Tides Page 21

  The waves curved into pale shoulders, breasts, lips, and the sound of their breaking was Mara’s breath in his ear.

  He winced. Though he was sure he’d be sick, he tore himself from the waves and looked up.

  He could see the Shoals clearly behind him, the sun burning and glinting against the whitewashed buildings. They were small now, the hotel and the Center near-identical dots, the lighthouse a white splinter, and he could hardly make out Gemm’s cottage at all. The waves blended into one another in the distance, so that Gosport Harbor looked smooth as sealskin.

  He could feel Lo’s worried gaze on him, and he turned away, facing west. The morning sun grew hot on the back of his head. The mainland drew its line on the horizon. Once they reached Portsmouth Harbor, that line would swallow him, and it would be the sea that was small in the distance, when he could see it at all. But for now it was only a line, warmed from the east by the sun, and Noah could not help but lean toward it, waiting to see what it would bring.

  About the Author

  Debut author BETSY CORNWELL graduated from Smith College in 2010. She was a columnist and editor at Teen Ink before pursuing an MFA in creative writing at Notre Dame, where she also taught fiction writing as well as film and television studies. She is currently living in Galway, Ireland. Visit her website at www.betsycornwell.com.