Leaving Ginny: Based on Beneath the Inconstant Moon E-Book

Johnson ID

• Herausgeber: ID Johnson
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

A novelette based on the literary novel  Beneath the Inconstant Moon.
He loves her more than life itself, but he's forced to say goodbye....Spencer Hayes has been in love with Ginny Cawley since he first laid eyes on her years ago. Now, he must leave her to make one last trip to the Caribbean before taking over his father's shipping company. However, an unexpected storm at sea leaves him not only reflecting on his time with Ginny but makes him realize he may never see her again.This novelette is inspired by Beneath the Inconstant Moon and provides further insight into Spencer and Ginny's relationship.

Leseprobe

Leaving Ginny

Based on Beneath the Inconstant Moon

ID Johnson

Contents

Leaving Ginny

A Note from the Author

Also by ID Johnson

Newsletter

Leaving Ginny

May, 1844

The boat was rocking incessantly. Not just the see-saw motion he’d grown accustomed to years ago, but it was swaying so violently now, he had trouble finding his footing as he made his way out of his cabin and to the upper deck. There, men scurried about, others shouted orders, sails and masts shifted in the wind, and the rain began to pound down upon them like tiny pebbles dropped from the skies.

“Mr. Hayes!” the captain of the ship, Barkley, called over the roar of the waves and the driving rain once he noticed his presence. “We’re having a hell of a time keeping her steady, sir. The waves are pounding us on the port side, driving us off course. I was just about to come and wake you.”

Spencer didn’t have time to wonder aloud how the captain thought anyone could possibly sleep through a raging storm and a rolling sea, but rather than point out the obvious, he looked up at the night sky just in time to see a blinding flash of lightning almost directly above them. “Was it supposed to storm?” he asked as he followed the captain up toward the bow where crew members were struggling to keep the wheel straight.

“No, sky was clear as a bell at sunset. Came out of nowhere,” he shouted over his shoulder. “Keep her straight, boys!” he insisted.

The wooden deck was slippery, Spencer discovered, as he almost lost his balance. While he had spent an accumulation of many years on schooners such as this, most of his time was spent in his cabin, not on the deck with the other sailors, and his knowledge of what was to be done in this time of crisis was limited. “What shall I do?” he asked just as a gust of wind caught the main sail overhead, sending it breaking free of its riggings, the ropes swinging around amidst the crewmen.

The captain didn’t have a chance to answer as he let go a few solid swear words and went to assess the damage. A large wave rolled in, sending half of the men sprawling, and Spencer’s heart began to race within his chest. He had seen a few storms at sea, but nothing like this. Shouts of panicked men began to fill his ears as those who could regained their footing and scurried off to make themselves useful.

He turned to face starboard, thinking there must be something he could do to help when he realized what little light had been coming from that direction was suddenly completely blocked out. Others noticed, too, as yells and screeches of terror filled the night. The rain was pelting him directly in the face as he raised his eyes, and for a moment he hoped the water was causing him to hallucinate, but he knew enough about how this particular crew, men he had sailed with at least half a dozen times, reacted to dangerous situations, and realized what he was seeing had to be real or else they would not be panicking the way they were.

He heard the captain yell, “Brace yourselves!” and grasping that he was standing near the middle of the ship, closer to the starboard side than the port, he did the only thing he could think of and ran right towards what must be the highest wave ever to crest the sea.

The ship rolled with the gathering shift in energy, and as the wave came down hard directly upon them, Spencer reached the railing and held on for dear life. He gasped one last breath before the cold, salty sea filled his face, feeling his feet lose contact with the planks beneath him from the jar of the immense energy coming into contact with the vessel. He felt himself sway, almost going perpendicular to the boat as it rocked to port, and just when he thought his lungs might burst or his hands would slip free, the ocean receded from atop the boat, leaving the vessel free-falling back into the water. With such a forceful exchange, several of the crew could not keep their footing, and Spencer watched over his shoulder as bodies began to fly over the port side. Glancing back at the angry sea, he saw that she was not finished and another wave, though not quite as steep this time, was forming on the horizon. Still, if there was a chance he could make it to his fellow crewmen and help save some of them, then that is what he intended to do.