SHE’S ALIVE
I’m bawling
OH MY GOD HE SAVED HER
Donated again
BEHOLD! THE POWER OF DR. O AND HIS MIGHTY SCEPTER!
And the donation ticker—
Holy freaking shit!
It’s unleashed.
I know the rhythm of a surge, the arc of success. I’ve never seen numbers move like this, not merely rising, but snowballing. The counter is lagging, gasping to keep up with the wave of people throwing money at a miracle they dared to hope for.
My attention shifts from the screen to the deck, where the real moment is happening. Blaze’s camera holds on Dr. Echols, still kneeling beside the sea lion mother.
“You’re doing great,” Orson murmurs to the animal, fingers adjusting her mask. “That’s it. Just like that. Breathe, girl. You’re safe.”
I’m buzzing on adrenaline and relief. I only realize I’m smiling so big when my cheeks start aching.
God, I wish Cole were here.
To see this. To witness the proof of what he set in motion. What we did.
Movement catches my eye.
The dinghy bobs alongside the ship’s hull. Sienna grips the railing and swings herself onboard as though gravity is optional. And right on her heels—
Cole.
My chest fills like a sail.
He ascends from the dinghy, methodical, one rung at a time. His broad shoulders tighten with every pull. Water beads along his jaw, trails down his neck. He grips the rail and heaves himself over.
His gaze sweeps the deck in a quick pass, then stills. On me. Only me.
I don’t hesitate.
I run.
Dodging the crew, leaping over ropes and gear, straight to him.
I launch myself into his arms. I don’t care that he’s soaked in freezing Pacific brine, that my blouse is ruined, that the world is spinning too fast. My leg hooks around his thigh, my face buries into his neck, and his massive, wet arms lock around me.
“You did it,” I choke out against his skin. “Cole, look!”
I point to the mother sea lion, where Sienna crouches beside Orson. Her hand rests on the gray, heaving flank of the life they just saved.
Cole exhales a breath he’s been holding since he went under. “I feared we were too late.”
Then the haze of the moment lifts, and reality slams into me: I’m wrapped around my co-worker like a koala, with a global audience watching.
“Oh. Shit.” I scramble back, fingers raking through my mess of hair, my cheeks flaming. “Professionalism. Right. Adrenaline is wild.”
Cole doesn’t move. He stands there, dripping, watching me with a half-guarded, half-gutted expression.
