Tattered Innocence

2013 Favorite Fiction List

Michelle Sutton's Edgy Inspirational Author
Review Blog

"My favorite kinds of books are the ones you
can't put down. I got so hooked on the romance in Ann's story that
I stayed up till 3:00 a.m. reading. Her characters were wonderful,
and I had to know what happened next."

Jill
Williamson
, author of the Blood
of Kings series, Replication, The New Recruit, and Captives—Eastern
Oregon

“Rachel’s coming to grips with the fact that
God’s forgiveness for her sins needs to be reflected in the way she
lives her life–as someone forgiven and not condemned–profoundly
affected me.”

Danielle Lakes, freelance editor—Burnsville,
Minnesota

“Amazingly talented writer. The book is very
well written and the characters come to life. You almost feel like
you are sailing right along with them! My kids would love these
books.”

Ashley Wiles, juvenile detention
officer—Daytona Beach, Florida

About The Art of My Life: “I had a hard time
picking which of Ann Lee Miller’s novels to make my Top Five Books
of 2012. They are that good.  Her stories are utterly
engaging, and her characters so authentic that in reading them I
felt like I was in my twenties all over again.”

Helen Wakefield,
Book Review
Sisters
—Australia

By

Ann Lee Miller

This is a work of fiction. The events and
characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to
refer to specific places or living persons. The author has
represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to
publish all the materials in this book.

Tattered Innocence, All Rights Reserved,
2013

Copyright © 2013 Ann Lee Miller

Published by Flawed People Press

Gilbert, Arizona

Smashwords Edition

Produced in the United States of America

Cover Art by Robin Roberts at
Red Red
Design

Ashland, Ohio

Edited by Danielle Lakes

[email protected]

Burnsville, MN

Proofread by Jackie Jessup

New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Thank you for downloading this ebook. It
remains the copyrighted property of the owner and may not be
reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any
means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical, without the
express written consent of the publisher except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. If you
enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their
own copy at Smashwords.com. Thank you for your support.

To learn more about Ann’s books and what is
coming next from this talented author visit
AnnLeeMiller.com

Twitter
@AnnLeeMiller

Facebook

By Ann Lee Miller

Book 1: Avra's God

Book 2: Tattered Innocence

Book 3: Kicking Eternity

Book 4: The Art Of My Life

Who never found it necessary to learn life’s
lessons the hard way.

My characters could use your moral compass,
strong wills, and several sessions of life coaching on your living
room couch.

Aft
—a part of the boat at or near the
rear

Amidships
—in or toward the center of
the boat

Ballast
—weight stowed in the keel
(bottom of the boat) to stabilize the boat upright

Barnacles
—small, hard-shelled marine
animals that cling to any surface submerged in saltwater

Bimini
—tarp shading the cockpit

Boom
—horizontal beam attached to the
mast and bottom edge of the mainsail

Bow
—the front of the boat

Bowsprit
—plank that extends beyond
the bow to anchor rigging.

Bulkhead
—an upright partition
separating rooms of a ship

Buoy
—floating stationary marker that
indicates a channel or underwater hazard

Can—
a green buoy shaped like a
cylinder

Chart
—nautical map

Chock
—a guide for an anchor, mooring
or docking line, attached to the deck

Cleat
—a fitting used to secure
ropes

Coaming
—backrest that encloses the
cockpit, running between the main cabin and the after cabin

Cockpit
—area from which the boat is
sailed containing the wheel and engine controls

Companionway
—a stair or ladder
leading from inside a boat to the deck

Dinghy
—ship's small rowboat

Dock box
—all-weather storage box
anchored to the dock, roughly the size of
a cedar
ch
est

Drink
—a slang reference to a body of
water

Dry Dock
—location where boats are
removed from water for repairs

Fender
—A soft plastic cylinder used
to protect the boat from bumping against the dock

Fiberglass
—a cloth, when coupled with
resin and hardener, that adds strength and protection for the hull
from the elements

Finger pier
—narrow dock that extends
along the side of a boat

Forestay
—wire support for the mast,
running from the bowsprit to a point at the

top of the mast

Gangplank
—a ramp leading from dock to
boat to facilitate boarding

Genoa
—a large jib or staysail

Gunwale
—upper edge of a ship’s
side

Halyard
—the rope that hauls up the
sail

Head
—ship's bathroom

Hatch
—entryway into the cabin of a
boat, usually a slab of wood or fiberglass that slides open and
shut

Helm
—the wheel by which a ship is
steered

Hull
—the body of the boat

Jack Stands
—props that keep a boat
upright in dry dock

Jib
—the foremost sail of a ship

Keel
—a fin
down the centerline of the bottom of the hull

Ketch
—A two-masted
fore-and-aft-rigged sailing vessel with a
mizzen mast s
tepped aft of a taller
mainmast, but forward of the rudder

Knot
—a nautical unit of speed
equaling l.l5 MPH

Lifeline
—a wire guardrail surrounding
the deck to prevent people from falling overboard

Luff
—the flapping of untrimmed
sails

Mainmast
—the taller mast positioned
toward the front of the boat

Mainsail
—the largest sail attached to
the mainmast

Mast
—the tall pole holding up the
sails

Mizzen Mast
—The shorter of the masts,
located toward the rear of the boat

Nun
—a red buoy shaped like a cone

Piling
—a long heavy beam driven into
the ground underwater to support a dock

Port
—left, as a sailor faces forward;
the opposite of starboard/right

Porthole
—window on a ship, usually
round in shape

Pram
—a small rectangular dinghy

Resin
—a waterproofing substance, used
to coat fiberglass cloth on the hull of a ship

Salon
—living area of the main
cabin

Scuppers
—drains that enable water to
run off the boat’s deck

Seawall
—wall erected along the shore
to prevent erosion

Sheet
—the rope used to control the
sail

Shroud
—wire cable that holds the mast
up from both sides of the boat

Slip
—parking slot for a boat tied to
a dock in a marina

Sole
—the floor of a cabin

Sounding
—measuring the depth of the
water

Starboard
—right as a sailor faces
forward, the opposite of port/left

Staysail
—A triangular sail hoisted on
a stay/wire

Stern
—the rear of the boat

Tacking
—a zigzag course when sailing
upwind

Transom
—the rear of the boat

Travel Lift
—a mobile crane used for
lifting boats out of the water for repairs

Utility lines
—water and electric
lines running from dock to boat

Wake
—disturbed water left behind a
moving boat

Rachel hot-footed it across the glittering
sand of the Dolphin View Restaurant lot, too-new sandals clenched
in her hand. The denim of her skirt caught her knees and shortened
her stride. She slowed her breath. Hyperventilating wouldn’t help
her ace this interview, and crewing on
The Smyrna Queen
was
her only way out.

Worn work boots appeared on the dirty sand
in front of her. “Rachel?”

Her gaze panned upward over faded jeans,
carpenter’s belt, paint-splattered T-shirt, and stopped at toffee
eyes trained on her. Her breath hitched. She’d been prepared for an
old-salt captain, not a Diet Coke commercial. Hot granules scorched
the soles of her feet, and she burrowed one foot toward cooler sand
and balanced the other on a big toe.

She held out her hand, squinting at him.
“Rachel Martin.” Her heart hammered like it had when she
interviewed for her first and only job—high school athletic
secretary—five years ago. But she only had to convince him she
could sail, not manage details for nineteen sports.

He glanced at her hand but didn’t take it. A
muscle tensed in his jaw. “Jake Murray.”

Palm fronds rustled in the May breeze.

She dropped her hand, swallowing his slight,
and burrowed deeper in the dirty sand with her toes. First mate was
the only job listed in the
Hometown News
classifieds she
qualified for, and she needed this job to untangle herself from
Bret. Why had she thought doing the right thing would be easy?

His pale curls moved in a puff of hot breeze
as he frowned at her bare feet. “I’m starved. Let’s go inside.” A
halo of chin stubble sparkled in the sun. He shoved his hands into
his pockets and strode toward the restaurant, his shoulders
hunched.

The screen door banged behind him. A
weather-beaten
B
est Fried Seafood on the Florida Atlantic
Coast
creaked on a sign overhead.

Rachel marched toward the smells of grease
and fish. She dropped her sandals on the Dolphin-shaped mat, slid
gritty feet into them, and pushed through the fingerprint-smeared
door.

At three, the place was empty, except for a
woman peeling shrimp in front of the fan, her support hose rolled
into knee-highs. She tossed each shrimp into a huge stainless steel
bowl, like morsels of wisdom she’d collected from living.

Rachel fought the urge to drag a chair over
and pour out her messed-up life.

Jake moved from the counter, through the
back door, to the outdoor seating without casting a glance in her
direction.

The counter guy scratched the grouper tattoo
on his bicep and yelled, “One super-deluxe combo basket, two sweet
teas.”

At least he ordered something I like. And
paid for it.
She stepped onto the deck and spotted Jake facing
the seawall where a beater fishing boat was moored.

His fingers drummed on the picnic table, his
eyes slits above an anchor-hard jaw.

Rachel slid onto the wooden bench across
from him.

He coughed and glowered at her as if it were
her fault she’d caught him brooding.

Okay, so there were worse things than an emo
boss.

Jake pierced her with his eyes. “Sail?”

Everything rode on this answer. She took a
deep breath. “My dad taught me and my brother to sail. I was the
one who caught the bug. I have a Sunfish stowed on a friend’s lawn
on the Indian River. Sail every chance I get. I’ve piloted a
Catalina 27 a couple of times.” If he was looking for big boat
experience, she was screwed. “When you learn on a small boat, you
have to grasp wind dynamics to stay out of the drink. It makes you
a better sailor.” Her voice went up at the end as if she doubted
her own theory.

The grouper-tattooed guy plunked a heaping
basket of seafood in the middle of the table with one hand and set
down Styrofoam cups with the other. He wiped thick fingers on his
starched apron. “Enjoy.”