“Mrs. Cavenaugh! What’s wrong? Try and pull yourself together and just tell me what’s the matter.” The hairs on the back of Erin’s neck began to stand on end.

“It’s Krista,” Mrs. Cavenaugh moaned in a voice so low that Erin thought perhaps she had misunderstood.

“Krista?” Erin echoed. “Oh, God, what’s happened to her?” Erin’s heart leaped to her throat and her pulse began to race. Tiny droplets of perspiration moistened her skin, and she felt her knees give way as she sank against the bed.

“Oh, Erin, it’s so awful. Ever since you’ve been gone, Kane, well he hasn’t been himself—in a terribly foul mood.” Erin swallowed hard and tried to press back the feelings of guilt that assailed her. “And Krista, well, she didn’t fare any better. She…withdrew. You know. You remember what she was like when she first arrived in Seattle….” Erin gasped, and the little lady reassured her. “It wasn’t nearly that bad, you understand, but still she just wasn’t her cheery self. I’m afraid that she’s missed you terribly.”

Erin closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headboard of the bed for support. “She didn’t stop walking, did she?” Erin held her breath.

“Thank goodness—no.” Erin let the air escape from her lungs in a rush. “However, she was distracted, wouldn’t eat, was thoroughly depressed.” Erin felt as if a knife were being slowly twisted in her stomach. How could she have been so heartless as to have left Krista without explaining anything? Mrs. Cavenaugh continued. “And then, late this morning…well, Krista was chasing that little kitten of hers, and it scrambled up the stairs. She tried to follow it but fell. She hit her head on the bottom step.”

“Oh, no,” Erin gasped, the color draining from her face. “Is—is she seriously injured?”

“Well, that’s just it. No one seems to know for sure. She’s still in the hospital for observation, been there all day as far as I know. I think she regained consciousness, but I’m not really certain.” The elderly woman’s voice had begun to quake, and Erin felt herself shiver.

“Mrs. Cavenaugh, where is Krista?”

“Virginia Mason Hospital on First Hill, but you shouldn’t go there. Kane’s there and he specifically instructed me not to tell you.”

Erin stifled the sob that threatened to belie her calm words. “Don’t worry about Kane. I can handle him—I’m leaving as soon as possible. I’ll see you when I get home.”

“Good.”

“Oh, and Mrs. Cavenaugh?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for calling.”

“I knew that you’d want to know,” came the somber reply.

Erin stripped her things out of the closet and dresser. As hastily as possible she threw them into her case, paid the hotel bill and rented a small boat back to the mainland. It wasn’t easy to find someone who was willing to take her out in the stormy weather, but fortunately she found a young sailor with a sense of adventure who loved to make a quick buck.

The rain washed down in torrents and the small craft rocked and lurched against the rough whitecapped waters of the Sound. Several times the boat rocked so crazily that Erin was sure that they would capsize, but the steady hand of the dark-complexioned young man kept the tiny craft miraculously on course. The wind tore at Erin’s face, pelting it with cold rain, and whipping her long black hair away from her neck. But she continued to watch the shoreline and prayed that Mrs. Cavenaugh had exaggerated Krista’s condition.