And Then She Was Gone(109)

“So kiss me again.”

She took one step forward, and Jack took a step back.

“Tonight.” He grinned roguishly. “Tonight you’ll kiss me and I won’t let go.”

She nodded.

Jack turned and walked to the Impala with a swagger in his step.





34





Broken Reeds





Jack carried two bouquets of flowers into Hamilton Park. It was a beautiful summer day. Walking down the path and then into the woods, he took in a long, deep breath, enjoying a momentary feeling of peace. The sun hung low in the sky, and the darkness under the canopy of the trees was lit from the side by the sun’s rays across the water.

Jack walked down the embankment to the broken reeds. He swallowed and looked back up the hill behind him, where new grass and shrubs had already begun to grow up in the path of destruction. Then he looked out across the water. He realized that the memory of her would always haunt him, spur him on when he couldn’t go on. Something like this, he’d never forget.

He had been wrestling with the accolades from well-wishers, and the headlines in the local papers calling him a hero; they gave him no solace. A killer was in prison and an innocent man was now free, but Jack realized how close his family and friends had come to paying the ultimate price because of Jack’s foolish need to prove his self-worth.

And he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been. At this moment, would Stacy have been shopping for her baby? Or buying toys for the nursery?

A gentle breeze stirred the lily pads. The water sparkled and Jack followed the line the sun made to the other side. As the sun dipped lower, the whole pond glittered a bright gold and white.

Jack unwrapped the flowers and laid each bouquet onto the water. He bowed his head and prayed.

Then he whispered, “You aren’t trash.”



The End