Excerpt of Rough Waters by Maggie Toussaint

“You know something, don’t you?”

He was quiet so long the hair on the back of her neck snapped to attention.

“I might,” he said.

“Tell me.”

He set his mug in the sink. “I know Avery.”

Jeanie blinked. Her blood iced. She tried a deep breath and choked on it. “You’re friends?”

“I met him in North Carolina. He told me about Mossy Bog.”

“This is about my ex-husband?” She straightened. Light glinted on the tin roof of the potting shed. The strength of the beam warmed the frost in her bones. She wasn’t sinking down to that dark place again. She wouldn’t let Avery crush her a second time. “Does he owe you money? 'Cause if he does, I’m not paying it. The bank of Jeanie is officially closed.”

Rock’s silence spoke volumes. “Oh, God. He does owe you. I’m sick and tired of this crap. Avery owes me so much it’s ridiculous. And child support. Don’t even get me started on child support. I refuse to pay another red cent of his bills. If you loaned him money, kiss it goodbye.”

Rock didn’t say anything.

Cuss words roiled in her craw like crabs in the cook pot. Jeanie glanced at the sling supporting Rock’s left arm. A horrible possibility occurred to her, a possibility so scary her vision whited out. She hung onto the kitchen counter until shapes and colors came back into view.

“Jeanie? You okay?”

If she wasn’t, she wasn’t going to let him know it. She’d learned to stand on her own two feet after Avery left. “Tell me this isn’t about your accident.”

“I can’t.”

Her knees sagged. A needle of betrayal stabbed her heart. Damn you, Avery. How many lives do you have to ruin? It wasn’t enough that you threw away me and the kids? You had to go and maim a perfect stranger?

The room began to spin. It floated in and out of focus.

Rock’s hand rested on her shoulder. “Sit,” he said. “Sit down before you pass out.”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ve had paramedic training. I know the signs. Please sit.”

Not wanting to embarrass herself further by fainting, she complied. After a few deep breaths, she braced for the bad news. “I’m all right. Tell me the whole story.”

He seemed to be holding onto the tall back of a chair. “Avery worked at Bayside Marina where I docked my charter boat. He asked a lot of questions about my charters.”

“He liked being in the know.”

The harsh planes of Rock’s beard-stubbled face tightened at that. The pink scar on his left cheek darkened. This really was about Avery.

“What happened to you?”

“My boat exploded.”

“Your boating accident? Where you got hurt?”

“I wasn’t the only one on the boat. The bomb killed my partner. I was lucky enough to be thrown free.”

Her jaw dropped. “You’re saying Avery murdered someone?”