Free Wandering Heart (9781101561362) by Katherine Thomas; Spencer Kinkade, Katherine Spencer Page B

turned to look out at the sea again. She did see a boat out there suddenly. A fishing boat that was familiar to her, owned by a friend of Daniel’s—Colin Doyle.
    Did he see Charlotte? That was the question. Though it looked like he must be close to her from this point of view, out on a choppy sea Charlotte could easily be missed by a cruising boat.
    Dear God,
Liza prayed,
please let Colin or someone on that boat save Charlotte. Please let Charlotte survive out there.
    C HARLOTTE was so tired. She wanted desperately to float for just a few minutes of rest, but the sea was too rough. Every time she tilted her head back and tried to let her limbs go limp, her head went under and she got another lungful of salt water. She felt so weary from treading, she didn’t think she could keep her head above the surface another minute.
    She saw a small lifeguard’s skiff far off in the distance, trying to make its way toward her. The sight gave her hope and a surge of energy. But all too soon she sensed that the current was carrying her along faster than the little boat could travel. She didn’t see how it could ever catch up to her in time.
    Suddenly she heard the loud sound of a big engine and turned to see a large boat, passing nearby. It took every once of energy she hadleft, but she managed to lift one arm from the water to wave and call out: “Help! Down here! Help me, please!”
    The boat engine was so loud, she wondered if anyone heard her. She couldn’t see anyone out on the deck. The boat kept going without changing course and Charlotte’s heart sank.
    That was it. Her only chance to be saved. Who else would come in time?
    She started to cry, though it seemed insanely redundant to cry while you were in the middle of the ocean about to die. Thinking about this, she actually started to laugh at herself.
I must be hysterical,
she realized.
    The sound of the boat’s engine cut into her rambling thoughts, and she realized that the big boat had been turning in a wide arc, coming around to help her.
    With an unexpected burst of energy, she paddled madly, trying to meet it. The boat stopped a few yards away, the engine quietly rumbling. A man appeared on the bow. He tossed a rope ladder over the side of the boat and then a line with a cork life preserver.
    “Grab on to this and I’ll pull you over to the ladder.”
    Charlotte managed to grab the lifeline. She tried to kick her legs as the man on the boat tugged the other end. She felt herself trembling when she finally managed to reach the rope ladder. She grabbed on to a rung and tried to pull herself up, but her muscles had no more strength left.
    “I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” she cried as she slipped back into the water and flailed for the life preserver.
    He didn’t say a word. He just dove off the boat.
    A moment later, his head popped up beside her. “I should have realized. I’ll get you up. Just hook your arms around my shoulder.”
    Charlotte nodded, too exhausted to speak. Her arms felt likerubber, but she got them around him, and he wound one arm around her body and used the other arm and his strong legs to leverage up the rope ladder, carrying them both up the side of the boat as if it were a short flight of steps on dry land.
    Some foggy part of Charlotte’s brain registered how strong he was and how safe she suddenly felt. She had been saved. She wasn’t going to die. She felt overwhelmed and thought she might start crying again.
    Her body went completely slack with relief and exhaustion as he pushed her over the edge of the boat. She flopped onto the deck like a big fish, her hair a mess of tangles in front of her face as she coughed up seawater.
    Her sweatshirt had floated off at some point in the ordeal and her dress clung to her body, her skin covered in goose bumps. She felt an uncontrollable shiver. Even her teeth chattered out loud.
    Her rescuer jumped over the edge of the bow and knelt down quickly to help her. “Are you all right? Can you