Read Online SeaChange by Cindy Spencer Pape - Free Book Online Page A

and a plane flew overhead, dropping something in the
ocean. Then the boat came, and soon the guns began to fire. Finally, the chase
was on…
    Heidi screamed as the cigarette boat ripped through the
Zodiac, tearing the smaller craft in half. She screamed again as she saw Brad’s
beloved face vanishing down into the swirling black depths. She saw his hand
reaching out for her as she struggled to get to him. She heard his voice,
whispering in her ear even though they were apart. “I need you, Heidi. Don’t
let me go…”
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    Jake woke to the sound of screaming. It wasn’t the first
time, but it had been a while. As he segued into consciousness, he
automatically took stock of his surroundings. There were no gunshots, no
explosions and no rumble of earthquake or roar of fire. He’d been through all
of those in the last seventy-some years, but this was different. This time he
was in his own bed on his own boat and the wrenching screams were coming from
the silky-soft woman asleep beside him.
    Well, not asleep anymore, he amended as he opened his eyes.
On the last shriek, she’d bolted upright and her big blue eyes had popped open,
wide, wild and terrified.
    “Heidi?” He didn’t want to startle her further, so he moved
slowly, spoke softly. “Heidi, it was just a dream. You’re okay.”
    She shuddered, shaking the whole bed.
    “Dream,” she muttered, and rubbed her eyes with the heels of
her hands. “Right.”
    “Rough one, huh?”
    “Yeah.” She was still shivering so he sat up next to her and
wrapped her in his arms. She jumped a little at the initial contact, then went
limp, settling back against his chest with a massive sigh.
    “Last night?” He pulled her all the way into his lap and
held her close.
    “Oh yeah.” She nodded against his chest.
    “Want to talk about it?”
    “Not really. You know what happened. Gunshots, smoke, the
Zodiac ripped in half. Then Brad reached out for me, begged me for help, and I
couldn’t save him.”
    “You never mentioned that part before.” He smoothed his
hands down the length of her back, over her nightshirt but under the heavy fall
of her hair, and leaned his chin on the top of her head. “Did you see him go
into the water?”
    She paused, and he could almost hear the wheels grinding in
her head. “I don’t think so,” she mused. “I remember spinning in just half the
boat. I remember looking for Brad, but I don’t remember seeing him. I guess my
subconscious just added that last part. A few seconds after the Zodiac ripped,
it flipped over and that’s when the lights went out.”
    “Sounds reasonable.” She’d relaxed a little, sagged against
him some, and his body was starting to get other ideas.
    “Unless…”
    “Unless what?”
    “No, it’s stupid.”
    He snorted, chuckled. “Heidi, you may be many things,
including blonde, but I can safely say stupid isn’t one of them. Nobody’s
judging you here anyway. If something occurred to you, say it. Sometimes
thinking out loud can help.”
    “Okay, but you’re going to think I’m nuts. It’s just that my
Scottish grandmother supposedly had some sort of ESP. She called it ‘the sight’.
Most of the family never really believed her, or at least admitted to it, but
she always knew who was calling before she picked up the phone, and that was
way before caller ID was invented. If somebody was hurt or sick, she’d always
know before anyone called her. She’d show up with soup or something any time I
stayed home from school sick. I know as a scientist I’m not supposed to buy
into that sort of thing, but with Granny I guess I always did.”
    He couldn’t come out and tell her that he knew for a fact
that magic existed, now could he? But he could ease her fear by not playing
skeptic. He shrugged. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio…”
     
    Heidi smiled in relief at his easy acceptance. “Exactly.
Anyway, Granny always claimed I inherited a share of it. I mean, I’m