Haven of Swans

by Colleen Coble

  The birds began to jab at him with their beaks. He screamed, an almost womanly sound, and struck back at them. His cries seemed to agitate them further.

  A flurry of feathers churned the waters. Trumpeting calls drowned out his screams. Covering her ears, Eve screamed with him. It was horrible, horrible. Then there was silence.

  She dropped onto the seat and put her face in her hands. She didn’t want to give in to tears, not yet. She still had to get out of here. When she lifted her head, she found herself nose to beak with a huge swan. A drop of blood dripped from the swan’s beak. She shuddered and scrabbled back. The swan came closer, craning its neck toward her. Then it dipped its head and bit her on the leg.

  She screamed again, but her back was already against the motor. The other swans drifted closer, and terror closed her throat. Bree had told her swans could be dangerous, but until tonight, she hadn’t believed her.

  The big swan in the boat trumpeted, and another swan landed on the edge of the boat, rocking it in the water.

  “Shoo, go on, get out of here.” Eve made a shooing motion with her hand. She picked up an old towel lying in the bottom of the boat and flapped it around.

  A third swan landed in the boat. The same fear and disorientation she’d felt the first time she watched The Birds multiplied.

  Another swan lifted in the air. Its wing struck her face, and the force knocked her to the bottom of the boat. She struggled to her feet and saw a patch of clear water past the swans. If she could dive past them and swim for shore, she might make it.

  She stood, but the swan knocked her down again. Another hissed and bit at her ankle. Dimly, she heard a splash. Her head still reeling, she tried to sit up. It sounded like someone was swimming, but surely Oliver was dead.

  A man’s hand slapped the top of the boat.

  WHEN NICK SAW THE SWANS ATTACKING HIS WIFE, HE DIDN’T think; he reacted. A broken paddle lay on the ground. He grabbed it, kicked off his shoes, and dove into the water. Eve’s screams tore his heart out. His arms churned the water, and his feet propelled him in her direction.

  Gulping in oxygen, Nick’s head surfaced. He was only two feet away. He reached the boat and tossed the paddle in, then climbed in himself. Snatching up the paddle, he began to whack the swans with it.

  “Get out of here!” Thwack, thwack. He struck the swans on the tail feathers with the flat end of the paddle. After several indignant squawks and trumpets, the swans flew back to the water and glided away.

  Nick dropped the paddle and knelt beside Eve. Her eyes looked dazed. A smear of blood marred the pale skin of her cheek. “Eve, honey, are you okay?” He still couldn’t quite believe she wasn’t already dead.

  “I . . . I’m okay,” she whispered. She touched the stubble on his chin. “You need a shave.”

  He barked a laugh. “I need more than a shave. I stink to high heaven. I haven’t seen the inside of a building since you disappeared.” He hugged her to his chest. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  She was wet and shivering. “He’s dead,” she said. “The swans killed him.”

  “Swans? Holy cow.” He released her and stood, waving to Kade and Bree, who stood on the shore. Samson was barking. “She’s okay!”

  Eve held up her hand for Nick to help her stand. “It’s Miranda, Oliver’s wife. He thought a new face—my face—would heal her.” She turned and pointed to the island. “She’s in that cabin.”

  “I figured out it was Oliver. I still can’t believe it.”

  “I’m so tired.” She leaned her head against his chest again.

  The full explanation of what had happened could wait. He needed to get her home and in bed. Thankfulness welled in his soul. It could have turned out much differently. “Sit down. I’ll get us to shore.”

  Nick started the engine and guided the boat through the ripples of water to shore.

  Kade waded out and grabbed the bow, and Nick cut the motor. Kade pulled the boat onto the bank.

  Bree rushed to Eve. “Oh, Eve, I prayed and prayed. Thank God you’re all right.”

  Samson leaped into the boat and began to lick Eve’s face. She put her arms around him. “Good boy, Samson. I bet you’re the one who found me, aren’t you?”

  “It was tough going, but he brought us in the right direction. And my dad helped.”

  “Oh, thank God Bernard made it back. I was so worried about him.”

  “He’s fine.”

  “What happened?” Eve asked.

  “It’s a long story,” Bree said. “Let’s go home.”

  EVE’S SHIVERS FINALLY STOPPED. SHE SAT IN Bree’s living room in front of a roaring fire with a mug of hot tea. With her palms cupped around it, she inhaled the aroma and the moist heat. Though it was summer, her ordeal had left her cold, inside and out.

  Bree stepped into the room. “The kids are sleeping. We should be too. It’s after one, but I want to know everything.”

  Eve’s mind had been running around and around it anyway. “I don’t really understand it all myself. I’m hoping Nick and Kade will have more information when they hear what Cyril finds out at Oliver’s house in Cheboygan. All I really know is he thought he could bring his wife out of her state and back to life with my face.” She shuddered.

  Bree glanced at her with guarded eyes. “Um, Eve, I’ve got something to tell you. It’s going to be hard.”

  “What’s wrong?” Eve’s insides clenched.

  “It’s about Patti.”

  Eve closed her eyes. “She got custody?” she whispered.

  “No, no, nothing like that. There was an . . . incident . . . at the camp. Some tainted food got into the food supply. Ten people are already dead.” Bree took her hand. “I’m sorry, but Patti and Will are two of them. They were the worst off when Nick and Kade found them and called the ambulance.”

  Eve inhaled softly. “They’re dead?” Bree’s hand was her anchor. Memories flooded her mind. “Patti wasn’t always this way. I remember when she was a little girl and I’d read stories to her. We’d bake cookies together, play games when my parents were out drinking.” She swallowed the pain. “I’d always hoped things between us would change.”

  “I know.”

  The tears she’d been holding at bay flooded her eyes. “I should be happy,” she sobbed. “They can’t take Keri from me. But I feel like I cheated. I got everything I want, and she only got pain in her life.”

  “She made her own choices, Eve. We all do. We all have pain. It’s up to us to decide how to let God use that pain for our good.”

  “Some of us don’t pay the price for our sins.” Eve locked gazes with Bree. “I deserved what Oliver had planned for me.”

  “A single mistake isn’t the same as a lifetime of destructive choices.” Bree squeezed her fingers.

  “Maybe not.” Eve swiped the last of the tears off her face. “But I know I don’t deserve the good things God has given me.”

  “None of us does.” Bree’s smile came out. “I don’t deserve the blessing I get to tell Kade about when he gets home.”

  “You don’t mean—”

  Bree nodded, and tears glistened in her green eyes. “Davy is going to get that baby brother or sister.”

  Eve hugged her. “Oh, I’m so happy for you!” And she was relieved to find she meant it. God had given her Keri. That was enough.

  Bree glanced behind her when the front door opened. “The guys are home.”

  Both men looked ready to drop. Nick’s dark curls were plastered to his head, and his jeans still looked damp. Kade’s blue eyes drooped. Nick grabbed a wooden chair and turned it around to lean against the back when he sat. Kade rested his hand on Bree’s shoulder.

  “Did you talk to your dad?” Eve asked.

  Nick nodded. “He talked to Oliver’s daughter. She let them take a peek at his office in Cheboygan. He had a video library of women in their homes, taken through the windows. He had everything documented in a spreadsheet. Oliver was a detailed-oriented sort of guy. Acco
rding to his daughter, he had always been strict, but when her mother was injured, he went off the deep end. Started studying every religion known to man, every natural medicine remedy, every obscure culture. There were a ton of obscure religious texts in his office. The one open on the desk was occult.”

  “The guy had an intellect the size of China. And an ego to match,” Kade said.

  “How old is his daughter?” Eve asked.

  “About seventeen. She stayed with her grandmother a lot, and the old lady’s a real nutcase. Cyril—” Nick stopped. “What?”

  “Odette. He named his daughter Odette?” Eve could see his obsession with Swan Lake had been long.

  “I’d forgotten—that’s the Swan Queen’s name, isn’t it?” Nick asked.

  Eve nodded. “Did Odette know about his passion for the ballet?”

  “Oh yeah. He made her take lessons, and she hated it. Skipped out every chance she got. He watched the tape of Swan Lake nearly every night for as long as she could remember.”

  “He told me the swans were his escape when his foster dad came to his room at night.”

  Nick shook his head. “Anyway, Cyril has Odette out of Grandma’s house and with a social services counselor. They’re going to try to find a foster home for her until she turns eighteen.” Eve yawned, and he stood and held out his hand. “Let’s get you to bed. This can all wait until morning.”

  Eve put her hand in his palm. The warmth of his hand warmed her like the tea hadn’t. He pulled her up from the sofa and kept possession of her hand.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “I’ll walk you to your room.” He glanced to Bree. “Your sofa still mine?”

  “Of course. I’ll get the bedding.”

  “I’ll get it, honey. You go on to bed,” Kade said. He patted her on the behind as she passed.

  Eve realized all she’d wanted here in Rock Harbor was wrapped up in the relationship she saw between Kade and Bree. It wasn’t the town at all, though she loved the slow pace. She’d thought the kinder, gentler life would give Nick time to love her the way Kade loved Bree.

  But he already did.

  Love wasn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of thing. Everyone showed love in a different way. She’d been wanting Nick to fit into her preconceived idea of how a man in love acted. Her main agenda had been to try to get him to fit her ideal.

  She was becoming like his sister, Layna. The thought gave her pause.

  Nick was already the perfect man for her. The same passion that drove him to find her when he was exhausted was the same passion that made him such an excellent public protector. If she’d ever succeeded in her quest to change him, she would have found he wasn’t the man she fell in love with.

  Her thoughts tumbled in a morass of longing and realization of how wrong she’d been. He walked her to her door. She turned and stepped into his arms. His chin rested on her hair, and his arms held her tight. His shirt smelled of mud, perspiration, and Nick. A heady combination, when she realized all he’d gone through to rescue her.

  His lips moved against her hair. “I realized when I thought I’d lost you that where we live doesn’t matter. I can be a deputy here in Rock Harbor and still be in law enforcement.”

  She lifted her head. “No, Nick. Saving people is what you do best. We’ll find us a place on Lake Huron, out away from the hustle and bustle. When you’re late for dinner, I’ll remember all the meals you missed to rescue me.”

  His arms tightened around her. “I can come home?”

  She lost herself in his gaze. “Yes. Come home, Nick.”

  A corner of his mouth turned up. “I wasn’t quite sure how to tell you, but the divorce was never finalized. When your lawyer learned you were missing, she didn’t file it. She left a message on the answering machine last week after you showed up.”

  “We’re still married?” She couldn’t still the leap of joy.

  He nodded.

  She pushed open the door. “I guess that means this bed had better be big enough for two.”

  His eyes widened, and she smiled as she led him inside and shut the world out.

  Acknowledgments

  Oh, the joy of going back to Rock Harbor! You’d think these people were real. Well, they are to me. I hope you, dear reader, enjoyed this foray back into the lives of the Rock Harbor folks as much as I did. I’ve received many requests from you over the past few years to write more stories set there. I and the Nelson folks listened.

  My unending love and gratitude to my Thomas Nelson family: publisher Allen Arnold, who jumped on the whole geocaching/serial-killer idea with both feet; editor Ami McConnell, my friend and cheerleader, who had many great suggestions on taking this book to the next level of suspense and romance; editor extraordinaire Natalie Hanemann, who puts up with my numerous requests for help with a smile and a hug; marketing manager Jennifer Deshler, who brings both friendship and fabulous marketing ideas to the table; super-organized publicist Carrie Wagner, who helps me plan the right strategies and is always willing to listen; fabulous cover guru Mark Ross (you so rock!), who works hard to create the perfect cover—and does it; fellow Hoosier Lisa Young, who lends a shoulder to cry on when needed; and my sweet Amanda Bostic, who is still my friend even though she doesn’t work on my books anymore. I love you all more than I can say.

  My agent, Karen Solem, was the first one to love this idea. She’s my biggest cheerleader, and that includes kicking an idea to the curb when necessary. I wouldn’t be anywhere without her. Thanks, Karen—you’re the best!

  Erin Healy is the best freelance editor in the business—bar none. Her magic touch on my book has to be seen to be believed. Thanks, Erin! I couldn’t do it without you.

  Writing can be a lonely business, but God has blessed me with great writing friends and critique partners. Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter make up the Girls Write Out squad (www.GirlsWriteOut.blogspot.com). I couldn’t make it through a day without my peeps! And another one of those is Robin Miller, president of ACFW (www.acfw.com), who spots inconsistencies in a suspense plot with an eagle eye. Thanks to all of you for the work you do on my behalf and for your friendship.

  I have a super-supportive family that puts up with my crazy work schedule. My husband, Dave, carts me around from city to city, washes towels, and runs after dinner without complaint. Thanks, honey! I couldn’t do anything without you. My kids, Dave and Kara (and now Donna) Coble, and my new grandsons, James and Jorden Packer, love and support me in every way possible. Love you guys! And thanks to my parents, George and Peggy Rhoads; my brothers, Rick and Dave Rhoads, and their wives, Mary and Teresa; and my “other parents,” Carroll and Lena Coble. One of them is often the first to hear a new idea, and they never laugh at me. Love you all!

  Most important, I give my thanks to God, who has opened such amazing doors for me and makes the journey a golden one.

  I love to hear from readers! Drop me an e-mail at colleen@colleencoble.com and check out my author site at www.colleencoble.com. There’s a forum to chat about books, and I try to stop in since books are my favorite things in the world. If you have a book club, I’d be happy to call and chat when you’re discussing one of my books. Thank you all for spending your most precious commodity—time—with me and my stories.

  Discussion Questions

  Gideon’s life spiraled downward because of his obsession over a wrong, and he really had been harmed. Have you ever obsessed over something? If so, what did you do to put it behind you?

  Eve and Nick had a second chance to correct a relationship gone wrong. But sometimes it’s hard to forget the past. List three things you could do right now to turn around a relationship that’s gone bad for you.

  Nick and Eve’s marriage suffered because of Nick’s skewed priorities toward his job. What is the most important thing in your life right now? What should it be? If your priorities are in the wrong order, what can you do today to turn it around?

  Is there some talent or part of your
personality that you believe you would never be able to forget, just as Eve innately remembered her ballet? How does that happen?

  Bree was showing God’s love to a stranger when she took in “Elena.” In today’s world, many times we’re afraid to reach out to strangers. How can we overcome that tendency and become the salt we’re meant to be?

  Law enforcement personnel today face such horrific things. Nick wanted to make a difference, be a hero. Do you think he was the exception or the rule among law enforcers?

  How can you be a hero in your circle of influence?

  Have you ever seen Swan Lake? If so, what was your favorite part and why?

  Had you ever been geocaching? Why do you think it’s become so popular?

  What did you feel when Gideon told his daughter she had to learn to deal with the situation at her grandmother’s?

  What theme came through to you in Haven of Swans?

  When you’ve read Proverbs 6, have you ever worried that you’re guilty of something God considers an abomination?

  About the Author

  Photo by Clik Chick Photography

  Colleen Coble is a USA Today bestselling author and RITA finalist best known for her romantic suspense novels, including Tidewater Inn, Rosemary Cottage, and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series.

  Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com

  Twitter: @colleencoble

  Facebook: colleencoblebooks

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