Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks [72]
Catherine.
He had to get her picture and the other items he kept in the end table.
“Garrett! You’re running out of time!” Theresa shouted again.
Despite the rain and blackness, he could see her outside, motioning for him to follow her.
The picture. The ring. The Valentine’s Day cards.
“C’mon!” she continued to shout. Her arms were waving frantically.
With a roar, the roof separated from the frame of the house and the wind began to tear it away. On instinct, he raised his arms above his head just as part of the ceiling crashed down on him.
In moments everything would be lost.
Not caring about the danger, he started toward the bedroom. He couldn’t leave without them.
“You can still make it!”
Something in the sound of Theresa’s cry made him stop. He glanced toward Theresa, then toward the bedroom, frozen.
More of the ceiling fell in around him. With a sharp, splintering crack, the roof continued to give way.
He took a step toward the bedroom, and with that, he saw Theresa stop waving her arms. To him it seemed as if she’d suddenly given up.
The wind gusted through the room, an unearthly howl that seemed to blow through him. Furniture toppled over throughout the room, blocking his path.
“Garrett! Please!” Theresa shouted.
Again the sound of her voice made him stop, and with that he realized that if he tried to save the things from his past, he might not make it out at all.
But was it worth it?
The answer was obvious.
He gave up his attempt and rushed toward the opening where the window had been. With his fist, he pounded out the shards and stepped out onto the back deck just as the roof was completely torn away. The walls began to buckle then, and as he jumped onto the deck, they crumbled into a pile with a thunderous boom.
He looked for Theresa to make sure she was okay, but strangely, he couldn’t see her anymore.
CHAPTER 10
Early the next morning, Theresa was sleeping soundly when the sound of a ringing phone jarred her awake. Fumbling for the phone, she recognized Garrett’s voice instantly.
“Did you make it home okay?”
“Yeah, I did,” she replied groggily. “What time is it?”
“A little after six. Did I wake you?”
“Yes. I stayed up late last night waiting for your call. I started to wonder if you’d forgotten your promise.”
“I didn’t forget. I just figured you needed a little time to settle in.”
“But you were confident I’d be up at the crack of dawn, right?”
Garrett laughed. “Sorry about that. How was the flight? How are you?”
“Good. Tired, but good.”
“So I take it that the pace of the big city has already worn you out again.”
She laughed, and Garrett’s voice turned serious. “Hey, I want you to know something.”
“What?”
“I miss you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah—I went in to do work yesterday even though the shop was closed, hoping to get some paperwork done, but I couldn’t do much because I kept thinking about you.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“It’s the truth. I don’t know how I’m going to get any work done over the next couple of weeks.”
“Oh, you’ll manage.”
“I might not be able to sleep, either.”
She laughed, knowing he was teasing. “Now, don’t go that far. I’m not into those superdependent guys, you know. I like my men to be men.”
“I’ll try to keep it in check, then.”
She paused. “Where are you now?”
“I’m sitting on the back deck, watching the sun come up. Why?”
Theresa thought about the view she was missing. “Is it beautiful?”
“It always is, but this morning, I’m not enjoying it as much as I usually do.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not here with me to enjoy it.”
She lay back on the bed, making herself comfortable. “Hey—I miss you, too.”
“I hope so. I’d hate to think I was the only one who felt this way.”
She smiled, holding the phone to her ear with one hand and absently twirling a strand of her hair with the other, until they finally said a reluctant good-bye twenty minutes later and hung up the phone.
Entering