But it had not turned out that way. Zachary hated fishing and walking in the woods. He was afraid of snakes and reacted adversely to insect bites. He hated ball games. They were too noisy, he said, and the hot dogs gave him a stomachache. Instead of trying to engage his son, take time to discover what it was that Zachary was interested in, he had labeled the boy a sissy and ignored him, and he had resented the many hours Bella spent reading and being with Zachary.

His son had loved books, and his mother was forever sending off for books, especially books on history, mythology, the Arthurian legends. Well, it was too late to do anything about any of that now.

Ahead of him the stairs seemed endless, but finally he reached the top and shuffled down the hall to his bedroom. He needed a shower, but Lord, he was tired. Hannah would be here soon. They were going into Asheville for dinner. They had been alone so seldom lately. But instead of showering, Max fell across his bed and into a deep sleep.

Greatly disturbed at what had transpired and deeply worried about Señor Max, Jose moved swiftly away from the house. Before the trucks turned onto Elk Road, he reached the offices at Bella’s Park, where he found Hannah in the Oriental garden with Wayne. They were laying hoses on the ground, shaping, Wayne said, the ponds for the koi and the lilies. He would have liked to ask what koi were, but this was hardly the time.

Immediately, she saw his face, and Hannah’s heart constricted. Something terrible had happened, and for a moment she could not move. Was it Max? Had something happened to Max? Was he ill or worse? “What happened?” she asked. “Is Max all right?”

Jose nodded but did not explain. He beckoned with both hands, and before she could question him, turned and ran toward the farmhouse. Without a word, dreading the worse, Hannah dropped the hose and followed him.

34

Aftermath

Max lay there as if he were dead. An icy chill sliced through Hannah when she shook him, and he did not stir. She had taken a CPR class through the Red Cross a long time ago, and now everything she had learned came back to her. Leaning close, she placed two fingers to his neck, hoping to feel a pulse. She did! She rested her cheek against his and felt his warm breath against her cheek. Relief flooded her body, and she collapsed on the bed alongside Max. Then, remembering Jose standing in the doorway, she turned and signaled the terrified man that Max was all right.

Jose nodded and departed, silently shutting the door behind him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he went downstairs to collapse in a chair and tell his anxiously waiting wife all that had transpired that afternoon.