Waters Fall

WATERS FALL is written from a Christian worldview. The anatomy of an affair. The price of forgiveness. The beauty of grace. Jake doesn’t remember what it means to be a champion. Nora doesn’t know how much longer she can tread water before she goes under. Their fairytale marriage is hurtling toward a tragic end. Then Tristan sweeps in—all feelings and fire and freedom—and Nora is carried out to where the waters flow fast and deep. Nora knows she’s risking far more than just her heart…. When it all comes crashing down, Jake and Nora are left standing amidst the ruins of everything they’ve built together. Will they walk away, or stay and fight for their happily-ever-after? In this compelling story of grace and forgiveness, whispers of hope will linger long after the last page is turned. Waters Fall is Becky Doughty’s “dark horse” novel, a bittersweet story about a crumbling marriage, a wife’s subsequent affair, and the decisions that must be faced in the fall-out. What people are saying: “Women’s fiction at its best.” “Will certainly make you flinch.” “A surprisingly real life story for the Christian.” WATERS FALL excerpt: Nora’s bones ached in the frigid water, and her lungs thrummed in desperation for oxygen, but she resisted the urge to push to the surface. She tipped her head back and gazed up at the warped glow above her, the sunlight flaunting its promise of warmth. The water roared as it flung itself over the stacked boulders of the falls and into the pool where she was submerged; the cacophony surrounded her, shutting out all sounds from above. The kids would be calling for her by now, and if she stayed under much longer, Jake would come after her. She’d long ago breathed out the last of her air so she could sink to the rocky bed of the pool. Her long dark hair drifted up around her head, reminding her of mermaid stories, and her arms floated out to her sides of their own volition. If she could just keep from kicking her legs, she might be able to stay there…longer. It had started out as a game of ‘who can hold their breath the longest,’ and Nora knew she’d win, hands down, even against Jake. A choir girl—first school, then church—her lung capacity was in tip-top condition because she worked to keep it that way. On the third round, though, something tripped inside her head, like a live wire sending a string of sparks skittering across her thoughts, and she was suddenly and acutely aware of the thrill of this watery cocoon, of being out of breath, of the cold, and of the churning chaos just a few feet away from where she waited in a strange state of suspended animation. ~ ~ ~ Today was the first time Nora had ever intentionally opened her eyes under the water here without her goggles on. The torrent from the falls kept the pool stirred up and cloudy, and she’d always been afraid of debris blinding her. But the swirling specks of silt and sand, glittering and pale, added to the otherworld sensation that held her in its grip. What would happen if she just opened her mouth and drew the fairy dust water into her lungs? Suddenly the very thought of breathing had her clamoring for the surface, bursting up out of the water with a great gulp that left her coughing and gasping. She looked up to find she’d drifted to the far side of the waterhole where there was no easy place to climb out. Across from her, Leslie scrambled from the top of the large boulder where she’d obviously been perched to try to locate Nora, and Felix, tears of panic streaming down his face, stood ankle deep at the edge the pool, helpless in his youth. Jake, treading water out where she’d first gone under, couldn’t seem to make up his mind whether to come to her aid or go back to comfort the kids. Nora waved him free, and he grimaced at her before making his way to Felix. He stood with his arm around the boy, his other hand up to shield his eyes from the glint of the sun off the water as he watched her, waiting for her to come back to them.