At Last (The Idle Point, Maine Stories) - By Barbara Bretton Page 0,112

to cry. Her granddaughter. Her one chance for redemption. They had had so little time together, a handful of weeks to make up for the five years she had missed. God wouldn't be so cruel as to take Sophie now when she was so tiny, so vulnerable. Sophie had been through so much in her short life. Was it asking too much that she be allowed to have a home and family to call her own?

The thought that she might lose all three of them—Sophie, Noah, and Gracie—hit Ruth like a blow. She sagged against the side of Laquita's car and choked back a sob. She felt old and useless, trapped by time and infirmity, unable to get out there and join in the search.

She had made up her mind to tell Noah and Gracie everything but Gracie had jumped the gun and leaped to the wrong conclusion and see where it had led them. Sophie had run off, Noah and Gracie were at odds, and Ruth was more alone than ever before.

Simon and Mona were long gone. Ben had finally found happiness. And there was Ruth, keeper of secrets, with the chance to set things right if she only could. Just give me one more chance to do this, she pleaded with God, not for my sake, but for theirs.

Her time was over but theirs had yet to begin.

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Noah dived deep, trying to leverage his body weight and use it to pry the rock off Sophie's foot but the natural buoyancy of the salt water worked against him. Three times he dived and three times he returned to the surface, gasping for air and cursing his failure to free his daughter. Gracie, kicking furiously to stay afloat, used her body as a prop for Sophie to lean against. Their margin for error was quickly disappearing. Even with Gracie helping to keep Sophie's nose and mouth above the water line, it wouldn't be long before the water enveloped the child and they would lose her.

Everything else dropped away from him. Anger. Pain. Sorrow. All that mattered was Sophie. He filled his lungs with air then went down again. He used his legs this time, summoning up every ounce of strength and ingenuity at his command, then kicked hard. The rock slid away, freeing Sophie's foot at last.

"You did it!" Gracie cheered when he rose, sputtering, to the surface. "Noah, you did it!"

Sophie clung to Gracie and refused to let go.

"Can you make it back with her?" he asked and Gracie nodded.

"Try and stop me," she said.

He had never loved her more than he did at that moment. She was brave and strong and when she loved, she loved with everything she had to give. She was his in every way except the one that really mattered. She could never be his wife, never be the mother of his children. They would watch Sophie grow up from opposite ends of town, watch each other grow old, watch each other grow lonelier as the days grew shorter and there was nothing in heaven or on earth that could give their story the ending it deserved.

Gracie's legs caved underneath her when she reached the rocky shore. She tried to stand but the combination of icy water and terror had done a number on her and she collapsed on her side, careful not to hurt Sophie who was clinging to her like a baby monkey.

"I'm c-cold," Sophie whimpered, burrowing closer to Gracie.

"So am I, honey," she managed, hugging her tightly. "We'll get you home as fast as we can and get you into some warm clothes."

Noah took Sophie from her and the exhausted child fell deeply asleep almost immediately with her head resting against his shoulder. The sight of Noah and his daughter standing there on that rocky beach was almost Gracie's undoing. They looked right together, as if all that had happened between Noah and Gracie, the years of loneliness and despair, had found their purpose in the little girl who slept soundly in his arms.

Noah held out his right hand to Gracie and she took it. Their fingers laced together automatically, the way they had when they were young and newly in love. Nothing had changed. Not the jolt of recognition she felt each time they touched. Not the sense that they were meant to be together forever. He helped Gracie to her feet and they stood close together, foreheads touching, bodies shielding Sophie from the wind as if they had been