AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mechanically, I run to Evie’s car, climb in, and buckle, hardly noticing when she takes off.
Trees whip passed my window in a green blur. Fence posts eventually give way to emerald fields. My heart mimics Evie’s lead foot on the gas, its galloping rhythm refusing to slow down. The sensations rise, much like they had the first day I arrived in town, and all my tricks and tips to slow them down are useless in the face of immeasurable fear.
My chest burns as if a candle resides beneath my ribs, and someone else controls the flickering flame. I can no longer avoid the thought of Dane thrown in a river, unable to breathe as he’s forced underwater, triggering thought after intrusive thought. Images of him drowning fill my head.
“I can’t lose him,” I choke out. “I can’t go through this again.” My loud voice fills the confines of the car where the only other sound is the tires racing across the asphalt.
“I know,” Evie answers. Even though she isn’t as close with Dane, I’m sure memories of losing her brother are surfacing for her in light of my distress.
“Fuck.” A rare curse spills from my trembling lips.
Flashing lights up ahead announce our destination. Police cars and SUVS, some with trailers, fire trucks, an ambulance, and park ranger vehicles all line the side of the road near the boat launch. My stomach pitches into a free fall. Several uniformed people mill around, turning to look at our decelerating vehicle.
“Why are they standing there?” I palm the window, trying to read expressions in an attempt to glean information as they drift passed. “Evie,” I half beg, half sob.
“I don’t know.” Her answer is sad.
The moment the shifter hits park, I fling my door open and scramble out. I spin in a circle, looking for someone to help. Across the gravel lot, I spot Rhett, a silver blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a distraught look on his face. A Styrofoam cup dangles forgotten between his knees. Beside him, Law stands rigid with a matching expression. Without waiting for Evie, I take off toward her husband in a desperate search for the answers only he has.
“Caiti.” His rough utterance of my name stutters my steps. A piece of hope peels away. “I’m so sorry.”
“Did they find him?” I ask, bracing for an answer I’d never be prepared to receive.
“Not yet.” Rhett’s voice is hardly a whisper. Guilt lances through his usually lighthearted features. “They’re searching with watercraft and drones.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t even know. We’ve been down that river so many times. Yes, it’s fast, but it’s not like we needed a kayak or a raft. We should have easily made it. All I heard was him shouting something about his paddle, and then the canoe rocked so hard I almost flew out the front. I saw him for a second, but then he was gone.”
“You couldn’t get to him?”
Rhett shakes his head. “It’s incredibly hard to paddle a canoe solo like that. All I could do was ride it until it spit me out in milder waters.”
A shudder races through me with the new information. “You’re wet.” I notice the way his wrinkled clothes cling to his skin beneath the blanket. “Did you fall in too?”
“I, uh…” Rhett glances away and jams his index finger and thumb into the corner of his eyes. “When I made it back to the shore, I ran back up the river to try to find him. I slipped over a steep edge and fell in but was able to make it back out,” he says this with disgust as if he shouldn’t have been able to escape so easily.
I can’t bear to see the blame he holds for himself. I move on instinct and pull him into a tight hug without much contemplation. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” I murmur. A sudden tremor wracks his body when I brush his damp hair and back away.
“Rosie,” he grunts. Evie runs straight into his awaiting arms with a sob. They tip their heads together, murmuring a private conversation I can’t bear to hear. I move a few paces away until I can see the amber river. The surface appears peaceful here. Not capable of claiming the life of the man whose every action embodies the difference between surviving and living.
A twig cracks beneath Law’s boot. “Dane’s tough. Always has been. Knowing he has you and your little girl waiting on him, he’s not going to go down easy. More than likely, he’s sitting on a shore waiting to be rescued, or he’s in the woods somewhere trying to walk back to town.”
“Yeah.” The energy to muster a better response is nonexistent. As I gaze out at the water, I wish I had a way to go find him. “I feel so helpless.”
“Do you want me to bring you somewhere? We can wait at the bar until there’s news.”
Law’s sweet offer provides little warmth to my frozen core. “I’m not going anywhere,” I state with finality.
“Okay. Me neither.”
The two of us stand silently, side by side. I don’t know what Law’s thoughts look like, but supplicant prayers swirl in my head. When I shiver, he wraps his arm around my back, and I lean my head on his shoulder.
The sun moving overhead marks the passage of time. Friends begin to arrive. First, Nathan and Kiersten appear after securing a babysitter. Duke from the bar shows up with his partner, Ronnie, and he announces they have closed the bar to customers. Regulars who have heard the news through the rumor mill gather, some bringing replenishments to rescue workers.
As I look around at the worried faces, I feel anything but comfort. Because as the hours tick past, the thoughtful vigil begins to look more like a funeral.
