by J. H. Croix
For once, I didn’t argue with my brother. I’d spent the majority of my childhood proving I was a tough girl. With two older brothers, being tough and independent was a primary goal. I hated being emotional and overwrought, but right now, even I knew I probably wouldn’t be sensible if I couldn’t get the answers I wanted.
Flynn calmly recited the local police's non-emergency number to Daphne before she lifted the phone to her ear. After a moment, she said, “Hello, Darren. We figured we’d try you first. This is Daphne Bell. We were wondering if you had an update on the group on Nathan Winters’ boat. I’m with Flynn, Nora, and Cat, and we’re on the way to the hospital to check on Gabriel.”
She was quiet as she listened, offering a few murmured hums before she finally asked, “When do you think they’ll arrive at the hospital?”
Another pause, which felt like forever, before she said, “Got it. We should be there in about fifteen minutes. Please call this number if you have any more updates. Thank you again.”
I had no idea how long the conversation actually took. It couldn’t have been more than two or three minutes. All the while, though, my heart thudded in a sick beat of dread in my chest, and I had to swallow against the bile rising in my throat. My hands were cold and clammy. I unlaced my fingers and tucked my hands under my thighs to warm them.
Cat unbuckled her seat belt and turned around, leaning over the back seat and rummaging for something. Annoyed with her motion, because my nerves felt strung tight with the air itself chafing on my skin, I asked, “What are you doing, Cat? You need to turn around and buckle up.”
Even to my ears, my voice sounded scratchy and irritated.
Cat turned around but then surprised me by carefully placing a soft blanket over my legs.
“You’re cold,” she explained when I peered over at her.
My heart pinched at her sweetness. “I am. Sorry I got a little snippy there.”
“It’s okay. Gabriel’s gonna be fine. Right, Daphne?” she prompted.
“Everyone’s going to be okay. Darren doesn’t have any updates from Flynn’s earlier call. He thinks they should be in the harbor shortly. The emergency crew said they’ll be bringing several of the passengers on the original boat to the hospital for hypothermia and Gabriel to deal with whatever happened to his leg. He’s also hypothermic. But that’s to be expected, given that he had to dive in the water,” she said matter-of-factly.
I tried to take a breath, but it was hard. When I tried again, my throat caught with a sob, and then I burst into tears. Cat scooted closer to me, buckling herself into the middle of the back seat before she curled her arm around my shoulders. “Nora, he’s going to be okay. Please don’t cry,” she pleaded.
I lifted my head, swiping at my tears again. Daphne wordlessly handed back a small packet of tissues. Because, of course, she had tissues with her. She was the kind of person who was always prepared.
I wiped my face and blew my nose while Cat rubbed a palm up and down my back. Talk about role reversal. My seventeen-year-old sister was trying to make me feel better. I felt like a crying hot mess.
“I’m okay,” I said between sniffles after several shaky breaths.
When I looked at Cat, the worry in her eyes made my heart clench tightly. “I swear, I’m okay.”
“Does this mean you’re going to take my advice?” she asked.
If the circumstances were anything other than this, I would’ve thought she was trying to annoy me. She loved to be right. I recognized that tendency in her because I shared it. Just now, though, I sensed she really wanted to know if I was going to wise up about Gabriel.
I managed a wobbly smile. “Probably.”
“What’s the advice?” Daphne asked, turning slightly and hooking her elbow on the back of her seat.
“Cat might’ve told me I was being a little stupid about Gabriel.”
Daphne nodded, shifting her eyes to Cat. Cat smiled. “Well, she is.” Her eyes bounced to me. “You obviously love him.”
My heart gave a hard thump as if in agreement. “How is that obvious?” I blew my nose again.
“Because you never cry and fall apart.” Her eyes were worried as she squeezed her arm around my shoulders again.
“Crying and falling apart means I’m in love?” I tried to tease, but it didn’t work.
Cat looked at me solemnly, her head bobbing with a nod. “I think so.”
Daphne chimed in. “Yes, it does.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gabriel
I was shivering all over, so hard that my teeth kept chattering. My leg throbbed. I tried to cling to some sense of control, but it was eluding me. I was accustomed to being the one who kept my shit together in an emergency. I hated feeling as if my control was slipping through my grasp, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Nora.
“Can you let me call her now?” I asked Nathan between rough shivers.
He was climbing into the ambulance where I was, telling the crew he was going to ride with me because he could talk to any family once we got there. He glanced at me. “You don’t sound good. I think you’re gonna freak her out,” he said flatly.
I couldn’t even reply when a shiver struck me so hard, my teeth clicked loudly, jarring my jaw with the force. One of the med techs moved to wrap a heated blanket around me. I was wearing an old pair of Nathan’s sweatpants and a T-shirt. They’d used an emergency blanket on the boat to keep in my body heat, but the shock of it and the gash on my leg made it difficult to stay warm.
“Th-the o-only ad-ad-advantage wi-with be-be-being this cold means I don’t feel the pain as much.” I finally managed to get some words out in full by the end of the sentence.
Nathan dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “You’re gonna be fine. What a fucking day.”
I knew I was in no shape to talk to Nora, but the need to tell her I loved her was a heavy weight. Hell, although I was freezing and in pain, I needed to talk to her. I cleared my throat to get Nathan’s attention. He looked down at me.
“Please tell Nora I love her.”
“Of course,” he said.
Happily married to Tess for several years now, Nathan understood love. While we were friends, he didn’t know me the way some of my friends did. He probably had no idea how much it meant for me to be in love, but he took my request in stride, and his easy acceptance soothed me.
After that, exhaustion overtook me. I was so tired that I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep, or something like sleep, until I felt the stretcher I was on being moved again. Bright lights blinked above me when I opened my eyes as they wheeled me down the hallway. “I need to see—”
A nurse interjected, “We can’t have you see anybody yet, sir. We need to clean that wound on your leg and get a better look at it.”
“But—”
A doctor arrived, walking briskly alongside the stretcher as we turned into a room. “Sir, you will be able to see family soon. Based on the EMTs’ report, this shouldn’t take too long.”
They moved efficiently as a team once they got me in an examination room. Before I knew it, the nurse said, “Okay, we’re going to give you something to relax you.” That was the last thing I remembered.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nora
“How much longer will it be?”
The nurse at the desk glanced up with a patient smile. I’d lost count of how many times I’d come up to the circular desk and asked that very question. “He’s out of surgery, and everything went well. As soon as he’s cleared for visitors, I promise I’ll come find you.”
Curling my arms around my waist, I murmured, “Thank you.”
I was restless, and it was hard to sit in the waiting room. Cat was texting with her friends to pass the time. While Daphne, ever efficient, had somehow remembered to bring her computer tablet and was planning menus for the resort. Flynn seemed content to lounge in a chair flipping through channels on the wall-mounted television.
Nothing was helping me c
alm my internal state. I felt raw and split open by this event. It wasn’t helping to know that Gabriel was okay. I needed to see him, to touch him, to tell him that I’d been stupid. Again. I was terrified, and all of it was tangling together in a messy knot in my chest. Unable to shake the restlessness revving through me, I started walking down the hall. The hallways created a giant square around the nursing station. I figured I might as well treat it like exercise.
I’d completed three laps around the grid when I heard someone call, “Hey, Nora!”
Turning, I saw Violet Hamilton walking briskly toward me. She was wearing neon green scrubs with a matching hair tie holding up her glossy dark hair. Her ponytail swung as she approached me in the hallway.
I stopped, offering a simple, “Hey.” I couldn’t seem to summon more than that.
“What are you doing here?” she asked when she reached me.
“We’re waiting for Gabriel. He was in the boat.”
Before I even finished speaking, Violet lightly smacked her palm on her forehead. “Of course! He was with Nathan. They’re fine. I’ve already talked to Nathan. He’s hanging out in my lab with Sawyer. Come on, you can get the update.”
She started to slide her hand through my elbow, but I shook my head. “I want to stay near the nurses’ station,” I explained when she raised a quizzical brow.
“As soon as we get to the lab, I’ll call and tell them to let me know right away when he can have visitors.”
She didn’t wait and towed me along with her. Violet was a force of nature. I did want to talk to Nathan. He had actually seen Gabriel since it happened. Violet was a phlebotomist and the manager at the hospital lab. When we stepped into the lab's waiting area, I saw Nathan Winters sitting on a chair with Sawyer Hamilton, Violet’s husband, nearby.
As soon as he noticed me, Nathan straightened. “Gabriel’s fine, Nora. I have a message for you.”
“What’s that?” I asked, trepidation sliding through me.
“Gabriel wanted me to make sure you knew he loved you.” Nathan, with his almost black curls and rich blue eyes, looked so earnest when he spoke that a peculiar ache thumped in my heart. He was typically lighthearted and carefree and always quick with a joke. Just now, though, he was somber as he watched me. The next thing I knew, Sawyer stood and grabbed a box of tissues off the table and all but shoved a few into my hands.
Violet curled her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Gabriel’s going to be okay. I just called over to the nurses’ station. They said it shouldn’t be long before he’s cleared for visitors.”
I sniffled and blew my nose. “Why is it taking so long? Did something go wrong?”
Violet shook her head quickly. “No, no. They said he’s doing well. I’m sure it won’t be long.”
I sat down in one of the chairs, slowly glancing amongst them and offering, “I’m sorry. I’m not usually such a mess.”
“No need to apologize,” Sawyer said with an easy shrug.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps coming down the inner hallway behind Violet’s desk reached me. I glanced over to see their young son making his way down the hallway, dragging his fingertips on the wall.
“All done, Mama,” he called. “I washed my hands!” He held up his small hands as he entered the waiting area, looking curiously at me and then his parents, a twitch of worry appearing between his brows.
Their son, Alec, probably had no idea why I was sitting in the waiting room crying. Violet knelt beside him, lifting her hand and giving her son a high five. My heart squeezed, almost painfully. Sawyer and Violet were another one of those couples—in love and happy. Every happy couple made me think of Gabriel. I only hoped I hadn’t screwed things up too much with him.
“Good job, buddy.” When Alec looked back toward me, Violet added, “Nora’s okay. Do you remember Gabriel?”
Alec peered over at me, replying, “She’s not Gabriel.”
I laughed and dabbed at my nose again. “No, I’m not Gabriel. Remember me? I’m Nora. I think I saw you last time at the grocery store.”
“She works out at that cool building,” Sawyer offered as Alec walked away from his mother over toward his father. Sawyer scooped him onto his lap.
“The octagon!” Alec announced.
“That’s the one,” I offered with a smile.
Sawyer stood when Alec wiggled on his lap. He crossed to Violet’s side as he lowered his son to the floor and held his hand. He leaned down to press a kiss to her temple before he glanced at Nathan and then me. “I’m sure you could use a few minutes to get caught up.” Looking back toward Violet, he added, “I’ll wait for you outside. Good to see you, Nora.”
As soon as Sawyer and Alec had disappeared down the hallway, Nathan looked toward me and asked, “Would you like an update?”
It occurred to me then that he probably hadn’t wanted to explain everything that happened in front of a child who would likely have tons of questions.
Violet paused beside me. “I’m closing down for the evening, so you two can chat away. Nobody will be stopping by. I’ll hear the phone ring when the nursing station calls. I promise.”
She squeezed my shoulder lightly before spinning away and circling behind the desk again. She began tapping away on a laptop while Nathan explained what happened. “Long story short, we responded to a mayday call for a boat taking on water. After we got the majority of the passengers to safety, we had to pull closer because two passengers hadn’t made it to the lifeboat. That’s when Gabriel dived in to help a woman struggling to reach the throw ring. Some debris struck his leg and cut him.”
I absorbed the information and took a breath. “How bad is the cut?”
“He’s got a pretty big gash. The EMTs told me they were worried about cleaning it. Then he was freezing after being in the water. It was a series of events that went from not that bad to bordering on hypothermia. But he’s fine. I promise. He was really worried about talking to you. I didn’t want to call you before because he didn’t sound good, and I was concerned it would scare you.”
“Scare me? How would that scare me?” I sputtered.
Nathan’s smile was gentle. “His teeth were chattering, and he could hardly talk. I figured I would see you here.”
I leaned back in the chair, letting out a tattered sigh. It helped to know what had happened, but now I just wanted to make sure Gabriel was okay and warm. What if they weren’t checking on that?
“Stop catastrophizing,” Violet called from where she was.
I looked over at her. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve got a look on your face, the kind where you’re imagining every single horrible scenario. I promise he’s in good hands.” Just then, the phone on her desk rang, and she lifted the receiver swiftly.
I leaped from my chair. My knees were so wobbly they gave way, and I plunked down just as Nathan had stood to steady me.
Violet hung up the phone. “Go to the waiting room. The doctor’s headed down there to give you all an update.”
“I’m walking with you,” Nathan announced, curling his hand around my elbow when I stood again.
I hurried down the hallway, feeling shaky and unsettled. I almost plowed an elderly woman over because I wasn’t even paying attention. I might’ve been annoyed at Nathan’s offer to walk with me, but it turned out to be a good thing because he pulled me out of the way before I knocked the poor woman to the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted out.
Her eyes blinked in her weathered face as she cast a warm smile, clearly unperturbed. “You’re obviously in a rush, so you’d best get there.”
Seconds later, I practically skidded into the waiting area to find the doctor, Quinn, standing with Daphne and Flynn. Cat was sitting nearby, leaning forward in her chair as she listened.
“How is he?” I demanded when I stopped beside Quinn.
“Gabriel’s stable,” he said simply. Quinn’s steady presence soothed me. “We’ll probably never know what
kind of debris slammed into his leg, but it was sharp enough to give him a nice gash. He’ll have a scar as a souvenir. Otherwise, he’s doing well, and his body temperature has returned to normal. He didn’t need anesthesia, but I used a local anesthetic and sedated him while I cleaned and stitched his wound.”
I’d known Quinn for years. He ran the family medical clinic in town, and he and his wife also ran a small guiding outfit in Alaska. We occasionally coordinated with them to send customers their way and vice versa.
Quinn smiled at me when all I managed to do was bob my head up and down in response. “He’s resting. Let’s start with one visitor at a time. I presume you’d like to go first.”
I glanced at Flynn, and he nodded. “Of course. Go. We’ll wait.”
It seemed like everyone considered Gabriel and me a couple, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that.
Quinn walked with me to the recovery room, placing his hand on my shoulder at the door. “He’s tired, so don’t expect him to be functioning at full force. He should be ready to discharge in about an hour or two. The admin team will take care of the paperwork, and Gabriel will need to schedule with me to get the stitches removed.”
I nodded impatiently, and then Quinn finally opened the door. I thought he was going to come in with me, but he gave me a light push between my shoulder blades. “Go on in. You can have some privacy.”
The sound of the door closing with a whisper and a soft click behind me was unnaturally loud in the quiet room. Gabriel’s auburn hair was bright against the white pillows. His eyes were closed as I approached the bed. My pulse tapped out a rapid and unsteady beat when I stopped beside him.
I couldn’t resist touching him, reaching for the hand that rested beside his hip. It was warm, and the moment I touched him, his fingers curled around mine. He rolled his head toward me and opened his eyes.
I promptly burst into tears. His eyes widened, and he moved to sit up, at which point I realized that was a bad thing. I pressed my palm to his chest. “I’m fine,” I insisted as I swiped at my tears. “I love you, and I’m sorry I screwed things up again.”