Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) Read online

  By Lesley Ann McDaniel

  ISLANDS OF INTRIGUE: SAN JUANS

  Christian Romantic Suspense

  The Unrelenting Tide – Lynnette Bonner

  BOOK ONE

  Tide Will Tell – Lesley Ann McDaniel

  BOOK TWO

  Deceptive Tide – Janalyn Voigt

  BOOK THREE

  Coming Summer 2015

  Other books by Lesley Ann McDaniel

  Montana Hearts series (Heartsong Presents)

  Christian Romance

  Lights, Cowboy, Action

  Book 1

  Big Sky Bachelor

  Book 2

  Rocky Mountain Romance

  Book 3

  Madison Falls series

  Christian Romantic Suspense

  Saving Grace

  Book 1

  Find out more at lesleyannmcdaniel.com

  Tide Will Tell

  ISLANDS OF INTRIGUE: SAN JUANS, Book 2 Copyright © 2014 by Lesley Ann McDaniel. All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Lynnette Bonner of Indie Cover Design www.indiecoverdesign.com

  images ©

  www.dreamstime.com, File: #M1248748

  www.fotolia.com, File: #23488527_XL

  www.peopleimages.com, File: #ID48633

  Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

  ISBN: 978-1499669244

  Tide Will Tell is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination.

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  Psalm 138:7

  When I walk into the thick of trouble,

  keep me alive in the angry turmoil.

  With one hand

  strike my foes,

  With your other hand

  save me.

  Finish what you started in me, God.

  Your love is eternal—don’t quit on me now.

  Chapter 1

  An assault of whirring, clicking cameras met Kate Jennings’ limo the instant it exited the ferry. Despite the darkened car windows that concealed her, she slunk lower into the backseat, reassuring herself that the huge sunglasses she’d bought at the airport would adequately mask her features. Chase had warned that a few reporters might greet her on the island, but she hadn’t expected this kind of frenzy.

  Panic surged. The last thing she needed was to have her face flashed all over the news. Why hadn’t she thought this through?

  Massive lights and mics on poles swayed like a nightmarish forest, moving along with the vehicle as it rolled forward and eased around a curve in the road. Couldn’t the driver just gun it? For a split second, she regretted coming here. What had she been thinking, agreeing to marry someone with whom the media had such an insatiable fascination?

  “Kate! Look this way.” A deep voice carried above the others even through the rolled-up windows of the car. “Aren’t you scared of him? Come on, admit it!”

  Scared? A shiver clambered down her spine at the implication. Shuddering, she lowered her chin and brought her hands to her cheeks. The only thing she had to be scared of was having a clear image of her face land on the evening news or the front page of a major newspaper. The suggestion that she should be afraid of Chase was comical in contrast to the disaster these troublemakers outside her car could initiate without even realizing it.

  “Did he do it, Kate?” A man with a microphone jogged alongside the car, shouting. “What’s he told you?”

  A dull ache thumped at her temples. As the driver managed at last to pick up speed and pull away from the pressing crowd, Kate spoke, more to herself than to him. “It’s a circus out there.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She looked at his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Has it always been like this…since…you know?”

  “Only at first.” The car veered out onto the road and the commotion faded into the distance. “It had all but died down. You coming out here put fresh wind in their sails. They’re here now because of you.”

  “Because of me?” A sick feeling churned in the pit of her stomach. “That’s ridiculous. I didn’t do anything.”

  “No, ma’am.” His tone remained noncommittal.

  “And how do they even know about me?”

  “It’s a small community, ma’am. People talk, and…” His apologetic gaze met hers for just a moment. “It’s made the national news.”

  “Right.” She knew that. But they’d been so careful. “You haven’t seen any close-ups of my face, have you?”

  “Only shots taken from a distance, ma’am. The press has honored Mr. Cole’s request for your privacy.”

  So far, anyway. The adrenaline completed its trek through her system, leaving her drained and trembling. “They can’t get near the house, can they?”

  “Mr. Cole’s property is gated. The media knows not to trespass.”

  “Good.” Twisting around, she took a reassuring glance through the rear window. “I just want to be left alone.”

  “You’ve come to the right place.” He looked at her in the mirror, his eyes smiling slightly. “Shaw Island’s residents are known for keeping a low profile.”

  “Perfect.” Removing the glasses, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I want to keep my profile so low not even a snake will take notice.”

  He chuckled lightly and focused on the road ahead.

  Forcing a calm breath, Kate placed the glasses in her Chloe handbag and smoothed the crisp cream linen skirt Chase had bought for her in California. She admired the stylish peach top and matching pumps that were so unlike anything she ever would have picked out for herself. How lucky could she get, having Chase now to direct her sense of style.

  Pressing into the plush seat, she took in the passing beauty of the island. Since she’d hardly given any thought at all to what it would be like to live in the Pacific Northwest, its magnificence came as a pleasant surprise.

  The sun danced happily through trees that appeared a vivid emerald even through the tinted glass. Coming from a place that felt grimy and overpopulated, the abundance of pure nature here could easily overwhelm.

  Chase had told her that the ten square miles that made up Shaw Island held a population of only a little over two hundred people, most of whom liked to keep to themselves. With no real tourist amenities and a business district that amounted to a general store and a post office, it sounded like the epitome of lush seclusion.

  It was truly a world away from the Tenderloin in San Francisco, earning it points in its favor right off the bat. Of course, California had its share of plusses, but staying there had not been an option.

  Guilt cramped her stomach at the thought of the mess she had made of her life, and of the people she’d abandoned. Poor Dakota. She gulped back tears at the thought of his innocent face. Her leaving must have broken his heart.

  She lowered her lids as if ending one scene in a movie to begin another. There were enough other people who cared about Dakota and would see to his needs. She had to believe that. Her eyelids lifted, but tears threatened. If Dakota were capable of fully comprehending the situation, he would know that leaving had been her only choice. Either leave or wind up dead.

  Still, it weighed on her that she hadn’t been able to say goodbye or to offer any sort of explanation. Now she just had to close the door on the past and appreciate that fate had intervened, bringing Chase into her life at just the right time.

  Glancing do
wn at the impossibly huge diamond on her finger, she brightened. Chase was everything she could ever want. Handsome, smart, funny. So what if he was thirty years older than her? That was a bonus in her book. Not to mention that he was rich. Rich beyond belief, with no problem lavishing his wealth on her in every way imaginable.

  True, there was the issue of his recent past that had put him—and by association her— in the limelight, but that was just a natural byproduct of his being so wealthy. The public would always be hungry for scandal, whether real or imagined. As long as she took care to maintain her new look—especially keeping the dark roots at bay— and didn’t let the cameras get too close, she could ride this out with ease. This was child’s play compared to what she had already survived.

  Gazing out the window, she watched a sailboat glide across the gray-green bay. That reminded her of another bonus. Chase owned a yacht. A yacht! She could scarcely believe it. She tipped her head back, picturing long days luxuriating on the deck of his…their boat, without a care in the world. Her troubles were truly over. Well, almost at least.

  She rolled the tension out of her shoulders. Yes, the notoriety was easy to overlook when everything else about the man was just so perfect. Some women would have a problem with a fiancé who traveled half the time for business, but not Kate. She would enjoy having time to herself in his secluded house on this practically private island. This place was a gift.

  As the summer sun sparkled through the trees, reality held her in its grasp. Finally. Her new home. And now she had nothing to do for the next week but plan the wedding. I’m amazingly lucky.

  The road followed the gentle curve of the bay, then straightened and moved inland. Now trees and green fields swathed them on both sides. Kate sighed. This island felt like a dream. Nothing bad could happen to her here. The paparazzi would soon tire of trying to scare up a story. She and Chase would get on with their lives in this stunning paradise where no evil could touch them. Life would be good.

  The car slowed, and Kate’s stomach buckled. They had to be nearly there.

  As they took a severe right off the main road, a thicket of trees next to the passenger side of the car fluttered in the afternoon breeze, its branches reaching out as if trying to disengage from the tangle. A smile reached Kate’s lips as she thought of Audrey Jr., the man-eating plant in The Little Shop of Horrors, one of her favorite old movies.

  As she leaned closer to the window and pictured the shrubbery crying out ‘Feed me, Seymour!’, a dark form emerged from the foliage and lurched at the limo. She jerked back, her mind freezing as she caught a fleeting glimpse of a face, or rather the place where a face should be, inside the hood of an oversized black sweat jacket.

  In the split second it took her to choke down a scream, the figure retreated back into the dense stand of trees. Gone.

  Chapter 2

  Settling into a cushioned deck chair, Josh took a sip of root beer and tried to relax. Shaw Island was every bit as inviting as Jessica had promised, but if he had realized he was going to feel so out of place at her home this weekend, he wouldn’t have accepted the invitation.

  Jessica’s twelve or so other friends who had come to the island to unwind after finals were a pretty rowdy bunch, especially—as Josh had noted upon his own arrival that afternoon—when they’d had one or two Mojitos to kick off the celebration. He’d instantly regretted his decision to come, but had figured if it got too bad he could always leave. He had never, even in his days before accepting the Lord, understood the appeal of getting drunk.

  Still, he had to admit that the opportunity to see this house eased his apprehension. From everything he’d read and heard, Jess’ family had more money than they knew what to do with, and it was fun to see how the other half lived. While Josh felt content with his own starving-student status for the time being, he’d admired the soaring architecture, expensive artwork, and the impressive collection of Native American artifacts. He had to wonder what it would feel like to not have to worry about money. To just fix the car radio when it broke, or get a new battery. Or a whole new car, for that matter.

  Jess had given him the grand tour before bringing him out to join the others. Even though it was a warm June afternoon, he’d been drawn to the built-in stone fire pit. Could be it felt safer than either of the deck’s other focal points—the hot tub or the bar. Unless he went for a second root beer, he wouldn’t be enjoying either of those features, but he appreciated the opulence and the view of the bay.

  The guy sitting to his left—a business major whom Josh had seen around campus but had never officially met—handed him a piece of accordion pleated paper. Taking it, Josh did his best to get into the spirit of Jessica’s idea of an ice breaker—a rousing game of Consequences.

  “Okay, everybody.” Settling on a stool with her back to the bar, Jessica flicked her long honey colored hair over her shoulder. Her oversized t-shirt and super-short cut-off jeans were a far cry from her usual high fashion sorority girl garb, and only served to intensify Josh’s discomfort. “The next thing you write is ‘the consequence was…’”

  He thought for a second, then wrote ‘the consequence was…the planet exploded’ on his paper and folded it over to cover what he had just written. He then passed the paper to Kim on his right. Taking it, she twirled a strand of her ginger-colored hair and smiled coyly.

  The smile he returned was more polite than promising. Like the game, Kim’s attempt at flirtation was harmless enough. If he managed to lighten up a little, he might even manage to enjoy himself this weekend.

  “Okay, the last thing you write…” Jessica paused to sip from an icy lime-slice-and-mint-sprig-embellished glass. “…is ‘and the world said…’.”

  As instructed, Josh wrote the first thing that came to mind, which was of course a movie reference. ‘and the world said…slow fade to black.’ A roller coaster feeling in the pit of his gut accompanied the reminder of how much money still stood between him and film school in the fall. So much for lightening up.

  “Hey, Josh.” Jessica called over to him. “You’re up. Read what you’ve got.”

  He unfolded the paper and obliged. “The mysterious and fetching Dolores Del Marco met the charismatic Simon Fritz at the zoo. He bought her an alabaster statue and said to her ‘what’s your shoe size?’. She said to him ‘I live in Canada’, and the consequence was they honeymooned in the South of France, and the world said ‘slow fade to black’.”

  Everyone laughed harder than the story or this game warranted, but Josh smiled along at the innocent fun.

  “You really should act in those films you make, you know.” Kim gave him a wink as she unfolded her own paper. Leaning over, she spoke through the soft scent of rum and lime. “You’ve got all the right stuff to make the ladies swoon.”

  The realization that people were looking their way jarred him. “I think it’s your turn.”

  Giggling, Kim flattened her paper to read.

  Josh had always managed to ignore Kim’s flirting, although he had noticed it escalating since she’d broken up with her boyfriend several months ago. It didn’t matter. They’d both graduated from the U and they’d be going their separate ways soon. While he didn’t want to encourage her, neither did he feel the need to dissuade her, as long as her advances remained benign. As far as he was concerned, she was just another nice girl who’d had too many things handed to her. Like most of Jessica’s crowd, she could use the dose of reality that would probably hit once they were no longer being bankrolled by their parents.

  Josh said a silent prayer of thanks that his own parents, who were by no means wealthy, had instilled morals and a healthy work ethic in him. How he’d wound up on the fringes of Jessica’s elite crowd, he still wasn’t quite sure.

  Kim had the group in stitches over her reading. “…and the consequence was that the planet exploded.” She reached over and rumpled Josh’s hair. “Good one, sci-fi boy.” She continued. “And the world said ‘what else would you expect from a Neanderth
al?’”

  Reaching up to smooth his hair back into place, Josh smiled good-naturedly. This game might actually be fun without the alcoholic augmentation.

  “Stu!” Jessica tossed an irritated look at Stuart, who had separated himself from the group and was engaged in a gleeful conversation on his phone. “It’s your turn.”

  Stuart responded with an annoyed sneer and continued what appeared to be a playful conversation with some female on the other end of the line.

  Being a connoisseur of character, Josh had put some effort into figuring this guy out. He had to be in his late twenties, but from the sound of things, he fully intended to keep doing nothing with his life but party, collect female admirers, and enjoy the occasional ski trip. Watching him now, Josh wondered what would happen if the guy got the rug pulled out from under him.

  Never one to tolerate an obvious affront, Jessica took a sheet of paper from the bar, scrawled something on it, and walked over to Stuart. She waved it in his face until he grabbed it out of her hand. Jessica turned on her heel and marched back to where she’d been perched. She missed seeing Stuart fold up the paper and defiantly toss it in her direction.

  “When is your other guest arriving?” Staci, a no-nonsense theatre major who had assisted Josh on a couple of his student films, slipped onto the barstool next to Jessica’s.

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask me. All of my friends are already here.”

  Josh looked out at the water. He had no idea who they were talking about, and he really didn’t care. He enjoyed getting to know people, but the thought of slipping away from the group to have some time alone suddenly seemed really appealing. With the alcohol flowing freely and so many guests to keep her occupied, Jessica probably wouldn’t even notice.

  Having ended his call, Stuart rejoined the group with his customary swagger. He opened up the paper on which he’d written the ending of a story like he was the town crier unfurling a scroll.