Love's Stormy Gale (Heartsong Presents) by Lynette Sowell Read Free Book Online Page A

the front door. Jonathan let her go before frustration got the better of him and before she really lost her temper.
    “Good night. See you at work.” With that, the front door clicked shut.
    He reentered the kitchen to find Todd and Maggie waiting for him. “Hey,” was all he said.
    “Olivia’s gone?” Maggie asked.
    Jonathan nodded. He saw the pair of plastic lobsters grinning at him from their perch on top of the microwave. She’d left their prize behind.
    “She got upset when I mentioned buying Pete’s boat.”
    Maggie frowned. “She’s scared, Jonathan. Liv’s done her best to be brave, coming back to Fairport.”
    “I know, but she grew up here. She knows what a fisherman’s life is like.” Why was he starting to feel like the bad guy all of a sudden?
    Todd wrapped his arms around Maggie’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”
    Jonathan saw Maggie dart a look over her shoulder at her husband as she said, “Yes. And I still pray every time you head out, even on an all-day charter. We’re only human, guys. We women try to be strong for our men and trust God with the rest.” But she laid a hand on her belly.
    “I know you do.” Except he wasn’t Olivia’s man. Jonathan wandered to the microwave and picked up the lobsters. “Listen, I should probably get going. Work continues tomorrow, and there’s this couple I know who want some bookcases finished.”
    They said their good-byes, and Jonathan left in his Jeep. Normally he’d stay until the last guest hit the road, but tonight he needed to drive. He wouldn’t head to the apartment. Nothing waited for him there. His Jeep took him toward town, then down some side streets until it stopped in the parking lot of Safe Harbor Beach.
    He crossed the walkway over the dune and faced the sea, the surf roaring the entire time. Like a magnet, the sea drew him closer. Just like seeing Olivia had drawn him to her again. Why now? Why were these feelings he had supposedly squelched years ago rising up?
    “I don’t understand, Lord. I’m acknowledging You in all my ways, and I believe Your Word says You’ll direct me.” Jonathan swallowed hard. “I also believe You’ve made a way for me to pursue my dream. I can hold my head high in town again. No more looks and silence when I walk into a room full of fishermen. No more feeling like I’m missing out. When would I get a chance like this again?”
    Jonathan prayed a while longer. He wanted, no, needed this chance. At least he could pray and drive tonight. Now he needed to pray that Olivia would understand.
    * * *
    Olivia heard her father’s snores before she opened the front door. She smiled in spite of her foul mood. The television was blaring the news, so she crossed the room to turn it down before waking her father.
    “Dad.” Olivia tugged on his big toe. “Dad, I’m home. Go on to bed.”
    Her father grunted, then shifted the recliner to an upright position. “You have a good time at Maggie’s?”
    “Yeah, I did.”
    “Huh,” her father said. “So why do you look so mopey?”
    She sank onto a nearby ottoman. “Jonathan said he’s buying another boat.”
    “Yeah, I kinda figured that when I saw him shooting the breeze a couple weeks ago with Pete Celucci.” Her father reached for the remote control and muted the TV. “Best thing that could happen to the boy.”
    “He was pretty happy about it.” Olivia bit her lip. She was tired, and her head still hurt. Of course her father would understand Jonathan’s point of view.
    “And you’re not happy.”
    She shrugged. “He said he was working on carpentry.”
    “All I can say is that the boy’s born for the water. It goes way back in his family. Came here from Portugal a couple hundred years ago, even before we Sheas came from Ireland. If his dad’s health wasn’t so bad, he’d be up here instead of down in Florida year round.”
    “You see things his way because you’re a fisherman, too.” Her protest sounded feeble,