Twice Upon a Time

“I want to catch a fish.”

“No, Brett. Uncle Cade said…”

His voice dissipated. Olivia strained, but couldn’t see the boys. She glanced around to call for help and realized no one would hear above the wedding reception music. Anyway, the wind would carry her voice away. She’d have to manage on her own. Olivia felt certain that, given the love she’d witnessed the Woodward family lavish on the twins, one or another of Denver’s famous wedding-planning family would soon come looking.

“Brett, you can’t go in. Daddy said—”

“You boys get away from that water,” Olivia yelled in her sternest tone, praying she wouldn’t be too late. She stubbed her toe on a rock and bit down to smother her cry as she climbed over it, using both hands to speed her descent.

There. She could see them. Brady hovered at the edge of the water, obviously uncertain about his next move. But Brett already had one shoe off.

“Hey!” Olivia shouted, waving her hands. Brady saw her, smiled and waved back. Brett was wading in. “No!”

But in the next moment Brett tumbled face-first into the swiftly moving water. When it looked like Brady would go in after him, Olivia threw caution aside and raced downhill, ignoring the stabs and jabs of anything that tried to impede her progress.

Brady teetered on one leg, about to lose his balance. Olivia plucked him up and sat him on a big rock several feet from the water’s edge.

“Don’t you dare move,” she ordered. “I can’t see Brett.”

Big, fat tears tumbled down chubby cheeks. Brady pointed.

“There.” He sniffed. “He’s not swimming.”

Brett lay facedown in the water, floating farther away.

“I’ll get him, Brady, but don’t you move. Promise me.”

“’Kay.”

“Good boy.” Olivia stepped into the stream. Moving as swiftly as possible, she kept going, though the water was icy cold against her warm skin. In seconds her thin dress was soaked and she was chilled.

Olivia ignored it as she’d learned to ignore the pain of loss that so often gripped her heart. When she was deep enough, she began swimming. It seemed to take forever, but finally she was able to grab a corner of Brett’s white tuxedo and tug him into her arms.

Moving as fast as she dared over the sharp yet slippery rocks, Olivia carried the still body to shore. She laid Brett flat and began lifesaving maneuvers she’d learned years ago in a Red Cross class. While she worked, she prayed, vaguely aware that Brady was bawling at the top of his lungs. At least he hadn’t moved.

Neither had Brett.

Olivia kept working. Finally the boy responded, spewing a mouthful of water all over her before he gasped for oxygen.

“Thank you, Father,” she whispered, holding him as the last of the water gurgled out and his breathing grew more normal.

“No, thank you.” Reese grabbed his son’s shoulders and helped him sit up. When Brett tried to stand, Reese wrapped him in his arms and held on, eyes squeezed shut. His chest heaved with the exertion of running downhill. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. His gray-white face looked like an ice sculpture as he hugged the shivering little body against him.

Olivia stayed silent for a few minutes, but finally she touched the shoulder of the man who’d played best man to her bridesmaid in his sister’s wedding. His eyes flew open and he stared at her as if awakening from a nightmare.

“Come on, we need to get away from here.”

“Yeah. I know.” His voice grated, frosted with fear.

Olivia understood that horrible choking awareness that a child you’d protected and adored since birth, a child you would sacrifice your very life for, had almost been snatched away.

Only in her case, there was no almost.

“I’m cold, Daddy,” Brett stuttered, his teeth chattering.

“The water comes from snow on the mountains.” The leashed tension in Reese’s voice chastened the young miscreant into silence as he carried the boy to safety.

Olivia followed them, picking her way back along the water’s edge. Her feet screamed a protest, but she ignored it, smiling when Brady blubbered with joy at the sight of his bedraggled twin.

“He’s fine, Brady.” She led them to a massive boulder that felt deliciously warm to the touch. “Reese?”

“Yeah?” He looked at her, his blue eyes dark as storm clouds.

“He can sit down here.” She touched the rock, but Reese didn’t move. His arms remained locked around his child. “Brett’s cold, Reese. We have to warm him up.”

The frantic father studied her for a moment before he looked down at the boy he held. He seemed unable to let go.

“Brett is all right, Reese. But he’s cold and wet and we need to fix that.” She didn’t want to frighten Brett, but his shivering bothered her. She stood on tiptoe and whispered in Reese’s ear. “You’re scaring him. Put him down, okay?”

He looked at her as if she’d asked him to move mountains.

“Put him down, Reese. I only want to help.”

He finally nodded, loosening his grip by degrees until at last Brett had been lowered to the big rock she’d indicated. But Reese remained close by, obviously not quite trusting her with his precious child.

Olivia’s heart ached to comfort him some other way, but she was only his wedding partner. So she smiled, then began removing Brett’s shirt and pants.

“Come on, sweetheart. Slip out of these wet things. We’ll let that big old sun warm you up.” When she fumbled, Reese helped, but his stiff, jerky actions gave away his distress.

After a moment, Reese moved toward Brady. His hand shook as he reached for the boy’s fingers and a strangled breath squeezed out from his throat at the contact.

“Brady’s fine, Reese. Everything is all right now,” Olivia soothed softly, hoping to reassure all of them. As she brushed damp brown curls off Brett’s forehead, she couldn’t resist pressing a kiss against his sweet cheek. “Feeling better, sweetheart?”

“K-kind of.” He stared up at her, his spiky lashes stuck together. “Are you going to take off your dress? It’s wet, t-too?”

“I’m fine.” She suppressed a shiver. “Brady, slip off your jacket, will you? Brett needs it to warm up.”

Once Olivia had Brett buttoned inside the white jacket, she gave way to her own weakness and sank down beside him, smothering a groan at the sweet heat of the stone against her skin. Still Reese hovered, silent and grim, holding Brady close.

“It’s okay,” she repeated softly. “It’s okay.”

Several minutes passed before Reese nodded. He drew an audible breath, then sat Brady next to Brett. He cupped his palm around each miniature chin, forcing his sons to look at him.

“What were you doing, Brett? Uncle Cade told you not to come down here.”

“Y-yes. But I wanted to catch a fish. I almost d-did, too,” he chattered, his chin thrusting out with pride.

Olivia’s heart lurched at the thought of what might have been. Anika had been four when—