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“Cliff!” a man screams, and I turn, spotting a body in orange floating by the boat.
“Shit.” I slow the boat and turn around to get him.
“Goddamn it.” Cam dives into the water.
“No!” I yell. “Cam!”
The men are all watching but staying in their seats, eyes wide. Thank God, because men who aren’t fishermen would’ve gone to the side their friend went over and we’d have capsized by now.
Cam reaches Cliff, but Cliff panics and pushes Cam under the water. Cam’s arms flail, and he pops up only for a panicked Cliff to press him down again.
“No!” I look at the guys. “One of you take over.”
I jump in, swimming over to them. I pry Cliff’s hands off Cam, but Cliff hangs on to me, using me as his buoy. I should’ve put them in vests when the storm started. As if the guys on the boat can read my mind, they throw some our way.
Cliff presses on my shoulders again, and I sink, choking on water. A mouthful of saltwater makes me gag, and I feel someone pull me up to the surface.
Cam holds me at his side. “Take him.” He’s pushing Cliff, who has blood dripping from his nose, toward my boat.
Rowdy’s there now with his boat, shining his light on us. Gage is in the boat as well. “You guys okay?” he shouts over the storm.
The guys grab Cliff and pull him into my boat.
“Gage, you go in Chevelle’s boat, get them back to the marina. Rowdy, we’re coming with you. Someone call the paramedics.” Cam is dictating as I continue to cough up saltwater.
Rowdy helps us into his boat as we watch Gage drive my boat into the marina as though someone is dying. I guess that’s what Cam wanted me to do.
Once we’re in Rowdy’s boat, Rowdy throws some blankets over us. “You gotta get out of those clothes.”
“Just get us out of here,” Cam says and doesn’t even use a blanket. He’s too worried about me. He rubs his hands on my arms, lowering to my eye level. “Are you okay?” He inspects my body.
“You shouldn’t have dived in!” I shout.
“You shouldn’t have dived in. I had it under control.”
“He was drowning you.”
“I had it under control, Chevelle.”
The paramedics arrive at the marina shortly after we dock. Turns out Cam broke Cliff’s nose trying to get him off of me since Cliff was panicked and going to drown one of us to save his own life.
When we get home, Cam draws me a bath, and the lukewarm water helps bring my body temp back up to where it needs to be. As I sink under the bathwater, the reality of what just happened hits me like a Mack truck. I almost killed another person I love.
“Talk to me,” Cam says, climbing in with me once I come up for air.
“I almost killed you,” I say. “I was too stubborn to let you drive. I was hell-bent on proving I could do it, and I almost lost you like—” I don’t even want to think about what it would feel like to be sitting here alone without his strong arms around me.
He kisses my temple and tightens his hold. “I’m here. I’m right here.”
I nod, but we’re just lucky things went our way. All I can think of right now is what if. What if they hadn’t?
27
“CROSS YOUR PAWS, BUDDY.”
Cam
It’s been a week since her charter, and every day, I feel Chevelle pull a little farther away. I’ve tried everything to get her to see reality, but she believes the whole incident was her fault. So, I’m going to the only person I think might be able to help me.
