Angel Falls Read Online Free

keep from them: The world could be a frightening place. Sometimes a single moment could change everything, and people—no matter how much you loved them—could die.
    The hours of their vigil dripped into one another and formed a day.
    Finally it was evening. Liam sat in the waiting room with his children, each of them watching the slow, methodical pirouette of the wall clock’s black hands. It had been hours since anyone had spoken. Words, he’d learned, had the density of lead. Each one seemed to weigh you down. And so they sat, together and yet alone.
    At eight o’clock they heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward them. Liam tensed instantly and leaned forward.
Please, don’t let it be bad news …
    Jacey’s boyfriend, Mark Montgomery, swept into the quiet room, bringing with him a swell of energy. “Jace?” he said, his voice too loud. He stood in the doorway, wearing a red-and-white letterman’s sweater and baggy black sweatpants. “I just heard …”
    Jacey ran into his arms, sobbing against his chest. Finally she drew back and looked up at him. “We … haven’t gotten to see her yet.” Mark kept his arm around her and led her to the sofa. Together they sat down. Jacey leaned against him. The quiet flutter of their whispery voices floated through the room.
    Liam went to Bret and hugged him, cradling his son in his arms, carrying him back to the chair. And still they watched the clock.
    Just before nine o’clock, Stephen came into the room.
    Liam eased Bret onto the floor. Then he stood up and went to Stephen.
    “The same,” Stephen said softly. “There’s nothing more we can do for her tonight. We just have to wait and see.” He lowered his voice then, speaking with a friend’s concern. “Take your children home, Liam. Try to get some sleep. We’ll talk again in the morning. If anything … happens, I’ll call you.”
    Liam knew that Stephen was right. He should take his children home, but the thought of walking into that empty, empty house …
    “Take them home, Liam,” Stephen said again.
    Liam sighed. “Okay.”
    Stephen patted him on the shoulder, then turned and left.
    Liam took a deep breath. “Come on, kids. It’s time to go home. We’ll come back in the morning.”
    Jacey stood up. “Home?” She looked terrified. Liam knew that she didn’t want to walk into that house, either.
    Mark glanced at her, then at Liam. “A bunch of us were going to go to the haunted house. Maybe … maybe you want to come?”
    Jacey shook her head. “No, I need to stay—”
    “Go, Jace,” Liam said softly. “Just take your beeper. I’ll call you if anything happens.”
    She moved toward him. “No, Dad—”
    He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, whispering, “Go, Jace. Think of something else for an hour or two. We can’t help her this way.”
    She drew back. He could see the war going on within her; she wanted to go and she wanted to stay. Finally she turned to Mark. “Okay. Maybe just for a few minutes.”
    Mark came over, took Jacey’s hand in his, and led her out of the room.
    “Daddy?” Bret said after she’d left. “I’m hungry.”
    “Jesus, Bretster, I’m sorry. Let’s go home.”
    Bret popped his thumb back in his mouth and got to his feet. He looked small and pathetic. For the first time, Liam noticed the clothes his son was wearing. Plaid flannel shirt, fake leather vest with a tin sheriff’s star pinned on the chest, crisp Wrangler jeans, and cowboy boots. A costume. The haunted house.
    Shit
.
    It was almost nine-fifteen. For the last few hours, all over town, kids dressed as astronauts and aliens and princesses had been piling in and out of minivans. Their parents, already tired and headachy before it began, would crank the music up—mostly comfort rock and roll from their youth—and drive to the single housing development in Last Bend. In a town where your nearest neighbor was often half a mile away, trick-or-treating had to be carefully