Back To Us (Dare With Me Series Book 4)

by J. H. Croix

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Gabriel

  I shifted my shoulders and ran my finger along the edge of my shirt collar. I wasn’t accustomed to wearing a suit. Elias was getting married, and I was one of the groomsmen with Tucker, Flynn, and Diego. Elias wanted all of us to stand up with him. He insisted he wouldn’t have met Cammi if it weren’t for us because we were the reason he came to Alaska. I tried to slide out of it by pointing out that Flynn was the one who invited all of us to come work with him in Alaska.

  Elias had scoffed and cuffed me lightly on the shoulder. “As soon as the ceremony is over, you can take off that suit and chill out in jeans and a T-shirt for the reception.”

  “Seriously?” Diego had prompted.

  Elias grinned. “That was my agreement with Cammi. She wants the whole deal for the ceremony, but she said she doesn’t care about what happens afterward.”

  Nonetheless, wearing a suit wasn’t something I did often. I shifted my shoulders again, feeling stiff and uncomfortable. This day felt big, really big. In a weird way, Elias and I had bonded over never planning to get serious. We weren’t assholes, and we weren’t players. We had merely dedicated ourselves to being casual for years.

  Elias was deeply content with Cammi, and I was so fucking happy for him. I was also still puzzling over the riddle of Nora breaking things off with me. I was trying to figure out why she was so upset. What did she expect me to say about my mother?

  I felt a nudge on my shoulder. Diego’s tone was low. “We’re moving.”

  I took a quick step forward, and we lined up. We had a cold snap last week, and Cammi had worried it would ruin their outdoor ceremony. Autumn in Alaska was fickle. Some days were cold and some warmer. The weather gods and goddesses shined down upon them, and we had a beautiful, if slightly brisk, sunny day for their wedding on the property where Cammi had grown up. Elias had snapped it up when the owners decided to put it on the market.

  It truly felt as if everything was falling into place for them. When I watched Cammi, stunning and radiant in her wedding dress, look into Elias’s eyes as he easily made his vow to protect her forever, I listened and wondered if something was missing for me. I knew I loved Nora, but maybe I just wasn’t cut out for love the way my friends were finding it.

  I couldn’t help but sneak glances at Nora. Hell, I’d been stealing glances of her for years now, tucking memories away. While she was speaking to me these days, everything between us felt stilted and polite, and I wanted to scream sometimes.

  After the ceremony, I happened to be standing nearby when Nora caught Cammi’s bouquet of peonies. Some of the petals fell on the ground, surrounding her feet.

  “What am I gonna do with these?” Nora mused, her tone annoyed as she eyed them in her hand.

  Elias’s sister laughed. “I guess you’re gonna fall in love.”

  Nora’s eyes lifted to hers, narrowing. “Fat chance of that. I don’t believe in love.”

  Diego, who happened to be nearby, pressed his fist on his chest over his heart. “How can you say that? Love is a real thing. Do you believe in Elias and Cammi?”

  Nora’s hard stare shifted to him. “Of course, I believe in Elias and Cammi. Love just isn’t for me. I don’t think I have the right personality.”

  Diego rested his palm on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “You’ll know when it’s right.”

  Nora glared at him.

  Her words repeated in my mind. I don’t believe in love.

  My heart twisted because I believed in love, and I had to find a way to get her to believe we were worth it.

  That night, I was lounging on the sofa in the house, flicking aimlessly through the TV channels. Grant was with me, and he finally said, “Dude, just keep it on the football game.”

  I slid my gaze sideways. “Fine.”

  He gave me a long look. “You’re cranky.”

  Harley happened to be coming down the stairs at that moment. “You are. What gives?”

  She plopped down on the couch on the sectional across from me, hooking her toes under the edge of the coffee table and sliding it a little closer to her before propping her feet on it and crossing her ankles.

  “Nothing,” I muttered before tossing the remote to Grant.

  Harley’s brows lifted, and she pursed her lips as she gave me a considering look. “It’s not nothing. Is it the wedding?”

  “No. I’m very happy for Elias and Cammi.”

  She rolled her eyes at that. “I know that. I was thinking maybe the wedding reminded you that you’re being an idiot about Nora.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “She’s the one who broke it off with me. Again,” I replied defensively.

  “Maybe so, but maybe you could try to fight a little harder,” Harley offered pointedly.

  I looked toward Grant, who simply shrugged. “I’m not the expert on romance, but Harley’s got a point.”

  I leaned my head back on the couch, letting out a groan. “Fuck my life. I don’t know what to do.” I lifted my head, being more honest than I wanted to be, but I was desperate. “Maybe I’m not cut out for love.”

  Harley snorted. “Well, if you don’t think you are, that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. For what it’s worth, Nora is being an idiot too. You’re both stubborn.”

  I gave her a long look. “You’re stubborn too.”

  Harley threw her hands up in the air and let them fall with a thwack onto the couch. “It doesn’t matter if I’m stubborn. I’m not going to argue that I’m not. I can’t solve this riddle for you two. It’s obvious you love each other, and it’s obvious you want to be together. All I’m saying is if you give up, well, then you’re giving up.”

  “Thanks for stating the obvious,” I deadpanned.

  Grant divided his gaze between us before offering, “Obvious or not, either you try or you don’t.”

  “She’s your sister,” I said, annoyed with my irritation about the situation. “Maybe you can tell me what to do.”

  Grant was quiet for a few beats as he leaned back on the couch. “You have to understand, Nora doesn’t trust easily. I think you already knew that, but be patient. She’s expecting you to give up.”

  “Has she said that?”

  “No. It’s just the way she is. You know the outlines of our dad, but he was a total flake. Never really around and always breaking our mom’s heart. Nora is stubborn, and as Harley pointed out, so are you. If you really want Nora and you really love her, then you have to fight for her.”

  The following day, I headed out to Otter Cove Harbor with Nathan Winters on a silver salmon fishing jaunt. When I told Daphne he’d texted me about the open spot on the boat, she was delighted and already planning what she might cook with the fresh salmon.

  The gravel crunched under my feet as I walked across the parking area. I paused at the top of the docks, looking beyond the harbor into Kachemak Bay. I knew for a fact there were postcards of this view because I’d sent one to my sister just last summer.

  It wasn’t long before we were headed out into the bay. After Elias’s wedding and all the fucking feelings it’d brought up for me, I was relieved to be out on the water. There was a light breeze today, and the crisp, salt-tinged air was refreshing. The group caught their limit pretty quickly, and we were on our way back when we heard a mayday call over the radio. Nathan glanced at me. “We’re about fifteen minutes from those coordinates.”

  “Let’s head over that way. The Coast Guard will come too, right?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he replied quickly. “They’ll send out a rescue team right away. It’s just we’re closer than they are.”

  We hightailed it over there. It was hard to tell what happened, but the boat was well on its way to sinking. A group of passengers huddled in a lifeboat, and Nathan cut his speed down to no-wake. We reached the group and quickly got everyone on board.

  “What happened?” I asked one of the guys once he was off the lifeboat and onto ours.

  He looked distressed. “
I’m not sure,” he said, his teeth chattering. “We started taking on water, so I’m guessing we hit a rock underwater or something.”

  We were on the far side of the bay now, and there were rocks underwater in the shallower areas. Anyone traveling by boat in this area needed to use caution. Nathan was using his sonar to watch for them, but the unexpected still happened.

  “Gabriel,” Nathan called quickly.

  When I glanced his way, he gestured to the cabin below. “We’ve got towels and dry clothes down there. Can you get everyone down there? Also, two people didn’t make it onto the lifeboat. I couldn’t see them before, but I’m going to move closer while you get everyone below.”

  “Got it.” I beat feet into the cabin and quickly got everybody situated with towels and dry clothing before hurrying back up to check with Nathan. Considering Nathan and his brothers guided trips for a living, the boat was stocked with enough dry clothing for everyone to change into.

  By the time I returned to the deck only moments later, Nathan had gotten close enough for us to see the two remaining passengers. They were clinging to the sinking boat on the far side from where we’d approached. We needed to move fast to get them to safety before gravity took over and pulled the boat underwater. By this point, it was listing heavily to one side.

  I glanced at Nathan. “If you can bring the boat over that way”—I gestured to the closest corner where the passengers were clinging to the side—“I think we can probably get the throw ring to them.”

  Nathan nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  We had no time to waste, and he motored over as quickly as he could without creating a wake to add to the situation. A teenage boy and a young woman were both clearly distressed but staying calm.

  “Here’s the plan,” I called over. “I’m going to toss the ring as close as I can. We need you to do this one at a time. As soon as the throw ring hits the water, jump off, swim to it, and we’ll get you on the boat. We have two throw rings, so I’m going to toss them out one after the other. We need to do this quickly, okay?”

  The teenage boy called over, “She needs to go first. She’s more tired than I am.”

  The woman opened her mouth to argue, and the teenager shook his head firmly. “I can hang on.”

  “We’re going to try to get both of you at the same time. I’m gonna toss one this way and one the other.” I gestured in two directions.

  The boy made it quickly to the throw ring, but the woman started to struggle in the water. I called back to Nathan. “I’m gonna dive in and get her.” I knew I could handle it with my life vest on.

  In seconds, that icy water was numbing, but I swam quickly to reach the woman, circling my arm under her armpits and swimming backward. My lifeguard training from back in high school was serving me well at this moment. Just when we were about to reach the boat, a heavy piece of debris struck my legs, and I couldn’t help my loud grunt as I almost lost my hold on the woman.

  “Oh, my God! Are you okay?” She gasped.

  I didn’t know what the hell had hit me, but I knew it had cut me. Even though it was freezing, I could feel the piercing pain on my calf.

  I spoke through gritted teeth and continued swimming. “I’ll be fine.”

  With the help of Nathan, another man, and the teenage boy, who was freezing cold but a champ under stress, we were both in the boat only minutes later. Nathan glanced at my leg. “Fuck,” he said.

  “I know. The cold should help.” I rolled up my soaking pants to see a deep gash on the side of my calf just below the knee.

  “We can’t wait to motor in,” he said abruptly.

  He’d already radioed in that we had picked up the people from the sinking boat, and we knew a salvage crew would head out tomorrow. But at the moment, there was no rescue crew on the way. We were now a solid two hours from the harbor.

  “I’m going to radio in again,” he said. “I think it’s best if we just sit tight. I’m worried if we try to start, we won’t beat the darkness.”

  I knew he was right, but I wanted to argue the point. Nathan was having none of it and just ignored me after barking out orders. I waited in the cabin below, an emergency blanket wrapped around me after I changed into dry clothing. The cold had set in, though, and my teeth kept chattering.

  All I wanted was to talk to Nora, but that wasn’t happening. We had zero cell reception out here, not to mention I wasn’t thinking clearly.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Nora

  “When were they supposed to be back?” I asked Flynn with a mixture of anxiety, dread, and cold fear spinning inside my chest. I had hurried over to the resort when Daphne texted, saying I might want to come over and check in with Flynn about Gabriel’s trip.

  “Over two hours ago,” he said, his tone measured.

  “Have you called the harbor?” I pressed.

  “Of course, I have. I’ve also been in touch with Jared and Luke. There was a mayday call from a boat nearby, and they went to help with the rescue. Everything went fine, except—” Flynn paused, his eyes searching my face.

  I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. “Just tell me!”

  “Gabriel got injured in the water when he helped bring in one of the passengers who was struggling. He’s going to be fine, and I don’t have any more details except everyone is alive.”

  My stomach took a dive and spun unsteadily. I swallowed and tried to take a deep breath, but it didn’t work very well. “When will they get to the harbor?”

  “I spoke to Darren at the police station, and he said it should be in about an hour. I’m assuming they’ll take Gabriel and the rest of the passengers straight to the hospital.”

  “Let’s go. Now.”

  “Nora, they’re not even—” he began, stopping abruptly when I spun away and started to run out of the resort.

  “You’re not driving!” he called as he followed me out.

  Daphne appeared on the porch beside him a second later, slinging a backpack over her shoulder. “We don’t have a guest dinner tonight. It was just staff because Gabriel was going to bring us fresh salmon. Let’s all go. We can wait together.”

  The sun was setting as we hurried off the porch into the parking area. Having lived in Alaska my entire life, I usually found solace in its natural beauty. At the moment, the sky was awash in shades of lavender and deep pink mingled with wispy silver and gold from the late autumn sunset. The snowy mountain peaks were tinted in pink, looking almost otherworldly in the early evening light. Yet the beauty barely registered for me beyond a simple observation. I was too anxious, too tied up with worry over Gabriel and feeling near frantic about putting distance between us. Again.

  “Let’s take my SUV,” Daphne commented as Flynn started to veer toward one of the resort trucks.

  His stride shifted, and he followed her over to her SUV.

  “Wait!” Cat called.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw her coming out of the main doors as she tugged on a jacket and ran down the stairs. “I can’t believe you guys were going without me.” She skidded to a stop beside me as I curled my hand over one of the back door handles.

  Before I could reply, Flynn glanced over. “We’re in a hurry. Hop in.”

  Even though I was freaking out more than a little inside, I was relieved to be with my family. My brother’s unflappable calm presence was helpful, and Daphne’s warm, quiet support was a balm to my jangled nerves.

  Daphne moved to get in the driver’s seat, but Flynn caught her lightly on the elbow. “I’ll drive.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. When she opened her mouth to reply, he shook his head sharply. “Sweetheart, I drive faster than you,” he said bluntly.

  Daphne immediately handed him the keys and rounded the front of the SUV to climb in the passenger side. As she was buckling up, she replied, “I know you do, and speed is of the essence this time.”

  As Flynn started driving, I laced my fingers together in an attempt to quell the risi
ng tide of worry, dread, and regret from overwhelming me. It was to no avail. I mentally castigated myself for pulling back and getting upset over something so minor. So what if Gabriel didn’t want to talk to me about his mother? Perhaps he felt he’d said all there was to say. It’s not as if I enjoyed talking about my father.

  At least the first time I broke things off with him, I could make sense of it. This time, my own defensiveness was my only excuse—defensiveness undergirded and made more powerful by fear. I was deeply in love with him and afraid I couldn’t have what I wanted with him.

  I stared out the window, watching as early evening shifted to twilight while Flynn drove. When I looked ahead once, I saw Daphne reach across the seat and murmur something to Flynn. He caught her hand in his and lifted it to press a kiss on the inside of her wrist.

  The moment was brief, lasting no more than seconds, yet the intimacy shimmered between them. It was its own force. My grumpy brother was so in love, and I was so happy for them. I wanted something like that with Gabriel. All of my worries felt small and insignificant now. If he was really hurt, or— It was as if tires screeched in my brain. I couldn’t even let myself think about the worst-case scenario.

  “Everyone’s alive, right?” My question came out in a rush in the quiet space of the vehicle.

  My eyes stung with tears, and I knuckled them away. Cat whipped her gaze toward me, her eyes widening as she drew in a sharp breath.

  “Of course. I already told you that,” Flynn said, his tone calm and level.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive.”

  I fumbled for my phone, abruptly realizing I didn’t even have it with me. “Can somebody lend me their phone?” I asked, my voice shaky.

  “Let me call,” Daphne said from the front as Cat shimmied on the seat to get her phone out of her back pocket.

  “Let me—” I began.

  Flynn’s voice cut through, clear, commanding, and decisive. “Let Daphne call for an update. You’re too upset.”