Love's Abyss (St. John Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

cargo?” Max questioned the boy.
    Samuel smiled a huge grin. “Yes, sir,” answered the boy eagerly.
    “Hold up, not yet,” came a voice to the right of them. Samuel turned towards the voice. He tried to hide his delight, but his eyes smiled. He held back the urge to run towards Captain Alex and give him a hug. He was becoming a man, and they refrained from those types of things.
    Alex looked at the boy in front of him. Samuel was tall and lanky for his age. His hand-me-down trousers were too short for his thin long legs. His sun-kissed face was framed by short blond hair and blue eyes. “Did you do the job you promised me you would?” questioned the pirate.
    “Yes sir! Mom is well taken care of.”
    “Good,” stated the Captain. “Mr. Hart?”
    “Aye, Capt’n,” Max answered.
    “Do you have a job for the youngster?”
    “Aye, I believe I do.”
    “Well, put him to work,” commanded Alex. He stepped to the end of the pier to pay the dock clerk. Walking past Samuel, his large strong hands ruffled the boy’s hair. He stopped just past Samuel and turned. “Oh, I have a surprise for you, too.”
    “Where? What?” questioned the boy eagerly. Alex smiled and looked towards the cargo hull of the ship. One of the crew was unloading a very skittish sable mare.
    “A horse? Really?” Samuel kept looking back and forth between the Captain and his present.
    “Only if it’s okay with your mother,” replied Alex. “We can’t have you walking everywhere you go, now that you’re getting older. Oh, and don’t worry about the boarding fee. I’ll make arrangements for that, too.” The boy could hardly control his excitement. “Get to work!”
    “Aye, aye, Captain,” the boy stated. Alex smiled to himself as he watched Max and Samuel board The Abyss .
    It took Alex a little over an hour to finish his business at the docks, which was quicker than normal. It had been several months since he last saw Maggie and was ready for her company. As he was leaving the docks he caught sight of Commodore McClain a few yards away. He was holding a handkerchief up to his face. McClain looked his way and gave a malicious sneer. “I hate that man,” Alex mumbled to himself.
    When Alex entered the front of the tavern he looked around but didn’t see Maggie. Grimm was at the bar polishing glasses. “Where is she?” Grimm looked up uneasily but did not answer.  “Mr. Grimm?”
    “She went into the back room about an hour ago with a customer,” answered the short fat bar owner.
    As Alex was heading towards the back room he could hear Mr. Grimm. “The man hasn’t come out . . .” His words fell on deaf ears.
    Alex came to the backroom and noticed the door was cracked. There was an eerie silence to the room. He placed his hand on the pistol in his belt and cautiously pushed open the door. The sight before him was that of nightmares. There on the floor laid Maggie in a puddle of her own pooled blood. He rushed to her side and gently gathered her in his arms.
    “Maggie!” he shouted. “Maggie!” Mr. Grimm heard the commotion and entered the room. “Quick! Go get the doctor!”
    Mr. Grimm ran out of the room quickly.
    “Alex . . . ,” Maggie said weakly. “I’m . . . I’m . . . so sorry.”
    “Shhh, don’t talk. The doctor is coming,” he stated in a quivering voice.
    I have to tell him before it’s too late. “Samuel . . . ,”
    “He’s safe. He’s with Max unloading . . . ,” she slowly placed her long, thin, bloody finger over his mouth.
    “Samuel . . . he’s . . . he’s . . . your . . .”
    “Save your strength,” Alex insisted.
    Maggie gave a weak smile and let out a slow breath. With tears rolling down her cheeks she knew she would never get to see her son or Alex again. Her mind was becoming fuzzy, but she focused on what she had to make known.  She had to let Alex know the truth. “Son. He’s . . . your . . . son,” she muttered with her last