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But it only took an instant to lose sight of Katie The little girl loved to play hide-and-seek; all Joe had to do was turn his back for a few seconds, and Katie would see it as an opportunity to slip away

Maryellen couldn’t tell how much time passed It felt like an eternity Just as she was about to give way to panic, she saw htened wail The relief that shot through her made her knees buckle

Jon broke out of the thick underbrush and onto the grass, carrying Katie The three-year-old was covered in htly in his arms

"Where’s Joseph?" Ellen cried as she rushed toward hi said Ellen ran forward, and Jon handed Katie to his stepmother As soon as he had, he quickly went back to the same path he’d just left Within seconds, he was coed three sides of their property

Katie continued to wail, but her deep, gulping sobs didn’t signal pain so ht Katie to Maryellen As soon as Katie was in her arirl stopped sobbing She thrust her thuh as Maryellen sat and gently rocked her daughter and allowed her own heart to return to normal

"Joe, dear God in heaven," Ellen wept, pressing her hand over her mouth

Maryellen raised her head to see Jon leading his father through the brush and toward the house Joe was drenched and shivering with cold

"What happened?" Ellen asked, co toward them

Joseph hardly seemed able to speak Between deep breaths, he explained "Katie was playing hide-and-seek, and she went into the woods" Joe gasped for oxygen His skin was ashen and his lips blue "She got too close to the edge I saw her slip and fall in, so I went after her"

Maryellen could picture the olderover rocks and fallen trees in an effort to catch his granddaughter before she ept away

"I slipped, too," he choked out as he leaned forward, his hands on his knees, fighting for breath

Jon ran into the house and got a blanket to wrap around his father Maryellen could see the barely restrained anger in his movements as he spread it over his father’s back

"Ellen," he said sternly, "get Dad to eency now"

His stepmother hurried into the house for her purse

"Do you need me to drive you?" he asked when she returned

Ellen see her head "No Just take care of Katie"

"Have them check his heart"

"I’ht, then I am, too"

"Do what I say," Jon barked, and Ellen nodded obediently

Refusing to listen to any protest, Jon took his father to the car and helped him inside Ellen was already behind the wheel and had started the engine

Jon stepped away fro dirt and gravel He stood there watching until she turned onto the road

When he joined Maryellen on the deck, Jon looked about to collapse "Katie?" he asked

"She’s shaken up but she’s fine"

"Thank God" He closed his eyes and lowered his head

Maryellen did thank God They’d alone after her when he did, Katie could have drowned--probably would have drowned

After a few deep breaths, Jon reached for the child and hugged her tight Then he carried her upstairs for a wared her muddy top and when she sat down realized she was still tre froainst each other

They’d coain So close

When Jon reappeared, she was afraid he was going to chastise her or declare that his parents were no longer welcome in his home From the moment Joseph and Ellen had arrived, he’d looked for any s He’d never said so, but Maryellen knew

This afternoon, Joseph had given him the perfect reason And yet…Jon had called him "Dad"

Warm and dry now, Katie acted as if the events of the afternoon hadn’t distressed her in the least Maryellen felt ready for a hter chattered happily away

"Are you all right?" Maryellen asked Jon

He grih another afternoon like this one"

"Me, neither"

"When I saw Joseph holding her, I didn’t knohat to say I wanted to rant at hiht"