in the most uncomfortable chair.
“I really need to pee. Can you help me to the bathroom?” asked Ashlyn, waking Blake from a cat nap.
“Sure.” He said stretching and trying to wake up.
“Here. Swing your left leg over and I’ll get your right leg. Here are your crutches. Maybe you should just lean on me.”
Ashlyn was still so drugged up from the morphine that she could barely walk on her good leg and gladly leaned into Blake’s warm body.
“You smell good. You smell like redwood trees and rain. I love redwood trees and rain, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do too,” replied Blake, snuggling Ashlyn in closer.
Epilogue
Ashlyn was busy getting all the camping gear together. She checked off the last item on her list and closed her backpack.
She had been looking forward to this trip for months. Her schedule had been so crazy, and a last-minute change on a big project almost threatened to make her cancel her plans. But she problem-solved quickly, and the client was thrilled with the work around. It was the largest Zen learning garden she had designed. It was going into a public middle school with 2,000 students in upstate New York, not far from her home. The garden had many “classrooms” and quiet spaces for meditating. It was her firm’s most rewarding and high-profile project.
Even though she loved her job, she was ready for much needed time off with friends. It had been ten years since she’d seen all of her teammates. Every year they had a standing date to camp on the first day of summer in the redwood forest. A few made it each year, but this was the first time that everyone was going. They spent a few days volunteering at GYP Once you were part of that family, you never really left.
Most members were married or at least in serious relationships. They had come from all parts of the nation and scattered again after service. But they kept in touch through good and bad times.
Trish and Ashlyn had remained close friends even though they lived thousands of miles apart. They called each other every week and spent way too much time texting. Trish had married Jeffery, a guy she met at the advertising firm where she worked. They were expecting their second kid in six months.
Kate stayed in Orick and was the head ranger for the national park. Kate did become an arborist before joining the National Park Service and worked as a tree consultant on several projects in California. She married Matt, and they had four dogs, two horses, and two cats. They bought the only market and gas station in town, and Matt managed those. He was building an RV resort park that looked out onto the Pacific Ocean with the redwoods as the backdrop. Maybe next year the resort would be open, and they would move the camping trip there.
Derek had been dismissed from service, arrested and convicted of aggravated assault, and was imprisoned for nine months with one year of parole. Harvard turned him down quietly. He was forced to repay his GYP stipend. He worked in his dad’s office doing who knew what. Ashlyn never heard of him again after the trial. She rarely thought of him. Not even thunderstorms scared her anymore.
She looked at her wedding picture on her dresser before heading downstairs.
It still gave her so much joy to see her parents smiling happily, standing next to her, and on the other side, her husband with his lopsided grin and his beautiful blue eyes.
The end.
Thank you
If so, it would mean so much if you would take just two minutes to leave an honest review on Amazon by clicking here.
Reviews and sharing with your friends are extremely appreciated, since I don’t have the financial power of a big New York publisher—yet. But I do have a growing loyal band of readers, like you.
XO,
Kim O’Cain
www.kimocain.com
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About The Author
Kim O’Cain grew up riding a black bull in her back yard in the middle of the city. But now she lives near the beach in Santa Monica and rides a kayak. She jumps at the chance to camp with her husband, son, and dog.
www.kimocain.com
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text Copyright © 2019 by Kim O’Cain.
All Right Reserved.
Cover design: Brian Kelsey
This book was previously titled Waters Rise.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book was published thanks to free support and training from EbookPublishingSchool.com.
Acknowledgements
To my circle of lights, thank you, especially Robert, Alexa, and Shlomit whose vision and hard work for a better world gave me the idea for this book. To my husband, Bryan, for making this journey so worthwhile—I love you. And special thanks to Billie, Jennifer, Tine, Brian, and Steve.
Thanks to You…
$1 from every book sold is donated to the National Park Service
The setting for this book is the Redwood National Forest in Orick, California. It’s a magical place where my family vacations, and I want to do my part to spread the love!