If You Believe

Pain twisted Rasss insides. He winced, tried to keep talking. "I let Mariah use that as an excuse. I wont let you. Tell your dad the truth or . . . or Ill haunt you for life. "

Jake tried valiantly to smile. "Okay. "

"Promise?"

"I promise. "

Slowly, with great effort, Rass reached up and touched Jakes cheeks. "I love you, son. "

Jake started crying in earnest. Silvery tears ran in rivulets down his pale cheeks. He bowed his head, pressing his forehead into the soft pile of blankets beside Rass. "I love you, too, Rass. "

Rass started to say something else, but before he got the words out, he forgot what he wanted to say. The pain in his heart came pounding back, thundering in his ears.

Streaks of hot agony shot down his left arm and lodged, burning, in his wrist and fingers.

"Get Mariah," he gasped.

Rass sank into the bed, deeper, deeper. A strange feeling stole through his body, tingling like a thousand hot needles beneath his skin. He felt light-headed and weighted down at the same time. The blood pounded through his veins in an audible, throbbing rhythm.

His gaze took in the bedroom in a heartbeat; he saw it all, saw it and cataloged it in his mind. This had been his room for so long. . . . His eyes fluttered shut; it took such an effort to keep them open. A memory flashed through his mind, bringing the moist heat of tears. He remembered the day, almost twenty-five years ago, when hed brought his bride here from New York. This room, this bed, had been their sanctuary and their playground.

Tears pulsed past his closed eyes and slid down his face.

He felt his body weaken. It felt as if he were sinking slowly, inexorably, into the bed, disappearing.

He tried to reach for Mariah. She had to be beside him, had to be calling out his name, but he couldnt hear her. His head was filled with a low, buzzing hum that obliterated everything, even the thudding beat of his heart. He couldnt lift his good hand; it felt incredibly heavy.

He opened his mouth, tried to say her name, but his throat was so dry, he couldnt make a sound. His tongue felt thick and useless and dead.

Gradually he became aware of a dull, amber glow. He frowned. The golden light increased slowly, matching the erratic beating of his heart, spilled from the window and crept across the shadowy floorboards.

Rass realized with a start that his eyes were closed. He tried to open them, but couldnt.

A shape appeared at the end of his bed. At first it was dark, no more than a shadow ringed in impossible light. But slowly the shadow melted and features came forth.

"Greta. " The name slipped past his lips in a sigh.

She smiled. Hello, love.

He smiled, and the moment he did it, he knew it was a real smile, not a one-sided, half-paralyzed shifting of lips. "Youre here___"

You knew Id wait for you. She reached out her hands. Come on, love. Its time. . .

.

Rass looked down, and though his eyes were still closed, he saw the glow emanating from his own body.

The light behind Greta intensified, turned from a molten gold to a shimmering white. Heat caressed his cheeks and made him feel strong again. The pain of old age slipped away. Effortlessly he sat up, his hands outstretched. "Greta . . . "

"No! Daddy, dont leave me. " Mariahs throaty voice broke through the haze in Rasss mind.

Uncertainty stabbed through him. He stopped, sank unsteadily back into bed.

"Boo?" he whispered tiredly.

Something warm and strong curled around his hand, squeezing gently. "Im here, Daddy. Dont go. "

Greta held out her arms, a sad smile on her face. Its time, love.