Wild Bride

by Jill Sanders

  Billy smiled at his computer screen and wished more than anything that he was back at home. He was two days into his fourteen-day shift and he missed his girls so much. He’d plastered his little sleeping area with pictures of the two of them, but it just didn’t fill the emptiness or replace the feeling of holding either of them every night when he went to bed.

  So far, he’d gotten along great with the rest of the crew. It was taking him a little while to adjust to living and working a few hundred feet above the water, but he thought he could get the hang of it. Luckily, it didn’t sway and swing with the waves. He’d been told that it did move a little when they had high winds, but nothing major.

  The work was hot and dirty and lasted a full fourteen hours each day. When he crawled into his bunk at night, he was almost too tired to chat with Savannah. Almost. He enjoyed that fact that she always dressed up nice for their Skype calls. Even Maggie was usually dressed in a dress or a cute outfit, with bows in her blonde hair.

  “Has she said anything else?” he asked while keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

  “No.” She sighed and frowned a little. “I keep trying to teach her ‘mama,’ but she just won’t say it.”

  He frowned a little. “I miss you,” he said in a low voice. He knew Mark, his roommate, was asleep in the bunk below him, and he didn’t want the conversation to wake him.

  She nodded and then set Maggie down in her playpen. Then she came back to the computer and placed the laptop on her lap.

  “I woke up this morning and reached for you.” She frowned.

  He smiled, knowing it was her way of saying that she’d missed him, too.

  “Two weeks is a long time,” he said, watching her eyes soften as she nodded. “I’d better get some sleep. Morning shift starts pretty early.” He smiled.

  “Billy?” She pulled the computer closer. “I miss you too,” she said quickly and then hung up.

  He couldn’t stop smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

  The next few days he learned a lot about working and living with a group of fifty grown men while trapped on a forty-story-tall building a mile away from anywhere. There was enough square footage for everyone to have their own space, but that didn’t stop the tempers from flying when the job was demanding enough. Especially when lives were on the line. He’d found out quickly that there were a few employees that he had to watch his back around.

  Since he’d been hired as a manager, he worked inside in the bull room most of the time. The bull room was a sixteen hundred square foot room that had more computer monitors then he’d ever seen. His job on those days he worked inside was keeping the platform level. It was glorified babysitting; he pushed buttons that moved water in and out of long hulls causing the platform to move if needed.

  He knew there were identical screens onshore and someone else sat in an office building watching the same information pop up. But he was in control of leveling and, for the most part, it was a boring job that demanded he not take his eyes from the screen the entire time he sat in the big chair.

  He liked the days when he worked outside more. He’d walk the rig with a checklist and make sure everything was in working order. He liked getting his hands dirty and really enjoyed the fresh salt air.

  By the end of each day, whether he’d spent it inside or out, his body would ache and his eyes were be dry. He knew that he’d have two whole weeks to rest up and spend with his family, but he couldn’t help but wish that he could have a normal job in town. Something that would guarantee he could spend each day with his girls.

  But it would be hard to match the amount of pay he was making He knew this was the only way to keep them in the tiny house and give his family what they needed.

  Finally, the day arrived when he packed up his belongings and waited for the helicopter ride to the shore. He couldn’t wait to hold his girls in his arms and as he drove out of Houston, he called Savannah.

  “Hey, I’m just leaving Houston. I should be there in just under two hours.”

  “Good, we have a surprise for you.” He could hear her laughing.

  “Oh?” he said, keeping his eyes on the road.

  “Yes, but I’m not telling until you get home.”

  He sighed and wished the speed limit was a great deal higher than seventy. “Be there as soon as I can.”

  “Drive safe,” she said before hanging up.

  Savannah was full of nerves again. Why did it seem like she couldn’t get a handle on herself when it came to Billy?

  The last two weeks had been fine. Just fine. Not exciting, not spectacular, nothing more than fine. She really did miss him. His smile, his laughter, the way he was with Maggie. But most of all, she missed him holding her at night. She didn’t know when she’d become addicted to him, but it had happened.

  Taking care of Maggie and going on her daily walks just weren’t as much fun anymore. The only time she did enjoy herself was when she went to visit Carmen or when they ran into Tracy on the bridge, which had started happening more often.

  She’d even seen her and her parents at Mama’s once when she was having lunch with Lauren and Holly. The girl had looked even smaller sitting next to her parents. She would have thought they looked like a cute family if she didn’t know that the girl was being completely tortured by a group of kids at the school. She’d even considered going to her parents and talking to them at one point, but had talked herself out of it.

  She’d been so busy yesterday getting the house ready for Billy’s return, she and Maggie had missed their evening walk. It was strange; she’d missed Billy more in the last two weeks than she had the six months he’d been gone before.

  With the house completely ready, she double-checked herself in the mirror one last time and was heading into the living room to check on Maggie, who was napping in her crib, when the doorbell rang.

  She frowned as she walked towards it. Billy wouldn’t ring the doorbell; he’d just walk right in.

  Opening the door, she saw a smaller woman who looked very frazzled. Instantly she recognized her as Tracy’s mother.

  “Hello?” She noticed that the woman’s face was filled with worry.

  “Hi, um, I’m Leslie Keys, Tracy’s mother.”

  “Yes, I know, please.” She motioned for her to come in.

  “Oh, well. I was just wondering…” The woman shook her head and stayed on the front porch. “I was wondering if you’ve seen Tracy. She must have slipped out of her room early last night and hasn’t been back. She’s told us that she’d been hanging out with you sometimes.”

  Savannah nodded. “Yes, I take evening walks with my daughter and I’ve run into her a few times.” Worry instantly filled Savannah’s thoughts. “Normally we meet on the old highway bridge. Have you checked there?”

  Her mother nodded her head. “It’s just…” It was then that Savannah noticed the note Tracy’s mother had clutched to her chest. “It’s just that she left this.” Tears filled her eyes as she handed over the note.

  Savannah took it and read the small handwriting, silently.

  If you don’t like something about yourself, change.

  “What does it mean?” Leslie asked.

  Savannah shook her head. “I don’t really know.” She frowned and looked up when Billy’s car parked in front of the house.

  She watched him walk up the drive. The smile fell away from his mouth as soon as he saw her face.

  “What’s wrong?” He rushed over to her and took her shoulders.

  “Tracy’s missing.” She handed him the note. “I think it’s all my fault.” She hadn’t realized tears were falling down her face.

  Billy read the note and turned to Leslie. “Have you called the sheriff?”

  She nodded. “Last night.” She looked at the note Billy was still holding. “He has everyone out looking for her, but they haven't found anything yet.”

  “We’ll drive around and look for her,” Savannah said, turning into the house to grab Maggie.

&nb
sp; “Oh, that’s…” Leslie started to say.

  “If you write down your cell number, we’ll text you if we find her,” Billy said.

  “Yes, well.”

  Savannah picked up Maggie as gently as she could and laid her in her carrier. Thankfully, she didn’t even stir.

  When she walked out front, Billy was back behind the wheel. “Where to?” he asked after she’d snapped the carrier into place.

  “The old bridge.”

  He nodded and pulled out of the driveway.

  “What does the note mean?” he asked as they headed out of town. Her eyes were glued to the streets, looking for any sign of Tracy.

  She shook her head. “I don’t really know. I mean, she’d told me some of the kids were making fun of her, but we never really talked about any specifics. Not really.”

  “She’s that little brown-haired girl with braces, right?”

  She nodded and said, “Yes” at the same time.

  “Her mother said that her green jacket was missing.”

  Savannah nodded again. “She wears it on nights that it gets cool.”

  They pulled up to the old bridge and he stopped the car at the barriers. “You don’t walk across this thing do you?” He turned to her with a frown.

  “Of course I do. It’s perfectly safe.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Billy frowned at the rickety bridge. “They should have torn this down after the tornado.” He got out of the car. “You stay here with Maggie.” He stopped Savannah before she could get out, but she just shook her head no.

  “She’ll be okay, she’s asleep. Besides, we’ll just be a minute.” She got out quickly and walked around the barriers.

  “Tracy,” she called over and over again.

  He followed her, glancing all around. He quickly walked over and took Savannah’s hand, not trusting any of the boards they walked on.

  He felt a couple of them shift under his feet and instantly wished she’d go back to the car, but he knew better than ask.

  “Billy.” Savannah stopped and her eyes went big. “There’s a board missing.” She pointed a few feet away and the color left her face.

  “Go back to the car and call the sheriff. My cell phone is in the console.” He pushed her lightly until she moved. When she finally made it to the safety of the car, he started walking towards the broken planks.

  “Tracy?” he called, getting closer to the edge so he could peek over. He couldn’t see anything, so he moved closer. Feeling the rotted wood under him, he grabbed hold of the steel railing and inched his way closer. He was closer to the other side of the bridge now. That side was less steep than their side, which was a wall of stones piled on top of each other. He quickly thought about rushing down the shallow bank to check below.

  When he got closer to the broken plank, he noticed a patch of green cotton hanging from a rusted nail.

  “I’m going to head down the other side,” he called out to Savannah, who was standing in front of the car holding the phone up to her ear. She nodded and started to walk forward.

  “Stay put,” he yelled. “It’s not safe.” She stopped and nodded again, then turned back to the car where he could hear Maggie crying. He sent up a silent prayer that his daughter was going to stop Savannah from following him.

  He inched his way across the bridge and was thankful when his feet hit solid ground again. Then he rushed down the side of the hill towards the water. He went a little too fast and ended up falling backwards, scraping up his elbows and his back. His shirt flew up and gravel and dirt embedded in his exposed skin.

  “Damn it.” He stopped himself from falling into the water by grabbing a tree branch. Looking around, he frowned as he looked up at the hole in the bridge. If the girl had fallen through the opening, she would have landed in the water. He scanned both of the shorelines and when he saw something a little too green, he rushed down the river’s edge.

  Kneeling, he reached out with shaky fingers and felt the girl’s neck for a pulse. She was pale, too pale. He noticed that her left leg and arm were twisted in an odd position.

  She was cold to the touch and he closed his eyes and prayed that there was a pulse. Sighing, he felt a weak pulse and quickly removed his jacket to cover the girl up. He knew he shouldn’t move her, but she needed to stay warm.

  “Here,” he called out. “I’ve found her. She’s alive. She needs an ambulance,” he called out. When he didn’t hear Savannah call back, he got worried. Rushing up the riverside, he kept calling out and stopped when he finally heard her call back.

  “They’re on their way. Stay with her, keep her warm,” she called out. He could hear the worry in her voice.

  He went back to Tracy and knelt beside her. He removed his shirt, rolled it up, and placed it around her head like a cushion.

  He rubbed her good arm and tried to get some warmth into her.

  He didn’t know how long it took for the sheriff and Wes to show up, but it seemed like forever. Each second, he imagined Tracy’s temperature getting colder.

  “How’s she doing?” the sheriff asked as he slid down the hill towards him.

  “Not so good. She’s too cold. She has a broken leg and arm.” He lifted his jacket and showed the sheriff.

  Wes took over and started first aid. “How long you figure she’s been down here?”

  “Savannah said that they usually meet during their walks around six.”

  “Six last night?” Wes asked, not taking his eyes from the girl.

  “Yeah.” He frowned. “She was too busy getting ready for my return to go on a walk last night.” He stood back and watched other men arrive and felt like he was just in the way.

  “I can go…” He started to turn back towards the bridge.

  “We can use your help to get her up the hill,” Wes said, handing him his shirt. He’d wrapped the girl in silver blankets and they put blocks around her broken arm and leg to keep them steady as they moved her.

  It took them almost fifteen minutes to get the steel cage with the little girl inside up the side of the rocky hill. He had a few new cuts and bruises on his knees and hands when they finally made it to the top.

  He was surprised to see a huge crowd standing at the top, cheering them on. Savannah rushed across to him and hugged him tightly.

  “You’re bleeding,” she said as he wiped a tear from her eyes. He nodded and looked around, noticing that she’d moved the car to this side of the bridge. He knew it was a five-minute drive up to the new bridge and smiled down at her.

  “Where’s my other girl?” He looked towards the car.

  “Here,” Holly said, walking through the crowd. “I’ve got her.”

  “Dada,” Maggie said loudly as he took her in his arms and wrapped one around Savannah.

  They watched the paramedics load Tracy into the back of the ambulance, and then Savannah turned to him.

  “I’d like to go down and wait until we hear something.” He nodded.

  As they followed the string of cars from the old bridge to the clinic downtown, he rested his head back and tried not to think of what could have happened if Savannah and Maggie had gone on the walk last night. If they had been the ones lying at the bottom of a gulch, broken.

  When she stopped the car, he looked up. “Why are we home?”

  She looked towards him. “I thought you’d want to clean up first. Besides, it will take a while for them to get her checked out.”

  He looked down at his clothes and realized he was covered in dirt and his own blood. He nodded and got out. “I’ll be quick.”

  Less than a half hour later, they walked into the clinic. He still had rocks and dirt embedded into his skin, but at least he was wearing clean clothes and no longer had dirt in his hair.

  “How is she?” Savannah asked Leslie.

  “She’s stable. They’ve set her leg and arm and she’s awake.” She smiled as a tear dripped down her face. “We had thought…” She broke off and shook her head. Her husband stepped
forward and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

  “We’d thought she was committing suicide,” he said, frowning down at his wife. “She’s been so depressed the last year. We knew about the bullying, but didn’t know what to do.”

  “I went to the school a dozen or so times, but Tracy would never tell us who was picking on her. None of the teachers knew either.”

  Savannah stepped forward. “Christy and Stephany.” She shook her head. “I don’t know their last names.”

  Leslie nodded. “Thank you.”

  “I…” Savannah started then shook her head. “I should have told you. Or gone to the school.”

  “It’s okay,” Leslie said, reaching out and taking Savannah’s hand. “We’d seen a huge change in her since she started talking to you. I guess that’s why we continued to let her meet you.” She smiled. “She even started taking better care of herself. You know, she got that new haircut.”

  Savannah smiled. “She brought a magazine and asked me to help her pick it out.”

  “We thought…when she didn’t come home, that she’d gone off…” Leslie closed her eyes and leaned against her husband.

  “When I first met her, I thought she was on the bridge to do the same thing.” Savannah closed her eyes. “But now.” She shook her head. “I don’t worry about that any more.”

  “It’s because of you,” Leslie said. “We can’t thank you enough.” She stepped closer and engulfed Savannah in a hug right there in the small waiting room of the clinic for everyone to see.

  They sat and chatted with everyone who came into the clinic to check up on Tracy. The story was all over town and by the time the clinic doors shut for the night, everyone in Fairplay was talking about how Savannah had helped Tracy. Not to mention the story about Billy rescuing the poor girl from the side of the river.

  Savannah had seen all the rocks and scratches on Billy’s back and knew that he would be hurting. When they got home, she watched as he put Maggie to bed. As he shut the baby’s door, she tugged on his hand and he followed her into the bathroom.

  When she shut the door, he smiled and started removing his shirt, only to wince.