Forgotten (Shattered Sisters Book 2) by MAGGIE SHAYNE Page B

that we're going to move in on you. I'm taking the girls to Miami to visit Dad and Rhonda for a couple of weeks."
    Joey frowned as she and her sister stepped back outside. "I'd rather have you here."
    "You're newlyweds—"
    "So are they." Joey's voice was tinged with bitterness. She shook herself, though, and put an arm around her sister as they followed Ash along the path around the house. "We'll talk. Look, at least stay for lunch. Ash is making subs."
    "I don't want to impose..."
    Ash turned, letting them catch up. "Hey, you haven't lived until you've had an Ash Coye special. Make you into a new woman." He sent Caroline a smile and felt Joey's gratitude bathing him as he walked with them around the house to get the groceries from the car.
    Ash clicked the key bob to open the trunk, then reached in for a bag, vaguely aware of the slamming of the screen door coming from the out back. Joey bent to grab the second bag, her worried eyes scanning her sister's face. Caroline bit her lip as tears filled her eyes once more.
    "I don't think I can stand this. God, Joey, what am I going to do?"
    Joey shifted the bag she held to her hip, freeing one arm. Her big green eyes moistened as she reached for her sister and hugged her for a long moment. And then all of the sudden, Joey went rigid, jerking away from Caroline. Her eyes rounded and her face went white. "Brittany," she choked. The grocery bag slid from her grasp, spilling its contents onto the blacktop. "Brittany!" It was a scream the second time, delivered as Joey took off running full tilt around the house.
    Ash didn't take time to wonder what the hell her problem was. He followed her, dropping his bag back into the trunk. Caroline ran alongside, keeping pace with him when she should not have been physically able to.
    Joey flew over the back lawn, heading for the river. Ash's stomach knotted when he caught sight of one little girl, only one, standing dangerously close to the riverbank. Bethany. She was near the red wooden dock, her small body convulsing with sobs. Ash ran faster. His feet hit the dock just as Joey sprang into the air over the side, knifing into the murky, fast-running water.
    In the space of a heartbeat, he was following Joey's path into the cold, muddy water. If she thought Brittany was in the river, then he wouldn't waste time questioning it.
    He submerged, but was unable to see in the greenish water. When he broke the surface again, he caught sight of Joey. She was out farther, in the force of the current, moving away from him rapidly. As he watched, she dived under. He stroked toward her, his heart hammering forcefully enough to break his ribs, his eyes straining, his arms putting forth superhuman effort.
    He almost jumped when Joey broke surface a few feet ahead of him. Her face was pale, haggard, her eyes a dull green, a color that seemed to scream with pain. Something was wrong with her!
    Then she tugged Brittany’s limp body from beneath the water, and struggled to hold the child's face above the waves as he stroked toward her.
    "Ash..."
    Then he had her. But there was no way in hell he could fight the current and hold onto both of them.
    She pushed Brittany into his arms. Joey looked horrible, and he had a sickening feeling there was a lot more wrong with her than the cold, dirty water or exhaustion. He held the little girl firmly with one arm as she began to whine and struggle and choke. He reached for Joey with the other.
    "You'll sink,” she said. “I'm okay, just get Brit out of the water."
    He shook his head. "You're hurt Joey, what is it?"
    "She needs to get out of the water. Go now. I'll be right behind you."
    Her pupils told another story. Ash pulled her arms around the child, speaking softly to calm Brittany as he did. Then he hooked his own arms around them both. "Hold her tight, Joey. Don't let her go." He sidestroked toward shore. They would end up yards from the dock, since the current was pulling them downstream. His head was under more