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“Shit,” she whispered, walking the length of the porch and gazing out over the water. This part of the lake looked wild, probably as untamed as her hair. There was no beach, only a rocky shoreline that led straight into the water.
Her ankle was killing her and slowly she made her way over to the boathouse but again, there was no one there. Sure she found several orange gas cans, and that would have been great, except there was no boat. A few fishing rods hung from the walls along with an overly large nude calendar that appeared to be decades old.
Standing there in the middle of that boathouse, Donovan felt like the last person on the planet. The silence was scary, and for the first time, real fear punched her in the gut. This wasn’t just about bears anymore. This was about being lost with no phone or food or fresh water.
“Jesus, Jack. Where are you?”
She wandered out onto the dock and gazed across the lake. There was a large residence perched atop a cliff on the other side, but it was so far away, there was no way for her to contact anyone.
Dejected she dropped to her knees and pulled them up close as she stared out at the water. Visualize, dammit. Visualize Jack.
She closed her eyes and saw his face, the ache inside her something fierce. “God, Jack, what have I done,” she whispered, rubbing her cheek along her forearm and wiping away the few tears that fell.
Donovan unwrapped her legs and tossed her hoodie onto the dock, scrunching it into a sad looking pillow. She was so tired. So warm. She laid down, stretching out along the dock and burrowing her head into the bunched up hoodie. She heard the drone of a plane overhead and listened to it until it was no more. With heavy eyelids, she eventually fell asleep.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out but when she opened her eyes, the sky was dark and ominous clouds had rolled in. Thunder cracked and lightening followed, both so loud and close that she sat up, momentarily dizzy because she’d moved too fast.
She heard music and the sound of a motor.
Help had come!
Big drops of rain splashed onto her face and Donovan stumbled to her fe
et, swiping at the rain to clear her eyes. She waved frantically, yelling for help, hobbling around on a foot that was now swollen to twice its size.
She yelled until she was hoarse, eyes on the distance and a boat making its way across the choppy lake.
“Please come,” she whispered, shivering and wet and miserable. “Please.”
She bit her lip and tried to shout one more time, but it was no use. Her vocal chords were done for.
And just when she thought help had passed her by, the boat turned and headed for her. She was so beside herself that when it pulled up alongside the dock, at first she couldn’t answer any of their questions.
Are you okay?
Who are you?
Do you need help?
“Maybe we need to take her to the hospital,” one of them said.
It was enough to snap her out of her funk. No hospital. She just needed to be with Jack.
“No,” she shook her head. “Can you take me to Jack?” Donovan managed to say. Her teeth were chattering so hard that she wasn’t sure the woman understood.
“Jack? Is that your husband?”
“Jack Simon. Do you know him?”
The woman shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. Do you know where he’s at?”
“No,” Donovan whispered, fighting back tears. “I went for walk and got lost.”
“It’s a big lake but you couldn’t have wandered that far,” she said.
Think, Donnie, think.
“Brett Campbell. He’s Jack’s neighbor. Do you know him?”
