Cold Bay Reckoning
When maritime inspector Seth Miller discovers the altered hydrographic logs that led to his ex-wife's exile, he faces the deliberate deception of his new fiancee and the long journey toward real amends.
Fictional story. Contains themes of marital strain, past emotional deception, and family reconciliation.Chapter 1: The Drizzle at Harbor Light
Seth Miller pulled his diesel pickup into the gravel apron beside the Cape Whisper commercial fish dock just as the cold October rain began to turn the bay surface dark and choppy. Beside him, Evelyn Drake smoothed the front of her tailored wool coat, her phone humming continuously on the dashboard. The smell of diesel fumes, wet spruce, and salt spray filled the cab through the cracked window.
They had spent the morning meeting with port authority officials who had praised Seth’s recent appointment as senior maritime structural inspector. Evelyn had managed every detail of the lunch, steering conversations toward future harbor development grants and smiling with the cool, practiced grace that had defined her since she stepped into Seth’s life eighteen months ago. Seth had nodded along, wearing the calm composure expected of a man who had put a disastrous divorce behind him and rebuilt his professional standing on solid ground.