Landmark, Painter Place Saga 4

Andy nimbly climbed down the ladder. His expression frightened her as he opened a hatch to get a lifejacket. But he teased, “All right, that’s it. Next time, I’m assigning prayer duty to someone else.”

She attempted a smile. “I prayed, but I fell asleep. I don’t think Jesus holds that against me. It means I trust Him to surround me with His protection.”

Andy chuckled as he handed her a life jacket and pointed her to the cabin. She fumbled with the clasps, and he adjusted the straps to fit her. There was tension in his voice, but he seemed to think he was calming her as he said, “We’ll be fine. But you know if you ever find yourself in the water in an emergency, you grab whatever floats, right?”

She nodded, wide-eyed. He pointed to the life rings she’d seen on the deck. “Those will float.”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard. Will you have one?”

He slipped his hand from the life jacket strap down to catch hers and he squeezed it. “I’ll wear safety gear and a tether. I have to get out there now. I don’t like it, knowin’ you’re scared, but the best way for me to keep you safe is to go do my job. Pray, and maybe it will stay calm enough for you to take another nap. Then you won’t be sleepy if we stay up talkin’ in the moonlight on the veranda at Painter Place.”

In the awkward bulk of her life jacket, Valerie leaned over to hug him. “I’ll pray, Andy. I’m holdin’ you to that moonlight rendezvous. Don’t stand me up.”