Garrett: Thanks. You didn’t have to do that. I’m really glad you’re in my life, Reese. I meant what I said earlier. I don’t want you to leave unless you want to.
She stared at the message for several long minutes.Garrett wanted her to stay.This whole time, she thought she was the only one who was developing feelings, but now she wasn’t sure. Ever since they’d talked on the dock that one night and he’d held her hand, it was almost embarrassing how often she thought about kissing him. He was so handsome, kind, and generous to a fault. There was no doubt in her mind that she was falling Garrett Cooper, and falling hard. She didn’t want to admit it, not even to herself, but that was one of the reasons she’d been so insistent on finding a job. If she stayed here much longer, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to leave without breaking her own heart. Garrett was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. But was it possible he was having the same kind of feeling about her?
Reese: I want to stay, Garrett.
There was so much more she wanted to say, but those words needed to be said in person, not via a test message.
Garrett: Let’s talk tonight.
And just like that, a relaxing evening turned into a waiting game. She couldn’t wait for him to come home. She needed to see him. Needed to know if they had somehow ended up on the same wavelength.
Reese: I’d like that. Stay safe out there.
Her heart was pounding out of her chest with nerves and excitement, but she put her phone down next to her and stared out at the glittering lights of the fireflies as they flitted from one place to another. Between the clear sky with a million stars out and the reflection of the crescent moon in the water, she almost felt like she was sitting inside a fairy tale. Reese had always led a pretty good life, the last year notwithstanding, of course. But there was something about being here that made everything feel more special, grander. Maybe the old adage of everything being bigger in Texas was true.
She was just about to head back inside to watch a movie to help pass the time until Garrett got home when a strange bubbling sound came from the water. Before she could figure out what it was, something or someone grabbed her legs just above the ankles. She screamed in horror, but was immediately yanked right off the edge of the dock and into the water with a loud slap.
The cold hit her with the force of a semi-truck, and the backs of her legs and thighs burned from being scraped by the wood. Panic set in, nearly blinding her in the already dark, murky water, but she kicked out at her assailant as hard as she could. Garrett’s neighbors weren’t close, but if she could just get to the surface and let out a few more screams, maybe someone would hear her. She fought with everything she had, but seconds felt like hours, and whoever this was that had her, wasn’t letting go.
The darkness of the water started to fade along with her strength. She knew from all the self-defense videos she’d watched that if a kidnapper took you to a second location, yourchances of survival dropped significantly. She couldn’t let him take her. But his grip on her was too tight, and she was only getting weaker.
Garrett. He was her only hope now.
