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"Have a good afternoon, sweetheart, and I’ll be home soon after five"

He wanted to tell her not to rush on his account, but it wouldn’t do any good Olivia was on a mission and unfortunately that mission was to save him from himself

Jack replaced the receiver, closed his eyes a moment in an effort to reduce his blood pressure, then picked up his cribbage hand

"So how’d you knoas Olivia?" Bob asked, placing a ten-dollar bill on the coffee table

"She’s s me with attention"

"I don’t know," Bob returned with a skeptical look "I wouldn’tme a little extra TLC"

"You’dto say on the subject

True to her word, Olivia was home at twelve minutes past five Jack knew for a fact that the drive frohthouse Road took exactly eleven minutes That meant she was out the door at the stroke of five, in her car and racing away from the office

Jack sat in front of the television He found daytiely populated by the stupid and the shaoing to leap off a bridge

"Hi," she said, cons of--what?--she re up her coat "Did you have your nap?"

Jack claet you?" she asked next

"Yes" His response was automatic "I want a kiss A real kiss"

She hesitated for only a ht"

"None of that peck-on-the-cheek stuff, either I want--no, I need--a kiss froood idea"

"I happen to believe it’s a ot up froo to her

Olivia nized the determination in his eyes because she backed away froainst the wall, her eyes ith alarm, she whispered, "Jack…"

He didn’t allow her to finish She stiffened when he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her for all he orth Her lips were soft and pliant, and it wasn’t long before he felt her relax She sighed; soon her arht up in each other

Jack was just beginning to wonder how difficult it would be to unfasten her blouse and free her breasts He loved the feel of Olivia’s breasts; the weight of theured he’d get Suddenly the oddest thing happened

Olivia started to weep

These weren’t ordinary tears, either Her shoulders heaved with sobs as she clung to hih she couldn’t stop Aso hard she had to pull away in order to breathe With her head against his chest, her ar his middle, she continued to weep

"Olivia?" he asked anxiously He’d never seen her cry like this, never known her capable of this heart-wrenching kind of grief His hands were in her hair as he tried to coed to say between hiccuping sobs "Jack, oh Jack, please, please, don’t ever do that to htened his hold on her

"All I could think about was losing you…I kept re the day Jordan drowned and…don’t leave me, Jack! Don’t leave me, I love you so much"

"I would never leave you," he assured her, still stroking her hair

"I couldn’t stand it"

"Never," he pro, he’d keep his word

Thirty-Eight

"Roy, would you fill the water glasses?" Corrie called from the kitchen Their company was due anythe Beldons over, and cooking for soy’s skill in the kitchen orthy of her own cooking show on the Food Network What did one serve a culinary virtuoso?

After days of flipping through cookbooks, Corrie chose baked halibut ild rice and fresh green beans Dessert was coconut cake, using Charlotte Jefferson’s recipe With this cake, Charlotte had apparently won the blue ribbon in the Kitsap County Fair five years running Corrie didn’t doubt it If the cake tasted half as divine as it looked and sy would be i an e else you needrooant, if she did say so herself A fresh flower arrangeany table, which was covered with a pale-yellow linen cloth Matching napkins were folded into the shape of birds about to take flight Corrie had picked up this neat trick watching a Martha Stewart show a few years back The simplicity of it had attracted her Their very best china and silverere laid out for their guests