Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
“You’re about to!” I warn her as the wave rolls forward. It’s too much and knocks the truck off balance, but I was already prepared.
I wrap an arm around Ronnie’s waist as we tumble into the ice-cold water. For a second I can’t breathe. My lungs burn. My muscles burn.
But Ronnie is still in my arms.
The water is fast now, ripping at our clothes.
It’s cold and murky, impossible to see through.
But my sole focus is keeping Ronnie’s head above water. I’m yelling at her, screaming that she has to stay with me.
“There!” She screams and even though she’s next to my ear, I can barely hear her.
I blink and blink then I see it.
The grove of trees. They’re still standing, still twined around each other.
“I’m going to get us close,” I tell her and summon my strength. Years of training and adrenaline combine as I fight water that feels thicker than concrete.
It’s three tries.
Three tries then she’s grasping a fallen branch and so am I.
There’s no way to get any closer. No way to grab anything else. But for now, she’s safe. It’s the thought that lets me gulp down oxygen.
I quickly scan the horizon even as I’m registering it. That breaking and cracking sound. This branch won’t hold.
She looks at me, terror in her gaze. “Are we going to die?”
“Ridge is here. Kane is here. Wait to be rescued.”
“What?”
“Ridge is coming for you,” I repeat as it suddenly becomes clear to me. The only way my dad could save my mom was to hold onto her. The only way I can save Ronnie is to let go. This branch won’t hold both of us.
There are only seconds left if one of us is going to make it. I call her name, scream it to the heavens. “I love you. Keep my babies safe.”
Then I let go.
Raging water pulls me from her in less than a second. She’s screaming my name, crying and sobbing and alive. That’s what matters. She’s alive.
It’s my last thought as I collide with something solid, darkness rushing to overtake me.
Chapter 18
Ronnie
I scream Flint's name as I thrash in the cold water, sobbing and begging for him to come back to me.
I don’t know how long I’m in the water for or if Flint can still hear me. But I keep screaming his name until I’m lifted out of the water by strong arms. I glance up, hopeful that my rescuer is the man I love.
Instead, Ridge is staring down at me grimly. He wraps something that looks like tin foil around me, and I realize that I'm naked. My teeth are chattering, but I don’t care about the bone-deep cold.
“Flint,” I say his name over and over again like a chant. Maybe if I say it enough, he’ll show up. He has to show up. We have a baby to raise together. We have three babies to raise together, and I don’t want to do this on my own.
“We're going to get him,” Ridge answers right before he shines a flashlight in my eyes. “Did you hit your head at any point?”
“I don’t…I just…I was here and then there was water everywhere. Can you help him? Can you get to Flint?”
“Are you hurt anywhere?” Ridge’s voice sounds like it’s coming from far away.
“I need Flint,” I tell him because I don’t think he’s understanding. The love of my life was right beside me then suddenly, he wasn’t.
“Kane is searching the water right now. If anyone can find him, it will be Kane.”
“But he let go of the branch,” I sob.
“I know. We got here. We saw it happening,” Ridge answers. “The best thing we can do for Flint right now is make sure you're healthy. Are you in pain anywhere?”
“The baby. I don’t know if the baby is okay.” I stand and let go of the chip bag he’s wrapped me in. I pat my stomach. Nothing is wrong. At least, it doesn’t look like it. There are no bruises. No bones or organs sticking out. That has to mean the baby is safe.
Ridge’s face goes white. “Are you pregnant?”
“I have to see the doctor next month. I want him to hear the heartbeat.”
He isn’t listening. He’s murmuring into his radio. I'm not even sure what he's saying.
I'm just so cold, and he’s not bringing me Flint. I need to go find him. I start walking, but I only get a couple of steps before Ridge is right next to me. How does he not understand this is a crisis?
“Whoa, what are you doing here? Let’s relax and sit back down.”
“I have to find him,” I explain through tears. “If I can get him a warm towel and we can both dry off, then we can go to the eye doctor's appointment. We’re supposed to take the boys. I need my family to be whole!”