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After placing the ladder back in the shed, she went into the cottage to get ready for lunch with Gus. It was almost time to leave, and she noticed the fog was still pretty thick on the water. She’d text Gus and ask him to wait for a bit, hopefully it would clear close to shore, and he told her just that, to hug the shore on the trip into town. At quarter to twelve, it looked like the fog was finally starting to dissipate.
“Brulee, I think you’re staying home today. I don’t need any distractions trying to get to town in the fog.”
The dog was curled up on her bed, licking the sand off her paws, ignoring Maggie, which was a good sign. She wouldn’t mind being left behind.
Grabbing her bag, Maggie left the cottage, locking up. She took a last look around, pleased with everything. The porch looked beautiful with the Charlie Brown tree. She walked down the dock, focused on the spruce. The tree would light up at sunset.
The beautiful star at the top of the tree symbolized so much for her. The cottage had become her refuge after a broken heart. She and Justin were going through a rocky time, the growing pains of a relationship, but she knew steadfast in her heart that they loved each other. When she reached the skiff, she closed her eyes for a second.
“Thank you for this beautiful place.” A whispered prayer to the universe.
Smiling while she climbed in, the bimini cover was a new experience. She hadn’t driven the skiff with the awning on it, and it felt a little odd sitting under it, protected and safe from the elements. The motor started right up, and she headed to the village dock, knowing Gus would be waiting for her, dressed in a plaid, long-sleeved shirt and a faded baseball cap. Gus had become like a second father to her.
The fog had thickened the closer she got to town, but hugging the shore turned out to be a bad idea; it was too shallow. She ventured out as far as she dared, but it wasn’t close enough, and the next thing she knew, she heard a boat motor coming out of the fog to her right, and suddenly, the boat was in her face.
***
Sheriff Dave Chastain screeched into the parking lot at bayou horse preserve, gravel flying, getting the attention of a group of volunteers and not all of it good.
“What the hell does young Chastain think he’s doing, throwing gravel all over our trucks?”
“He looks upset,” someone added.
Amber was in the office, inputting data on the computer, when she saw Dave running to the group, so she got up to see what was going on.
“Where’s Justin?” he cried.
Amber ran out to meet him. “Dave, what is it?”
That was when he lost it, his hands on his knees, he burst into tears. “Maggie has been in a terrible boating accident,” he said. “She has a head injury. They’re airlifting her to New Orleans. I need to find Justin and take him to her.”
A volunteer stepped forward. “He’s with Grace up in the highlands.” It was a misnomer, only forty-four feet above sea level, but that was high for the bayou. He walked over to a horse tied up at the fence. “Take Mabel here, and she’ll lead you to Justin.”
Dave got on the horse and took off in a gallop.
“Why didn’t I know Dave could ride?”
“Can’t everyone?”
The two men returned in fifteen minutes, Justin beside himself and Dave almost as bad. They handed the horses off to the volunteers, and Dave kissed Amber this time. She walked with them to the patrol car.
“I have to take my truck,” Justin said, hesitating.
“I’ll follow you in, and we can drive to New Orleans together.”
“Okay,” he replied, wiping his face with his arm.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Dave asked.
He nodded and left for his truck. Amber watched them pull away. Her heart was thumping in her chest so powerfully that it almost hurt. How awful. She wondered what the injuries were. Dave had saidhead injuries.
They left the patrol car at the station, and Dave got into Justin’s truck. It made more sense for him to drive; he went into New Orleans almost weekly for supplies for the clinic.
“I just thought of her mother,” Justin said.
“Gus is informing the family. I’m not sure Gus is going to survive this one. Evidently, she was worried about the fog and called Gus to let him know she was going to wait for the fog to lift. He said he told her to hug the shore and she’d be okay.”
“It’s not his fault,” Justin said. “Gus loves Maggie. What happened though?”
