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Chapter 1

For a guy balancing his weight between the stern of his boat and the dock, thinking about sex instead of what he was doing was a real bonehead move Cole Donovan was precariously perched on the balls of his feet above so would’ve been the smart move

But he had no sood night’s sleep in far too long—your brain wandered into areas it shouldn’t

Sex being one of those areas

He shook his head to clear it It ay too early for those kinds of thoughts Not quite dawn, and the sky was a brilliant kaleidoscope of purples and blues and reds Cole worked with a flashlight between his teeth, his fingers threading new electrical wire through the running lights on the stern He only had a couple hours before a group of eight was coh for a tour of the area

That’s what Cole and his two partners and best friends did—they hired out the deep-sea fishing, whale watching, scuba diving…if it could be done, they did it Sauy and boatbuilder Tanner was their scuba diving instructor and coator, mechanic, and—lucky him—the face of Lucky Harbor Charters, mostly because neither Sam nor Tanner was exactly a service-oriented person

They’d had a warm Indian summer here in the Pacific Northwest, but October had roared in as if Mother Nature was pissed off at the world, and ood Or it had been, until last night He and Tanner had taken a group of frat boys out, and one of the idiots hadthe stern, destroying not only the casing but also the electrical

Cole could fix it—there was little he couldn’t fix But as he got down to it, a harsh wind slapped hi his balance He kicked off the dock so that he was balanced entirely on the edge of the stern Still not a position for the faint of heart, but after five years on oil rigs and twoLucky Harbor Charters, Cole felt more at ease on the water than just about anywhere else

He could sainst the dock ain, and he shivered to the bone Last week, he’d been out here working in board shorts and nothing else, the sun war his back Today he was in a knit cap, thick sweatshirt, cargo pants, and boots, and he ishing for gloves like a little girl He shoved his flashlight into his pocket, brought his hands to hisfor the wires again

Just as they connected, there was a sizzle and a flash, and he jerked, losing his footing The next thing he knew, he was airborne, weightless for a single heartbeat…

And then he hit the icy water, plunging deep, the contact stealing the air froht the swells, his heavy clothes, himself, eyes open as he searched for the fla with the explosion

Jesus, not another fire That was his only thought as panic gripped him hard He opened his mouth and—

Sed a lungful of seawater

This cleared his head He wasn’t on the oil rig in the gulf He wasn’t in the explosion that had killed Gil, and nearly Tanner as well He was in Lucky Harbor

He kicked hard, breaking the surface, gasping as he searched for the boat, a part of him still not wholly convinced But there She was there, only a few feet away