Outstanding praise for Janna McMahan and The Ocean Inside!
“One of those books that you don’t want to put down until the end.”
—The Sandlapper
“A lingering and bittersweet coming-of-age tale.”
—Charleston Magazine
“A moving and gripping tale of an American family.”
—Lisa Alther, author of Kinflicks
And praise for her debut novel, Calling Home!
“What a lovely, vivid, immediate novel Janna McMahan has written! Calling Home will make you want to call your mother, lock up your children, and find—or hold tight to—the love of your life. This novel will delight and transport all who read it.”
—Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author
“A raw and realistic coming of age story…McMahan gives a rich and multidimensional view of life in small-town Kentucky that does not simplify or romanticize country ways…a complex and sophisticated story that will resonate with readers everywhere and will hit home for anyone who grew up in small Southern town with dreams of a better life.”
—New Southerner
“Calling Home is a lovely book. It will resonate with everyone who ever loved, left or returned to a family—and in a way that’s all of us. Janna speaks to us in a strong, original voice. I hope we hear a lot more of it.”
—Anne Rivers Siddons, New York Times bestselling author
“Heart-wrenching…”
—Kentucky Monthly
“Calling Home is a gritty, down home, contemporary and very real novel. Janna McMahan is a writer who knows how to get out of the way and let the story rip. Each vibrant, well-developed character’s voice rings true. McMahan presents the struggles of the working poor and the small farmer, the aspirations of parents for their children, the passions and problems of family life. She has a special gift for dialogue. This beautifully written, heartbreakingly realistic novel is a page-turner of the first magnititude.”
—Lee Smith, New York Times bestselling author of On Agate Hill and The Last Girls
Books by Janna McMahan
CALLING HOME
THE OCEAN INSIDE
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
The Ocean Inside
JANNA McMAHAN
KENSINGTON BOOKS
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
This novel is dedicated to my beloved mothers-in-law, Ruth Ann Cotterill and Anne McConnell Cotterill. Both librarians, these two women happily clipped and collected for me.
They were greatly loved and are most sincerely missed.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to fellow cancer survivor Elizabeth Grimball, a brave young woman who freely shared her thoughts and feelings about battling this disease in childhood.
I’d also like to thank Dr. Laura Basile and Dr. John Cahill for their medical advice, John Bolin for his theology guidance, Monica Francis for her insurance knowledge, Gerald Lonon for insight into real estate development, and First Sergeant Angus MacBride of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources for beautiful descriptions of shrimping. Thank you to all the helpful reference librarians at Richland County Public Library, Debra Bloom in particular. Also, thank you to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for information on drug smuggling.
My gratitude goes to my supportive friends and family who read my work, catch my mistakes, share great ideas, and in various ways contribute to my success as a writer. Thank you to Amy Barnes, Robin Riebold, Doreen Sullivan, Mary Jane Reynolds, Deirdre Mardon, Jeffrey Day, Brian Ray, Kate Spurling, Jill Todd, Shelby Miller Jones, Lisa McMahan, and my mother, Edith McMahan.
A big ole thanks to my brother, Robb McMahan, for the catalyst of my first laptop and the missive “Now you have no excuse. Write that novel.” You’re the best brother in the world.
Thank you to my bighearted friend Carolyn Mitchell for sharing her Pawleys Island beach house with my family. I can never repay your generosity. Also, thank you to Bunni Crawford for an invitation to a swanky party at her island home. The crab cakes were divine and the gossip even better.
My appreciation always to Katherine Fausset, my insightful and encouraging agent at Curtis Brown. I’m so pleased we found each other.
Thank you to John Scognamiglio, Editor in Chief of Kensington, for lovely covers, editorial guidance, marketing support, and creative freedom.
Thanks to my family, Mark Cotterill, and our daughter, Madison, for being ever patient and supportive. I’m glad you’re both artists who understand that creativity takes time.
The Silver Gardens
Come to the silver gardens of the South,
Where whisper hath her monarchy, and winds,
Deftly devise live tapestries of shade,
In glades of stillness patterned,
And where the red-bird like a sanguine stain,
Brings Tragedy to Beauty.
—Archer M. Huntington
Contents
Chapter 1: Night Swimming
Chapter 2: Island Life
Chapter 3: Taking a Ride
Chapter 4: Preexisting Condition
Chapter 5: Focus
Chapter 6: The Black Fountain
Chapter 7: Side Effects
Chapter 8: Pleasure Pain
Chapter 9: Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves
Chapter 10: Storm Surge
Chapter 11: Hardship Cases
Chapter 12: Comfort Zone
Chapter 13: One More Time
Chapter 14: New Friends
Chapter 15: Death Knocks
Chapter 16: Homecoming
Chapter 17: Collapse
Chapter 18: Wings
Chapter 19: New Normal
Chapter 20: The Swing of Things
Chapter 21: Emancipation
Chapter 22: Charity
Chapter 23: Road Trip
Chapter 24: Holding Hands
Chapter 25: Making Waves
Chapter 26: The Way Home
Chapter 27: Invisible
Chapter 28: Wrack Line
Chapter 29: Bluffing
Chapter 30: Baby Steps
Chapter 31: Jezebel
Chapter 32: Winds of Fortune
Chapter 33: Lowcountry Boil
Chapter 34: Limited Options
Chapter 35: A Call for Help
Chapter 36: Home Calling
Chapter 37: Treading Water
Chapter