In a Heartbeat

by Tina Wainscott

  “’Sides, it’d be romantic, alone on the Dinky at night, no one knowing where we are.”

  He did look right at home on that snazzy catamaran, moving deftly around, yet taking a moment to touch the fiberglass curves like it was some sexy woman. Wayne didn’t even like sexy women. If he did, he sure wouldn’t have married her skinny, flat-chested self. When he started that blasted motor again, she stopped breathing for a minute. The hari-kari look flickering in his blue eyes sent a thrill of fear through her. He got the look when he was skirting the edges of oyster beds or sending a boat into full throttle.

  The engine churned the green water as he maneuvered out of the navigational challenge of Sugar Bay. No one had removed the pilings from the original marina. They had disintegrated into spiky talons over the years. Wayne thought they added atmosphere and had dredged the pass to go right by them. As long as boaters made the passage warily, they’d be fine.

  But Wayne was showing off. She couldn’t complain too much, since he was showing off for her. He’d threaded through the maze a gazillion times, even on moonless nights with a couple of beers in his belly. Which she hated.

  He gunned the engine as soon as he cleared the docks and the one boat coming in. She knew exactly what he was going to do: head straight for the warning sign on the mound of oysters, then feint to the right at the last possible second. She leaned against the piling, mindful of splinters and powdery white pelican poop. Yep, he was going to give her a scare.

  A seagull squawked from above. Wavelets sloshed around the pilings and sent a tiny brown crab scurrying out of the water’s reach.

  Wayne glanced back at her and grinned. She smiled back because he expected it.

  “Someday that boy’s gonna get himself hurt fooling ‘round like that,” Barnie said from his docked sailboat, just like he always did when he saw Wayne pulling his stunts. Barnie was her dad’s uncle, her great uncle, but she just called him Barnie.

  “Not Wayne.”

  Wayne tugged on the wheel, but the boat wasn’t turning to the right.

  She forced a laugh, but it sounded brittle. “Always fooling, isn’t he?”

  He wasn’t fooling. His motions turned frantic as he jerked the wheel. Time slowed to a halt as she stood helpless on the dock, hoping it was a joke after all. He pushed on the throttle, but it was too late.

  The boat hit the piling with a deafening thud that shuddered through her entire body and loosened the hold of shock and fear that paralyzed her. Wayne was thrown free, and his arms and legs pummeled the air. His scream rivaled the warped sound of the boat’s engine as it rocked sideways and hit the oyster beds.

  Signs didn’t have to warn what the eye could see: jagged edges clawing out of the green depths. Wayne sailed through the air, hit one of the warning signs, and dropped into the water.

  She started to run but stumbled. Her rubbery legs weren’t cooperating.

  “Calling for help,” Barnie yelled and grabbed his cell phone.

  She never took her eyes off the place where Wayne had disappeared.

  Two men on a nearby boat headed over. Maddie reached the corner of the docks and ran down the narrow dock. Someone’s senseless wails penetrated her brain. Who was screaming like that, she wondered, then realized the screams were coming from her.

  The men reached Wayne, and she heard them say, “Oh, my God,” and “Let’s get him out of there,” but she refused to hear the resignation in their voices. Wayne was all right. He’d be bruised, sure, maybe even break a bone or ten. It would teach him not to be so reckless.

  The two men lifted him gingerly out of the water. They wouldn’t have done that if there was no hope, so he must be all right, and the blood running down the side of his head just superficial cuts, that was all.

  She climbed to the stern of one of the docked boats, then tumbled into the water. She rolled right into the breaststroke. Only a minute in, they were headed back, pausing as they came close. “I’m his wife, I’m his wife,” she heard herself say as they helped her aboard.

  “It don’t look good. Let’s get him to the dock,” one of the men said.

  Wayne was curled in on himself. One arm was pressed over his stomach where the torn fabric of his shirt was soaked in blood. Superficial, just a scratch. The tiny cuts on his face wouldn’t even scar probably.

  She knelt beside him. “Wayne, you’re going to be all right, you hear me. Help’s on the way.”

  She bent to kiss him, but the kiss was warm and sticky. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. She brushed it away with her trembling fingers.

  “I’m sorry, Baby.” He sounded like he was gargling.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. You’re going to be fine,” she said firmly, in case anyone dared doubt her.

  He swallowed, then winced. “I don’t…think so, Baby.”

  She stared into his eyes, willing him to believe her words. “You’re fine, dammit.”

  His eyes were glassy and filled with tears. “I’m sorry…stupid…” He coughed, and more blood poured out. She quickly wiped it with the bottom edge of her shirt. He’d probably bitten his tongue.

  “You promised you wouldn’t break my heart.” Her voice was a stretched whisper. “You promised.”

  “I know…”

  He took a wheezy breath. More coughing, more blood. She wiped it away again.

  “I won’t break your heart. I’ll…” He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed like he had a sore throat. When he opened his eyes, he was looking beyond her. His expression changed from pained to peaceful. “An angel.”

  “What?”

  “Look, Baby.”

  She didn’t want to take her eyes off him, but she looked anyway. Through the waves of her tears, she saw two rainbows. She blinked to clear her eyes, but there were still two of them, one above the other. That had to be a good sign.

  “I’ll send you an angel, okay?” he said. “To heal your broken heart.”

  She looked back at Wayne and was startled by the gray pallor of his face. “My heart’s not broken, because you are not dying. Do you hear me?”

  He closed his eyes again. “Baby, are you going to listen to me, or what?”

  “Or what. Look, we’re docking, and I hear the ambulance coming. Don’t move—”

  He reached out with a shaking hand and took hers. “I love you, Baby. I always will.”

  “I love you, too,” she said on a choked breath.

  But he was already gone.

  Whenever you feel alone, look for the end of the rainbow, and I’ll be there.

  Thank you for reading this sneak peek of Heavenly Stranger. Find links to it and all of Tina’s novels at www.WrittenMusings.com/TinaWainscott and www.TinaWainscott.com.

  About the Author

  I hope you enjoyed In a Heartbeat! If you did, I’m happy to tell you that I have many other novels available for your pleasure in different subgenres of romance. I’m the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels published with St. Martin’s Press, Harper Collins, Random House, Harlequin, and Written Musings.

  I have always loved the combination of suspenseful chills and romantic thrills, especially with a bit of paranormal thrown in, so I decided to release my favorites in the Love & Light Collection. Although many of the stories have connections to other books in the series, all the novels are stand-alone stories — no cliffhangers!

  Find the entire collection at www.WrittenMusings.com/TinaWainscott and www.TinaWainscott.com.

  Acknowledgment

  The ideas for my books come from real people and real mysteries. The inspiration for IN A HEARTBEAT came from a woman who went through a very real ordeal that became something extraordinary. From the amazing details she was brave enough to share spun the what-if that became this book.

 

 

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