by Watters, Kim
Anger curled around his heart. A child he’d never wanted. A child his wife insisted on having because her religious beliefs did not allow abortion.
Her beliefs. Not his. He’d given up the charade after he’d escaped from his grandmother’s house and married at eighteen. Too bad his wife hadn’t.
He dropped the frame and watched it bob for a moment before slipping under the water. Everything had been fine until the pregnancy. Then things changed. She changed. No longer the center of her life because of that brat, he was forced to find comfort in another woman’s arms.
Fortunately, his girlfriend hadn’t sailed with him tonight.
He reached in again and found the container, then struggled back to the bow. His hands chilled from the cold, and shaky with fear, he dropped the first flare into the water. A muffled curse escaped his lips when another wave rocked the listing boat.
On his third attempt, he managed to set off the second flare. It fizzled, then sputtered out and spiraled down into the roiling sea.
Another wave roared over the deck. His hip struck the railing as he toppled headfirst into the inky blackness. The frigid water and no life jacket doused any hopes he would be found alive.
He clawed his way to the surface, his eyes stinging from the salt. Gasping for air, an old, remembered prayer drilled into him by his Bible-toting grandmother formed on his lips. But he would not call out to God in his hour of need.
Because God didn’t exist. Not for him anyway.
Tiny lights flickered in the choppy seas off to his left.
He shouted and struggled to swim toward the approaching boat. Wet clothes hung heavy on his body and he labored to stay afloat. His muscles screamed from the strain and struggle against the ocean waters, threatening to pull him under. Within yards of the boat, he shouted again, his voice hoarse. “Over here.”
Suddenly, a small beam of light struck him in the eye, momentarily blinding him. “Need some help?”
Chapter One
“No. I don’t wanna get out! I wanna go home. I wanna go back to San Diego, where I belong!” Matthew clung to the headrest on the driver’s seat.
Backing out of the passenger door, Faith Callahan stared at her seven-year-old son and ran a tired hand through her hair. She knew this transition wasn’t going to be easy, but she hadn’t expected to see the open hostility in her son’s eyes or the staunch defiance in his posture.
She lowered her head momentarily and prayed for strength as she fingered the small, gold cross on the delicate chain around her neck. God had never let her down before. He wouldn’t do so now, even if she hadn’t been as attentive these last few months as she should have been.
“Matthew, we can’t go back. There’s nothing left for us there. Now please get out of the car like the gentleman you are. Grandma Helen’s not expecting us for another hour so I thought I’d show you around.”
“No.”
Wilting under the heat of another sultry Central California day, she made a second attempt to extricate her son from the back seat of her silver Honda Accord. His arms slid from the headrest only to latch onto the doorframe, his white knuckled fingers holding on with a Vulcan death grip.
One day, Faith supposed, she’d find the humor in the situation. Today though, the long drive, the rising temperature, and the weeks of stress and sleepless nights had done away with every ounce of patience she had left.
“Matthew Stephen Callahan, please get out of the car.”
“No!”
Her son kicked when she reached in again. After his sneaker-encased foot connected with her left arm, Faith backed off. She looked around. Fortunately, the unseasonably warm temperatures had kept most of the locals inside, so no one witnessed the incident or her inability to control her son.
“It looks boring here. I’ll bet they don’t even have cable. I wanna go back to San Diego.”
The desperation and uncertainty in Matthew’s voice almost broke her heart, making her question the decision to return to her childhood home.
For a moment.
She’d asked God for a sign a few weeks ago. Then she found an old box of Steve’s things in the hall closet. Trophies and pictures of Steve, Faith, and their friend, Adam, from high school were stored inside. It didn’t get any clearer than that. Days later, their condo went on the market and Faith packed their bags and headed for home.
Home. Peace settled across her shoulders as if an invisible weight disappeared. Faith had to believe the good Lord knew what He was doing. If only He would work a miracle for her son.
With a sigh that rattled all the way down to the depths of her soul, Faith shook her head. The blonde strands bounced around her shoulders and caught in her shirt. She flipped her hair out and bit her lip to keep from chastising her son. It would only cause more friction between them. She tried another tactic.
“Believe it or not, Grandma Helen has a satellite dish. And there’s a new video arcade in the strip mall not too far from her house.”
“How do you know?” His sulky voice glimmered with a tiny bud of hope.
“I asked.” Faith ruffled his hair. “Your father and I grew up here, you know. We always talked about moving back some day. Now seemed to be the right time.”
“I never heard Dad talk about this town. He didn’t want to come back. You did.”
Faith flinched at the accusation, knowing every word her son spoke was the truth. Steve hated Greer and everything it stood for. So much for her small victory.
“Why did Dad have to go and die on me?”
Other inspirational romances by Kim Watters
On Wings of Love-Harlequin Love Inspired ISBN 13: 978-0-373-87582-5
Home Sweet Home-Harlequin Love Inspired ISBN 13: 978-0-373-87677-8
Short stories by Kim Watters
Dog Days of Summer
An introvert at heart, newly divorced Emily Bryant will do anything to bring a smile back to her son’s lips--even adopt a complete stranger’s dog from a want-ad. But once she meets the owner, Daniel Gibbs, and the big-eared, furry mutt, Sir Isaac Newton, the smile she so desperately wants for Jeremy might just grace her lips as well.
Discovering Jenna
Reclusive children’s author Jenna Winslow hides behind her books to keep life from disappointing her. She’d rather spend her time in museums with the dinosaurs she writes about, until she meets a man who makes her want to live again.
Matt McCutcheon is confined to a wheelchair but doesn’t let life confine him. He’s determined to unearth the mysteries of a woman whose physical scars camouflage wounds that go far deeper. But are his efforts to unlock the warmth and beauty inside Jenna enough to draw her back into the land of the living?
Scales of Love
All Rachel Haskin wants is one good man who will accept her and her menagerie of unusual and cold-blooded pets. When her cousin sets her up on a blind date, will her ideal for perfect husband material be fulfilled by Seth Armstrong, or will he just be another one date catastrophe in the making?
When Johnny Comes Home
Audrey Robert’s masquerade is about to end in disaster. For years, she’s written love letters to Johnny and signed them with her sister’s name. Now, the man she adores is coming home to marry his pen pal and Audrey is left to face the consequences of her deception.
Injured during D-Day, Johnny Davenport is shipped home. His only plan: to find the woman whose love letters kept him sane and hopeful throughout the destruction of war. Nothing will stop him from drawing out the beautiful, shy girl he left behind and making her his wife.
But once the true writer is revealed which sister will he claim?
Evergreen
It’s 1944 and Olivia Patterson's husband has been missing in action and presumed dead for over a year. She cherishes her memories of their time together and believes he will return to her, even though friends and family urge her to let him go and move on. When the soldiers return to American soil, will Jack be among them or will she spend a lifetime nur
turing the evergreen tree planted in his honor?
For more information go to www.kimwatters.com
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
