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CHAPTER THREE

ASHLEY WOKE UP bright and early the next morning, determined to make the most of her time in Catalina Cove. Breakfast would be served between eight and ten, and she figured most people wouldn’t go down to eat right at eight like she intended to do. Hopefully that would give her a few private moments to reflect.

She had enjoyed her muffins and tea with Vashti Grisham yesterday. She’d learned Vashti was married to the town’s sheriff and had given birth six months ago to a little boy. The couple also had an eighteen-year-old daughter. When Ashley had inquired why the couple had waited so long to have another child, Vashti had smiled and said it was a rather long story. Ashley had a feeling it would be a rather interesting story as well.

When Ashley had joined everyone in the dining room for dinner yesterday evening, just as she’d suspected, the majority of the people staying at Shelby by the Sea were couples. Four were there on their honeymoon, three were celebrating anniversaries, and a few others were renewing their vows. Then there was a group of five women, occupying the other studio room on the fourth floor, who were there for a girls’ trip.

Being around the couples reminded her so much of what she had lost. It also reminded her of what she’d had and how lucky she had been to have been married to Devon. She’d known before coming here that she would encounter emotions of both longings and regrets. However, what she was determined to do was dwell on the happiness she knew Devon would want her to feel. Happiness at the memories that were hers and his. Memories that would always make her smile no matter what.

Before retiring for bed last night she had checked in with Emmie, and just like she’d suspected, her mother had called, trying to get Emmie to tell her where Ashley was, but Emmie respectfully refused to do so. Thank goodness.

Ashley was looking forward to her day. This morning she would be taking a two-hour boat tour around the cove at eleven. Tomorrow she had signed up to do a tour of the city’s historical district on one of those double-decker buses. She couldn’t wait to take a tour of the mansion that had once belonged to the famous pirate Jean Lafitte. Leaving her suite, she headed down for breakfast.

* * *

“DO YOU STILL need me to take care of your eleven o’clock appointment, Ray?”

Ray glanced over at Tyler Clinton, the man he had hired to work with him at his boat tour company. Tyler had been born in Catalina Cove and had left when he joined the navy after graduating from high school. He had returned to the cove last year and had worked the night shift at the LaCroix Blueberry Plant, the largest employer in town. When Tyler got married a few months ago, he preferred working during the daytime. He had been the first one to apply for the job of Ray’s assistant and he’d been hired immediately. Ray never regretted doing so. Tyler was a hard worker, dependable and a fast learner.

Ray didn’t understand how he personally had come to know so much about boats. He often wondered if in his previous life, the one he couldn’t remember, he’d been in the navy, worked as a merchant marine or spent a lot of time in a shipyard. Then there was his love of numbers and his ability to handle finances. While employed with Kaegan, Ray had worked on the boat, working the nets to pull shrimp, fish and oysters from the ocean, until Kaegan discovered how good he’d been with numbers. It wasn’t long before he’d been offered a job inside the office. Because he much preferred being out on the ocean, he had countered Kaegan’s offer. Instead of being stuck inside the office five days a week, he would split his time out on the ocean and in the office. Kaegan had agreed to his terms and things had worked out fine until Ray had decided to go into business for himself.

“No. That conference call ended earlier than I thought it would.” Ray pulled a clipboard from the rack and scanned it. A woman by the name of Ashley Ryan had signed up for the boat tour at eleven. He checked his watch and noted he had a full hour before she arrived. “I’m going over to Smithy’s Tackle Shop to get a rod tip replacement and will be back in a minute.”

“Sure thing, Ray.”

A few minutes later Ray was standing in the checkout line behind a family of four. It was obvious the couple had no control over their two young sons under the age of five, who were horseplaying around. Already the boys had knocked over a display of tackle boxes, and from the expression on Smithy’s face, Ray could tell the man was ready to finalize their purchase and get them out the store before the kids could do any more damage.

Ray switched his gaze away from Smithy to glance out the window, and suddenly his breath was snatched from his lungs. A woman had paused on the boardwalk to read one of the markers. The first thought that came to his mind was that she was beautiful. Even with a baseball cap on her head, she looked good with shoulder-length hair and striking features on tawny brown skin.

This wasn’t the first time a woman had caught his attention. After all, he was a man, memory or no memory. However, this was the first time a woman had stirred this strong a reaction within him. A deep attraction. Sadly it was an attraction that couldn’t go anywhere.

“That’s all for you, Ray?”

Ray turned his attention back to Smithy. “Yes, that’s all,” he said, placing the rod tip kit on the counter. “Looks like you’ve been busy this morning.”

“I was. However, I’m glad that couple took their kids out the store before they caused more damage. Those kids tossed all my bits out that basket onto the floor and those people didn’t say anything.”

Ray shook his head. “I noticed.”

“I don’t know why some people don’t make their kids behave. If one of mine had acted that way when they were young, I would have taken a strap to them.”

Ray knew Smithy’s kids, a boy and a girl, who were in high school. They worked with him at the tackle shop on the weekends and both seemed to be good kids. Very respectful to adults.

A short while later he left the tackle shop and was headed back across the walkway to the docks. He glanced ahead and saw the woman. The one he’d noticed earlier. At that moment he saw something else. Those two kids had gotten away from their parents and were running ahead, tearing through the crowd, not caring who or what was in their way. Up ahead was a group of teens headed toward them on skateboards. In order to avoid hitting the kids they would have to swerve to the right. If they went to the left they would crash into one of the buildings. To go right meant colliding with a woman who had paused at the edge of the boardwalk—the section not protected by a railing—to look down into the water.

He knew what was about to happen and shouted, “Hey, lady, look out!”

Instead of getting out the way, she snapped her head around and looked at him just seconds before the group of boys on skateboards tore past her like a mighty whirling tornado, causing her to lose her balance and tumble into the ocean waters.

Not knowing whether she could swim, Ray raced to where the woman had fallen in. He glanced down to search the waters and didn’t see her anywhere. Tossing aside the bag from Smithy’s, he kicked off his shoes, snatched his T-shirt over his head and tossed his cell phone on top of the pile, before diving into the water after her.

* * *

IS THIS WHAT dying feels like?

The cold water surrounded Ashley, pulling her deep. Still too stunned by the apparition of her husband, she made no move to reach for the surface. And he’d called out to her. She wasn’t sure what he’d said but hearing the sound of Devon’s voice was what had made her turn. She’d looked right into his face just seconds before losing her balance to tumble into the rough waters. Was she meant to take her last breath under water like he’d done?

Suddenly she felt someone catch her around the waist to tug her back to the surface. Why was she being saved when she was supposed to die this way? If she wasn’t supposed to die this way, then why had she seen Devon?

Ashley felt her body being turned and she realized she was no longer under the water but was on her back with the sun shining down bright on her face. She felt herself gliding through the water and then being tugged out of it.

Unable to open her eyes, she felt a hard surface at her back. She heard someone shout that help had been called just moments before warm lips were placed over her mouth while someone was pinching her nose and breathing air into her lungs.

And then she heard that voice again. Devon’s voice. He sounded angry and he was demanding her to breathe. If she began breathing, did that mean she would be joining him, wherever he was? She tried opening her eyes but couldn’t. It was as if something heavy was weighing her eyelids down. Nor could she breathe like Devon wanted her to do. Her body felt full, tight, almost lifeless. Then suddenly warm lips were placed over hers again, and she immediately recognized them as Devon’s lips. And he was pinching her nose again while forcing deep gulps of his breath into her lungs.

* * *

“BREATHE, DAMMIT,” RAY demanded as he repeated the process, attempting to force air past any blockage in the woman’s passageway and lungs. He then put his ear near her mouth while watching her chest for any sign of breathing.

He didn’t see any movement and quickly began the process again, ignoring the crowd that had gathered around them. After a few more tries, Ray was relieved when the woman began coughing up water and then breathing.

The crowd of people around them cheered. Thank God, he thought. Obviously she couldn’t swim because she hadn’t put up a fight against the water. He prayed that help arrived soon. Catalina Cove had one fire department and a hospital.

The woman stopped coughing and slowly opened her eyes and stared at him. She then tried moving her mouth. “Don’t try talking, ma’am. Help is on the way.”

Ray noticed the woman was looking at him strangely. “You fell into the water,” he said, not sure if she was confused about what had happened.

She kept looking at him and he figured the woman was in shock. It was understandable if she was. Although she hadn’t been in the water that long, she’d managed to get a lot of water in her lungs. He glanced around. The skateboarders were there with petrified looks on their faces, but the couple with those misbehaving kids was nowhere to be found. Go figure.

He glanced back down at the woman who was still staring at him. He had checked her head earlier and hadn’t seen where she might have hit it, but still, she needed medical help. What was taking the paramedics so long to get here?

Ray studied the features looking back at him. Even after her ordeal in the water she was totally wet but still beautiful. He saw the wedding ring on her finger. She wasn’t anyone from the cove, he was certain of it, and figured she was probably a visitor in town. Was her husband in the cove with her?

“Coming through!”

He heard the paramedics. Great! They were finally there. “What happened?” one of the paramedics asked, although Ray thought it was pretty damn obvious.

“A couple of kids racing around on the boardwalk caused the skateboarders to swerve to avoid hitting them. Made this woman lose her balance and tumble into the water. I dived in and pulled her out—she wasn’t in the water long,” he said, making a move to get out the way to let the paramedics take over.

The woman grabbed hold of his arm. “Don’t go,” she whispered in a hoarse, barely audible voice.

He looked down on the hand holding his arm and then gazed back at her. “Is there someone I can call, ma’am? Your husband?”

He saw something flash in her eyes, and instead of answering, she said with choppy breath, “Please. Don’t go.”

He figured she was still in some semblance of shock. Instead of disengaging her hand from his arm, he shifted positions where the paramedics could check on her without being in their way. Even when they pulled her up in a sitting position, she held tight to his arm and continued to stare at him.

“Ma’am,” one of the paramedics said. “Do you know who you are?”

Without taking her gaze off Ray, the woman nodded a slow affirmative before saying in a hoarse voice, “Ashley Ryan.”

Ray heard her and immediately remembered the name. Ashley Ryan was on his log to take the boat tour at eleven. He also knew she’d been one of Vashti’s referrals, which meant she was staying at Shelby by the Sea.

“Ma’am, is there someone here in the cove with you? Someone we should call? Your husband?” the paramedic asked.

She shook her head no.

Ray wondered why she was still staring at him that way.

“As a precaution, we need to take you to the hospital so they can check you over.”

She finally broke eye contact with Ray to look at the paramedic and then shook her head furiously. “No hospital,” she said, forcing the words out in a breathless rush.

“You do need to let them take you to the hospital, ma’am,” Ray decided to speak up and say.

She switched her gaze from the paramedic and back to him. Tightening her grip on his arm, in a low voice she asked, “You’ll go with me? Please.”

Ray was surprised by her question and hesitated a minute before saying, “Yes, I’ll go to the hospital with you.”

Satisfied, she released his arm.

“Here’s your shirt, Ray.”

“Thanks.” Someone handed him his T-shirt and he turned to put it on. Then someone else handed him his shoes and cell phone. He stood and got out the paramedics’ way, keeping his eyes on the woman whose eyes were now closed.

He pulled out his cell phone, called Shelby by the Sea and told Vashti what had happened. He then called Tyler to tell him what had happened as well and to handle things with the tours because Ray was on his way to the hospital with the woman who’d been their eleven o’clock customer.