Stolen Dreams by Heather M. Borger (fastest ebook reader .TXT) 📖

that Sadie understood every word she spoke.

All at once, a large wave beat down on her, soaking her with cold, angry seawater. Panicked, she reached for her oars and began swiftly paddling to shore. It was then that she saw him. Brock was running along the beach - back and forth in front of her screaming something as he ran. She paddled more quickly, another wave crashing down on her. Sadie was still swimming alongside the small boat, aware of the danger her human friend was in. A few feet from the shore, Sadie turned and sped off with one last squeal, while Brock raced into the water. Grabbing Skye out of the boat, he began yelling at her. Her head was spinning in so many directions, she didn’t even know what he was saying, but she knew he was mad.

Brock tossed Skye into the sand and went back to pull the boat out of the water. When he returned, he did the worst thing he could do to her - nothing. He said nothing, offered her no further help, he never even looked at her again. By the time she realized he wasn’t coming back to help her, he was already off the beach, headed back in the direction of his house.

Skye pulled herself against her tree and cried. It was at least an hour before she heard someone call her name.

It was Trace. “Skye, what are you doing down here?"

Her blood shot eyes pleaded with him not to expect an answer, but he asked again.

“You’re shivering. Why did you come down here alone? Where’s Brock?"

The panic in her face was hard to disguise, “He’s not at home?"

“I don’t know. Why?”

“He’s really mad at me. I thought he left to go home.”

“Why is he mad at you and why are you soaking wet?” Trace was reaching out to help her up when he noticed she was soaked far worse than she should have been.

“I’d rather not talk about it. Are you sure Brock’s not at home?”

“I haven’t been home yet. I just thought he’d be wherever you are. Are you okay to walk back to the house with me?"

Skye nodded and accepted Trace’s outstretched hand. Their walk back was long and she was exhausted by the time they reached the door.

In spite of the pain, relief spread through her when she saw the light on in Brock’s bedroom window. “Can I go talk to him alone first?"

Trace eyed her carefully, “Sure, but I want to talk to him then.” He sounded upset and Skye regretted telling him Brock was mad at her.

Knocking hesitantly on the door, she pushed it open before Brock answered. “Can I come in?”

“Why?” his response was harsh and unfriendly.

“I need to apologize.”

“What’s there to apologize for? I was wrong about you. You apparently don’t give a shit about any of us. At least not enough to try even an iota to keep yourself alive. I should have let you stay at your house.” He left the room, brushing past her without another word.

Skye walked back to her room and closed the door. Even through the thick, solid wood, she heard Brock yelling. Trace and Jaslynn were trying to calm him down, but it wasn’t helping. The door slammed and Skye knew he had left. She watched him through the window until he was out of sight, then went to lie down.

Twelve

Skye didn’t want to answer the knock at the door. Jaslynn walked in without waiting to be invited.

“I’m sorry that you’re both so thick-headed.” She sat at the foot of the bed. “Maybe you’d like to tell me what you thought you were doing this afternoon?"

Skye shook her head.

“Brock thinks you’re suicidal and crazy. I don’t believe him. I think you’re scared and not thinking straight. Only you can clear this up for us.” Even in her angered state, Jaslynn’s voice was gentle. When she spoke, Skye couldn’t help but turn to face her.

“You’re

right.”

“Can I help you at all?"

“Not unless you can help me figure out what I could possibly do with the rest of my life now that no one thinks I should follow my dreams."

“I think you should take some time off and think about what made your dreams so important in the first place.”

Skye’s confused look invited Jaslynn to continue, “Was your mind set on what you wanted to do because of who you’d be with, or because of what you’d be doing? They’re two very different things.” She patted Skye’s leg and stood to go, “You think about it. I’m going to track Brock down and talk him in to coming home. If you want to talk later, I’m here.”

“Thank you."

Jaslynn nodded and pulled the door shut behind herself. Skye huffed into her pillow and closed her eyes.


She heard the door opening quietly and rolled over to see who was coming in. Brock paused, unsure if he was welcomed.

“You can come in.”

“I’m sorry.” He rushed to the bed and knelt down next to her.

“I’m sorry, too. I know I was being stupid. I just wasn’t thinking."

“I saw you out there and I panicked. I never thought you’d get back to shore. Promise you’ll never do that again."

“I promise."

“Okay.” Believing Skye meant it, Brock eased up, “Now get some sleep. We’ve had really good reception with your dad lately. We should probably be in constant contact with him through tomorrow, so you may want to join me at work.”

“Really?"

“Yeah. Don’t thank me, though. My mom was the one who suggested it."

“It doesn’t matter whose idea it was. Thank you so much!"

Brock left quietly and Skye drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be busy.


Sunday morning arrived without the rain and wind of the previous morning; although the same eerie darkness hung heavy in the air. Hearing voices in the kitchen, Skye got dressed and walked out to greet them. She felt less stiff and more alert than she had in the past two days. A genuine smile spread across her face.

“Good morning.” she chirped.

The room grew quiet and all eyes turned to Skye. Jaslynn spun quickly away and Brock appeared unable to move from his spot. Rafe, who Skye would never have expected to be there, said nothing and quickly averted his eyes when Skye noticed him.

Trace was the only one with a voice capable of speaking to her. “Morning, Skye."

“What’s going on? Why is everyone looking at me like something’s wrong?"

Trace walked over and put a hand on her arm, “We lost contact with Billy’s boat last night. His last attempt to contact us was from two hundred fifty miles off the coast.” He paused and breathed deeply before continuing, “And he asked us to make sure you would be taken care of if we didn’t hear from him again. Skye, I’m so sorry."

She let the words pass through her ears, but wouldn’t allow them to penetrate her brain. Shaking her head, Skye looked at Brock, “We could still hear from them today. They may call us any minute now. We need to get to the lab and be there when he calls again!"

Brock pulled her in. “It’s been too long. He should have radioed back hours ago."

“The water’s too rough. It’s just taking them longer to push through it. He’s distracted. He’s lost track of time.”

“Skye, stop it. I’m sorry. He never would have left that message for you if he had any hope they’d make it back here."

She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. “When will the recovery operation begin?"

“We’re not sure. We haven’t discussed that yet. It won’t be until hurricane season passes, though.” Rafe spoke compassionately. Skye was surprised this had any affect on him. She never thought he was the type to become attached to people.

“I want to be a part of the recovery operation - ”

Rafe cut her off, “No way! There’s no way we can take you along."

She didn’t flinch, but spoke more slowly, as if she hadn’t been understood completely the first time, “I want to be there when my father’s boat is pulled up. I’m not asking permission."

Rafe stuttered, but stood firm, “Your work here is too important, Skye. We can’t lose you for that long. You’ll be here when we bring it back."

At a loss for what to say, Skye felt her body begin to tremble. Brock tightened his grip around her and spoke directly to Rafe, “She was already planning to leave with Billy on his next trip.” Seeing no sign of consent from Rafe, he continued, “Fine, I’ll do her work."

Rafe laughed, “You have your own work to do, Brock."

“I’ll work double shifts, and weekends. She can show me everything I’ll need to know before you leave.” Looking at his own father, Brock continued, his eyes pleading for help, “You can’t expect Skye to stay here. She deserves to be along when you find Billy’s boat.”

Trace nodded, “He’s right. She has every right to be there. If her work will still get done, we can’t keep her off the ship.”

Rafe was struggling to find another excuse, “Her leg. How will she dive or be of any help at all with her leg?"

“My leg will be fine by the end of the week."

Shaking his head, Rafe surrendered. “Fine. You have three months to show me Brock will be able to do both jobs well. If anything is less than perfect, you stay here.”

“Thank you.” Skye nodded and turned to leave.

Trace stopped her, “Skye, wait. I have something for you.” His hand shook as he held the envelope out to her. She took it, nodding politely, and continued out the door.

Brock wanted to follow her, but Jaslynn stopped him, “You know where she’ll be. Give her some time first."


Skye dropped down under her coconut tree. Hesitantly, she turned the envelope over in her hand. Her name was neatly written in her father’s familiar script. Opening it gently, she held her breath.



Dearest Skye,
If you are reading this, I am so sorry. I write this letter to you every year with the hope that when I return, it will be thrown in the shredder and forgotten. Whatever the reason, this year, I have not returned. You need to know, and never forget a few things. I love you more than you’ll ever be able to comprehend. The most difficult part of my job was missing so much of your life and knowing how difficult it