Kylie Cantrall's Arc

Chapter 64 of 78

Kylie walked back toward the house to dress. She stopped on the top step to look at the water one last time. That was when she saw it. A small boat drifted close to the island's shore. It had no sail up, no motor sound. It rode the current straight toward the sand where the altar stood. If it landed during the vows, someone would step off and see everything. The whole secret would break in one moment. Kylie ran down to the beach. The boat kept coming. She could not see anyone aboard. She waded in to her knees and grabbed the bow line trailing in the water. She pulled. The boat swung sideways and stopped. Inside sat coolers, folded chairs, and a cheap camera on a strap. No people. It had slipped its mooring somewhere and drifted here empty. But empty didn't mean safe. Someone owned it. Someone would come looking. If they searched the shoreline while Arianna played guitar, the ceremony was done. Kylie held the line and made herself think. She called Kara. Kara came down from the house in seconds, still in her plain clothes. She looked at the boat, then at Kylie's soaked legs. "It drifted in," Kylie said. "No one's on it. But I can't have it here when we say the vows. And I can't have anyone tracing it to our beach." Kara stepped into the water and lifted the bow with one hand. The hull rose free of the sand. "Where does it belong?" "Not here. Take it far out. Set it loose where the current runs away from us. Somewhere it looks like it drifted on its own." Kara nodded once. She gripped the line and the rail. "No one sees me?" "No one. That's the whole point." Kara lifted off low over the water, the boat trailing beneath her like a leaf on a string. She flew out past the reef, small and then smaller, until Kylie lost her against the bright sky. Kylie stood in the shallows and counted her own breath. A few minutes later Kara dropped back down onto the sand, dry, empty-handed. "Set it loose on the far current," Kara said. "It's a mile out now, moving away. If anyone finds it, it's an empty boat that got away from them. Nothing points here." Kylie let out the breath she'd held. The shore was clean again. The altar stood untouched. No hull, no camera, no witness. "Thank you," she said, and meant it plainly. Kara looked at the linens between the palms. "Go get dressed. You're marrying her in an hour." Kylie climbed the steps, her legs wet and cold, her heart steady. The last threat had come from the water, and she had caught it before it landed. Nothing stood between her and the walk to Arianna now but a red gown and one verse to sing.