Heavenly Stranger by Tina Wainscott

Author:Tina Wainscott [Wainscott, Tina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781945143779
Publisher: Written Musings

CHAPTER 15

Maddie dozed for a while, all the worry and then the release of lovemaking finally catching up to her. She lay in Chase’s arms, feeling his body heat envelop her in peace. It felt so good to be held in sleep by a man. It seemed unreal, lying there with him, breathing in the scent of wood, salty air, and a slightly musty odor.

She regretfully floated back to consciousness, vaguely aware of a dull ache inside her. Her heart was jammed up in her throat because of what she had to tell him. She sighed and shifted, staring up at the hatch that revealed the patter of rain. He opened his eyes and looked at her. His smile mirrored the melancholy haze surrounding her.

Her arms involuntarily tightened over his chest. She couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. “Chase?”

“You all right?” he asked. He had no idea how wrong she was.

She swallowed what felt like a wad of cotton balls. “I know who you are.”

He sat up so fast that she jumped back on the bed. “What are you talking about?”

She’d wanted to be holding onto him when she told him the news, but clinging suddenly didn’t seem like a good idea. She pulled up a pillow and hugged it to her chest. “Barnie did some looking on the Internet. And he…found you.”

As though he sensed the news wasn’t good, his body stiffened, and his eyes darkened. “What did you find out?”

“Your name is Charleston Augustine. You race sailboats for a living. You disappeared under mysterious circumstances off the coast of Miami, where you live. They found your boat, but no one on board.”

“What else?”

“You’re divorced,” she added when he looked as though he were going to ask her about the ring. “You’re very good at what you do. Respected. Recently you started getting into around-the-world-alone racing. Maybe that’s where the icebergs came in.”

“And?”

She looked away for a moment, then back at him. “When they found your boat…there was a woman’s body caught up in the keel.” He put his hands over his face. “Barnie couldn’t find anything past the initial announcement, like who she was and if she was involved with you or had been on your boat. She might have been just floating out there.” She started to touch him, but he stood and pulled on his jeans.

“When did you find out?” he asked.

“Before I came out this morning.”

His movements became jerky as his anger rose. “Dammit, why didn’t you tell me then?”

“I tried! There was no stopping you.”

“Then how about before we fell into bed together? Wasn’t that a good time to tell me I’m a murderer?”

“You don’t know if you’re a murderer. It was probably an accident. Or—” She stopped at the tense resignation in his face. “You remembered, too?”

He jerked on his shirt. “Not all of it. I hit a woman. We were on a boat, and I was struggling with her. It’s not clear, but she’s screaming, and then I see her falling and hitting her head.

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