The Unrelenting Tide (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans - Christian Romantic Suspense) Read Free Page A

walk to work out the kinks from tightened muscles.
    In the kitchen she assembled a sandwich and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter. Slipping into her Mary Jane water shoes, and grabbing up her keys, she stepped out onto the midlevel deck and locked the door behind her. The rest of the house was already locked up – she’d made sure after Carcen left with Marissa.
    Taking a big bite of ham and pickles on whole-wheat, she paused to stare out over the Salish Sea. The day couldn’t be more beautiful. Through the softly swaying branches of the evergreen trees in her back yard, the sun glinted off the calm lazuline water below. Both Shaw and Orcas Island were plainly visible, dark green against the lighter backdrop of the sky.
    From where she stood, she could have tossed a pebble and it would have landed in the water. Below her the waves teased at the shoreline, their soft rhythm a soothing symphony against the counterpoint of birdsong and rustling wind.
    The stairs at the side of the deck led down to the side yard where a sloping path extended down to the lowest level of the yard. She took the stairs and the path slowly, savoring the sun warming her shoulders, and the breeze taking the edge off the heat. Far out in the water a black and white orca crested and blew a geyser into the air, then disappeared with a slap of its tail. Near her on the path a squirrel chattered and she tossed him the last corner of her crust. He cocked his head, angling her a cautious look before darting out to snap up the scrap and scamper back to safety.
    A sigh eased from her lips and she sank down onto the wooden, half-log bench Kent had built in the back yard. She closed her eyes tipping her head back to relish the breeze’s caress, the constant slapping of the waves against the floating dock, the cry of a gull. She searched for the bird and found it, wings spread wide, cavorting with the currents of air high overhead. Off to her right the familiar green and white Evergreen State ferried by, her decks high off the water. Must not have too many riding the inter-island route today .
    Some of Devynne’s tension eased. She and Marissa really should have moved to a smaller place by now. Or at least rented out the big house and moved into the small guest house at the back of the property. But this, this little taste of heaven and privacy, she could never seem to let it go. Five minutes down here, or out on any one of the home’s three decks with the 180 degree view restored her strength. Gave her the energy she needed to be mother, entertainer, spiritual guide, provider.
    Speaking of which, she needed to get back to her sewing room. A quick stroll to the end of the dock, and a dip of her feet into the chilly water and then she took the pine-needled path back toward the house. At the mid-level deck she slipped out of her water shoes, hosed off her feet, and dried them on the towel. She pulled her house keys from her pocket but when she reached for the slider it stood open about six inches.
    Devynne’s heart lurched and oxygen suddenly seemed elusive. She backed away from the door.
    I locked it, didn’t I?
    Her gaze darted from window to window.
    No lights on. Nothing on the deck seemed disturbed. Geraniums still on the rail. Marissa’s sandbox still a scattered mess of toys. Only the door…
    She pressed a hand to her thundering heart and forced a calming breath.
    No forget that . There was absolutely nothing to be calm about in this situation! She spun around to flee.
    A whisper of sound behind her. She gasped. Started to turn. But a sweaty palm clamped over her mouth and strong arms jerked her up tight against a hard wall of muscle and bone.
    Not again ! She swung her elbow with all her might and connected solidly.
    The intruder didn’t budge or make a sound. He only readjusted his grip so that her arms, pressed against her sides, cinched down within the noose of his grasp.
    Her toes left the ground as he hauled her toward the doorway.