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Chapter Ten
“Idon’t know,” Hannah said for the fifth time. “She said he went under. We don’t know where he is, but he’s been under for a few minutes. We need some medical help.”
“Okay,” the emergency operator said in a firm, gliding voice. “I have an ambulance and two police units on the way.”
Hannah kept Missy right against her side, the sniffling girl shaking her. She stared at the water where Luke had splashed out while the operator asked her a question. The words made no sense inside her head.
“Hannah?”
Her name entered her ears and she blinked. “Yes,” she said. “I’m here.”
“What’s your son’s name?”
“Connor,” she said even though he wasn’t her son. She couldn’t imagine going back to the ranch and telling Ginger and Nate that something bad had happened to Connor. She couldn’t get her feet to move, and she couldn’t think past the next two seconds.
She blinked. She breathed. That was all.
She’d really be terrible in a crisis, and she watched as Luke broke the surface of the water, took a mighty breath, and went straight back down again.
A crowd had started to form near and behind her, and she hated the buzz of whispers. Luke just had to get Connor and get him back up. Right now. He’d been under too long as it was, though Luke had noticed almost immediately that he’d disappeared.
Still, a minute was too long for an eight-year-old.
Tears ran down her face, and an older gentleman put his arm around her. “I’ll pray with you,” he said in a kind voice, and Hannah nodded.
He began to voice the prayer, and Hannah pressed her eyes closed and just thought,Please, over and over and over.
A roar went up from the crowd, and she yanked her eyes open again. It took her a moment to realize Luke had emerged from the depths of the water—and that he had Connor in his arms.
“Thank heaven,” she whispered as she rushed forward. Several others did too, and one man laid a towel on the sand right where the water met the earth.
Luke stumbled the last few steps, his chest heaving as he sucked at the air. Two people surged forward and caught Connor as Luke went to his knees, and they laid him on the towel. His eyes were closed, and everything about him looked…dead.
Hannah sucked back a sob, and she kept Missy pressed into her side.
“Back up,” someone said, holding his hands out to move people back.
“I’m going to do CPR,” a woman said, looking at Luke.
He nodded, still trying to catch his breath in the soft surf washing ashore. Hannah passed Missy to the older gentleman with, “Will you please stay with her?”
He nodded, and Hannah stepped around the people in the front and through the water to Luke. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, “You got him. He’s going to be okay.”
Luke said nothing, and they both kept their eyes trained on Connor. The sound of a siren in the distance met her ears, and Hannah wondered what she’d done with her phone. Fear like she’d never known filled her as the woman placed one hand on Connor’s chest and pumped a couple of times. She counted out loud, her voice sinking into Hannah’s eardrums, where it would stay forever.
Nate should be here, she thought. She couldn’t imagine how he’d deal with this. Losing his brother and his son? Tears filled her eyes again.
The woman leaned over Connor and covered his mouth and nose with her mouth. His chest rose as she breathed for him, and she jerked back in the next moment as Connor started to sputter.
“Dear Lord,” Hannah said. “Thank you.” She rushed toward the boy, because he needed a familiar face to be the first thing he saw.
The woman turned Connor onto his side as he expelled the water in his lungs and stomach. He coughed and started to cry, and Hannah gathered him right into her lap. Luke joined her, stroking Connor’s hair and whispering, “You’re okay, buddy. It’s okay.”
The paramedics arrived, and Hannah passed Connor to Luke. “You do not leave his side, okay?”
He nodded, and all the life that had turned numb suddenly roared back to full color. “I’ll talk to everyone.” She stood and took the woman who’d performed CPR for Connor into a tight hug. “Thank you so much.” She wept as she looked at the woman. “Tell me who you are, so I can tell his parents.”
“You’re not his mom?”
