Heavenly Stranger

by Tina Wainscott

  “I get it. We haven’t had the greatest relationship.”

  Patrick laughed. “Understatement. Maybe we can get a fresh start. Since it looks like I’m going to be making most of the financial decisions for a while, maybe I could finance one of your sailing campaigns.”

  Maddie couldn’t help but stiffen. If Chase went through anything like what she’d gone through out there, she never wanted him on a sailboat again…at least not racing around the world, and not alone. But she had no place to say, so she bit her lip.

  Chase shook Patrick’s hand. “I appreciate that.” Maddie had started to drift away, and he pulled her back. “But since I can’t remember much about campaigning, or racing, I’d better not go that route.”

  “Are you sure?” Patrick asked, taking the words out of Maddie’s mouth.

  “Positive.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  Patrick apparently couldn’t believe his landmark gesture was being turned down.

  “Do you want to come back to the company? I guess I’m wondering what you’re going to do with your life.”

  “Take it one step at a time. I’ll be in touch. He’s my father, too, and I’ll stand by you during the trial.”

  Patrick’s expression softened. “I appreciate that.”

  Chase gave Maddie a gentle squeeze against him. “Would you mind keeping an eye on things on this boat? I want to get Maddie aboard Xanadu so she can lie down until the Coast Guard arrives.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Chase helped her get aboard the luxury yacht. Through the tinted glass she could see what looked like a living room. Heaven was a black couch.

  She didn’t like all these vague references to the future, but she was too much of a coward to ask what his plans were.

  “Patrick couldn’t believe you didn’t want to take his offers,” she said as he guided her to that full-sized couch.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, he was always one for repeating a question over and over again. ‘Really? Are you sure?’ Comes from years of Dad questioning our decisions.”

  Maddie halted, pulling him to a stop since their arms were linked around each other. “Wait a minute. What do you mean he was always like that? You don’t remember—you do remember!” She could tell by the glint in his eyes.

  He rocked his hand. “Some of it came back while I was talking to you on the radio, scared to death I’d lost you out there when you didn’t answer. More came during the ride here.”

  “Is that why you were so quiet this past hour?”

  “I was thinking about a lot of things, mostly how good it felt to have you back in my arms. That you were the only one who believed in me, even when I didn’t. But yeah, that, too.”

  She turned to face him, her chest feeling like a helium balloon was being filled inside. “You told Patrick you still didn’t remember.”

  He lifted his shoulder in the same way she did. “I still need time to think about his and my relationship before I tell him. Maybe we can put the rivalry in the background first.”

  “That’s a good idea. And what about you?”

  He brushed damp strands of her hair back behind her ears. “I still need to figure out who I am. I’m not used to having an identity yet.”

  “I actually know what you mean. Since I met you, I’ve changed so much. But…what are you going to do now? And don’t you dare say you’ll tell me later.”

  His laugh was soft and low. He moved closer and cradled her face in his hands. “We’re going to find each other. Find out who we are together. All I know is I want you in my life, my miudas gira. And if I’m lucky enough that you feel the same, we’ll take it from there.”

  She grinned. “I guess you’re lucky enough.”

  “Maybe we can start a charter business out of Sugar Bay, day trips out to the Gulf. Bring in some tourists.”

  She took his hand and led him toward the couch. “Let’s just start with tonight, okay?”

  EPILOGUE

  Six months later…

  Maddie didn’t need the Dinky anymore. She’d graduated to Shades of Heaven for sunset cruises, becoming a full-fledged first mate.

  Chase nodded his approval after she’d made an adjustment and then sat down again by his side. “You’re officially a sailor.” Then he launched into a really bad rendition of Abba’s “Dancing Queen,” only he sang, “My sailing queen, young and sweet…”

  She kissed his cheek. “Silly.”

  He turned so that the light kiss grew into something more. “Crazy. In love.”

  She sighed softly, her arms over his shoulders. “Yeah.”

  “You could sign on as my official first mate on the charters, you know. You’ve got the skills.”

  She’d helped on some of his cruises with his new company and loved it. “When you need help. But I’m really enjoying managing the marina. I didn’t think I would, but I’ve discovered I like the challenge. All the things to learn. Delegating.” She grinned. “Being a boss.”

  The pride she felt in fighting for control of the marina, while still working with Wayne’s parents, was clearly mirrored in Chase’s eyes. He gently tweaked her nose. “Baby’s grown up.”

  She wrinkled that nose. “I swear, I about go through the roof whenever anyone calls me that. And yeah, I know I let it happen all those years, but if I can break the habit, why can’t everyone else? I’m going to wear a nametag that says NOT BABY.”

  He chuckled. “That would garner some questions from out-of-towners though.”

  “True. And there are more and more of them coming. You’re notorious.”

  He pulled the same face that she did whenever anyone called her by the old nickname. “I wish I could change my name.”

  “But look how much business you’ve brought to our town. People want to meet the famous and infamous Chase who solved a murder mystery.”

  “And the famous Maddie who helped,” he diverted as usual. He didn’t like being a hero. Even when she called him her hero. In the end, though, it became something else she loved about him. Once the story broke, and then the 2020 show aired, and with the trial coming up in a few months, it kept the whole incident in the public’s mind. At least he and Patrick had grown closer through this; he’d even come over to Sugar Bay a few times to hang with them.

  “I think I’ve told the story two million times.” She leaned against him, feeling the last rays of the sun warm on her face. “But you know, I don’t mind. It inspires people to believe. To hope. To follow their instincts.”

  He brushed a lock of hair from her face, a soft smile on his face—aimed right at her. “You may be right about that. You inspire me. To be a better person. To believe in the unbelievable.” He drew his finger down the length of her nose. “To love.”

  “Aw. I want to marry you, Chase.” The words had spilled out on their own. She didn’t call them back, didn’t make up some excuse for blurting it out. Nope, she stood by them. “I want you in my life for as long as we have together. I don’t pin everything on forever anymore. I know better. And it makes me value now, what is, even more.”

  It helped that he wasn’t shocked or freaked out. A little surprised perhaps. “Why, Maddie Schaeffer, are you asking me to marry you?”

  She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

  He chuckled, drawing that finger down her lips and then to her chin. “I would like that very much. Very much indeed.”

  Thank you so much for reading Heavenly Stranger. If you enjoyed it, please consider posting a review on BookBub.com, Goodreads.com, and/or wherever you buy books.

  Find links to more stories in the Love & Light collection and other series by Tina at www.WrittenMusings.com/TinaWainscott and www.TinaWainscott.com.

  SNEAK PEEK

  A Trick of the Light – Chapter 1

  The voices in her head were making Wanda McKain’s brain hurt. Urgent whispers, too many of them and louder than usual:

  Hide your son.

  Don
’t let anyone know he’s different.

  Dylan doesn’t understand different people. You know how he is; everything has to look so freakin’ normal.

  She knew why, and she thought she could fit into his life anyway. When she’d fallen in love with Dylan, the voices had stopped. She thought their love had cured her. He was taller than a superhero, gorgeous like a movie star, with dreams of living a successful, normal life. It sounded like Heaven. All she’d had to do was keep her own past a secret.

  Then the voices came back, on her wedding day, no less. She backed away from him whenever the murmur of voices kicked in. Luckily he started working a lot after that first year.

  He’ll find out you’ve got crazy in your blood, maybe even put you back in the hospital.

  Just that terrifying thought reinforced her mission. Her dad had called her crazy. Mommy was too timid to defend her. The voices said her parents were the crazy ones, but those people in the hospital believed them, not her. She knew other people heard voices. They put bumper stickers on their cars that read: I do what the voices in my head tell me. Why was she considered crazy when they weren’t?

  She’d gotten good at pretending she was normal, giving the responses the doctors — and the world — expected. She’d even fooled Dylan. But the voices were getting more insistent. They told her she couldn’t fool Dylan much longer. Just the other day she’d answered out loud, and he’d looked at her funny. Three times now Camilla, their housekeeper, had caught her talking to them. It was only a matter of time, the voices said, until they’d take Teddy from her and put her away.

  Once she and Teddy and Mommy were hidden away, Wanda wouldn’t have to pretend. She could get fat, luxuriously fat, and not worry what people thought of her, because no one else would be around. The voices had worked out all the details. She’d been consumed with “the plan” for two months now. It was finally time to act.

  Get moving!

  But don’t drive too fast.

  Use your signals.

  “Shhh!” She waved away the voices. “I hate when you all talk at the same time.” She glanced back at her son. He was strapped in the back seat, lost in his own world. The doctor had confirmed her fears that Teddy was different. Wanda knew the doctor would ignore her pleas not to tell Dylan.

  “I’ll protect you,” she said to Teddy in a strangled voice she barely recognized as her own. “We’re going to go away together so no one will ever know.”

  She pulled into the nursing home complex where her mother lived. Ironic, wasn’t it, that Mommy was now in a home all these years later. Anne Dodson had Alzheimer’s, or that’s what they told Wanda. The voices said it wasn’t true, that the nurses were trying to trick them. Maybe they were performing experiments on the people who resided there. Anne was all right. She just forgot things once in a while.

  Wanda went through the procedure to sign out her mother, keeping the voices at bay. People looked at her strangely if she let them distract her. Sometimes she’d forget and tell them to shut up, only to find a startled cashier or waitress staring at her.

  “Have a nice vacation,” the desk clerk said as Wanda hurried her mother out of the cheery lobby. That’s what Wanda had told them, that she was taking her mother on a week-long trip to North Carolina.

  “Are you new?” Anne asked, blinking as Wanda pulled her out into the sunlight. “They keep hiring new people all the time, how’s a girl supposed to keep up with all those faces when they keep changing?”

  “Mommy, it’s me, Wanda. Your daughter. Remember how I told you I needed you. You gotta take care of Teddy for a couple of hours.” Once she had Anne strapped into the passenger seat, she said, “We’re going to the safe place now. No more nurses, nobody looking at you like you’re crazy, no more having to pretend you’re just like everyone else. I’m going to take you and Teddy to the safe place first, then I have to go home for a few minutes. It’s all part of the plan. Camilla won’t even know Teddy and I are missing until she leaves for the day, and maybe not even then. We’ll have plenty of time to get into place. You have to take care of Teddy while I’m gone.”

  Anne nodded. “That’s important, isn’t it? You said it with an important tone in your voice.”

  “Yes, it’s important.”

  “Take care of Teddy,” Anne repeated. “I can remember that.”

  As Wanda pulled away from the nursing home, the voices got louder. She shook her head, but that only made her dizzy. “Stop it! I’m taking care of Teddy. You hear? Nobody’s going to get to him now.”

  * * *

  Chloe Samms was led in to see Mr. Barnes, the senior partner of the Fifth Avenue law firm. She had to remind herself to shake his hand. Having grown up in a community of women, she usually greeted people with a hug.

  No way was she going to hug Mr. Barnes. He had bulging eyes in a wide, speckled face and reminded her of those Pacman frogs she’d seen in Petland. His chin didn’t pulse with his breathing … only when he swallowed. She pasted on an optimistic smile, but before she could say anything, he said, “You’ve come to see if I’m hiring your accounting firm.”

  “You said you’d have a decision by today.”

  A respectable law firm in the heart of Naples, Florida would be a nice way to lend credibility to C.S. Accounting. Lord knew she needed all the credibility she could get.

  “I’m afraid I’ve decided to go elsewhere.” He held up his hand, as though expecting a rebuttal. “It’s nothing personal.” His gaze slid over her, lingering on a chest she did everything to downplay. “You’re a cute thing and all —”

  Don’t let him see your disappointment. Be tough, be strong. “I’m not all that cute, really.” She grimaced. “I can be downright ugly if I put my mind to it. You should see me in the morning.” She rolled her eyes. “What I mean is …” She hated when she got this way, jabbering and making it more than obvious that she was desperate for this account. She gestured toward her shoulder-length blond hair. “Beneath these curls is a brain, Mr. Barnes.” She picked up a ledger on his desk and glanced down the list. “The total is forty-two thousand, five hundred and fifteen dollars. Go ahead and check it.”

  He took the ledger back. “I’m sure you are smart, Ms. Samms. I like your spunk, and that’s why I even considered hiring your firm.”

  “But?” She’d tried to inject strength into that word, but it came out like a drizzle.

  “My partners felt that having someone associated with Lilithdale wouldn’t be a wise public-relations move.”

  She took a deep breath, not sure if she wanted to scream or cry. “Fourteen hundred twenty-two divided by twelve equals one-eighteen and a half. Seventy-eight times twelve equals nine thirty-six.”

  “Now, Ms. Samms, don’t embarrass us both by grovel — what did you say?”

  “Some people count to ten. I do calculations.” It was a habit that had started when she was six. Usually she did it in her head, but sometimes she was so mad, she had to say it aloud to keep anything else from spouting out. She nodded curtly and turned to the door.

  “Oh, Ms. Samms? I gotta know, is it true what they say? That you girls have drunken orgies out there?”

  “I hate to crush your lurid fantasies, but there are no orgies. On New Year’s Eve the residents take a skinny dip in the bay. It’s a symbolic way of shedding last year’s baggage, bad memories … and negative feelings toward pig-headed, demoralized men who have nothing but sex on their minds.”

  His expression didn’t change at all. “So … are you all lesbians or what?”

  It wasn’t a new question; heck, Chloe had had to answer this one hundreds of times. This creep wanted it to be true. “The women who live in Lilithdale are as heterosexual as you.” Her gaze slid over what she could see of the man. “Probably more so. They just don’t have any need for …” Let’s see if it sinks in this time. “pig-headed, demoralized men who have nothing but sex on their minds.”

  He sat back in his chair. His leering smile faded, but his smugness remai
ned in place. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you meant that as a slanderous insult against me personally.”

  Not only him. It also applied to another man who had done more than made her angry; he’d shattered her heart into a hundred and twenty-one pieces. She gave Barnes her sweetest smile. “If I implied that you were a blunt-minded, frog-faced, depraved, sorry excuse for a man, I’m sure I meant it in the nicest possible way.”

  She walked out, leaving the door swinging open. Outside, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. I can’t believe I said that to him. She didn’t know whether she should feel ashamed, proud, or angry. At the moment, all three fought for dominance. She felt the slightest smile break free, then a choked laugh. Then the snorting kind of laughter that brought tears to her eyes.

  She pushed away from the wall and caught her reflection in a jewelry store window. Definitely she wore her hand-in-the-cookie jar face. Her smile faded. Maybe she could hack off her curls, deepen her voice. She didn’t dress cute, though her yen for pastels probably didn’t help. Cute was tiny, and she was too full-figured to be considered tiny. But cute wasn’t her biggest problem; Lilithdale was. The bane of her existence. The place she’d called home since her mother died of breast cancer and left her in her aunts’ care when she was five.

  Lilithdale started out as a refuge for a handful of repressed women back in the fifties. The newly independent women took over a small undeveloped part of east Marco Island. They built a large house and lived by selling seashells to tourist shops. More women came and settled in, but not because they were repressed. They were oddities in their own worlds. Many were psychic in nature, seeing visions, auras, or in the case of one woman, a person’s last moments on earth. One woman talked to dead people, and there was her Aunt Stella who communicated with animals.

  Belle had so much energy in her body she could light up a bulb by just holding it in her hand. Irina had once been billed “the strongest woman in the world.” She could pull a car with her teeth. And then there were women who believed they had some kind of gift, but nobody could say for sure whether they really did or not. No matter what ability you believed you had–whether it was real or not–you belonged in Lilithdale.