by Marta Perry
“Like I’ve been shot and dragged through a swamp.” He grimaced, then raised an eyebrow. “Derek?”
The lump in her throat threatened to strangle her. “I’m sorry. He was trying to escape the police launch. He crashed into the bridge piling trying to make it out the intercoastal waterway.” She wouldn’t say, in front of Melissa, that Gifford said it looked as if he’d done it on purpose. “He didn’t make it.”
Pain tightened his mouth. “I failed him.”
“Don’t think that.” She clasped his hand. “You did your best for him. That’s all anyone can do.” Probably only God could understand why Trent had come out of the situation strong and Derek twisted. “It wasn’t your fault.”
His pain went so deep. He’d reacted to Lynette’s death with isolation and bitterness. How would he get through this betrayal from the one person he’d trusted?
Trent shook his head slowly. “I thought I could control everything. Protect everyone. Instead I almost got us killed.” He stroked Melissa’s hair. “If it hadn’t been for Melissa—”
“Fortunately Melissa is smarter than both of us.” She deliberately kept her voice tart. “She recognized a trap when she saw it.”
Melissa straightened, brushing hair back from her face. “I just knew something was wrong. Uncle Derek was acting so funny. It felt like the day Mommy died.”
“You have good instincts, honey.”
Melissa managed a watery smile. “I take after my daddy.”
They were going to be all right. Something that had been tight inside Sarah eased. Trent and his daughter had come through a turbulent storm that would have swamped some people, but they’d found their way to each other.
And what about her? She’d found the truth she came to St. James Island for. Maybe, someday, that would be enough.
Trent pushed himself up a bit higher. “I suppose Gifford is waiting to see me.” He patted Melissa. “Will you go tell him to come in, honey? I may as well get this over with.”
Melissa nodded and hurried out, her step assured, her shoulders straight.
Sarah took a quick breath. There was one more thing she had to say to Trent before Gifford came in.
“Gifford is keeping a tight rein on the press.” She chose her words carefully. She had to get this right. “He’s ready to cover it up, if that’s what you want. Write it all off as a regrettable accident.”
His face was the tight, controlled mask she’d seen so often since she came back—eyes narrowed, lines harsh, mouth a thin line. Then slowly he shook his head.
“We tried that before, didn’t we? It didn’t work. We didn’t count on a crusader named Sarah.”
“I needed to know the truth for myself. It doesn’t matter to me whether the rest of the world knows.” She was giving him the choice. If he wanted to try and live a lie, she couldn’t prevent that. But she would grieve for him.
“Do you think I’m still that foolish?” His hand closed over hers, drawing her near him. “I was wrong. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d never have known the truth.”
“If it hadn’t been for me, Derek would still be alive.” She wouldn’t soon forget that. “If anyone’s to blame—”
“No.” His grip tightened painfully. “You were right to begin with. Derek was responsible for the choices he made.”
She could only hope he believed that. That he wouldn’t go on blaming himself for what Lynette had done, for what Derek had done.
He linked his fingers with hers, so that they were palm to palm, and a wave of warmth flooded through her.
“I thought I could protect my family by controlling everything around them, but I couldn’t. You showed me that. The cost of power is too high.” His fingers tightened painfully for an instant, and then eased. “Let the truth come out. We can deal with it.”
“We?” Her heart began hammering in slow, heavy beats. She forced herself to meet his gaze, and found a warm glow deep in the gray. He looked, finally, at peace.
“I love you, Sarah. You challenge me, and irritate me, and you won’t let me get away with a thing.”
Hope blossomed, expanding in her soul. “That’s not ordinarily what a man says when he’s declaring his love.”
“You’re not an ordinary woman, Sarah Wainwright.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “You wouldn’t be content with ordinary, and neither would I. I’d rather spend the rest of my life off balance with you than at rest with anyone else.”
She saw, finally, what she’d been missing. That was what had been wrong between her and Miles, and she’d never recognized it.
She didn’t want a safe harbor, any more than Trent did. They were both better suited to the challenge of the storm.
“I take it that means you won’t try to cloister me at Land’s End and surround me with armed guards.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” He kissed her fingers. “I love you, Sarah. Do you love me?”
The past was at rest now, all its secrets laid bare and rendered harmless. The future opened ahead of them, filled with challenge and promise. Through all the pain and grief, God had brought them to each other.
“I love you.” Her heart swelled with the words. “I love you, Trent, and I will never run away again.”
Dear Reader,
I’m so glad you decided to pick up this book, and I hope my story touches your heart. This is the first romantic suspense novel I’ve written in a long time, besides my work on the Faith on the Line continuity miniseries, and it was such a pleasure to return to it. I’ve loved romantic suspense since I read my first Phyllis Whitney novel back in junior high.
Land’s End takes me back to the Low Country of South Carolina, the setting for my earlier Caldwell Clan series. It’s a beautiful area, filled with mystery and romance. Certainly my heroine, Dr. Sarah Wainwright, finds plenty of both when she returns to St. James Island to right an old wrong. She learns, too, as I have, that the only safe refuge in time of trouble is the Lord.
I hope you’ll write and let me know how you liked this story. Address your letters to me at Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, and I’ll be happy to send you a signed bookplate or bookmark. You can visit me on the Web at www.martaperry.com or e-mail me at [email protected].
Blessings,
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Trent Donovan is desperate to protect his daughter, even if he has to hurt Sarah to do so. Can you sympathize with Trent’s feelings, even if you don’t agree with his decisions?
Sarah Wainwright has come through the first year of her grief, feeling as if she’s now capable of learning what really happened to Miles, but she finds her grief reawakened by her return to the island. Have you ever been surprised by an emotion you thought you’d overcome? How did you deal with that?
Sarah isn’t sure there’s anyone on the island she can trust to be her friend. Can you imagine feeling that alone?
The Scripture theme for the story is from Psalms 18:2: “The Lord is my stronghold, my fortress and my champion, my God, my rock where I find safety, my shield, my mountain refuge, my strong tower.” In what ways did you find this theme reflected in the characters’ lives?
How did Trent try to provide his own “strong fortress” for those he loved? Was he successful? Why or why not?
This promise of safety in the Lord is meaningful to Sarah in times of danger. Do you have a favorite verse you lean upon? What does it mean to you?
Do you find that the Gullah characters add to the story? What insight into that culture did you gain?
Trent doesn’t realize that his wealth and power sometimes keep people from being honest with him. How do we see that reflected in the lives of public figures like politicians and entertainers?
Trent’s determination to protect (or overprotect) his daughter comes between him and Sarah. Have you known about or experienced a situation where this happened? What would be a constructive way of dealing with it?
In the end, Sarah realizes that she doesn’t want
a safe harbor, any more than Trent does—that they’re both better suited to the challenge of the storm. Do you feel their relationship will withstand life’s storms? How can battling trouble together make a marriage stronger?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4923-7
LAND’S END
Copyright © 2006 by Martha P. Johnson
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.
® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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*Hometown Heroes
*Hometown Heroes
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†Caldwell Kin
†Caldwell Kin
†Caldwell Kin
†Caldwell Kin
**The Flanagans
**The Flanagans
**The Flanagans
**The Flanagans
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