Summer Breeze
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Summer Breeze
Copyright © 2007 by Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman. All rights reserved.
Cover illustration copyright © 2007 by Doug Martin. All rights reserved.
Authors’ photograph by John Capelli/Capelli Photography. All rights reserved.
Designed by Jennifer Ghionzoli
Edited by Kathryn S. Olson
Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Some Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible,
King James Version.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the authors or publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Palmer, Catherine, date.
Summer breeze / Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-1166-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-4143-1166-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Marriage—Fiction. 2. Ozarks, Lake of the (Mo.)—Fiction. I. Chapman, Gary D., date. II. Title.
PS3566.A495S857 2007
813’.54—dc22
2007004158
Printed in the United States of America
13 12 11 10 09 08 07
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FOR SHANNON & FRANCES BLEDSOE.
My deepest gratitude for your assistance,
your encouragement,
and most of all your faithful prayers.
C.P.
When two people are under the influence
of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions,
they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited,
abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
Getting Married
Contents
Four Seasons
Falling for You Again
There’s nothing like a good story! I’m excited to be working with Catherine Palmer on a fiction series based on the concepts in my book
The Four Seasons of Marriage
. You hold in your hands the second book in this series.
My experience, both in my own marriage and in counseling couples for more than thirty years, suggests that marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter—discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with its openness, hope, and anticipation. On still other occasions we bask in the warmth of summer—comfortable, relaxed, enjoying life. And then comes fall with its uncertainty, negligence, and apprehension. The cycle repeats itself many times throughout the life of a marriage, just as the seasons repeat themselves in nature. These concepts are described in
The Four Seasons of Marriage
, along with seven proven strategies to help couples move away from the unsettledness of fall or the alienation and coldness of winter toward the hopefulness of spring or the warmth and closeness of summer.
Combining what I’ve learned in my counseling practice with Catherine’s excellent writing skills has led to this series of four novels. In the lives of the characters you’ll meet in these pages, you will see the choices I have observed people making over and over again through the years, the value of caring friends and neighbors, and the hope of marriages moving to a new and more pleasant season.
In
Summer Breeze
and the other stories in the Four Seasons fiction series, you will meet newlyweds, blended families, couples who are deep in the throes of empty-nest adjustment, and senior couples. Our hope is that you will see yourself or someone you know in these characters. If you are hurting, this book can give you hope—and some ideas for making things better. Be sure to check out the discussion questions at the end of the book for further ideas.
And whatever season you’re in, I know you’ll enjoy the people and the stories in Deepwater Cove.
Gary D. Chapman, PhD
So many people affect the writing and publication of a novel. For his valuable information about the Missouri Water Patrol, Officer Shannon Bledsoe has earned my admiration and gratitude. Any errors in the manuscript are my own. For inspiration as well as prayer support, the young wives and mothers in Michael Vitelli’s Bible study class have my deepest thanks. Frances, Carolynn, Tammara, Liz, and many others, may God bless and reward you for your faithful service. For sharing both laughter and tears, my longtime friends are treasures I cherish. Janice, Mary, Roxie, Kristie, BB, Lucia—I love you. My prayer support team holds me up before God, and I can’t thank you enough—Mary, Andrew, Nina, and Marilyn.
I also thank my Tyndale family for all you have meant to me during these past ten years. Ron Beers and Karen Watson, bless you for making this series not only a reality but a pleasure. Kathy Olson, I can’t imagine having the courage to write a single word without you. Your careful editing and precious friendship are truly gifts from the Lord. Travis and Keri, Andrea, Babette, Mavis, Victor, the amazing sales team, the wonderful design department—thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Though I often leave them for last, first on my list of supporters, encouragers, and loved ones are my family. Tim, Geoffrey, and Andrei, I love you so much.
T
he crackle of the two-way radio mounted in his boat alerted Officer Derek Finley to a call from Water Patrol headquarters in Jefferson City.
“Boater in distress,” the dispatcher said. “Boater in distress at the twenty-mile mark in front of Green Oaks Condominiums. Dan Becker is reporting the incident. Repeat, Dan Becker. He says he’s in the path of other boats, and he believes he is creating a possible hazard in navigation.”
“Ten-four, Jeff City.” Derek began to turn the twenty-nine-foot Donzi the Patrol had assigned him. With its twin outboard motors—each at 250 horsepower—the boat could go sixty-five miles an hour. But he wouldn’t push it to that speed on a routine call like this one.
“Okay, Jeff,” he told the dispatcher. “I will be en route from the twenty-five-mile mark.”
As he increased speed, Derek scanned for other boats in his path. On such a warm, beautiful day, the first day of the long Memorial Day weekend, the water would be busy. Without doubt, several folks would be boating while intoxicated. Though Missouri had many lakes, rivers, and streams, Lake of the Ozarks had the highest number of BWI arrests in the state. Working the night shift, which began at three in the afternoon and wouldn’t end until three the next morning, he had already stopped a boat after spotting a woman who had decided to sunbathe on a bow gunwale lacking adequate rails. Later, he had taken a call about a personal watercraft operating in a no-wake zone near someone’s dock. Many PWC operators had no idea they were supposed to obey the same rules as a full-size craft.
The Donzi cut through the sparkling water, and as he often did, Derek reflected on how much he enjoyed his job. Though he had graduated from college with a degree in business and had worked behind a desk for almost a year, he’d quit the minute he heard the state was recruiting. Not long after, he’d passed the background check and the physical fitness test. His work with the Water Patrol provided the perfect blend of excitement, enjoyment of nature, public service, and—during the rare criminal investigation—intellectual challenge.
Now approaching the twenty-mile mark, Derek spotted the stranded boat—a twenty-five-foot Challenger bobbing midchannel as other vessels zipped around it. Two middle-aged couples, sunburned and hatless, began waving the moment they saw him.
“Jeff, I am 1 0-23 with the boater in distress,” Derek told the dispatcher. He slowed the Donzi as he approached the stranded vessel.
“How’re you folks doing today? Is there a Dan Becker on board?”
“That’s me,” one of the men answered. “It’s my boat. I’m the one who called.”
“I understand you broke down.”
“Yeah, looks that way. We were out all morning fishing. Then we headed home and got this close to our dock, and suddenly the motor died.”
“We’ve tried everything,” the other man said. “The boat won’t start.”
“You got gas?”
“We had a full tank when we left the dock.” Dan Becker scratched the rosy bald spot on his head. “We can’t have used all that up. Lemme check.” In a moment, he groaned. “Empty. Oh, brother. I never even thought of that.”
Derek smiled. Though the common boating mishaps that took most of his time could feel a little routine, he enjoyed helping people—whether it was seeing an intoxicated person out of danger to himself or others, guiding someone who’d gotten lost on the lake, or assisting a couple of stalled fishermen. Derek felt a sense of purpose and accomplishment at the end of each day. “Happens all the time,” he told Dan. “How about a tow? I can take you to your slip. Or there’s a gas dock about a half mile down. Mermaid Marina. You can fill up there.”
Fanning themselves, the women begged to be taken to their personal slip near the condominium. But Dan and his buddy prevailed. “Let’s get some gas. Might as well take care of it, since we’ve got you here, Officer.”
Expecting that answer, Derek was already gathering the tow rope. “I’m going to throw this across. Hook it to the bow eye.”
As the two men worked to clip the rope to their boat, Derek checked the black tow post mounted on his Donzi. When they signaled him, Derek stepped into the shade of the canopy to the operator’s position and took the wheel. As his Donzi moved forward, the tow rope tightened, and the Challenger began floating safely behind.
Out of gas,
he thought with a chuckle and a shake of his head. How many times had he heard that one? His Donzi and the nineteen other Water Patrol boats that constantly roamed Lake of the Ozarks carried officers to answer complaint calls and emergencies. Success depended on control, wits, courage, and skill. Most of the time, the calls were run-of-the-mill, but he had to stay always alert in case of a real problem.