by Jill Sanders
The back parking lot was almost flooded. Her Jeep sat in its spot with the hard cover protecting the inside from the water. Her mind flashed back to Cole driving Maka’s Jeep up the bumpy trail in Hawaii.
Closing her eyes, she leaned against the brick building and wished more than anything that they could go back to the way they were on that trip.
When she heard something crack, she looked around and noticed that the thick wood board that was holding the huge back awning up had cracked. Since the wind was whipping the material around pretty rough, she took a few steps back.
She was about to head back inside when the board came crashing down towards her. She didn’t even have time to scream.
Chapter Nineteen
Cole coughed up water and cursed himself for not paying attention to the shoreline. This was his backyard, and he knew by just looking at the beach that he was a good four miles down shore.
When he finally escaped the rip current and made his way back to shore, he was another half a mile down. The waves were a lot bigger now and he was still itching to ride, but when he noticed that Carl and Deyon were nowhere to be seen, he knew he had to head back to Cassey’s.
After half an hour of walking in the wind and rain, he was really cursing himself. The storm had obviously grown and even with his wet suit on, he felt a shiver run up his bones.
He carried his board over his head for a while, hoping that would stop some of the water from falling in his face. Instead, it just made his arms ache and his back hurt by the time he made it to the edge of town.
When he finally made it back to the boardwalk, he was relieved to see Carl standing out front, glancing down the boardwalk.
“Hey,” he called out and jogged over to his friend. “Glad you made it back.”
Carl spun around and looked a little relieved. “Yeah, you too.” He shook his hand.
“Come on, let get inside.” He started to walk in.
“You go. I’ve got to wait for the ambulance.”
“Ambulance? For whom?”
“Some girl stepped outside and got cold conked by flying debris.”
“Who?” Cole’s heart skipped a beat.
Carl shrugged his shoulders and glanced back down the boardwalk. “I don’t know. We were out looking for you, and then I was told to wait out here to help the guys find the place.”
Cole rushed inside and saw a group of people gathered around one of the tables. Cassey was leaning over someone and when he rushed over, he saw Wendy lying there, unconscious, as Luke held a bloody towel on her forehead.
He must have screamed because everyone looked up at him quickly and moved aside. When he took her hand in his, he noticed how cold she was.
“Blankets,” he yelled to his sister. “She’s frozen.”
Cassey nodded and rushed up the stairs.
“I just found her,” Willow cried. “She’d walked off after she heard you had disappeared, and she hadn’t come back.” Willow wiped the tears from her eyes. “She was crying and I went to check on her, but she wasn’t in the cooler.”
He was rubbing Wendy’s bare arms as Willow talked. When he looked up, he noticed that Wendy’s sister was soaking wet and shivering.
“Where was she?” he asked, gently pushing some of her hair away from the wound as Luke held a towel over her forehead to stop the bleeding.
When Luke replaced the towel with a clean one, he noticed a large gash across her forehead. The sight of it made his knees go weak.
“How long ago did you call the ambulance?”
Luke glanced at his watch. “About fifteen minutes ago.”
“She’s been out that long?”
“Longer,” Willow said. “She’d been missing for about twenty minutes before I went to look for her.”
He cursed and closed his eyes and leaned down closer to her. With his lips right next to her ear, he whispered, “If you wake up from this, I promise never to leave your side again.” He placed a kiss on her cheek and watched as his tears spilled down onto her skin.
“Here.” Cassey rushed back over with a large purple blanket. He quickly pulled her wet shirt up and then ripped it right down the front, leaving her in only her bra. Then he used another towel to dry her wet skin, and covered her with the thick blanket. His hands worked over her pale skin, which had turned a light shade of blue from the cold.
“Get her shoes off,” he barked, not even looking down at her feet. He knew someone would work on them and cover her completely with the blanket.
By the time the ambulance workers walked in the door, soaking wet, they had warmed her up enough that he felt she no longer had hypothermia.
Then they covered her with waterproof blankets and carted her out, with him on their heels.
“I’ll keep you posted,” he called back to his sister, who only nodded as she cried into her husband’s chest.
The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever. They had to sidestep a few downed power lines, which had eaten up almost fifteen minutes. When they pulled into the hospital, Wendy had still not regained consciousness.
Cole had sat beside her, talking to her in a calm tone, promising her everything he could think of, if she would just open her eyes.
***
Wendy felt like she was floating towards a bright, warm light. She felt her entire body relax into the wave that carried her out to the abyss. At first there had been nothing but cold and darkness, then the calm had come and she’d relished the peacefulness. She’d actually actively sought it out by looking towards the light and trying to float closer.
Warm hands rushed over her, a soothing voice called out to her, and she moved closer to the peace. There was nothing on her mind other than obtaining enlightenment.
Then she was spinning in a storm, being pulled down in a whirlwind and sucked under. She found it hard to breath and cried out as a million needles picked at her skin, ripping it from her bones. Dizziness overtook her and she felt her head spinning faster than she could maintain.
Feeling her stomach revolt, she sat straight up and released her stomach. Warm hands reached out and pushed her back down as soothing hands brushed over her face and eyes.
When she tried to open her eyes, there was only darkness. Crying out, she only calmed down when a voice spoke right next to her ear.
“I’m here. Hold still baby. Everything is going to be okay. Don’t fight it. Relax.”
She let her body relax completely, and her mind sank back into the darkness until Cole’s voice woke her once more.
“Come on, Wendy, open those eyes,” he cried next to her ear.
When she did, it was still dark and she reached out for him.
“Cole?” Her voice sounded so far away.
“I’m here baby. Hold on to me. No—” His hands covered her arms. “Stay still. You’re okay. We’re at the hospital now.” He held her still. “They’re moving you to a private room.”
“Cole,” she cried out again, blinking frantically. “I can’t see.”
It was silent and she heard someone speaking quietly to him. “It’s okay, it’s probably just temporary. They say the hit to your head has caused a lot of swelling.” His voice sounded strained. Then she heard his soft cries and reached out for him.
She felt herself being wheeled into another room and shivered when the cool air hit her.
“Can she have another blanket?” Cole asked quickly.
A few minutes later, a blanket was being put on her.
“Willow is here,” Cole said next to her. “She wanted to wait since they’ll only let one of us back here at a time.”
She tried to nod her head, only to realize that she’d been strapped down to a board.
“Okay,” she said. “Tell her I’m okay. I… I don’t want to see her until… Don’t tell her…”
She felt him take her hand and squeeze it. “I’ll go tell her that you’re awake and will talk to her in a while.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. She heard him le
ave the room and when the door opened again, she heard someone move around the room.
“Hello, Miss Grant. I’m Dr. Zayas. I heard you had a nasty bump.” She heard him walk towards her and for the first time in her life, she didn’t know what her future would hold.
***
Cole stepped out into the waiting room and walked slowly towards Willow, who glanced up at him with worried eyes that matched Wendy’s perfectly.
He sat next to her. “She’s awake.” He watched Willow take a deep breath.
“And?” she asked, wiping a tear from her face.
“The doctor will be in to see her soon.”
Willow nodded. “Can I see her?”
He shook his head. “Better wait. She wants to see you after they’ve cleaned her up.”
Willow sighed. “I don’t know why she keeps babying me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him. “I’m not a baby. For god’s sake, I’m the one that found her.”
He sighed and battled with himself about going against Wendy’s wishes and telling Willow that Wendy may never see again. God, just the thought of that tore him apart. Especially since he started thinking that if he hadn’t gone storm surfing, none of this would have happened.
She had probably gone outside because she’d been upset that he hadn’t returned. He groaned and leaned his head back, closing his eyes to the pain.
“Hey.” Willow rested her hand on his arm. “Is everything okay?”
He blinked and looked at her, then started to nod his head, but shook it instead. “Willow, Wendy didn’t want me to tell you this, but…” He took a deep breath. “When she woke up, she couldn’t see.”
Willow’s hands went to cover her mouth as her eyes got huge. “What does that mean? Is it permanent?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
She glanced around the room and then stood up. “Well, go find out. I’ll wait here. Go talk to the doctor. Don’t leave her in there all by herself.” She pushed his shoulders until he started walking back towards the doors.
When he walked back into the room, he was surprised to see a doctor shining a flashlight into her eyes.
“Hey.” He rushed over to the older man.
“Hi.” He smiled up at him. “Dr. Zayas.” He held out a hand and Cole shook it. “I’m a big fan of yours.”
Cole nodded. “Is she going to be okay?”
The doctor looked down at her and patted her shoulder. “Just a nasty concussion. We’re going to give her a few stitches after we x-ray that head of hers.” He smiled. “But I think the blindness is only temporary. We’ll give it a few days, let the swelling go down, and wait it out.” He patted her again on the shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go get everything set up for her x-ray.”
Cole followed the doctor out and stopped him. “Doctor?”
The man turned around and smiled. “Like I said, we won’t know anything until the swelling goes down. I’ll be around if you have any other questions.”
Cole nodded and followed a nurse back into Wendy’s room.
“Well?” Wendy asked.
Cole shrugged his shoulders and walked over to her. “He just told me the same thing.”
She sighed. “Okay, so we wait.”
Chapter Twenty
Late that night, after the worst of the storm was over, Marcus and Shelly arrived along with Cassey and Luke. Wendy could tell everyone had been prepped on her condition, since everyone was very quiet when they came in.
She could smell the flowers before someone finally mentioned that they had brought them.
“They smell wonderful,” she said, holding out her hands until finally a vase was put in her hands. She buried her face in them and took a deep breath.
When it hit her that she may never see the beauty of a flower again, she started crying and the room grew even quieter.
“They’ve all stepped outside,” Cole said, pulling her close to his side.
“I’m sorry.” She sighed next to him. “It’s just…”
“I know—” he interrupted. “It’s okay.”
She sighed again and listened to the steady beat of his heart. “I’m scared.”
She felt him nod his head. “Me too.”
The door to her room opened again, and she heard Marcus cough.
“Sorry, Cole, I need to borrow you for a moment.” His voice sounded strained.
Cole stood up. “I’ll be right back.” He leaned down and she felt a kiss on her cheek.
A few minutes later when Cole came back in, he was quiet for a while.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, holding out her hand for him. He walked across the floor and took it and she could feel the tension in his hand.
“It’s my brother.”
“Roman?”
“Yes.”
“What about him?”
“He’s missing.”
“What?” She sat up a little. “How do you know?”
“My sister called Marcus.”
“Cassey?” She frowned, not really understanding.
“No.” She felt him shaking. “Marissa.”
She blinked a few times. “Where?” She knew he would understand her question.
“He went out looking for… Marissa’s son.”
“What?”
Cole sat next to her in the bed and sighed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “The kid took off, I guess, and Roman went to find him. Marissa doesn’t know where they are now. Marcus and Luke are going to help look for them.”
She reached for his hand and brought it up to her lips like he’d often done to her. “Go, go help them. It’s your nephew and brother.” She smiled. “I’ll be fine here.”
He hugged her closer. “I love you,” he whispered as she felt a tear slide down her cheek. “I shouldn’t have gone.” He took a deep breath.
“Cole.” She reached up and took his face in her hands, wishing more than anything that she could see his silver eyes. “I love you too. Now go. Find your family.” She smiled and leaned forward until his lips found hers.
After he’d gone, Willow sat with her and held her hand.
“I’m sorry about everything,” her sister said, squeezing her hand.
“Everything?” she joked. “Like… the time you threw my hairbrush into the spaghetti bowl? Or the time you replaced my eyeliner with a permanent marker?”
Willow laughed. “Okay, not everything. You totally deserved those.”
“Right.” Wendy smiled. “And you deserved it when I picked you up from school wearing a Darth Vader mask and singing ‘Turning Japanese’ loudly.”
Willow laughed even harder. “Okay, I totally deserved that.”
She leaned down and hugged her, and Wendy knew that no matter what happened, everything would be all right as long as she had her family.
***
Cole was wet and tired, not to mention worried beyond anything he’d ever felt. They had searched all night just outside of Carrabelle, which had been hit a lot harder than Surf Breeze had. The small town he’d driven through was pretty much just a pile of rubble.
He’d cried when he’d seen Marissa, and so had Marcus and Cassey, who had stayed behind with Marissa while Cole went out to help with the search. There were over two dozen people looking for their brother, along with Marissa’s seven-year-old son Reagan.
When Cole was too tired to take another step, Marcus had told him to take a break while he kept searching. Cole had gotten a ride back to the hospital in Panama City. When he got to Wendy’s room, he found Willow sitting in a chair, leaning to one side with her head falling forward. He helped her move to the empty bed next to the window so she could get some real rest.
Instead of sitting up in the chair that Willow had just vacated, he walked over and gently moved Wendy’s sleeping body over a little, then lay next to her in her bed and quickly fell asleep with her in his arms.
He didn’t move until he felt her shift above him. When he ope
ned his eyes, he saw her smiling down at him and he smiled back.
“Hi,” he said, closing his eyes and resting his forehead next to hers, pulling her closer.
“Morning.” She chuckled.
Then it dawned on him as he remembered the horrors of the day before. His eyes flew open again as he took in her entire face. Her eyes ran over his face and locked in on his eyes.
He saw her smile and nod slowly. “I can see,” she said, causing him to kiss her firmly and pull her closer.
“Ouch.” She giggled. “Okay, easy on the old noodle here.” Her hand went to her head as he apologized and kissed her more gently.
“Sorry.” He chuckled as he watched Willow sit up in the bed next to them.
Wendy followed his gaze and cried as her sister rushed to her and hugged her.
An hour later, after he’d grabbed a quick hospital shower, he was ready to catch a ride back to Carrabelle to join the search party again. He hated leaving Wendy, but she was being released from the hospital later that day. Willow had agreed to drive her home and stay with her until he could return.
“I’ll be home when you get done.” She kissed him, her hands going into his hair.
“I like the sound of that.” He smiled and held onto her.
“What?” She glanced up at him.
“Home.” He kissed her again.
“Good, because I don’t plan on living in a one-room condo for long.” She sighed.
He sighed right after her. “Maybe we should have that talk.” He frowned down at her, his eyes going narrow.
“What talk?” She frowned, matching his mood.
“The ‘how many kids do you want’ talk.” He smiled, loving the sound of her chuckle.
She smiled. “How about the ‘I’m finished risking my life’ talk?”
He nodded, and his smile fell away. “There is no need to talk about it.”
Her heart spiraled down to her stomach. Then he took her hands and pulled her close.
“I’m retiring. I’ve found my purpose.” He kissed her. “It’s you.”
She felt a tear slide down her cheek. He reached up and wiped it away with his finger.
