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“I won’t apologize to you. I’m working on righting my own wrongs. I may never be able to do it, and I accept that. But you? If you were on that island—and I have it on pretty damned good authority that you were—anything I did pales in comparison.”
“Some of your old girlfriends might not agree with that,” he says.
“Low blow, Dad. I never raped anyone.”
“No, you just exerted so much control that your women wanted to run away from you.”
“I’m not proud of who I used to be,” I say. “I’m here because I want to try to make up for it.”
“And you think that’s possible?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t labor under any delusion that I can make up for everything I’ve done. But I can do what I can. What are you going to do?”
“Who says I did anything wrong?”
“If you were on that island—”
“What if I was? You can’t prove a damned thing.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Dad. I can prove it.”
30
KATELYN
Luke doesn’t return my text, of course. I’m not sure why I’m surprised.
At least I know he hasn’t forgotten me. He had my name tattooed on his shoulder. His right shoulder.
That means something, right?
I smile. He still loves me.
When I return to the guesthouse, Jed greets me with a panting tongue in a wagging tail.
He also greets me with a floor full of white stuffing from a pillow he chewed up. I suppose I should be happy it’s only one.
“Bad dog.” I point to the pillow.
His tail is still wagging.
I can’t resist. I kneel and hug him to me. “It’s okay. It’s your first day alone in the house. I’m lucky you didn’t do anything worse.” I open the sliding back doors that lead into the fenced yard and let him out. Then I scope out the first floor for any accidents.
Other than a tiny puddle in the kitchen by the door, it’s clear. A puddle by the door just means he was trying to go out.
He’s a full-grown dog, so he shouldn’t have too many accidents. He’s just not used to being inside during the day.
This will work out fine.
I will eventually go back to Manhattan, and I’ll need to find my own place that allows dogs. Jed is my link to Luke, and even if he weren’t, I’ve already fallen in love with the silly mongrel.
I don’t know how long I’ll be here. It depends on what my father’s biopsy results show.
Is it horrible to almost wish they come out bad? Because that will keep me here longer, and Luke is here.
I wipe the thought from my mind. It is a horrid, horrid thought.
Once Jed is done doing his business, I bring him back in and secure his leash to his collar.
“Time for a walk,” I say.
Jed does fairly well on a leash. We walk for about forty-five minutes around our upper-class neighborhood. When both Jed and I have had enough, we return to the guesthouse.
A brown package sits on the stoop. There’s no address on it. It says simply Katelyn.
My heart races. Is it from Luke? He could easily find me. He knows my last name.
“Looks like we got a surprise, baby,” I say to Jed as I unlock the door.
I unleash Jed, and he scrambles inside heading straight for the kitchen where his water bowl is. I smile. He’s already right at home here.
“I guess we should take you to the vet,” I say. “I’ll try to find an appointment for tomorrow. We need to make sure you get some shots and check out your health.”
I turned my attention to the package. It’s not big—about the size of a shoebox. It’s wrapped in brown paper and secured with clear packing tape. I take it into the kitchen where Jed is still drinking, and I grab a serrated knife out of the utensil drawer. Carefully, I cut the packing tape and unwrap the brown wrapping.
Indeed, it is a shoebox. A Nike box. Strange, but he probably just used whatever box he had.
I open it and—
“Oh my God!” My heart thuds.
It’s a timer. For a moment I imagine it’s a bomb, but it appears to be only a timer.
It’s set.
For two hours.
“I don’t understand,” I say out loud.
My skin prickles, and my heart continues to pound.
This isn’t from Luke.
I need to call the cops. Maybe there are fingerprints on it.
“Thank you for calling 911,” a dispatcher says, “what is your emergency?”
“A package was delivered to my home. It contains only a timer set for two hours.”
“Ma’am, is the timer attached to anything?”
“No, it doesn’t appear to be.”
“Ma’am, leave your home. Someone will be there as soon as possible.”
My heart races as I leash Jed again, leaving the package with the timer on the counter. Jed and I run to the main house.
“Mom,” I yell after Casey opens the door for me. “We need to get out of here.”
