Read Safe Haven for Free Online Page A

red and puffy. She’d asked Katie to stay with her for a while, and Katie had remained at her side, holding her hand even now.
    “It’s okay. I’ll head out there in a little while and if I can’t find it, I’ll get you a new one. But next time, just let go, okay?”
    Josh sniffed and nodded. “I’m really sorry,” he said.
    “It was an accident,” Alex assured him.
    “But now you won’t let me go fishing.”
    And risk losing him again? Alex thought. Not a chance. “We’ll talk about that later, okay?” Alex said instead.
    “What if I promise to let go the next time?”
    “Like I said, we’ll talk about it later. For now, why don’t you eat something?”
    “I’m not hungry.”
    “I know. But it’s lunchtime and you’ve got to eat.”
    Josh reached for a French fry and took a small bite, chewing mechanically. Kristen did the same. At the table, she almost always mimicked Josh. It drove Josh crazy, but he didn’t seem to have the energy right now to protest.
    Alex turned to Katie. He swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
    She stood up from the table and he led her away from the kids. When they were far enough away that he was sure they wouldn’t hear, he cleared his throat. “I want to thank you for what you did.”
    “I didn’t do anything,” she protested.
    “Yes,” he said. “You did. Had you not been looking at the monitor, I wouldn’t have known what was happening. I might not have reached him in time.” He paused. “And also, thank you for taking care of Kristen. She’s the sweetest thing in the world, but she’s sensitive. I’m glad you didn’t leave her alone. Even when we had to go up and change.”
    “I did what anyone would do,” Katie insisted. In the silence that followed, she suddenly seemed to realize how close they were standing and took a half step backward. “I should really be going.”
    “Wait,” Alex said. He walked toward the refrigerated cases at the rear of the store. “Do you like wine?”
    She shook her head. “Sometimes, but—”
    Before she could finish, he turned around and opened the case. He reached up and pulled out a bottle of chardonnay.
    “Please,” he said, “I want you to have it. It’s actually a very good wine. I know you wouldn’t think you could get a good bottle of wine here, but when I was in the army, I had a friend who introduced me to wine. He’s kind of an amateur expert, and he’s the one who picks what I stock. You’ll enjoy it.”
    “You don’t need to do that.”
    “It’s the least I can do.” He smiled. “As a way to say thank you.”
    For the first time since they’d met, she held his gaze. “Okay,” she finally said.
    After gathering her groceries, she left the store. Alex returned to the table. With a bit more cajoling, Josh and Kristen finished their lunches, while Alex went to the dock to retrieve the fishing pole. By the time he got back, Joyce was already slipping on her apron, and Alex took the kids for a bike ride. Afterward, he drove them to Wilmington, where they saw a movie and had pizza, the old standbys when it came to spending time with kids. The sun was down and they were tired when they got home, so they showered and put on their pajamas. He lay in bed between them for an hour, reading stories, before finally turning out the lights.
    In the living room, he turned on the television and flipped through the channels for a while, but he wasn’t in the mood to watch. Instead, he thought about Josh again, and though he knew that his son was safe upstairs, he felt a ripple of the same fear he’d felt earlier, the same sense of failure. He was doing the best he could and no one could love their kids more than he did, but he couldn’t help feeling that somehow it wasn’t enough.
    Later, long after Josh and Kristen had fallen asleep, he went to the kitchen and pulled out a beer from the refrigerator. He nursed it as he sat on the couch. The memories of the day