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

petty to her ears. Of course Jonathan had a right to head for the ocean, to chase that dream again.
    “Jonathan’s a smart boy. He knows what he’s doing.” Her father’s level gaze forced her to study the television screen where a woman was gesturing to a weather map.
    “I know.” Olivia sighed. “I’m just tired, and the news was a shock. I think I’ll go to bed now.” She headed up the stairs, the steps creaking.
    Sleep refused to come when at last Olivia had changed into her nightshirt and crawled under the covers. She sighed, kicked off the blankets and found her Bible on the shelf. The Psalms always brought comfort to her. No one else seemed to understand her feelings at the moment.
    Olivia turned the pages until they stopped at chapter 46. “God is our refuge and strength, a present help in time of trouble. Though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though the oceans roar and foam, we will not fear.” So she shouldn’t be afraid. God would be her strength and her refuge. Then why didn’t she feel strong and secure? Jonathan had every right to want his dream back. She had no business telling him what he ought or ought not to do. Why did the fear keep trying to wrap her in its tentacles and smother her like some great underwater beast? Had the psalmist ever felt the earth give way beneath him, or felt the fury of the ocean?
    She finished reading the chapter, hoping to pull some reassurance from the sacred words. Tears pricked her eyes.
    “Father God, I’m sorry. I’ve tried to trust You before, and look what happened. It didn’t work. You...You let me down. How do I know it won’t happen again?” Olivia closed the leather cover and set the Bible on her desk instead of on the shelf.
    Out went the light, and the darkness seemed tangible. She slipped back in bed for another attempt at sleep. Lights from the street below flickered with passing cars. The television, now back to its former volume, bellowed about the concert earlier that evening with the Boston Pops. Olivia stared at the ceiling, then gasped.
    She’d left her lobster at Maggie’s. Jonathan must really think her a heel now. And she had to face him at the boat come morning. Some friend she was.
    * * *
    The four-day work week should have felt shorter, but time on the boat dragged for Jonathan. Olivia barely spoke to him except when necessary. What could he say to calm her fear? Part of him wondered how much she cared for him if she seemed to worry so much. Could it be that maybe a chance remained they could someday be more than friends?
    By Friday he’d had enough of the silence. With Maggie’s prize lobster perched on the seat next to him, Jonathan drove to the Sheas’ house. He’d finished Todd and Maggie’s bookcases last night and delivered the set to their house. The pride of his accomplishment, plus Maggie’s encouragement that Olivia had cooled off, boosted his confidence to bring the lobster as a peace offering.
    An express delivery truck blocked the Sheas’ driveway, so Jonathan parked behind Olivia’s car on the street. The silly lobster grinned at him as he grabbed it from the front seat. “Here goes, Smiley. If I get shot down, so do you.”
    Jonathan nodded to the departing deliveryman, and pounded up the front steps. Good. The screen door was open.
    Sam answered his knock. “Jonathan, c’mon in. You get to be the first to see my new toy.” He appeared to study the lobster in Jonathan’s hands.
    “Toy?” Jonathan tucked the lobster under one arm and opened the screen door. He followed Sam to the living room.
    Olivia was kneeling beside a box printed with the name of a mega-computer firm. She shook her head, glossy brown hair streaming past her shoulders. Jonathan liked her hair down. Had she been growing it longer this summer? His palms felt damp around the plastic creature in his hands.
    “Dad, I’m shocked. I’m proud of you. Your own computer...” Her voice trailed off when she looked up and