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The cold was draining his energy. He wished he could see the bluff, but it was behind him. He couldn’t turn his head far enough to see if there were any lights on the bluff, indicating help was on its way.
He stopped moving and tried to hear over the noise of the ocean, but all he could hear was the beating of his heart. He checked his watch, which surprisingly still worked. Jo had been gone almost twenty minutes. It felt more like forever.
Stuck in the dark, he had a lot of time to think. He realized this situation was all his fault. He shouldn’t have let himself get caught up in the moment.
The uncertainty of this moment—of waiting for another big wave to pound him farther into this crevice and tear at his skin—reminded him of when he was a teenager. It had been the darkest time of his life. His father had died in a bar fight—not that he would have helped them. His mother had lost yet another job, and they’d been kicked out of their apartment with no place to go—no family to turn to.
He tried to stop his mind from going to the very dark place. He normally kept these thoughts locked up in the back of his mind. It was all behind him—the sleeping in the streets—the hunger that would eat at his stomach—the fear of not knowing what would happen next.
Even though many years had passed since then, he felt just as vulnerable in this moment. It wasn’t the boulders that made him feel so exposed. It was his feelings for Jo. They were growing and changing. They’d started as business associates and then friends. And now… Now he was kissing her on the beach and doing things he wouldn’t normally do. Losing control and following his emotions had left him injured and trapped.
A wave smashed into him. It stole the air from his lungs. His body ground into the unforgiving rocks, tearing at his skin. It felt like time stood still as the water washed over him. His lungs burned with their need for oxygen. When the wave broke, he dragged in air and water in equal parts.
He coughed hard, spitting up salt water. The rock wall dug into his ribs. It would have helped if he wasn’t facing the ocean. And yet there was nothing he could do but cough and cough until he cleared his lungs. All the while the rocks scraped at him, making his skin burn where it was rubbed raw.
He was so tired. His teeth chattered. His insides shivered. He didn’t think he’d ever get warm again.
What was taking Jo so long? Then he had the most worrisome thought. What if something had happened to her? What if she was injured, and she hadn’t told him?
The guilt heaped up on him, pushing down on his shoulders. If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.Please, let her be okay.
“Lane.”
Was that her voice or was he just imagining it? He held his breath as he waited and listened. His heartbeat continued to echo in his ears.
“Lane?” It was her.
“I’m here.”
He heard noise behind him. And then he felt Jo reaching out to him. He’d never missed someone so much in his life. He drew her closer, wrapping his arms around her the best he could. He wanted to hold onto her forever.
“You’re so cold.” Worry sliced through her words.
“I’ll be fine.” His voice was choppy as his teeth chattered.
“Here.” She knelt down next to him and wrapped a warm blanket over his shoulders.
It felt heavenly. The heat of her body had permeated the material and was now warming him. He knew it was only momentary…until the next big wave.
With her leaning in close to him, she said, “Help is coming. They’ll be here soon.”
As much as he wanted to continue to cling to her, he knew he couldn’t. The risk of her getting hit by a wave was too great. He didn’t want her to get hurt.
“You can’t stay here.” He relinquished his hold on her.
“I’m not leaving you again.”
“You have to. It’s not safe here.” The water was already up to his ankle. He had no idea how high the tide was on this part of the beach, and he wasn’t anxious to find out. “Please, Jo, move away.”
“No. I’m not going anywhere.” She tightened the blanket around him.
“Has anyone ever told you that you can be quite stubborn?”
“I don’t think so.”
He couldn’t tell if she was being serious or just giving him a hard time. “Well, you are very stubborn. And I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Just like I can’t move away and let anything happen to you.”
