Promise Cove (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 1) (105 page)

B
y
t
h
a
t
time,
the
pool
p
l
a
y
e
r
s
h
ad
tak
en
an
in
t
erest
in their
co
n
ve
r
sa
t
ion
and
ambled
ove
r
.
“
H
e
i
s
n
’t
in
t
eres
t
ed,
S
i
s
s
y
.
C
a
n
’t
y
ou
t
e
l
l
h
e
’
s
get
t
i
n
g
it
f
rom
the
h
o
t
w
idow
out
at the
C
ove?”

A
n
o
the
r
poo
l
p
l
a
y
e
r
thre
w
in
,
“
J
or
d
a
n
’
s
a
h
o
t
li
ttle
numbe
r
a
l
l
r
i
gh
t
.
A
n
d
Sc
o
tt
’
s
bee
n
gon
e
a
lo
n
g
,
lo
ng
ti
m
e.
I
t
w
a
s
j
u
s
t
a
mat
t
e
r
of
ti
m
e
befor
e
sh
e
hooke
d
u
p
w
it
h
the
fi
r
s
t
g
uy to
com
e
alo
n
g
.
”

N
ick
s
t
ood
u
p
,
a
little
lightheaded,
but
n
o
t
f
rom
the si
ng
le
bee
r
.
“
Look
g
uys,
I
do
n
’t
k
now
what
y
our
problem
is, or
what
the
l
ad
y
’
s
problem
here
is,
but
I
do
n
’t
w
ant
troubl
e
.
I
n
fact
I
’
m
out
of
her
e
.
”

A
l
l
of
a
sudden,
N
ick
caught
movement
out
of
the
corner of
his
e
y
e
just
in
time
t
o
dodge
the
pool
cue
aimed
at
his head.
W
ithout
thin
k
i
n
g
,
he
s
wu
n
g
around
and
sent
a
hard
r
ight
t
o
the
j
a
w
of
a
third
pool
p
l
a
y
er
wh
o
’
d
snuck
up
behind hi
m
.
The
man
c
r
umpled
t
o
the
floo
r
,
out
cold.
N
ick
s
t
ood over
the
man,
f
i
s
t
s
clenched.
L
oo
k
i
n
g
around
the
room,
he
t
old
eve
r
y
one
w
ithin
the
ba
r
’
s
four
w
a
l
ls,
“
I
do
n
’t
k
now
what
y
our problem is, but
ther
e
’
s n
o
thi
n
g goi
n
g
on between me and
J
or
d
a
n
.
I
’
m
here
t
o
help
her
f
i
nish
the
ho
u
se,
n
o
thi
n
g mor
e
.
W
h
y
are
a
l
l of
y
ou
so de
t
e
r
mined
t
o
give
her such
a
har
d
ti
m
e
a
n
yw
a
y?”

And
w
ith
tha
t
,
he
s
t
o
r
med
out
of
M
c
C
ready
’
s.

Once
ou
t
s
ide
in
th
e
night
ai
r
,
he
sta
r
ted
to
shake.
Af
raid
s
omeone
would
s
ee
him
he
w
a
l
k
ed
around
th
e
co
r
ne
r
of
th
e
b
r
ick
bu
i
lding
and
leaned
against
th
e
w
a
l
l
un
t
i
l
h
i
s
ne
r
v
e
s
s
ettled
down.
W
he
n
th
e
trembling
had
st
opped
,
he sta
r
ted
w
a
l
k
ing
to
h
i
s
b
i
ke,
and
the
n
as
he
g
o
t
cl
o
s
e
r
,
began to
r
un.
A
l
l
he
could
think
ab
ou
t
w
a
s
get
ting
back
to
T
h
e
C
ove,
and
back
to
J
or
da
n
.

Nick woke in
a hospital bed. A gray-haired, fifty-something doctor stood beside the bed holding a chart, looking down at him with a sad look in his eyes. The room appeared foggy, the image not quite clear as the doctor told him, “You’re lucky you made it out alive, son.”

He looked around the room, but except for the doctor they were the only ones there.

“Where’s Scott?”

“Scott? Scott didn’t make it. The Humvee blew up. You didn’t get him out, Nick. If you’d been faster, reacted quicker, moved sooner, Scott would be alive.”

“No. No. He can’t be gone. He has to go back home to Jordan and his daughter. No. He can’t be dead. All he wants is to get back to his wife and baby. That’s all he talks about.”

“He’s dead, Nick. Scott isn’t going home. He didn’t make it. You didn’t pull him out in time.”

N
ic
k
’
s
ey
e
s
flew
ope
n.
H
e
slid
ou
t
of
bed
and
hi
t
the
fl
oo
r
r
unning
to
th
e
bathroo
m
j
u
st
in
time
to
thro
w
u
p
.
Af
t
e
r
war
d
s,
he
went
to
th
e
f
r
idge,
took
ou
t
a
b
o
ttl
e
of
w
a
ter and
leaned
o
n
th
e
coun
t
e
r
for
suppo
r
t
.
H
e
do
w
ne
d
the
w
a
t
e
r
in
on
e
lon
g
,
con
tinuo
u
s
g
ul
p
.
H
e
made
h
i
s
w
a
y
back to
th
e
bed.
B
u
t
he
took
on
e
look
a
t
th
e
c
r
umpled
shee
t
s, and
could
n
’t
make
him
s
elf
c
r
a
wl
back
unde
r
th
e
cove
r
s.
H
e de
c
ided
to
get
dr
e
ss
ed.

Outside
the
night
breeze
felt
cool
on
h
i
s
s
k
in.
H
e
looked
u
p
a
t
th
e
s
tar-f
i
l
led
s
k
y
and
let
the
f
r
e
sh
air
clear
h
i
s
head.
B
y now
he
did
n
’t
need
a
f
l
ashlight
t
o
f
i
nd
the
tra
i
l
down
t
o
the cove
in
the
d
ar
k
,
but
r
a
ther
relied
on
moonlight
t
o
g
uide
h
i
s
w
a
y
.
H
e
headed
out
past
the
s
ide
of
the
g
ar
a
ge
and
fo
l
lowed the
roc
k
y
slope
gently
a
n
gli
n
g
dow
n
w
ard.
H
e
made
h
i
s
w
a
y past
the
f
r
a
g
rant ros
e
ma
r
y
in bloom
and s
a
vored
the
s
me
l
l
of the
w
i
ld
g
in
ger
g
round
cove
r
.
T
h
e
s
me
l
l
of
p
ine
m
i
x
ed
w
ith the
sal
t
y
sea
i
n
v
igo
r
a
t
ed
him
so
that
by
the
time
he
reached the
beach,
h
i
s
s
t
o
m
ach
h
ad
s
t
opped
chu
r
ni
n
g.
H
e
w
as
n
’t su
r
p
r
ised
t
o
see
J
or
d
an
sitti
n
g
on
the
same
rock
as
before
and dropped
down
next
t
o
he
r
.

“C
ome
here
of
t
e
n
.
”

Despi
t
e her
me
l
ancholy
mood,
she
l
aughed.
“
N
ow ther
e
’
s
a
line
I
h
a
ve
n
’t
heard
in
some
tim
e
.
I
’
d
think
w
ith
y
our bac
k
g
round,
y
ou
’
d
be
more
o
r
iginal
.
”

“
I
’
m
a
little
r
usty
on
m
y
p
ic
k
up
lin
e
s
.
”

“T
h
at
’
s
t
oo
bad.
H
o
w
’
d
it
go
in
t
o
w
n?
H
a
ve
f
un?”

“
I
think
the
bar
scene
has
fina
l
ly
pa
s
sed
me
b
y
.
”
A
t
least in
th
i
s
t
o
w
n,
he
though
t
.

“
W
e
a
l
l
ge
t
ther
e
e
ven
t
ua
l
l
y
.
”

“
I
t
migh
t
h
a
v
e
r
u
n
i
ts
cou
r
s
e
.
”

“T
hi
n
g
s
cha
n
ge,
remember?”

S
he
w
as
thro
w
i
n
g
h
i
s
wor
d
s
bac
k
a
t
hi
m.
“
Y
ou
’
r
e
r
i
gh
t
.
C
an
I
ask
y
ou
somethi
n
g?
I
do
n
’t
mean
t
o
make
y
ou
sad
or a
n
ythi
n
g
,
bu
t
…
ther
e
’
s
somethi
n
g
I
’
d
l
i
ke
t
o
k
no
w
.
”