Saving You (9 page)

Still, Naomi took a moment, standing in the
semi-darkness with the smell of lavender in the air and Jake’s
measured breathing drifting to her ears to close her eyes and send
out another prayer. If she’d learned one thing this past year, it
was that there were two things you could never have too much
of—love and people praying for you.

She knew the prayers and love of her family
and friends had lifted her out of the darkness after the loss of
her first daughter, Grace. Now, she hoped her love and prayer could
help do the same for Faith.

Chapter Nine

Lucy twined her fingers tightly through
Brandon’s and scooted closer to him on the center boat seat,
keeping her eyes trained on the bank, doing her best not to show
how scared she was. The floodwater in the subdivision they’d left
behind twenty minutes ago had been moving swiftly, but it was
sluggish compared to the river’s rushing current.

There was nothing little about the Little
Fork today. It was big and wide and overflowing its banks,
barreling to the south with a fury that had Neil clenching his jaw
as he steered their motorboat around one dangerous curve after
another. One wrong move—a bad read on the current, or a failure to
steer clear of the debris clogging parts of the river—was all it
would take to send all three of them tumbling overboard.

They were wearing life vests, but that
didn’t mean they were safe. The last time there had been a flood
this bad fifteen people had died. One of them had been a rescue
worker wearing a life vest, with extensive training on how to stay
alive in emergency situations.

Lucy had no training. She knew CPR and was
in reasonably good shape, but she wasn’t the strongest swimmer. If
she went overboard, she’d be at the mercy of the river until it
decided to spit her up on a bank somewhere.

But even scarier than the chance of being
tossed from the boat was the possibility that she’d been wrong.

When she had urged Neil to veer left—guiding
the boat through a treacherous stand of trees before they left the
floodplain and entered the river proper—she’d been sure it was the
right move. She would have sworn she could sense Faith to the
south, much farther than the other search and rescue boats had
ventured, but not so far their team wouldn’t be able to reach her
before nightfall.

Twenty minutes ago, Lucy’s entire body had
been buzzing with the certainty that they were getting closer and
would find Faith before the hour was up.

But now…

She forced herself to
release her death grip on Brandon’s hand and place both palms over
the tee shirt in her lap. It was Faith’s, pulled from her locker at
the firehouse when Lucy said she needed something that belonged to
Faith to help focus her energy. A random tee shirt wasn’t the best
choice—a tracking talisman worked better if it was something that
meant a lot to the lost person—but it was the best Lucy could do on
short notice. And there
was
energy coming off the shirt, not a lot, but
hopefully enough.

Hopefully…

Lucy closed her eyes, focusing with
everything in her. She ignored the hungry sound of the river
churning around the boat, she ignored the slimy strands of her own
hair lying heavy and damp against her neck, she ignored everything
but the gentle buzz of awareness that flowed into her fingertips
through the shirt and shot out through her chest like a laser beam
pointing the way.

There! Lucy felt Faith again, the other
woman’s energy much closer than it had been before.

“
We should see her any
minute,” Lucy said, lids flying open as she reached out to squeeze
Brandon’s arm. “I’ll take the right bank, you take the
left.”

Brandon nodded and turned his narrowed eyes
toward the opposite shoreline, sending gratitude surging inside
Lucy’s chest. She was so grateful that Brandon had believed in her,
that he’d put his reputation at the firehouse on the line to insist
that Lucy should help with the search.

She could tell Neil was skeptical about
being sent out with “the psychic,” but Brandon hadn’t questioned
her instincts for a second. He’d simply sat solidly beside her,
nodding in silent encouragement each time Lucy felt her confidence
flagging.

It was as if he knew what she was feeling,
making her think he might have a touch of empath in him. It
wouldn’t surprise her, really. Judging from their first encounter
in the bedroom, Lucy could tell Brandon was more attuned to his
partner than the average man, especially the average
twenty-one-year old. He was special, and she meant to tell him so,
as soon as they got Faith in the boat and were on their way to
safety.

No sooner had the thought passed through her
mind than Lucy saw a flash of bright yellow in the tree branches
twenty feet away, maybe a yard above the rushing water.

“
There!” she shouted,
pointing. “In those trees!”

“
Shit, you’re right,” Neil
said, excitement clear in his voice as he steered the boat toward
the right bank.

The closer they got, the more obvious it
became that the person in the tree was Faith. The brightly colored
suit the S.F.D. officers wore for water rescues made it easy to see
where her legs dangled on either side of one large limb. She was
leaning back against another limb, her eyes closed and her muddy
blonde hair glued to either side of her face. She looked like she
was sleeping, but she couldn’t be, because her arms were wrapped
tight around a golden retriever, holding the dog safe on the limb
in front of her.

Brandon called Faith’s name once…twice.
Finally, when he shouted a third time, Faith’s lids flew open, the
surprise in her eyes morphing instantly to relief as she spotted
the boat.

“
Thank God,” she said,
sucking in a breath as she hugged the dog tight to her chest, a sob
escaping her throat as the boat puttered beneath her perch. “I
didn’t think anyone was coming. We got sucked so far
downstream.”

“
I’m going to reach up and
get the dog, okay?” Brandon said, motioning for Lucy to help Neil
hold the boat steady.

Lucy gripped the closest tree limb sticking
out from beneath the water and held on tight, heart lurching when
Brandon stood and the boat wobbled. As Brandon claimed the dog and
deposited the soaking animal into the boat, the wobble became a
pitch, but after only a moment the craft steadied.

“
Come here, buddy,” Neil
said, drawing the dog gently back between his legs, stroking the
animal’s throat as it whimpered softly and lay down on the damp
floor, clearly exhausted. “You’re safe now, boy.”

“
She’s a girl, doofus,”
Faith said, wincing as she braced herself on the limb and swung
both legs over on one side.

Neil smiled. “Glad to know your adventure
hasn’t made you soft.”

Faith returned his smile, but it was a
weaker version of her usual grin. “Yeah, well, it hasn’t been all
roses. I did something to my wrist. It hurt like hell when I was
pulling me and Goldie into the tree.”

“
Then how about I grab you
around the waist?” Brandon said. “You want to lean into me and I’ll
shift you into the boat?”

The height of the limb put Faith’s knees at
about the same level as Brandon’s chest. The limb was only three
feet out of the water, but Lucy still couldn’t believe Faith had
been able to get both her and the dog out of the water and into the
tree. Faith had six inches and a couple dozen pounds of pure muscle
on Lucy, but she’d still done something amazing.

It made Lucy proud of her friend, and proud
that she had helped ensure such a strong, determined person stuck
around to save more lives.

“
Okay.” Faith winced again.
“On three?”

Brandon nodded. “One, two—”

On three, he reached out and Faith leaned
forward. A moment later Brandon had Faith flipped over his shoulder
with a minimum of boat shaking. He took a moment to steady himself,
waiting for the craft to stabilize before guiding Faith’s feet to
the floor of the boat and easing her onto the seat beside Lucy.

“
Thank you,” Faith said,
eyes closing as she let out a long, shaky breath.

“
Our pleasure.” Brandon
grinned as he took the seat at the front, facing toward them. He
reached out, giving Faith’s knee a soft squeeze. “I’m so glad
you’re all right. Everyone will be so relieved.”

“
You take the radio and
give a call,” Neil said, handing the boxy, black radio to Lucy who
passed it up to Brandon. “I’ll get us turned around and headed in
the right direction. Might take a while to get back against the
current, but we’ll make it.”

Brandon fired up the radio, Neil maneuvered
the boat in a tight semi-circle, and within a few minutes they were
puttering back the way they’d come, just as the sun broke through
the clouds, shining its rays on Georgia for the first time in six
long days.

To Lucy, it felt like a bona fide sign that
the worst was past.

“
You want some water?” she
asked Faith. “I’ve got some in my bag.”

“
That sounds amazing.”
Faith cast a tired glance Lucy’s way, a frown pulling at her
features. “So how did you get roped into this? Do you have search
and rescue training?”

“
Lucy’s psychic,” Brandon
said, the pride in his voice making Lucy grin. “She’s the one who
knew where to start looking. She led us right to you.”

Faith glanced back at her, brows raised.
“Really?” She took the water bottle Lucy offered, taking a long
swig before she swiped her hand across her mouth and nodded. “You
know, I wasn’t much of a believer in that kind of thing until Mick
and I talked to a fortuneteller in New Orleans, but after…”

She broke off, her pale face growing even
paler. “Oh God, is Mick okay? He must have been worried sick.”

“
He’s out with one of the
other search and rescue teams,” Brandon said. “They’ll meet us at
the launch site.”

Faith smiled and her breath rushed out.
“Good. I can’t wait to see him.” She cleared her throat, and
sniffed, making Lucy think she was more shook up than she was
letting on.

“
I’ve got blankets, too,”
Lucy added. “Do you want to slip out of your suit and wrap
up?”

Faith shook her head. “No, I’m fine. These
suits hold in body heat. I would kill for something hot to drink,
though.”

“
Well, you’re in luck.”
Lucy pulled out her thermos and passed it over. “It’s just some old
coffee from the firehouse, but it should warm you up.”

Faith accepted the thermos gratefully, but
winced as she tried to twist off the top.

“
Here, let me,” Lucy said.
“I’m sorry, I forgot about your wrist.”

“
I think it’s broken,”
Faith said, while Lucy poured her a thermos-top full of black
coffee. “I’m probably going to have a cast on for the wedding. But
at least there’s going to be a wedding so…not going to
complain.”

Lucy put her arm around Faith, rubbing her
shoulder with one hand while she passed her the drink with the
other. “You don’t have to be tough, you know. If you want to cry,
no one here is going to judge. Or tell a soul.”

Faith nodded, her lips pressed together in a
tight line as tears rose in her eyes. “Brandon wasn’t kidding about
the psychic thing, huh?” she said, sniffing as tears streamed down
her dirty face.

Lucy smiled and petted Faith’s matted hair.
“It doesn’t take psychic powers to know being lost for five hours
in a river is enough to make anyone want to cry.”

“
I would cry,” Brandon
said, obviously trying to make Faith feel better, endearing himself
even further to Lucy in the process. “Way worse than you’re crying.
There would be snot everywhere.”

Faith snorted with laughter. The snort made
Lucy laugh and Lucy’s laugh made Brandon laugh, and pretty soon
they were all laugh-crying—except for Neil who was looking at them
sideways and warning the dog she was in a boat full of
lunatics.

By the time the launch site came into view,
they had all pulled themselves together and Lucy was practically
twitching with anticipation, past ready to be back on dry land. The
boat chugged down Pin Oak Street between waterlogged homes toward
the crowd gathered on the hill. Dozens of people—all the other
rescue teams, several uniformed policemen, and most of the fire
department—were waiting by the edge of the water.

When Faith lifted an arm to wave, the crowd
let out a cheer and began to applaud. Mick came running down the
hill and waded into the water, meeting them ten feet from shore,
leaning in to hug Faith tight. She buried her face in his neck and
he held her close, cradling her head in his big hand, the
expression on his face leaving no doubt how devastating this
afternoon had been, or how grateful he was to have his fiancée
home.

Lucy and Brandon averted their gazes, giving
the couple some privacy. Their eyes met across the boat and Brandon
smiled, a warm, intimate grin that Lucy felt to the tips of her
toes. She suddenly couldn’t wait to get him back to her apartment
and show him how much she appreciated his support, his bravery, and
his exceptionally good heart. She didn’t want to go to bed alone
tonight, or, if she had her way, any night from here on out.

Until now, she’d been grateful for the
solitude in her nook above the bakery, but solitude was sounding a
lot less appealing. Now, she wanted enough room for two, with a bed
big enough to fit her unexpectedly beefy new boyfriend and a
backyard big enough for a dog. Seeing the relief on Goldie’s sweet
face as Brandon lifted the tired animal into the boat had made
Lucy’s heart crack open even further, far enough to let in a new
love, a new pet, and heck, maybe a few surrogate brothers and
sisters, too.