“The sun climbed the edges of the clouds and shot through a gap sending rays of lights outward that became the spokes of a great celestial wheel. Katherine imagined her destiny spinning on that wheel at the whim of a God whose mercy she longed for now.”

 

Excerpt: Part 1, Chapter 1 – Thin Line

 

The screen door opened and Jayce came in as Katherine shut off her cell.

“Who were you talking to?”

“The Star. They left me a message at home. I’ve got an assignment for Wednesday night. There’s a Press Conference for that Drug-Free Rave series we saw on the news.”

“And you accepted it?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”

“Well, yeah. Grace and Bryan. Did you not stop to think how they might feel?”

“To be honest, no. But I think Bryan is going to be there. He called me this afternoon.”

“I find that pretty hard to believe.”

“He sees it as a good thing. But I gather Grace doesn’t agree.”

“But he’s going to go anyway? I don’t get that. How do you ignore someone’s feelings like that?”

“You’d have to ask him. For me it’s just a job – plain and simple.”

“I don’t see it that way. I’d rather you didn’t do it.”

“I’ve already said yes. I can’t back out now.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I need this, Jayce. I need to shake off the rust. If I nail something solid it could open doors for me to get back in.”

“Back to work, you mean. At The Star.”

“Yes.”

Jayce sat down on the sofa and turned his face away from her.

“We made a deal, Kat. You wanted to stay home with the kids. That’s why I took the Ops job. It wasn’t something I wanted. But we agreed we’d go that way until the kids were in school.”

“I know. At the time I thought that was what I wanted. But things change.”

“What things change, Kat? Explain it to me.”

full circle back to that thin line again. the fine edge between the spoken and literal truth. the naked truth is this. the day may come. when it’s necessary to leave him. financial self-sufficiency is a bridge for that day. but he must not know. so how to diffuse his suspicion?

“People change. Circumstances change. Anyway, it’s not like we pricked our fingers and made a blood pact.”

“I gave up driving, Kat. You know that was a big sacrifice.”

“I know. But now you can go back to it. If I’m working we don’t need the bigger salary anymore.”

Jayce turned his gaze to the floor. She saw the tight line of his brow which meant he was digging his heels in.

“It’s not that simple. They invested time and money training me for the Ops job. They’re not going to take kindly to me wanting out of it. I don’t think it’s an option anymore.”

“So what are you saying, Jayce?”

“Just that we made a deal. And I’ve kept my part. I think it’s reasonable to expect you to keep yours.”

“You and I have very different definitions of reasonable.”

Katherine crossed to the window turning her back to Jayce. A quilt of frayed clouds had drifted across the sky above the tree line. The sun climbed the edges of the clouds and shot through a gap sending rays of lights outward that became the spokes of a great celestial wheel. Katherine imagined her destiny spinning on that wheel at the whim of a God whose mercy she longed for now.

She heard Jayce coming toward her across the room. He wound his arms around her and rested his chin on her head in a pose that recalled sweeter days.

“Katherine, I love you. You know that, right? I love you so damn much.”

Jayce hardly ever used her full name. When he did it quickened an emotion in her.

“I know. I love you too. So much it hurts sometimes. Love isn’t supposed to hurt, is it?”

careful. too close to the line. too close. remember, build a bridge. don’t burn one.

“It’s not supposed to do but it does. One day you wake up and realize that all the rules have changed. And that you have to fight for what you need.”

This solemn turn to his thoughts frightened Katherine. There was a quality of possessiveness in it that sent a cold shiver down her spine. Did he know?  Did he have a premonition of her thoughts?

“I didn’t mean to get us into this kind of discussion. We’re still on vacation. Let’s not talk about it anymore today.”

Katherine leaned into his embrace and pushed aside the fear. She felt safe in the shelter of his arms and the hollow of his body. This fierce and passionate intimacy that still bloomed now and then, so rare and exquisite, surpassed even making love with him. Strange that it should, she thought, but it did. It was uniquely theirs and always had been. The place where their love sunk its roots the deepest.