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26
Caiti
A blanket is wrappedaround me from behind where I sit on the gravel. Various people have offered to give me a ride back into town and stay with me so I’m not alone, but I’ve turned each of them down. Duke even offered to provide unlimited shots on the house if I wanted to sit in the bar, but just as I told Law hours ago, I refuse to leave. Not until there’s news.
Perimeter lights have been set up overhead, and a white tent sits in the far corner of the lot near the river. Anyone who wasn’t myself, Evie, Rhett, Kiersten, Nathan, and Law was ordered to go home. We’ve been relegated to the other side to stay out of the professionals’ way. Fine by me. Drag me kicking and screaming back into town for all I care because I’m not leaving until he’s found, so if they need me to stay off to the side, I’m okay with that.
The closer we get to sunset, the edgier I become, waiting for the news the search has been called off for the night or indefinitely. For the moment they decide he’s likely no longer alive, and the rescue becomes recovery.
My heart aches with all the things left unsaid between us. The moments I already kept him from experiencing the last three years and everything he’s supposed to do now that we’re together. Ophelia’s counting on him, and so am I. Regret simmers just beneath the surface for time lost, and time we might never get at all. I don’t know if I’ll be able to forgive myself if we experience the unimaginable. Hope tries to leak from my grip like sand between my fingers, but I close my eyes and hold on.
“Can I get you anything?” Kiersten drops into a slow squat beside me.
“You’re too far along to be doing that. You’re going to get stuck.” The gentle tease surprises even me. The moment is far too serious for jokes, but it feels right with my newer friend.
“I’m only in my second trimester.”
“With twins.”
She makes a face and drops to her butt. “I don’t want to admit it, but you’re right. My husband’s going to have to help me up.”
A fragile smile graces my face for the first time since Evie delivered the shocking news.
“I brought you this.” Kiersten digs a water bottle from her coat pocket. “I know you’re not hungry, but you don’t want to get dehydrated.”
“Thanks.” I accept her thoughtfulness.
“Take a sip.”
I cut a sharp glare in her direction as I unscrew the cap and take a swig. The cool liquid soothes my dry throat. “Happy?”
“No.” She tucks her palms together between her knees. “You can stay with us tonight if…they kick us out. So you aren’t alone.” Her pause reveals more than she intends. The unspoken words float between us.
If he isn’t found.
If they call off the search.
If they recover his body.
Vomit rises in my throat. “I should probably check in with Cami before I do.”
“I have. Ophelia’s already fast asleep in Evelyn’s room, and she’s happy to keep her as long as you need.”
Rather than argue for the umpteenth time, I acquiesce. “That’d be nice then. Thank you.”
“Good. We’ll wait for you then. Do you want to be alone?”
I nod my head. “I’m not good company right now.” Not only do I have nothing to say, but the only person I want right now is the one missing.
“I understand.”
Kiersten moves to stand just as a radio in the distance crackles to life. A staticky voice penetrates the air. With all the people moving around in the distance, I can’t tell who it’s coming from.
“What’d they say?”
“I don’t know.” Kiersten waves her hand at her husband. “Hey, Nathan!”
He jogs over, ready to do his wife’s bidding at a moment’s notice.
“Something’s happening.” She flicks her wrist in the direction of the tent. “Do you think they’ll give you some information?”
That’s right. He’s a paramedic. Shrugging off the blanket, I hop to my feet without thinking and seize his arm. “Please,” I beg. “They were just talking on the radio. I need to know something.”
“They wouldn’t talk to me earlier, but let me see if there’s a face I know.”
My hand drops from his arm as his long strides take him out of range, and I send up a silent prayer. Rooted to the spot, I can’t take my eyes from his back. He weaves through people with ease. Whatever he’s saying lets him pass by unhindered until he blends in with the group.
“Help me up.” Kiersten’s untimely request distracts me from seeking out her husband.
I offer her a solid hand, and together, she regains her footing.
“Thanks.”
Nathan reappears at the edge of the white tent.
“Kiersten,” I stammer with a mixture of cold and fear.
“Hang on, honey. I’m here.” Her arm folds around me. I reach up and grip her forearm across my chest.
The desperation to squeeze my eyes shut and block out what he might say nearly overwhelms me. When he takes off in a jog, my knees nearly buckle. “Oh my God.”
“Hold steady. Just breathe.”
I drag in a lungful of muddy, damp air through my nostrils, releasing the breath just as Nathan reaches us.
“They’ve got him,” he chokes out, leaning over to clutch his knees.
“He’s alive?”
Nathan lowers himself into a squat, overcome with emotion. “He’s alive. They don’t know what condition he’s in, but he’s alive, Caiti.”
Dane’s alive.
Oh, thank God.
A man runs toward us from the direction Nathan came. As he gets close, I recognize him as Officer Stryker from the other night. Dealing with Jason seems like a lifetime ago, not merely a few days.
His observant eyes scan the group. “They’re bringing him up now.”
