Summer by Summer (6 page)

It was a two-dive day, and by the end of the second dive, I was exhausted. And amazed. The ocean floor was alive with its own city of fish and coral. The underwater world was so quiet, I felt like I could have left a thousand cares there and they would have floated to the bottom and waited, trapped in the endless shifting and swaying of the seafloor. Scuba diving could easily hook me. It was possible it already had.

I was also amazed at how professional Bray had been. He’d assisted Cory in getting gear ready, had helped pull sandwiches from the coolers on the tiny island where we stopped to eat lunch, and had been, in a word, charming.

And I wasn’t the only one to notice. The group of tourists was there for a family reunion, complete with one colossal-attitude teen girl who rolled her eyes so often I thought they would stick. She was also incredibly distracting. Her bikini top had about as much material as two cotton balls held together with silly string, and the bottoms were a miniscule triangle that resembled a sticky note cut on the diagonal.

She’d flirted with Bray all day. By the end of lunch, he was flirting back, which was kind of sickening because she couldn’t have been older than fifteen. And that made me think that those little glimpses I’d seen of something deeper in him might’ve all been part of his game. Or maybe he really was a dive master on a trip with tourists and it was his job to make sure they had a good time, even the obnoxious teenager. I didn’t really have a good read on Bray. And that bothered me because I liked to feel like I had a handle on the world. Probably why I preferred to keep my feet on solid ground. I wasn’t a fan of surprises.

I was in Bray’s group. He’d kept me close throughout both dives, likely because he didn’t want a drowned nanny on his conscience.
At that moment, however, he was lost in preparing for departure now that our island lunch was done. From the cays, the two boats would head back to mainland Belize. I hated for the day to be over. I’d miss the clear water, the jumping fish. I had to admit, it was freeing, floating beneath the surface, seeing another world, one so much bigger than my own. Since Michael died, my world had gotten smaller and smaller. Maybe fear had turned me inward. If so, I needed something, something monumental to shake me out of that. If I stayed on this track, I’d end up spending my whole life alone and bitter. In many ways, I was already there.

As I got onto the boat ahead of the group, intending to soak up a few last memories by myself, I noticed the teen girl’s mom.

Cory was putting the gear into his boat when I approached. “Is she okay?”

He followed my gaze to the woman. She was still trembling and had been for the last half hour. “I told her to wear a wetsuit, at least a shorty like the one Bray had you wear. People don’t realize the water zaps your body heat even though it feels warm. Looks like she got too cold and now she can’t get warmed up.”

“What should we do?” The woman’s lips were a strange bluish-purple. Not blue like little kids who spend too long in a chilly swimming pool. Dead blue. Like Michael’s had been.

“She’ll be okay. I’d build a fire if we had time.” He pointed overhead to a group of dark gray clouds bubbling on the horizon. “But that’s headed this way. Best to get back as quickly as possible.”

I started helping him by placing dive gear into the boat.

Bray waded through the water from the second boat over to us. “I’ve been watching her for the last few minutes. You need to get her back now, Cory.” I could see the worry in his eyes. That was a new thing, and it caused me to worry too, but I kept working.

Bray nodded toward the shivering woman. “Go ahead and take her back. I can finish gathering stuff up here.”

I looked behind me at all the gear that remained. “I’ll stay and help.”

Bray’s face creaked into a smile.

I pointed to the storm clouds. “You’ll get caught in that if I abandon you, and what would your mother say?” Nothing like bringing up a guy’s mom to knock the wind out of him.

“Oh, I can stay and help too,” Little Miss Bikini chirped, skipping over from the other boat.

Oh
,
please no. Dear Lord
,
if you love me
,
please no.

Bray shrugged. “Sure.”

And that fast, my prayer died.

We got Cory and everyone else loaded, and Bray was pushing their boat off the beach when bikini girl’s dad insisted she come with them. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe my prayer for deliverance had made it to heaven. Now, Bray and I would be alone. I kicked at the sand. Oh, that wasn’t much better.

We took turns glancing at the approaching storm, watching Cory’s boat disappear from view, and concentrating on loading the rest of the gear. By the time we were done, the mud-colored clouds, complete with flashes of angry lightning, were nearly upon us.

“We’re going to have to book it to get back,” Bray said.

Bray started the engine and pushed us off the beach. He’d just put the boat on full throttle when he paused and looked back. “Where’s the other cooler?”

I searched the boat, and then remembered. “Cory rinsed it out and left it to dry against a rock.”

Bray pressed the throttle. “He’ll have to go back for it tomorrow.”

I put my hand over his. “It’s right at the edge of the water. If we leave it, there’s no way it’ll be there. We have to go back.”

“It’s just a cooler.”

“I told him I would make sure we got it. But —” I looked up at the clouds pressing down on us. “Maybe I could buy him a new one.”

“Yeah, if you have a few hundred dollars lying around.”

My eyes rounded.

“They’re specially made for the dive boat. He’ll just have to turn it in on his insurance.”

That made me angry. “I gave my word, Bray. That may not mean anything to you, but it matters to me. Unless —” my eyes darted across the sky. “Unless we’re putting ourselves in danger.”

“Nah, I think we can make it.” And he turned the boat back to the island and ran her full out until we were practically on top of the beach.

Bray grabbed the cooler and backed the boat off the shore just as the first fat drops of rain began, and the storm got worse than we expected faster than we anticipated. I held a towel around my shoulders as the howling wind slammed against me. The boat was like a cork in a bathtub, bobbing, and rocking with every blast of air that seemed conflicted on which way to blow. Waves became swells, and we rolled up one only to crash down the other side.

Bray’s face was a mask of attention, devoted solely to navigating the storm. Lightning struck the water, something I’d never seen before. Right after, everything on the boat got bright. I clamped my hands over my face as a crash louder than thunder rocked my whole being. It shook me from the inside out, and I wondered if the lightning had struck me.

Bray had released the helm and it spun unguarded, the boat following the chaotic rotation. He righted us just as a huge swell crested on the side of the boat. Water flooded the boat deck. I felt my body being hurled forward and scrambled to grab something, but there was nothing there but air, rain, and sea spray. I landed against the rock-hard wall of Bray’s body.

His arm came around me as he fought the helm with his other hand. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ve just got to power through it.”

I was locked under his arm, the only place that felt safe, and he
was willing to keep me right there, but he needed both hands on the wheel. Reluctantly, I pushed from him. “I’m okay,” I assured him, then grabbed the railing.

He gave me a weak smile. At the front of the boat, a compartment popped open on the next wave. Orange peeked from inside. “Summer, put on a life jacket.”

I hadn’t even thought of one until he said it. And he hadn’t said it until he saw it. How stupid could we be? I worked my way to the front of the boat and grabbed a jacket. They smelled musty, even in the wind, the scent so strong it took my breath. When I went to snap it closed around my midsection, I noticed the trembling in my hands. I finally got it shut and carried one back to Bray. He shook his head.

“Put it on,” I yelled over the storm.

He huffed and slipped his arm through the opening. He wasn’t trembling like me. He seemed solid, except for the tension around his mouth and eyes. I took it as a good sign. He was an accomplished boater. Maybe he was used to navigating weather like this.

But when his warm eyes turned to look at mine, I knew this was new territory. “I’ve lost power,” he said. Something in my heart died right there. I knew we weren’t getting out.

CHAPTER 4

Summer

We bobbed in the water for what felt like hours. I’d curled into a ball and tried to keep the soaking wet towel tucked around me to hold in what little body heat I had. I was wearing only my swimsuit, a T-shirt, and shorts, and I wished I’d brought a pair of sweats. Or a fur coat. Or a slicker. Rain pelted the side of my face, and I lay there like a helpless baby watching Bray try to steer a boat that was impossible to guide. I didn’t know what happened between the helm and the rudder, but whatever it was, he had little, if any, control. The motor had long since stopped, and we were being dragged through the ocean by wind carrying us farther and farther away from the mainland.

Bray’s white T-shirt was soaked and clung to his arms where muscles bulged from fighting the waves and movement. I stared at a spot on his shoulder where the shirt was see-through. His collarbone rose and fell with each breath. When he caught me staring, he winked.

I tried to smile, but when I did, my eyes filled with tears. I held my breath, trying not to make the whole thing worse, but the pressure in my head finally broke the dam and tears sprung. I reached from under the towel to wipe my eyes, which was stupid, really, as
my face was slick with the mix of rain and seawater, but tears just seemed so desperately weak when Bray was putting up such a strong front. My hand shook so hard, it was like a drum against my cheek. My fingers were cold and dead already.

Then he was there. Crowded around me and placing his hands over mine. His face was inches from me and I fought to lean up, but he held me still. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Summer.”

And then he was gone as quickly as he came. I swiped my eyes and looked down at my hand, no longer shaking. Maybe we were going to get out of this after all. He’d sounded so sure. So certain. Maybe our rescue was just seconds away.

“I see something up ahead,” he said. “Looks like we might have found land.”

Bray

It wasn’t mainland Belize — that much I knew. The wind had whipped us in multiple directions, but if my sense of direction was right, the mainland was far away. What I hadn’t told Summer was I didn’t really like what I’d seen when the lightning lit the sky. Yes, something was out there, and yes, we were headed right for it. The problem was it looked like a mountain jutting up from the water and touching the sky. If it had been a nice sandy shoreline — even in these swells — I could get us there, even if we had to swim. But a rocky cliff? No, we were goners for sure.

As the lightning and thunder argued above us, I wiped my eyes to make out the shape ahead. One edge seemed to stair-step down, which meant there might be a spot we could swim to, but I couldn’t see clearly enough to know what lay beyond. Was it shoreline? Or just miles of more water?

With each great flash of white light in the sky, the rocks came closer. I glanced over at Summer, who was curled up on the seat with her knees drawn to her chest. She was shivering, but had a smile for me when I looked down at her. I should have sent her back with Cory in the other boat. But when she volunteered to stay behind — stay with me — something swelled inside my heart. Summer was unique, and I knew there were layers and layers to her. And knowing that made me feel really bad about asking Mom and Dad to send her back home to Florida. It had been that day after our visit to the ruins. I had wanted to convince them that family time — just our family — was important if this was our last summer together.

The lightning lit up the world again, and I realized we were getting closer, moving faster as the wind picked up and chose a single direction — straight for the cliffs. Could we survive the impact? I wasn’t sure. If the boat sank, would we have the energy to fight the mighty current until we could find a safe place to get onto the shore? If, of course, there even was a shore. Summer already looked worn out. I was also tired from the day, from the stress and fighting a boat I couldn’t steer. If we didn’t slow, at least a little, we’d be like a car hitting a brick wall.

“Brace yourself,” I told her. “We’re going to hit the rocks.”

Just before impact, a wind grabbed the side of the boat and thrust us hard to the right of the rocks. There! I saw shoreline. “Summer, I see —” But I didn’t get to finish, because the wind knocked us back. We were going to hit the rocks. There was no way to stop it.

Summer

I heard the scraping and punching just before we felt the impact. Bray dove on top of me and I was surrounded by him, long legs and arms, chest against my side. I sucked a huge breath when water
whooshed up over the side of the boat, sending our bodies helplessly out to sea. Instantly there was a tug, pulling me under. I fought, trying to stay topside, but every breath in held more water and less oxygen. My legs lashed out, kicking, and I felt Bray groan against me. He was holding me. Trying to help me. The water was so cold. I needed to be still and let him help me. Through eyes that burned, I looked behind me for the boat, but it was already moving away from us so fast, we’d never catch it. We were helpless, bobbing in the water.