Summer Shadows
Page 38
He felt rather than saw the rope about the animal’s neck. At first he didn’t realize what it was. He squinted at it through water-spotted glasses, puzzled. Then it hit him with all the force of the line drive that had clipped him in the nose last year. Someone had tied Terror to the rock!
Anger burned in Bill, hotter than he’d ever known in his life. Who would have done such a terrible, terrible thing? He grabbed the rope and pulled. It wouldn’t budge. He pulled again harder. Nothing. It was wedged firmly in a crevice, and with all the water, he couldn’t see where and how.
Moving quickly, he put himself, still on his knees, his back to the sea, behind Terror. When the next wave broke, it struck him in the middle of the back, but his body protected the dog, at least a little bit. He began working his hands around the rope at Terror’s neck. He found the knot quickly, and his cold fingers began to pick at it.
Come on. Come on!
Whoever the guy was who tied Terror up had used the slipknot that boaters use to tie up to a dock, loop inside loop inside loop. He’d tied it himself lots of times when he’d gone out on Uncle Ted’s boat with him. Bill stood, gave a brisk tug, and the loops fell apart. The rope dropped away just as a wave struck him in the back of the knees. He felt himself stumble and grabbed Terror.
As the wave receded and pulled at him, he braced himself. When the sickening sensation was gone, he picked up the dog and held Terror against him like a mom did a burping baby. He was relieved and surprised that they were both still solidly on the rock.
Thanks, God. Just a little bit longer, okay?
He cradled Terror, cooing to him as the dog lay shivering against his chest, his wet little head pressed against Bill’s neck.
“Just stay still, okay? We’ll be back on land real soon.”
He looked back the way he had come, and in that moment Bill knew fear like he’d never experienced before. The houses were so distant, their lights little pinpricks, like stars. The night was so dark, and the water swirled wildly over the rocks in front of him. He couldn’t see where to step. He just couldn’t see.
CAN THE LIVING FIND GOD’S FORGIVENESS FOR THEMSELVES AND JUSTICE FOR THE DEAD?
Rose Martin, fearless young nurse, cares for the critically injured. But when a car bomb explosion kills her cancer patient—rich widow and beloved mentor Sophie Hostetter—Rose faces a difficult question: Who could have done this? Was it Peter, Sophie’s financial risk-taking son? Rose escapes into the arms of Jake, a man struggling with his past and his Amish heritage, yet decisions come hard in matters of love and forgiveness. Can the living find God’s forgiveness for themselves and justice for the dead?
ISBN 1-57673-406-4
The Decision
I HAD JUST witnessed a car bomb and was finally on my way home. I hadn’t gone very far when my mind, never very quiet at the best of times, exploded. Images flashed through my mind with the relentless pulse of the light strip on a police cruiser. Fire, crushed impatiens, sirens, static, yellow police tape. Surviving brothers with sunglasses. Firefighters with Mercurochrome. Polite detectives with fine brown hair that floated every time they turned their heads.
And rushing white water, swollen and angry, creaming over rocks.
And the inevitable, “Rose, what happened?”
It didn’t take much intelligence to realize just how close to the edge I was.
“I’m fine. Really. I’m fine.” I repeated it to myself like a litany. Maybe if I said it often enough, it would become true.
But coming out of the house and seeing those lights and hearing that static had brought such a rush of agony, I was unlikely to feel fine for quite some time. I hadn’t had this strong a flashback in years.
You’re being stupid, I told myself. You’re a nurse and an EMT. You deal with emergencies much too frequently to be spooked like this.
But that’s when I’m the healer, the helper. I fix the problems. I don’t cause them.
But you didn’t cause the problem today.
No, I didn’t, but I didn’t prevent it, either.
Like you could have. What are you, prescient?
I shrugged away that bit of logic and went back to the real crux of my distress.
But I was the cause then.
The little voice that had been answering me back was uncomfortably quiet.
Suddenly I knew I wasn’t going to make it home. I felt the bile rise in my throat and swallowed desperately against the impulse to vomit. I felt the tears begin, blurring my vision until I could barely see the road. I felt the shaking start deep in my stomach, and I knew it would radiate outward until my whole body shook.
Oh, God!
I blinked madly, desperately.
Oh, God! I have to get off the road before I fail again, before I’m the cause again.
And I saw the answer to my prayer loom out of the darkness, a white farmhouse with green trim, clean and orderly and known. I pulled into the Zooks’ drive, shoved the car in park, and fell to pieces.
SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE—AND THIS TIME, IT’S NOT GOING TO BE HER!
Often moms feel their kids getting beyond their control. Through the genre of fiction, Enough! humorously presents patterns for dealing with the situation. In this comical novel, Molly Gregory realizes that her three teens have gotten away from her and goes on a two-week strike to remind them to honor her—with chaos as the result.
ISBN 1-57673-185-5
Let’s Talk Fiction is a free, four-color mini-magazine created to give readers a “behind the scenes” look at Multnomah Publishers’ favorite fiction authors. Let’s Talk Fiction allows our authors to share a bit about themselves, giving readers an inside peek into their latest releases. Published in the fall, spring, and summer seasons, Let’s Talk Fiction is filled with interactive contests, author contact information, and fun! To receive your free copy of Let’s Talk Fiction get on-line at www.letstalkfiction.com. We’d love to hear from you!