Excerpt

Prologue

Odyssey

The sea is thick and murky.  Can you see me?

I am propelled forward, caught in a spiral of swift water.  The Great Current carries me as it writhes along the coastline, swirling around the great gyre and through a vast spread of sargassum weed.  It snakes from south to north, a supernatural force pushing me forward.  Always onward.

I am a loggerhead.  I've journeyed far in this vast ocean, a servant to my magnetic compass.  Yet now I hear a voice that cries above the roar of the current.  It is the voice of my turtle ancestors, a voice that has guided mother's generation after generation, for two hundred million years.  I heed the call and spread my beautiful long flippers.  Strange forces gain strength in my soul, compelling me eastward.  Light shimmers above, then grows dark.  Aqua to indigo, over and over on this odyssey.

I ignore the hunger that gnaws at my belly and swim through the living broth of drifting plankton.  I push past gangly, gliding invertebrates and hallucinatory looking creatures, beyond the wreck fish and sea bream that share space beneath a gilt rock laden with pink coral and bright anemones.

I am riding a river of current, gliding in watery thermals, warmed by the sun, powered by the earth's rotation.  I am soaring through liquid wind, reaching out to the place of my birth.

I am swimming...swimming...swimming home.

__________________     Part One____________________

SWIMMING LESSONS

First get wet, get comfortable in the water.

Let your skills develop naturally, at your own pace.

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    Chapter One

    __________________________________________________

Last night, Toy Sooner dreamed again of the turtle. It was always

the same dream, one so vivid that when she awoke she was tangled

in her sheets, disoriented and filled with a great, nameless yearning.

Toy sat on the precipice of the sand dune looking out over the

wave-scarred beach. Another day was ending. Around her the sea

oats were greening and above, a nighthawk streaked across the slowly

deepening sky. The tide was coming in, carrying seashells, driftwood

and long-harbored memories tumbling to the shore.

She identified with the loggerhead sea turtle in her dream. Was it

merely that the turtles were on her mind? She searched the restless sea

that spread out to forever under the vast sky. Out in the distant swells,

the sea turtles were gathering for the nesting season. Toy sensed the

mothers out there, biding their time until instinct drove them from the

safety of the sea to become vulnerable on the beach and lay their eggs.

It was an emotional time of the year for her. Each May when the

sea turtles returned to the Isle of Palms, she felt the presence of her

beloved mentor, Olivia Rutledge, returning with them.

She hugged her knees closer to her chest. This small dune on this

empty patch of beach was her sanctuary. She came often to this

sacred spot-to think, to remember, to find solace. She felt closer

to Olivia Rutledge here-Miss Lovie to everyone she'd met. This

dune had been Miss Lovie's favorite spot, and on some nights, especially

when the sun lowered and the birds quieted, as now, Toy

imagined she heard Miss Lovie's voice in the sweet-scented offshore

breezes.

It had been five years since old Miss Lovie had passed. Five years

spanned a good chunk of her life, she thought, considering she'd only

lived twenty-three. After Olivia Rutledge died, Toy had worked

hard every day of those five years to make a better life for herself

and for Little Lovie, her daughter. That had been a vow made at Miss

Lovie's gravesite and a promise to her infant daughter.

"I did my best to keep my vow," she said aloud to Lovie Rutledge,

feeling her spirit hovering close tonight. "I finished college, got a

good job and I've made a nice home for Little Lovie. All tidy and

cheery, with flowers on the table, like you taught me. I want so much

to be a good mother." She rested her chin on her knee with a ragged

sigh as the longing from the dream resurfaced.

"So, tell me, Miss Lovie. Why don't I feel that I am? Or content?

I'm still like that turtle in my dream, swimming toward someplace

I can't seem to get to."

A high pitched cry shattered her thoughts. "Mama!"

Toy's gaze darted toward the call. Her young daughter sat a

distance from the shoreline surrounded by colorful plastic buckets

and spades. Her long blonde hair fell in salt-stiff streaks down her

back as she bent over on hands and knees before the crude beginning

of a sandcastle.

"What do you want, Little Lovie?"

"Mama, come help me with my castle!"

Toy sighed, sorely tempted. "I'm working, honey."

"You're always working."

She saw a scowl flash across Little Lovie's face before she ducked

her head and went back to her digging. Mingled in the muffled roar

of the ocean she heard Olivia Rutledge's voice in her mind.  Stop what

you're doing and play with your child!

Toy desperately wanted to play with her and enjoy each

precious, f leeting moment with Little Lovie. She felt an all too

familiar twinge of guilt and paused to allow her gaze to linger on

her daughter. Little Lovie was carefully molding another tower with

her chubby hands.

That child was happiest when she was at the seaside,Toy thought,

her heart pumping with affection. Whether collecting shells, digging

castles or rollicking in waves, as long as she had her toes in the sand

she was content. She was only five years of age, yet Little Lovie was

so much like Miss Lovie Rutledge that Toy sometimes believed the

old woman's spirit had returned to settle in her namesake. For Toy,

the sun rose and set on her child. And it was for her child's future

that she gathered her discipline.

"Let me finish this report," she called back. "Then I'll come help

you finish that sandcastle."

"You promise?"

"I promise, okay?"

Her daughter nodded and Toy resolutely brushed away grains of

sand from her notebook and returned to the report that was due by

morning. She was an Aquarist and had been placed in charge of her

own gallery at the South Carolina Aquarium. It was her first break

and she needed to prove that she was capable of the responsibility.

The noseeums and mosquitoes were biting in the sticky humidity

and blown sand stuck to her moist skin but she worked a while

longer, determined to finish in the last of the day's light. A short

while later she closed her notebook and raised her gaze toward her

daughter. Another lopsided tower had been added to the castle.

But her daughter was gone.

Toy's breath caught in her throat as her eyes wildly scanned the

beach. "Lovie!" she cried out, leaping to her feet.

"Mama, look!"

Toy swung her head around toward her daughter's voice. Little

Lovie was arched on tip-toe at the water's edge. The bottom of her

pink swimsuit was coated with a thick layer of damp sand and she

was pointing excitedly toward the sea.

Toy ran across the beach to grasp hold of her daughter's slender

shoulders. "You know you're not supposed to go near the water," she

scolded, even as her eyes devoured her child and her hands gently

wiped sand from her face. "You scared me half to death."

The five-year-old was oblivious to her mother's concern. Instead,

her large blue eyes were riveted to something in the surf.

"Its right there," she cried, wiggling her pointed finger urgently.

"I see it!"

"What do you see, a dolphin?" Toy turned her head back toward

the Atlantic to peer into the rolling surf. Then she saw it. A large

dark object floated at the surface not more than fifty feet out.

It wasn't a dolphin. She squinted and moved a step closer. Could

it be a turtle? The dark hulk appeared lifeless in the waves. "You stay

right here," she ordered in a no nonsense tone, and this time, Little

Lovie didn't argue.

Toy rolled her pants higher up on her slender legs, coiled her shoulder

length blonde hair in a twist at the top of her head, then walked into

the sea for a closer look. She felt the chilly spring water swirl at her

ankles, calves and then dampen the hem of her shorts as she waded

forward, intrigued by the shadowy object bobbing on the waves.

It was a turtle! It had to be at least two hundred pounds-and it

looked dead. What a pity, she thought and she wondered if this was

a nesting female holding eggs. It was always a shame to lose an adult

turtle, but to lose a nesting female was a tragedy. The loss was one

of generations.

A wave carried the turtle closer and Toy's stomach clenched at

the sight. It looked like she'd been floating for a long time. She was

badly emaciated and the shell was dried and covered from tip to tip

with barnacles.

"Poor Mama," she muttered. There'd been too many dead turtles

washing ashore in the past few years."Barnacle Bills" the turtle team

called them, and this was another to add to the list. She'd call and

have DNR pick the carcass up in the morning.Toy was about to turn

back when she saw a flipper move.

"She can't be..." Toy bent forward, squinting. A breaker smacked

her legs but she kept her eyes peeled on the turtle. A flipper moved

again.

"She's alive!" she called out to Little Lovie.

The child jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

Toy hurriedlywaded closer to Little Lovie to be heard."Honey, I'm going to need

some help. Run up to Flo's house and tell her to come right quick,

hear? Can you do that?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The child took off like a shot for the dunes. Just beyond was the

white frame house of Florence Prescott, the leader of the island's

turtle team. Flo was very active in the community and always out

doing something for someone, but she was usually home at the

dinner hour. At least Toy hoped she was today.

She turned back toward the turtle. The inert creature was floating

with her posterior up, like a lopsided rubber raft. She'd have to haul

her in. She sighed and looked at her clothes. Well, they were half

soaked anyway, she thought as she began wading toward the turtle.

The pebbly sand suddenly dipped and sliding down, her toe was

sliced by the sharp edge of a shell. White pain radiated up her leg

and looking down, she saw the murky water stained red with blood.

The turtle was drifting farther away in the current. Ignoring the pain,

she kicked off to swim to the floating hulk.

The big turtle was in much sorrier shape than she'd first realized.

As she drew near, the turtle's dark, almond eyes rolled in her large

skull in a mournful gaze.

"Don't be afraid, big girl," she said to the turtle, feeling an instant

connection. "I'll get you out of here in no time."

A small wave slapped her face as she swam around the turtle. Her

eyes stung and she spit out a mouthful of saltwater. Once behind the

rear flippers she could get a good handle on the shell. Then, using

the carapace like a kickboard, she began kicking and pushing the

turtle toward the shore.

She was making good progress when she caught a quick silvery

flash of movement in the corner of her eye. Her breath hitched as

she scanned the vista. The water's surface was turning glassy in the

brilliant colors of the setting sun. She hesitated, not fooled by the

serenity. Dusk was feeding time for sharks.

Toy knew she was in a vulnerable position. The predator would

be curious about the sick turtle-an easy prey.With her toe bleeding

she knew the smart thing to do would be to leave the turtle and get

out of the water.

Then she saw it again. This time it was unmistakable. The slim,

v-shaped dorsal fin broke the surface, heading her way in a lazy,

zigzag pattern. Toy froze as she the shark neared, then swiftly

veered off. The turtle's instinct f lared and her f lippers feebly

stroked in the surf. The shark surfaced again, but this time farther

out by the inlet.

"Well, no one ever said I was smart," she told herself, gripping the

turtle's shell.With a grunt, she pushed with all her might, propelling

the turtle forward. She repeated this twice more before her feet hit

sand. The sharkwas closer again, circling in a pattern of surveillance.

That bull shark was four feet of sleek danger and she knew it could

attack in shallow water. She hurried to the front of the turtle and

grabbed hold."We're not home yet," she muttered and began tugging

the enormous turtle in. Behind her on the beach she heard Florence

Prescott calling her name.

"Hurry, Flo!" she cried over her shoulder.

With athletic grace that belied her advanced years, Flo ran straight

into the water, her tennis shoes still on.

"Drag her out of the water," Toy cried with urgency."We've got

company."

Flo looked over her shoulder. "God damn," she muttered.

Little Lovie ran into the surf, arms reaching for the turtle. "Let

me help!"

"Lovie, you get back on the beach this instant!" Toy ordered.

"But I want to help!"

"Do as your mama says," Flo told her. "Sharks nibble hatchlings in

ankle deepwater and your toes are just the right size.Go on now, git."

Little Lovie scrambled out of the ocean.

Flo grabbed hold of a side of the turtle's shell. Her deeply

tanned arms spoke of many years spent in the sun. "On the count

of three..."

With a heave-ho, they shoved the turtle up the final few feet to

the edge of the beach. Out of the water, the full impact of the huge

turtle's weight was felt. It was like pushing a boulder and it took all

they had to get the turtle to scrape sand till only the tips of the

incoming tide caressed her rear flippers.

The turtle remained motionless. Toy plopped down on the sand

beside her and lifted her foot to check out her wound. She was

shocked to see that the cut in her big toe was deep and bright red

blood trickled in a steady flow. And it hurt like hell. It hit her how

reckless she'd been to stay in the sea with a bleeding wound. Raising

her gaze, she looked again out at the sea. The shark had already disappeared

beneath the murky water. She started to laugh with relief.

"What are you laughing at?" Flo asked. "Is that a cut you've got

there?" She swooped down like a mother hen.

"It's nothing."

"I'll be the judge of that. Those shells can be like razors. Let

me see it."

"Really, Flo, I'm okay."

"Bring it here." Flo bent and, grabbing hold of Toy's foot, studied

the toe closer. She clucked her tongue. Little Lovie hovered nearby,

mesmerized. After a quick perusal, Flo released the foot and rose

to a stand. "Put some antibiotic ointment on it and you'll live."

Toy looked up at her daughter with a reassuring smile.

"I can't believe you went out there with a shark trailing you," Flo

said. "You know better."

Toy took the scolding with good nature. "I didn't see it when I

swam out and I wasn't sure I was bleeding." She snorted and added

smugly, "But I got her in, didn't I?"

Florence Prescott usually had something upbeat to say about most

things, but she looked at the turtle with a frown and shaking her head

said, "I'm not sure it was worth the risk. This turtle looks barely

alive. And she's covered with gunk. I've buried strandings that looked

better than this one."

"No, she's beautiful. That gunk is merely leeches, algae and barnacles.

We just have to get her someplace where we can clean her up."

Before they could discuss this further, their attention was caught

by calls coming from up the beach. "Well, thank goodness the

cavalry's here," Flo said. She stretched her arm overhead and waved,

calling out, "Cara! Brett! Over here!"

Toy turned toward the dunes and saw an attractive couple in khaki

shorts and green Barrier Island Eco-Tour T-shirts. Toy's spirits soared

and she grinned from ear to ear as she lifted her arm in a wave.

A tall, lean woman strode toward them in a long-legged, nononsense

manner. Her glossy, dark hair whipped in the breeze and

behind her smart,tortoise sunglasses,Toy knewCara's browneyeswere

sparkling with excitement at the prospect of a live turtle on the beach.

Behind her, Brett's broad shoulders and height towered even over

Cara. Though he wore the same T-shirt of the tour company they

owned, on Brett the clothes were faded and worn, giving him the

disheveled appearance of an island boy.

Little Lovie yelped with excitement at seeing them and ran into

Brett's arms for a quick hoist high up in the air.

"It's a turtle, see!" she cried out.

"I see it!" Brett's blue eyes brightened against his weathered tan

as he grinned wide and swung Little Lovie around, her legs flying

behind her. Then he tucked her on his hip with a hug of affection.

"What've we got?" Cara asked,walking directly to the turtle. She

bent over the sea turtle to get a closer look.

"Probably a nesting female," Flo replied as she quickly moved to

Cara's side. "She's covered with barnacles. And look, leeches too.

Ugh, the horrid blood suckers are all over her."

Cara grimaced at the pitiful sight. "She must've been f loating

for weeks."

"Weeks? Longer than that," Flo replied."These poor floaters can't

dive to hunt and this old girl likely hasn't eaten in months. Her neck

is so thin...she's all skin." She clucked her tongue. "I don't know if

she's going to make it."

"She's not gone yet," Toy said, joining them at the turtle's side.

She felt fiercely protective of the turtle she rescued. "I've been

amazed at how resilient sea turtles can be. I'm not giving up on her."

"She's certainly a big girl," Brett said, drawing near with Little

Lovie in his arms.

"Let's see how big she is." Cara pulled a measuring tape out of her

backpack and made quick work of measurements. She called out the

numbers to Flo who scribbled them down in her notebook. Little

Lovie scrambled out of Brett's arms to hover closer, half curious, half

repelled by the condition of the turtle.

Toy tucked her fingertips into her back pockets. The early

evening's chill seemed to go straight through her wet clothes.

"From tip to tip of the shell, I've got forty inches," Cara called

out. "I'm guessing she's well over 200 pounds."

Flo slapped the sand from her hands. "Well, that's that. I guess I'd

better call it in to DuBose at the Department of Natural Resources

to come get her."

"I could call the Aquarium," Toy piped up.

Cara checked her watch. "It's after six o'clock. DuBose won't be

in her office."

"No, but there's the DNR hotline number," Flo replied."Someone

will come out."

"Tomorrow, most likely," said Brett.

"DNR doesn't do rehab," Cara said, zipping up her backpack.

"What will they do with a live turtle?"

Flo shrugged. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"I could call the Aquarium." Toy said again, a little louder.

The two women turned their heads toward her in swift unison.

"The Aquarium?" asked Flo with doubt."What will they do? They

don't take in sick sea turtles."

"Well, actually, yes they-we do," Toy replied. "At least, the

Aquarium took two in before. A few years back. They didn't do the

rehabilitation, but they held the turtle until it could be moved to a

vet. I don't know...it's just a thought," she added hesitatingly.

"Even so," Cara replied. "No one will be at the Aquarium at this

hour either. Why do the emergencies always happen after business

hours? It's like some unspoken law."

"But we can still call the Aquarium," Toy persisted. "We always

have someone on call."

"Really?" Cara asked, interested. "Then, I suppose that is a possibility

to consider."

"The DNR still has to be notified," Flo said with finality."Anything

to do with turtles is their jurisdiction."

"Sure, but then they're stuck with trying to find a place to rehabilitate

it," Toy argued back.

Cara shook her head."Flo,don't getworked up.We'll call DuBose."

While Cara and Flo argued the point between them, Toy limped

off, her heel digging half moons into the sand. She went to Little

Lovie's lopsided sandcastle, noticing the bits of shells and sea whip

that Lovie had decorated it with while she stuffed the buckets and

spades into the canvas bag.

"You okay?"

Toy turned her head surprised to see Brett standing by her side.

His broad shoulders blocked her viewof thewomen at the shoreline.

"It's just a scratch from a sea shell," she said and returned to

stuffing her bag with toys.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about."

She tossed a sandy spade into the bag and rested her hands on her

thighs, then she looked up again. He was standing with his hands on

his hips and a calm and a patient expression on his face. It was so

typical of him. Surrounded by volatile women, Brett was always a

steadying force for them all. She'd come to look up to him as the big

brother she'd always wanted and he'd steered her straight through

some pretty rocky waters over the years.

"Do you really think the Aquarium will take the turtle in?"he asked.

She shrugged."Honestly,Brett,I don't know.I've heard talk of taking

turtles in this season, but nothing's been decided. It's certainly not up

tome."She hesitated then said with feeling,"But at least it's a possibility."

"And a good one. Do you know who to call?"

A smile twitched her lips as she nodded.

"So, what are you waiting for? Make that call.You sure don't

need our permission. And it sounds to me like you've got the best

idea going."

Toy pulled her cell phone from the canvas bag, dreading the task

she'd set for herself. After all her bluster, she couldn't back out now.

Brett crossed his arms and waited while she dialed the number of

her supervisor at the Aquarium. She told herself it was the cold, not

nervousness, that made her fingers stiff but the pounding in her heart

was proof that it took nerves for her, a low-level staff member at

the Aquarium, to be calling the Director of Animal Husbandry. She

shivered as the wind gusted.

Jason answered the phone after two rings. The phone connection

from the beach wasn't good and she had to repeat sentences, but she

managed to quickly sum up the situation. After a few minutes conversation

she closed her cell phone and looked up at Brett, eyes wide

with triumph.  "Jason said to bring her in!"

"Well, hey! Good work, kiddo."

Toy felt a surge of satisfaction at the congratulations Cara and Flo

gave her when she delivered the good news.

 "The only problem is," Toy added, "the Aquarium is locked tight

until morning."

"What are we supposed to do with the turtle till then?" Flo asked.

"When I interned at the sea turtle hospital at Topsail," Toy

replied, "Jean Beasley told me about the first sick turtle they

found. She was a big loggerhead, like this one. They found her

f loating, too. It was late in the day and they didn't have anywhere

to take her, so they carried the turtle to Jean's garage on the

island, washed her off, wrapped her in warm wet towels and

watched her through the night. The next morning they drove her

to a veterinary hospital. That same night the turtle was released

back to Jean's garage." She smiled. "And that was the beginning of

the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle hospital."

"You thinking of starting a hospital, now?" Flo chided.

Toy smirked and shook her head."Maybe someday. But right now

I'm thinking we need to stop talking and get this turtle off the beach.

The sun is going down and Little Lovie is cold, I'm cold, and that

means the turtle is cold, too."

As if to punctuate her statement, the turtle made an effort to take a

labored breath.Itwas feeble yet enough to prompt the group to action.

"Well, if they could do it, so can we," said Cara. She bent over to

grab hold of the turtle's shell. "Okay, everyone, grab a side."

Brett moved alongside the turtle and took hold. Toy followed

suit.

"Whoa, gang. Where are we taking her?" asked Flo.

"Where else?"Cara replied with a crooked grin.

"To the beach house."