Erica Spindler - Cause for Alarm

"Yes, I have," she murmured. "A wonderful choice. And now everyone will have the thing they want most."

"Julianna?" She met the woman's gaze. "May I ask, why did you choose Kate and Richard?"

"Excuse me?"

"Was there something special about them that firmed your decision? I'm sure they'd love to know."

Julianna gazed at the woman a moment, then smiled. "I fell in love with them. If they ask, tell them that."

Julianna didn't waste any time. The next day, after gleefully telling Buster she quit, she drove across the Causeway to Mandeville.

She hadn't known what to expect of the North Shore community, having never ventured over before, but she found it lovely. Small and charming, almost like a resort town. She decided right away that she liked it and would enjoy living there.

Finding Lakeshore Drive proved to be a no-brainer. Finding Richard and Kate's home was only slightly more difficult, and only because she initially turned the wrong way on Lakeshore Drive.

When Julianna located the address, she pulled up in front of the house and simply gazed at it, awed. It reminded her of a home she had once seen in Southern Living magazine, or one she might find in Architectural Digest. She wondered at its age, its history, if it had always been in Richard's family.

She moved her gaze over the house and grounds, drinking in every detail. The sweeping double galleries with their floor-to-ceiling windows. The four white wicker rockers that graced each gallery, two on either end. The deep front yard dotted with massive live oak trees, their branches laced with Spanish moss. The swing that hung from the huge, twisted branch of the tree closest to the front gate.

A sense of déja` vu, of rightness settled over her. She was meant to live here, in this community, this house. It called to her, just as Richard's words had.

Smiling to herself, she rested her head against the seat back and closed her eyes. A series of images formed in her head. Of her on the swing, wearing something filmy and white, laughing back at Richard as he pushed her. Of her, on the lower gallery, entertaining friends and sipping something cool and frothy.

Of her and Richard making love on the upper gallery in the dark, the sounds from the lake mingling with their sighs of pleasure.

A knot of emotion formed in her throat. She loved him. Deeply. Passionately. In a way she had never loved before. Not even John. Especially not John.

A laugh bubbled to her lips. She could imagine what others would think if she shared her thoughts with them. They would think her crazy, ridiculous. A silly girl with an even sillier crush. But they didn't know. They hadn't been in her head as she had read and reread his words, as those words, his thoughts, had mingled with hers; they hadn't been with her as she had lain night after night, gazing at the photographs of him, recognizing him not just with her eyes, but with her heart as well.

They would be one. They were destined to be. Soon, he would see as she did, feel as she did. He would understand.

And he would be grateful, so grateful, she had brought them together.

The blare of a horn followed by a shouted greeting startled her out of her reverie. She realized how odd she must look, sitting in her car, staring at the Ryans' house. She glanced around her. On the lake side of the street was a waterfront park, complete with tables and benches, children's play equipment and farther down, a small gazebo.

The park was busy. Couples walked hand in hand along the bulkhead; children played while their mothers watched, chatting with each other; teenagers huddled together, laughing and sharing cigarettes.

No one would notice her there.

Julianna restarted her Miata, drove up a half block to a public parking area, drew to a stop and climbed out. After locking her car, she walked back to the busy part of the park and chose a bench that afforded her a clear view of Richard's house.

Minutes ticked past. The day began to fade, the sun with it. The park emptied; the air grew colder. Julianna clutched the collar of her coat, her hands and ears beginning to tingle from the cold.

Still, the Ryans' remained dark. Julianna checked her watch. Nearly six now and except for the occasional jogger who passed, she was alone in the park.

Julianna shifted on the hard bench, a kind of panic coming over her. What if they didn't come home? What if they had gone out to dinner or worse, were out of town? She had come so far, she had to see them. She had to see him.

Her stomach began to hurt. She curled her arms around her middle, wishing she had brought along something to eat. Something warm to drink. She hadn't been thinking clearly; she hadn't been thinking of anything but finding Richard.

Julianna glanced longingly toward her car. She could run up to the convenience store she had passed on her way here and get a sticky bun and a hot chocolate. It would take her ten, fifteen minutes, tops.

And in that time she could miss them. Coming and going would draw attention to her. No. She forced away her hunger and the cold by closing her eyes and imagining Richard and Kate arriving home, imagining her first real glimpse of them.

Her mind wandered. She thought of her mother and of John. She wondered if he had come looking for her, wondered what he would do when he learned that she had fallen in love with another man.

Would he be jealous? Angry? She supposed so.

She would be more worried if she wasn't so certain he wouldn't find her. As her mother and Clark had advised her, she hadn't written or called home; she hadn't used her credit cards, though many times she had longed to, and she had kept on the move, not stopping until far from the

D.C. area.

But what if he did find her?

She shuddered, then shook her head, forcing away the fear. Richard would send him packing. He was a lawyer; he knew people who could catch and punish John. He would see to it that John never bothered her again.

A light popped on in the Ryans' house. Julianna straightened, her heart leaping to her throat. A figure moved across the lit window, then another light glowed from behind sheer drapes.

Kate, Julianna realized. She held her breath, hardly able to believe the other woman was only a few hundred feet away.

As Julianna watched, Kate moved from room to room, flipping on lights as she went. Julianna imagined her touching this and that, checking the answering machine, sorting through the day's mail, glancing at the clock and wondering what time Richard would be home.

Just as Julianna wondered. Just as Julianna waited- impatiently, heart thundering in her aching chest.

They both loved the same man.

The truth of that affected her like a shock to her system. She and Kate shared that; it connected them. Just as her unborn baby did. They were bound by something important, elemental and potent. She felt its pull, its power.

In some ways, they were the same person.

One of the upper gallery doors opened. Kate stepped out and crossed to the rail. Julianna strained to see her, though she could make out little but her silhouette.

Julianna tilted her head. Kate was taller than she looked in her photographs. Slimmer. Julianna hugged herself, longing to have her own rail thin figure back. Even though she had only gained nine pounds since becoming pregnant, her body was immeasurably changed. She felt huge in comparison to Kate.

She dropped a hand to her swollen belly, feeling the baby stir, unable to quell the quick kick of resentment she felt toward it. She squeezed her eyes shut, reminding herself that without the baby she wouldn't have found Richard. She wouldn't have the gift that would draw them all together.