SOPHIE'S PATH

SOPHIE'S PATH CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER TWO 

Jack crawled out of the rabbit hole.

Or maybe it was some kind of wartime trench.  Lights were flashing like mortars and bombs exploded. But this wasn't war. He'd never been in a war, though he'd seen those kinds of movies. Maybe he was in a movie.  No.  Impossible.  This wasn't the drainage tunnel either, because they'd moved him out of that. 

But who were "they"?  

  "Can you hear me, Mr. Carter?" a woman asked in the softest, most melodious caress of a voice he'd ever heard. It came to him like the peals of church bells tumbling through a mountain valley, distant yet beckoning.

 It had happened.  He'd died.  Life was over.   Pfft.  Just like that. And this voice was that of the angel sent from heaven or the beyond to take him to his new life. He was struck by the utter finality of it all. 

A thousand regrets fluttered across his heart.  Jack never thought of himself as a family man,  but the first person he pictured was his sister, Ava.   

 He'd never see her again. Nor his brother-in-law and business partner,  Barry.   Would Ava be okay without her big brother Jack to watch out for her?  Would Barry be able to handle the company without Jack's guidance?  And what about his niece,  Kaylee?  She wasn't even a year old yet. He'd arranged for a bank account in her name to start her college fund. Ava and Barry were planning to come to Indian Lake for Katia's wedding. Jack had hoped to talk them into moving here.  Or had he already done that?

Facts tumbled into Jack's brain like slow-falling snow.  

No, Ava and Barry still lived in Chicago, but Katia said she missed Ava a great deal and had investigated housing options for them,  should they decide to make the move.

 Now that Jack believed he was dying, he wished he'd pressed the issue more. He'd missed six months of little Kaylee's life.  Suddenly, oddly, that realization was very important to him and the loss filled him with sadness.  He also realized how vital Katia was to him. 

She was more than his stellar salesperson, manager and second-in-command at the office.  She was a dear friend. He loved her like a sister and she took care of him like he was her brother.  Katia juggled her own life—right now, she was planning a wedding and a two-week honeymoon in Italy—managed his business, grew their sales and made certain that just about everything in Jack's world ran smoothly.  How would he manage without her while she and Austin were on their honeymoon?  

But if I'm dead, I won't care. Will I? 

His head was a jumble of thoughts and he was having a difficult time sorting out the present from the past. He supposed that was to be expected,considering he was dying. Or was already dead?   But how did he get here? 

Jack's head felt like it was torn in two. Pain seared through his temples like a sizzling lance. 

If he was dead, why was he in such agony?   

Think, Jack. Think.

 A minute ago he was driving his car,  though he couldn't remember where he was going. Then the squeal of his brakes, the thud of the initial impact with the other car;   the grind, crunch and thunder of his car being mangled.   

And the voices.  His voice—cursing. Owen shouting and cursing even louder than Jack.  And Aleah's blood-curdling scream. Then soft whimpers. Then nothing. 

Aleah. She was the reason he'd insisted on this seminar in Chicago today.  Katia had hired Aleah to be an assistant. Sweet kid. Only twenty-one but with the wired kind of energy he could only get from a triple cappuccino at Cupcakes and Coffee.  She didn't know a darned thing about insurance,but she was smart and so willing to please. Jack  had wanted Aleah and Owen to learn as much as they could about the business as quickly as possible.  Proper information and training were key.  Jack didn't have time to teach them all he wanted them to know,  and this seminar was perfectly timed for his needs.