The Bachelor's Unexpected Family

by Lisa Carter

  “I wish you did, too.”

  She looked at him, but he’d redirected his focus onto following a set of coordinates. “Their last recorded location was beyond the Neck.”

  Kristina gasped as the chopper flew over the blue-green waters of the inlet. “Beyond Weston’s lighthouse? That’s open water.”

  Images flooded her mind of her son and Jade foundering as ocean waves broke over their heads—Her breath hitched.

  He touched her arm. “Steady now, Montgomery.”

  She sucked in a deep breath.

  “Braeden put in a call to the station at Chincoteague. The coordinates are about halfway between the two Coastie districts, but—”

  “We’re faster.” She squared her shoulders. “And we’re going to find them.”

  Canyon’s eyes crinkled. “Yes, we are.”

  He maintained constant radio contact with the patrol units in the water. Zooming over the rocky lighthouse point, she bit back tears. No sign of them near land.

  Canyon flew in a carefully plotted, ever-widening search pattern. She refused to dwell on the what-ifs. Worst-case scenario, there’d be plenty of time for regrets and recrimination. She couldn’t—she wouldn’t—lose Pax’s son, too.

  Her eyes strained to detect anything irregular in shape or color amid the rolling waves below. He flew as low as he dared. She fought the urge to draw up her feet as the chopper skimmed the air above the frothy waters of the ocean.

  Despite a few false sightings, she quickly learned to distinguish between channel markers and people in the water.

  Static crackled. He pressed the mic. “Roger that.” Releasing the button, he angled. “Braeden’s team has located the partially submerged boat.”

  Her pulse accelerated. “Did he find the children?”

  More static. Canyon’s face fell. “The boat has overturned. They’ve found a floating cooler.” He swallowed. “And a life jacket.”

  She went rigid. “Oh, no. No. No.”

  “An empty life jacket.” He covered her hand with his. “No bodies, though. Only debris. Braeden thinks the boat must’ve been traveling at a high rate of speed. Slamming down on the waves hard enough to break the seal.”

  She pounded her fist into her thigh. “Those stupid, stupid kids. Why do they always think they’re immortal?”

  Canyon banked left. She grabbed on to the seat.

  “I flew this route with the migratory bird count last month. There’s a barrier island nearby. Maybe they were able to swim there.”

  She clenched her teeth. “How near?”

  The blades ate the air. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Five miles.”

  “Five—” She crushed her knuckles against her mouth. “That’s too far to swim, even if they knew there was an island out there. Which, in the dark, they probably didn’t.”

  She wanted to weep. She wanted to scream. She wanted to jump out of the chopper and let the cold waters slide over her head forever.

  As bad as the pain had been in losing her husband, this was far worse. She wasn’t sure she’d survive losing a child.

  “How long will they search?” Her voice rasped in the mouthpiece. “How long before they declare it a recovery, not a rescue?”

  “I won’t stop looking, Kris.”

  She moaned. “I don’t think I can do this again.”

  “We can’t give up hope. As long as there’s life, there’s—”

  “Don’t say that to me.” She threw out her hands. “Don’t you get it? There is no life among the dead. Not for me. Not without Gray.”

  She pressed her face against the glass. What good was faith if she lost her son? Had Canyon been right? That when someone lost everything that was when faith meant the most.

  Kristina rested her forehead against the chilly surface of the window. “Help me, God,” she whispered.

  She recalled those terrible days following the news of Pax’s death. Her family, those dear sisters in arms, her church. The inexplicable peace. And she understood then that even when she lost Pax, she’d had God. She always had God. Her breath fogged the glass as she soaked in His peace.

  Using the cuff of her sleeve, she wiped the window clean. And spotted something red winking below. In the tossing sea, a buoy swayed like a pendulum. The morning sun refracted off something else, too. She inched closer to get a better view. She inhaled sharply.

  “There’s someone clinging to the buoy.” She pounded the window. “Canyon? Over there. Is it—Canyon, it’s got to be them. Oh, God, please let it be them.”

  * * *

  Doing a 180, Canyon brought the chopper around again and glimpsed the same metallic glitter Kristina had seen.

  Her mouth trembled. “We’ve found them. We’ve found them.”

  Two figures crouched on the shallow rim of the buoy and clung to the steel girders of the channel marker.

  His heart skipped a beat. Only two, but three souls had been missing.

  From this distance, it was difficult to determine who’d survived. As he neared, the two buried their faces in their arms to ward off the spray churned by the rotors, further obscuring identification.

  Drawing alongside, he hovered as close as he dared. Kristina frantically tugged at her seat belt.

  He caught her hand. “I don’t have the proper equipment to mount a rescue.”

  “We have to do something.” She glared at him. “You have to do something. They’ve been out there all night. How much longer can they hold on?”

  Something of which he was all too aware. Jade had left the house wearing ridiculously spiky heels and a filmy dress. She would’ve been in a far worse position to withstand the elements than the boys. Why hadn’t he made sure she could swim?

  Canyon radioed the Coast Guard station. After a short conversation, he backed off a few yards, holding the chopper as steady as the wind allowed.

  “The response boat is only a few minutes out. We’ll hang around until they arrive.” He took Kristina’s hand. “They’re going to make it.”

  She squeezed his fingers. “But who didn’t make it?”

  He had no answers for her. The minutes ticked by. Agonizing minutes until he beheld the orange-and-white flag of the Coastie boat.

  Keeping his distance, he watched the crew extract one of the kids from the buoy onto the response boat.

  “That’s Gray’s jacket,” Kristina shrieked.

  Wind buffeted the chopper. Canyon surveyed the worsening conditions. A squall loomed on the horizon.

  “There’s someone else on a stretcher,” Kristina called, riveted to the window. “Gray must’ve been shielding—”

  “Green dress?” He thought his heart might explode.

  “No...it’s a dark coat.” Her voice broke. “Oh, Canyon. I’m so sorry.”

  He took a ragged breath. Randolph had worn a dark tuxedo. The missing teen was Jade. Oh, God. Please, no.

  A beeping sounded from the instrument panel. He leaned forward.

  Kristina’s gaze darted from the flashing red light to him. “What’s wrong?”

  He clamped his jaw. “We’re going to have to refuel.”

  “Why is the boat leaving, Canyon?”

  Dread twisted his belly. “Operation complete, they’re headed to Kiptohanock. An emergency crew will be waiting to transport the survivors to Riverside Hospital.”

  The radio squawked. His hand shook as he reached for the mic to receive the incoming transmission. “Collier here. Report?”

  He braced himself.

  Canyon’s breath left him in a whoosh of air. “Three?” His voice cracked. “Say again.” His gaze darted to Kristina.

  “Roger that.” He released the button. “Three, Kristina. Dispatch says there are three alive and headed for port.” He gripped th
e stick.

  She collapsed into the seat. “Thank You, thank You, God. Whoa—” She grabbed the seat belt strap as the chopper banked a hard right. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m headed for Kiptohanock.”

  “But what about your fuel tank?”

  “Enough to get to town. I’m going to get my girl if I have to land this bird on the square with just fumes.”

  Which was exactly what he did.

  The sound of the whirring blades brought the breakfast crowd out of the Sandpiper. On the marina dock, seasoned watermen ducked their heads as dust swirled.

  With the rotors still spinning, he switched off the engine and threw himself out of the chopper. He’d taken two steps toward the Coast Guard station when he remembered Kristina.

  In one smooth motion, he wheeled and threw open the passenger door. Shaking, her hands fumbled with the seat belt.

  “Let me.”

  He lifted her from the helicopter. But on solid ground once more, she swayed. So he swung her into his arms and carried her across the green.

  In a rapid stride, he clomped across the wooden planks of the dock. Sirens sounded behind them as an ambulance rounded the square. Followed by another one. They’d beaten the fast boat.

  He made sure she’d regained her footing before he set her down this time. Together, they watched the response boat navigate the vessels bobbing in the harbor.

  A crowd had formed along the seawall. Her hands clasped, she leaned into him. He wasn’t sure he’d breathe properly again until he saw Jade with his own eyes.

  The response boat eased alongside the Coastie pier. A seaman jumped across the gap, landing nimbly. Another Coastie threw him a line.

  EMTs brushed the bystanders aside. Never had he wished he was still part of the Coastie team more than he did now. The uncertainty was killing him.

  A couple of EMTs emerged from the vessel bearing a stretcher. Kristina strained forward. He took hold of her arm, preventing her from toppling face-first into the harbor. But the figure on the stretcher proved to be the Randolph boy.

  One of the EMTs holding the stretcher inched by them. “He’s battered and bruised but seems okay. Your girl will be out next, Collier.”

  Surprised, he nodded his thanks. He recognized the guy from his long-ago high school days.

  The former wrestling star grinned. “I figured she had to belong to you. She’s raising cain to get off the boat.” He readjusted his hold on the stretcher. “Good to have you home again, Collier.”

  As the stretcher went past, a lithe figure clad in a suit coat much too large stepped onto the dock. Her windblown hair had dried sufficiently for the magenta strands to gleam in the sunlight.

  Somewhere in the deep blue sea, she’d lost her shoes. But sunlight glinted off the multiple ear studs.

  His mouth working, he sent up a silent prayer of gratitude that Jade hadn’t entirely abandoned her goth girl ways. The metal studs had alerted Kristina to their location in the water. And saved their lives.

  Mascara streaked Jade’s cheeks. Her eyes seemed the largest thing in her too-pale face. A more pitiful sight he’d never seen. But she’d never looked more wonderful to him.

  He raised his arm. “Jade!” He’d only taken two steps before she flung off the coat and ran toward him. Straight into his outstretched arms.

  “Daddy!”

  Had she just—He shook from head to toe. He’d been called a lot of names over the years—worthless, Coastie, pilot, neighbor. But none had ever sounded as sweet, right and true.

  Canyon enfolded her into his embrace. “Hey, kid.” Her skin felt so icy.

  Sobs racked her frame. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

  His tough, never-say-die Jade. She clung to him as hard as she must’ve clung to the buoy.

  Canyon cupped his hand over the top of her head as she buried her face into the fabric of his shirt. “I thought I’d lost you, baby,” he whispered into her hair.

  “I knew you’d come,” came her fierce response. “I told them you’d find us. That you wouldn’t stop looking.” She gripped the lapels of his jacket in her fists.

  He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. So he did both. Kristina threw her arms around them, murmuring the nonsensical things women say to small children.

  But when Gray called her name, she rushed to her son. Coatless and in his shirtsleeves, Gray staggered off the boat.

  An EMT approached Canyon, a blanket in hand. “Your niece is hypothermic. She needs to go to the hospital.”

  Jade stiffened. “I want to stay with you.”

  His hands grasping her shoulders, he pulled back a few inches. “I’ll be there, too. Always.” He glanced around. “If someone will give me a ride.”

  Stepping out of the crowd, Seth Duer pointed his thumb to his old Silverado in the parking lot. Her arm around her shivering son, Kristina came alongside.

  “You s-saved our lives, Canyon,” Gray stuttered.

  He shook his head. “Not me. Your mom spotted you. The Coasties saved you.”

  Kristina leaned her head on Gray’s shoulder. “Without your chopper, I’m not sure the boat would’ve located them in time.”

  Gray’s mouth quivered. “I don’t know how much longer we could’ve held on.”

  Jade socked Canyon’s shoulder. “You’re a hero. Deal with it.”

  He smiled. There was the girl he knew. And loved.

  But eager to change the subject, he took his first good breath. “What happened, Jade? Why did you get on the boat with that boy?”

  She teared up again. “He said we would just stop by and see his dad’s boat before he took me home. But when we got to the marina, he insisted I get on board to hear the engine.”

  Gray muttered something under his breath regarding jerks in football uniforms.

  “I didn’t know he’d stashed liquor on the boat.” Her voice went little-girl small. “When he said our private party was just beginning, he scared me.”

  Canyon tensed. “Alcohol and boats do not mix.”

  “I told him I was getting off the boat and I’d walk home. But he threw off the lines and reversed out of the slip before I could stop him.”

  Gray straightened. “I knew she was in trouble. I knew I had to do something.”

  Jade threw Gray an admiring glance. “I didn’t know Gray followed us. He jumped into the boat at the last minute.”

  Gray fingered his chin. “Helmet Head landed a lucky punch and knocked me down.”

  Kristina tried to examine his chin, but Gray batted her hand away.

  Jade’s brow puckered. “Harrison stumbled into the controls. The boat went into overdrive. We were going so fast. Too fast. The hull hit something.”

  Gray’s shoulders rose and fell. “The next thing I knew, the boat was taking on water. Randolph was so out of it.” He returned Jade’s look of admiration. “She figured the radio couldn’t be that different from the one at the airfield, so she called for help.”

  Jade shuddered. “And then we were in the water. There was no time to grab the life jackets. It took us both to keep Harrison afloat. Gray spotted the blinking channel marker, and we swam as hard as we could.”

  “You did everything right.” Canyon cocked his head. “Other than going to the dance with an idiot boy and getting into a boat with him, that is.” He kissed the top of her head. “But we’ll discuss that later.”

  Jade managed a laugh. “Lesson learned. I was too concerned about looking cool and fitting in.” She fingered her torn dress. “Not looking so cool now, though, am I?”

  Canyon’s heart quaked at the idea of her body lying at the bottom of the unyielding, dark ocean. During his stint in the Guard, he’d participated in the recovery of so many who, unlike Jade, hadn’t made it.

&nbs
p; Her face clouded. “The wind. The waves. We were so cold. I wasn’t sure the transmission had gone through before the boat went down.”

  The EMTs started toward them. At Canyon’s insistence, they loaded Gray into a vehicle first. Kristina, naturally, refused to be left behind.

  He walked Jade to the second ambulance. “So you held fast to the buoy.”

  “Gray insisted I put on his coat to stay warm.”

  Canyon handed Jade up through the open ambulance doors. “I always knew I liked that boy.”

  An EMT seated Jade on a gurney beside the groaning Randolph and began taking her vitals. Canyon stepped into the van.

  “We tried to keep Harrison out of the water and shared our body heat. All we could do was hold on.” She grimaced. “Be seasick. And pray.”

  The EMT recorded her vitals on a clipboard. “We’ve gotta go.”

  Jade’s green eyes widened. “Wait.” She stretched out her hand. “Don’t leave me.”

  “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, kid.” He took her frozen hand and warmed it with both of his. “Like it or lump it.”

  Her eyes misted. “I like it. A lot. I love you.” Her lower lip wobbled. “Was it okay I called you Daddy?”

  Canyon swallowed. “I love you, too, sweetheart. And being your daddy would be the best thing in the world to me.”

  She hugged him. His gaze watered.

  He sniffed as he untangled her arms. “Those allergies.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You pilots.”

  “This pilot will be right behind the ambulance. And I’ll stay in the ER with you until they let you come home.”

  “Home...” Jade whispered.

  Canyon hopped down and reached to close the doors. “Home.”

  A word that could easily become his favorite word ever.

  Chapter Seventeen

  It was a long day keeping vigil while the doctors monitored Jade’s condition. They had to wait for her official release papers before Canyon could take her home at last. He glanced at an incoming text on his cell from a hotshot firefighter buddy requesting Canyon’s assistance with an out-of-control wildfire.

  He’d call his friend and decline later. Right now, his priority was Jade. He powered down his phone. With her dress ruined, Canyon had promised to retrieve clean clothes from her bedroom so she could change out of her hospital gown and go home.