Disguised Blessing Read Online Free PDF Page A

was mine. I made her wear it. You heard me. I told her she had to take it.” Lightheaded with worry, she started shaking, just a slight trembling at first, and then violently. She put her hand against the side of the house to keep from falling. “It’s my fault.”
    “It’s not even that cold. She really didn’t need a sweater.”
    Instead of feeding her guilt, Tom’s words made Catherine realize she didn’t have time for the luxury of indulging in self-doubt or pity. The seeds were planted. The feelings would take root and grow later.
    When he looked at her she didn’t see the expected sorrow or concern in his eyes, she saw fear. She immediately assumed he was holding something back. But that wasn’t Tom’s style. He never protected her that way.
    Peripherally, it came to her that the boat motor had slowed. They were approaching the dock. She took off without saying anything more. He could follow or stay; at that moment, she didn’t care.
    Catherine had expected Peter or Julianne Winslow to be driving. Instead it was one of the kids from the party, someone she didn’t recognize. It took a second to sort through the other worried faces in the open bow boat, all of them teenagers, before she spotted Brian in the back. He had Lyndacradled in his arms, her face tucked against his neck, her body covered with a blanket.
    Catherine reached for the line one of the boys threw but Tom got to it first. She’d been so focused on Lynda, she hadn’t realized he’d joined her.
    The motor stopped, leaving the sirens to synchronize in an urgent rhythm, their shrill sound echoing off the surrounding mountains, fueling the sense of urgency.
    Of the half dozen kids in the boat, only one looked at Catherine: Brian. She tried to swallow the lump of fear in her throat and almost choked on its size.
    Flashing red lights slashed through the moonless night. First the fire engine and then the ambulance pulled into the driveway. Tom anchored the line, then clasped extended hands. Catherine found herself surrounded by young people whose immediate job had come to an end and who now had no idea what to do with themselves. Tom directed them off of the dock and up to the house. Only Brian and Lynda remained on the boat, isolated, abandoned.
    Look at me. Say something, Catherine silently commanded her daughter. Let me see that you are all right. Give me this one thing to hang on to.
    “She’s in a lot of pain,” Brian said. “I don’t think we should move her until the ambulance gets here.”
    Catherine nodded, yielding to his request, grateful for the caring tone in his voice. In the background she heard rescue equipment being unloaded and the low sounds of men talking to each other. Help was only seconds away. She should wait; she’dbe in the way if she got in the boat now. But she couldn’t wait. She had to let Lynda know she was there.
    She stepped into the boat and knelt beside Brian. He and Lynda were soaked. His face was white, his lips blue, his teeth chattering.
    “I read somewhere that cold water stops a burn from going deeper,” he said, responding to her confused look. “I carried her into the lake. It was the best I could do.” He looked at Catherine, a desperate need in his eyes.
    She didn’t understand his need, but her heart went out to him. “Thank you,” was all she could think to say. She gently touched her daughter’s hair. A long strand broke off and crumbled to coarse dust in her hand. An acrid smell she refused to let her mind identify filled her nostrils.
    “I’m here, sweetheart,” she whispered, afraid to trust her voice with anything more. Lynda needed to believe Catherine was in control and that she was safe.
    Finally Lynda lifted her head, gasping at the effort. “I’m sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry.” She caught her breath. “Help me. Please help me. I hurt so bad.”
    A powerful spotlight stole the night and created a tunnel for the rescuers to follow. Lynda blinked and turned away. The boat