Barbara Delinsky - Together Alone

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Together Alone 204060. Copyright 2009 by Barbara Delinsky All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

March 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-180742-8

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Books by Barbara Delinsky

Rekindled

A Woman's Place

Shades of Grace

Together Alone

For My Daughters

Suddenly

More Than Friends

A Woman Betrayed

Finger Prints

Within Reach

The Passions of Chelsea Kane

The Carpenter's Lady

Gemstone

Variation on a Theme

Passion and Illusion

An Irresistible Impulse

Search for a New Dawn

Fast Courting

Sensuous Burgundy

A Time to Love

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Barbara Delinsky - Together Alone

A Division of HarperCollins Publish I dedicate this book--again, still, always--to my guys.

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book." This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Harper Paperbacks A Division of HarperCollins Publish 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022

Copyright 1995 by Barbara Delinsky All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollinsP WwAerj, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022.

A hardcover edition of this book was published in 1995 by HarperColhnsftiWisAers.

Cover photograph by Luis Villota/The Stock Market First Harper Paperbacks printing: February 1996Printed in the United States of America

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&20 19 18 17 16 15 14 acknowledgments

For their help in the researching of this book, my heartfelt thanks go to It. Jack Hunt of the Needham Police Department, Martha Shepardson of the Rivers School, and all those at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I take full blame for any errors that may have been made in the transition from fact to fiction. one

HE WASN'T GOING TO LIKE IT. HE HATED THE RITUAL

of the formal family picture, but the time was right. In four short days, his only child was leaving the nest, breaking out of her chrysalis into an exciting new world. If ever there was an occasion to mark, this was it.

Starting college was a rite of passage, a beginning. It was also an ending, one Emily Arkin had been dreading for years. Prior to kindergarten, Jill had been all hers. Then she was gone three hours a day. Then six. Then seven, then eight. College was twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It was a springboard to adulthood and total independence.

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Barbara Delinsky - Together Alone

"How do I look?" Jill asked, joining Emily's reflection in the bathroom mirror. Emily lost a moment's breath. She always did when Jill came upon her unexpectedly. That this striking young woman was her daughter never failed to amaze her. She had Emily's dark hair and fair skin and Doug's height, but the features came from earlier generations, and what was inside was pure Jill. She was sweet, sensitive, and smart. She was innocent, yet sophisticated, the product of growing up in a small town, in a shrinking world. Emily didn't want the innocence lost. She didn't want the sophistication honed. She didn't want Jill hurt. Ever.

"Mom," Jill pleaded softly.

Emily made a helpless sound and reached for a tissue. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"If you cry, I will, too, and then we'll both look a mess. Dad's on the phone." She paused, cautious. "Is he going to be angry?" Emily forced a bright smile. "What's to be angry about? He's already dressed for the cook-out. In ten minutes, the pictures will be done and we'll be on our way." The doorbell rang, in old age more a clang than a chime. "There's the photographer," she said and took Jill's face in her hands. "You look beautiful. Come." The sun was falling in the west, gilding the edges of the broad-leafed maples that stood on the front lawn, and the peaks of the white picket fence beyond. Leaving Jill there, Emily went to the door of the small den that was Doug's home office and caught his eye. He held up a finger and continued to talk.

Stomach jangling, as always when she couldn't gauge his mood, she waited, watching him. At forty four, he was even more athletic of build than he had been at twenty-two. Then, sheer physical labor had kept his body in shape. Now, daily workouts at a health club did it. His stomach was flat, his back straight, his shoulders broad. He wore his clothes well.

They were fine clothes. He shopped when he traveled, and he looked it. The pleated slacks and open neck shirt that he wore today spoke more of Europe than of a small town in the northwest corner of Massachusetts.

Emily half-wished she had bought something new to wear for the pictures, to look more sophisticated beside Doug. But she hated spending money on herself, when there were other bills to pay. Better a new muffler for the wagon than a silk something she would never wear again.

Doug hung up the phone. "Who rang the bell?" She slipped a cajoling arm through his. "Larry Johnson. He's new with the Sun. A photographer. He's good, and very cheap. I asked him to take a few pictures before we leave."

"Emily."

"I know. You hate having pictures taken, but Jill's leaving in four days, four days, and then our lives will be changed forever." Page 3

Barbara Delinsky - Together Alone

"Maybe, if she'd been going to D.C. like Marilee. But Boston? It's barely three hours away."

"She won't be our little girl anymore."

"She hasn't been that for a long time."

"You know what I mean," Emily coaxed, but more anxiously now. "This is a milestone, Doug. Besides, she needs a picture of the three of us for her dorm room. Smile for her? Please?"

If he said no, she would send Larry home. A scowling Doug defeated the purpose. But he sighed and produced a vapid smile. Relieved, she led him out of the house.

Jill sat on the swing that hung from the largest of the front maples. With the light dappled by leaves, and a backdrop of rhododendron and white fencing, the setting was bucolic.

Emily was remembering the hours and hours Jill had spent on that swing, the pumping and soaring and spills, when a muted ring came from the house. Doug took off before she could protest. She stared after him in dismay, then resignation. He was home, at least. He had promised to stay the week. It was a concession that didn't come without strings. Taking phone calls was one.