Daniel's Gift Read Free Page B

along her thumb. He wondered where it had come from, how it had the nerve to light on a body and a spirit so pure, so giving.
    He had seen Jenny before this night, but always in the distance, always in the center of a circle of people. He had never been alone with her, until now.
    They stumbled down the beach in the shadowy moonlight. At least Luke stumbled; Jenny seemed to float, like a vision. For the first time he wondered if she was real or a figment of his imagination. He turned his head, hoping to anchor reality with the sight of the bonfire. It was gone. The cliff behind them blocked everything from view.
    They stood in a small cove where a circle of rocks created a pool protected from the ocean. Jenny pulled her sweatshirt over her head. Then her shirt. She slid her jeans down long legs, while he watched and waited. Her body was slender, graceful, strong. Her panties and bra were hot pink. A bright flower in a sea of darkness.
    There was no self-consciousness to Jenny's movements, no humility or vanity, just a calm acceptance of who she was and what she wanted to do. He, who was terrified of letting out his real feelings, was intensely jealous of her ability to be so direct, so uncaring of his opinion. Or was she?
    Luke's gaze moved up to her face. She was looking at him, waiting and watching.
    Awareness. Connection. Desire. Each emotion hit him with the same force as the waves crashing on the beach.
    "Are you coming?" she whispered.
    Oh, he was coming all right, here and now.
    "Why me?"
    "It's not safe to swim alone."
    "Being safe is high on your list of priorities?"
    "I don't have a list of priorities," she said with a smile.
    Luke dug his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "I'm leaving at the end of the summer. Medical school at USC."
    "I know."
    "My parents both went there."
    "I heard."
    "I'm following in their footsteps."
    "I hope they wear the same size shoes."
    Luke's mouth curved up in a reluctant smile. "I shouldn't be here tonight. This isn't really my thing."
    "Are you finished?" Jenny held out her hand to him. "Come on, a little water won't hurt you."
    "It's not the water I'm worried about."
    "You think too much." She stepped into the ocean with a delighted squeal of joy. It was the most innocent, most appealing, most irresistible sound he had ever heard. Without another thought, Luke stripped off his shirt and pants and followed her into the water.
    The ocean was so cold his heart missed a beat. Jenny splashed water at him. He shivered with anticipation.
    "Isn't this great?" she said. "I feel alive, free."
    Luke felt exactly the same way, for the first time in his entire life. That was the only reason he walked toward her, the only reason why he cupped her face with wet hands, and kissed her until a wave crashed over their heads.
    Luke clenched his hands as the memory faded away. The flames from the fire, the dark pool were gone. Jenny was gone.
    That summer had been the best summer of his life.
    Like a thief, he had stolen precious moments with a woman he knew he would eventually leave.
    His plans for the future had been set in stone. Every member of the Sheridan family for three generations had gone into the field of medicine. It was his duty to carry on the tradition. When Jenny came to him with the news that she was pregnant, he panicked. Thoughts of disappointing his parents, his family, future generations of Sheridans made it impossible for him to stay with her.
    In the end, he'd given her five hundred dollars and suggested an abortion. He'd never seen her again.
    Now he was married to Denise, a woman who didn't want children. The irony of the situation hit him hard. He had had his chance to be a father and had walked away. It was too late to wish things were different.

    * * *

    "Ring the doorbell," Christopher Merrill urged Danny as he glanced furtively around the yard. "We don't have all night. My mom gets off work at eight, and if I'm not home by then, I'm in big trouble."
    "Maybe I