Silent Run

positive, decisive action. He’d been stuck, running in place for seven months, and even for the past two days. Now he was moving again, and with some good luck for a change he’d have his daughter back by the end of the day.
    Sarah’s tension seemed to ease when they left the mountains and drove along the ocean south of Santa Barbara. The sun shone brightly over the breaking waves, with only a few stray clouds marring the blue sky.
    â€œIt’s beautiful,” Sarah murmured, her gaze on the sea. “I wish we could stop for a minute."
    Her words were like an echo from the past. He tried to shake off the memories, but they came flooding back.
    They’d been driving down the Pacific Coast Highway out of San Francisco, making their way to his boss’s house in Half Moon Bay for a birthday party. He’d had on one of his best suits, and Sarah was wearing a cocktail dress and high heels. The sun was about to set when Sarah had said...
    â€œI wish we could stop for a minute, Jake, walk on the beach, feel the sand between our toes. What do you say? Let’s do it."
    He smiled at the eager light in her beautiful blue eyes. “We’re supposed to be at John’s house in fifteen minutes."
    â€œI know you hate to be late, but I think it will be worth it."
    He wanted to tell her that his boss disliked people who were late. He wanted to say that they absolutely had to keep moving, that they could come to the beach another time, that this wasn’t the moment. But suddenly it seemed as if this were the moment. That was the way it was with Sarah. She made him want to stop and smell the roses or the salty sea. She had an affinity for nature, and she was starting to rub off on him.
    Before he could question his behavior, he found himself pulling off the road at the next turnout.
    Sarah was out the door before he could tell her that they were just going to take a quick look at the ocean and be on their way. By the time he joined her at the edge of the sand she already had her shoes off.
    When he’d first met her he hadn’t thought of her as impetuous or impulsive; she’d been guarded, quiet, almost as if she were in hibernation. But now she was blossoming, coming out of her shell, and letting him see another side of herself. There were no haunting shadows in her eyes today, nothing to make him wonder what or whom she was thinking about.
    â€œTake off your shoes, Jake,” she said with a laugh. “Live a little."
    â€œSarah, we don’t have time."
    Her expression turned serious. “I know we don’t, and we’ll leave if you want to, but look -- the sun is setting and the sand is still warm beneath my toes. It won’t last much longer. It will be dusk soon -- nighttime. The sea will turn dark and dangerous, but right now it’s gorgeous."
    Sarah didn’t like the nighttime. She didn’t like walking home from the movies to their apartment once the sun went down. She hated entering a dark house, and she had a terrible habit of flooding every room with light whether she was in that room or not. Whenever he’d asked her about it, she’d just laughed and said she’d always been a little scared of the dark. He could hear that tiny whisper of fear in her voice now, as if she were dreading the rise of the moon.
    As he gazed at her, the breeze blew strands of her hair across her face. Sarah didn’t seem to care. She was absorbed in the moment, her eyes closed as she lifted her face to the breeze and the sun. She was right. The sun wouldn’t last long. It was already slipping over the horizon.
    On impulse he took off his shoes, pulled off his socks, and joined her on the sand. She slipped her hand into his, her eyes still closed, and said, “I never want to forget this feeling. You and me together on a perfect sunny day."
    â€œThere are going to be a lot more perfect days,” he said, turning her around to face him.
    Her eyes opened and she smiled at him, but her smile wasn’t nearly as bright. “I hope so, but you never know what’s around the corner."
    â€œGood things -- that’s what’s around the corner.” He didn’t know when he’d turned into an optimist, but there was something about Sarah that made him want to believe in the future in a way that he’d never felt before. He’d spent most of his life concentrating on building a career, making sure he could support himself and