Healing Hearts (17 page)

Woof
. Pushing Grant out of the way, her dog lunged for her. His wet tongue lapped at her hands and then the tears in her face as his tail thudded excitedly against the seats.

“Rocky, down, you bad boy.” Sarah managed to push him down even though he seemed to have grown bigger in just the few hours she’d been gone. She knelt to hug him, wondering how she could have even thought about leaving her man or her dog.

“What’s this?” She felt something hard attached to his collar. Sarah parted his fur and spotted the black velvet box. Her heart leapt to her throat and her hands shook as she untied the ribbon that released it. She looked at Grant.

“Open it.”

At his gentle prodding, she opened the lid to reveal a solitaire diamond. More tears sprung from beneath her eyelids as she eyed the simple, yet elegant ring. She looked at Grant and wondered how she could ever have doubted him. Love truly was unconditional and certainly free.

“Let me have it a second.” He lifted it from the box and reached for her hand as he knelt in the aisle. She gasped as he put the ring on her third finger. “Come home, Sarah. I love you. Will you marry me?”

Happiness swelled inside her. Never in a million years did she ever think this was how it would end when she boarded the bus this morning. Grant was her hero, a fighter, her own Rocky. She could hear the imaginary chorus in her head as she threw her arms around him again and kissed him passionately.

“I think that’s a yes,” a man called out from the front of the bus.

Sarah ignored him as well, as cheers and clapping erupted around them. She didn’t want to let Grant go, even for the briefest time. She’d waited her whole life for this moment and was going to savor every single moment. She whimpered when he pulled away.

“We’d better get off now if you don’t want a long walk back to the van,” Grant murmured in her ear. “Besides, we have some unfinished business to attend to, remember?”

Sarah blushed as he placed his hand protectively on her arm and escorted her and Rocky off the bus and toward his waiting van.

The sun broke through the clouds, bathing them in its warmth. Birds sang in the trees around them as they watched the bus pull away with a puff of diesel exhaust. Sarah waved happily, glad she’d finally stopped running, glad she’d finally be able to put her past to rest.

“I need to tell you what happened.” Sarah slipped her hand into his and turned to face him. “The fire wasn’t my fault. There were five of us homeless teens living in an abandoned warehouse. We lit a small fire to keep warm while we slept. It got out of control. Next thing we knew, the whole place was burning. I was the only one over eighteen, so I got the rap.” She gave him a rueful smile. “At first, the owner was going to press charges until he found out the situation. He dropped them because the building was up for demolition anyway. Of course it still shows up on my record, but that’s not everything—”

“And I stole a bunch of ‘For Sale’ signs and planted them in my geometry teacher’s front yard, which is a misdemeanor, if I’m not mistaken.” Grant tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear before brushing her cheek, then her lips. Sarah closed her eyes relishing his touch. “What I’m trying to say is I’m not perfect and I don’t expect you to be either. I’m sure there are lots of stupid things we both did. But we’ll have plenty of time to talk about them because I want to know, and I want you to know everything…later.”

Sarah leaned her head back and let out the loudest scream she could muster. As she released the air, she expelled all the pent up emotions that had been buried inside her for years. It felt great to be alive.

A startled Grant stared down at her.

She laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m happy.”

As she rested her head against his chest, a warm and fuzzy feeling took hold of her. She never wanted it to end. “I love you, too. And in answer to your earlier question, yes, I’ll marry you.” She gazed up at him and smiled. “Wow, I’ve never said that before, and I thought I never would. I’ve always shied away from emotional contact and support for fear of getting hurt. Until you. And to think, I’d almost given up the most precious things in my life. You, Rocky, and my happiness.

“I wasn’t about to let you.”

He leaned down and sealed their pact with another long, drawn-out kiss. As Sarah reached under his shirt to feel the warmth of his skin, she couldn’t wait to get back to his place to start what should have begun last night.

He clasped her roaming hands. “Wait. Your bags.”

Sarah stopped him from jumping in the van and going after the Greyhound. “Don’t worry, Grant. There’s nothing I need in them anyway that can’t be replaced. Someone else is welcome to my past, I’m done with it, okay?” She kissed him lightly. “Now Dr. Morrison, now that you and Rocky have healed my heart, take me home.”

After settling themselves in the van, Grant put it in drive and turned onto the highway that took them back to Greer. Toward home. Sarah would never leave again. She leaned into the seat with Rocky’s head resting on her lap, Grant’s hand holding hers.

“Before our engagement party tonight, there’s a house I want you to look at that’s not too far from Greer,” Grant said, a smile on his lips. “It has a huge yard and a white picket fence. I think it would be perfect for a bunch of little Morrisons, three dogs, four cats, two rabbits, some ferrets, and maybe a foster child or two.”

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Excerpt for Web of Deceit.

An inspirational romance novel

By Kim Watters

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.

Psalm 138:7

Prologue

“Mayday, Mayday!” He shouted into the radio, struggling to stay on his feet. Another wave crashed into the side of the Lady Luck and drenched the deck. More water filled the lower compartment behind him. Dark, murky seawater swirled around his ankles. The boat was taking on water fast. Too fast. His mind reeled as he tried to remember where he’d put the life jackets. They weren’t in their normal place.

“This is the US Coast Guard. What’s your emergency?

“This is Lady Luck. We’re sinking.” He fought to contain his rising panic. Miles from shore and running under the cover of darkness made it almost impossible for anyone to spot him.

Under normal circumstances, that suited him fine. Especially with the cargo he carried. But the sudden storm surprised him, dooming his last delivery for that gravely voice on the other end of the line.

As if they would let him go so easily. The gnawing in his stomach escalated. Lady Luck had been fine yesterday, and the storm mild in comparison to some. So why was he taking on so much water?

The anonymous voice faded in and out, making it almost impossible to understand. “What…coordin…?”

“I don’t know. My instruments are dead. I’m about five miles out and close to Mexican waters.”

“Do you have any flares?”

“Affirmative.”

He released his grip on the radio, and forced his way through the now knee-deep water to one of the cabinets in the tiny galley beneath the deck. With shaky hands, he felt for the waterproof container holding the flares. He found the cool, smooth metal frame he’d thrown in there over a year ago and pulled out the picture of his smiling son.

Anger curled around his heart. A child he’d never wanted. A child his wife insisted on having because her religious beliefs did not allow abortion.

Her beliefs. Not his. He’d given up the charade after he’d escaped from his grandmother’s house and married at eighteen. Too bad his wife hadn’t.

He dropped the frame and watched it bob for a moment before slipping under the water. Everything had been fine until the pregnancy. Then things changed. She changed. No longer the center of her life because of that brat, he was forced to find comfort in another woman’s arms.

Fortunately, his girlfriend hadn’t sailed with him tonight.

He reached in again and found the container, then struggled back to the bow. His hands chilled from the cold, and shaky with fear, he dropped the first flare into the water. A muffled curse escaped his lips when another wave rocked the listing boat.

On his third attempt, he managed to set off the second flare. It fizzled, then sputtered out and spiraled down into the roiling sea.

Another wave roared over the deck. His hip struck the railing as he toppled headfirst into the inky blackness. The frigid water and no life jacket doused any hopes he would be found alive.

He clawed his way to the surface, his eyes stinging from the salt. Gasping for air, an old, remembered prayer drilled into him by his Bible-toting grandmother formed on his lips. But he would not call out to God in his hour of need.

Because God didn’t exist. Not for him anyway.

Tiny lights flickered in the choppy seas off to his left.

He shouted and struggled to swim toward the approaching boat. Wet clothes hung heavy on his body and he labored to stay afloat. His muscles screamed from the strain and struggle against the ocean waters, threatening to pull him under. Within yards of the boat, he shouted again, his voice hoarse. “Over here.”

Suddenly, a small beam of light struck him in the eye, momentarily blinding him. “Need some help?”

Chapter One

“No. I don’t wanna get out! I wanna go home. I wanna go back to San Diego, where I belong!” Matthew clung to the headrest on the driver’s seat.

Backing out of the passenger door, Faith Callahan stared at her seven-year-old son and ran a tired hand through her hair. She knew this transition wasn’t going to be easy, but she hadn’t expected to see the open hostility in her son’s eyes or the staunch defiance in his posture.

She lowered her head momentarily and prayed for strength as she fingered the small, gold cross on the delicate chain around her neck. God had never let her down before. He wouldn’t do so now, even if she hadn’t been as attentive these last few months as she should have been.

“Matthew, we can’t go back. There’s nothing left for us there. Now please get out of the car like the gentleman you are. Grandma Helen’s not expecting us for another hour so I thought I’d show you around.”

“No.”

Wilting under the heat of another sultry Central California day, she made a second attempt to extricate her son from the back seat of her silver Honda Accord. His arms slid from the headrest only to latch onto the doorframe, his white knuckled fingers holding on with a Vulcan death grip.

One day, Faith supposed, she’d find the humor in the situation. Today though, the long drive, the rising temperature, and the weeks of stress and sleepless nights had done away with every ounce of patience she had left.

“Matthew Stephen Callahan, please get out of the car.”

“No!”

Her son kicked when she reached in again. After his sneaker-encased foot connected with her left arm, Faith backed off. She looked around. Fortunately, the unseasonably warm temperatures had kept most of the locals inside, so no one witnessed the incident or her inability to control her son.

“It looks boring here. I’ll bet they don’t even have cable. I wanna go back to San Diego.”

The desperation and uncertainty in Matthew’s voice almost broke her heart, making her question the decision to return to her childhood home.

For a moment.

She’d asked God for a sign a few weeks ago. Then she found an old box of Steve’s things in the hall closet. Trophies and pictures of Steve, Faith, and their friend, Adam, from high school were stored inside. It didn’t get any clearer than that. Days later, their condo went on the market and Faith packed their bags and headed for home.

Home. Peace settled across her shoulders as if an invisible weight disappeared. Faith had to believe the good Lord knew what He was doing. If only He would work a miracle for her son.

With a sigh that rattled all the way down to the depths of her soul, Faith shook her head. The blonde strands bounced around her shoulders and caught in her shirt. She flipped her hair out and bit her lip to keep from chastising her son. It would only cause more friction between them. She tried another tactic.

“Believe it or not, Grandma Helen has a satellite dish. And there’s a new video arcade in the strip mall not too far from her house.”

“How do you know?” His sulky voice glimmered with a tiny bud of hope.

“I asked.” Faith ruffled his hair. “Your father and I grew up here, you know. We always talked about moving back some day. Now seemed to be the right time.”

“I never heard Dad talk about this town. He didn’t want to come back. You did.”

Faith flinched at the accusation, knowing every word her son spoke was the truth. Steve hated Greer and everything it stood for. So much for her small victory.

“Why did Dad have to go and die on me?”

Other inspirational romances by Kim Watters

On Wings of Love
-Harlequin Love Inspired ISBN 13: 978-0-373-87582-5

Home Sweet Home
-Harlequin Love Inspired ISBN 13: 978-0-373-87677-8

Short stories by Kim Watters

Dog Days of Summer

An introvert at heart, newly divorced Emily Bryant will do anything to bring a smile back to her son’s lips--even adopt a complete stranger’s dog from a want-ad. But once she meets the owner, Daniel Gibbs, and the big-eared, furry mutt, Sir Isaac Newton, the smile she so desperately wants for Jeremy might just grace her lips as well.

Discovering Jenna

Reclusive children’s author Jenna Winslow hides behind her books to keep life from disappointing her. She’d rather spend her time in museums with the dinosaurs she writes about, until she meets a man who makes her want to live again.