She Kicked Away His Cane—But He Could See Everything

Chapter One: The Edge

The white cane touched the stone with a small, familiar click.

Daniel knew that sound better than he knew his wife's voice now. For months, it had measured the distance between his bedroom and the stairs, between a chair and a doorway, between being a man and being treated like a burden.

Beside the indoor pool, the sound changed.

Before he could take another step, a gold heel struck the cane.

It jerked sideways. Then a hand drove into his shoulder.

For an instant, there was nothing beneath his certainty. His shoe slid toward the pale edge of the pool. The cane clattered somewhere behind him, and his arms reached for support that was no longer there.

“Watch out!”

Someone caught him hard enough to hurt.

A young woman wrapped one arm around his upper back and gripped his arm with the other. Her shoes scraped the dry stone as she pulled him away from the water. Daniel caught her sleeve. He could feel her trembling through the fabric.

“Come back,” she whispered. “This way. I've got you.”

She did not release him until both his feet were planted safely to the left of the pool.

His wife had not moved.

Clara stood beneath the high windows in an emerald dress, her expression one of mild irritation, as if someone had interrupted a conversation she was enjoying.

The maid turned toward her.

“He could've drowned!”

Her voice shook, but she did not lower it.

Daniel drew a breath. He kept his dark glasses in place and turned toward the sound of his wife's reply.