"It's so pretty," Ysabel said.

"It sure is," Keith agreed. But he was not watching the sunset, he was watching his wife, seeing the delight and wonder she took in the simplest of natural processes, the way the earth's rotation made its surface slide past the sun, bringing darkness to the day and then brightness to the dark.

Ray Langston watched them both, old friends, still desperately in love with each other after so many years. He knew this would not be Ysabel's last sunset, but it would probably be her last sunset on the water, certainly her last one with her husband at her side, and Ray held on to her warm, fragile hand, cupping it against the ship's rail, and he wanted to live in that moment, skimming across the lake's surface with Ysabel and Keith, for as long as he could.

About the Author

Jeff Mariotte is the award-winning author of more than forty novels, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Brass in Pocket; CSI: Miami – Right to Die; horror trilogy Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts (all as Jeffrey J. Mariotte); The Slab; the Witch Season teen horror quartet; and others, as well as dozens of comic books, notably Desperadoes and Zombie Cop. He's a co-owner of the specialty bookstore Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego and lives in southeastern Arizona on the Plying M Ranch. For more information, please visit www.jeffmariotte.com.