Page 100 of Fire and Rain
TheSea Nymphhad been her wedding present from Justin, and now she was going to lose it. Without a pilot, it would most likely founder and sink—another part of him that would rest in the sea. The thought put a hole in her heart.
When the next swells lifted her up, she caught a glimpse of the helicopter.
They’ll get you out. They won’t leave you here.
Unless they couldn’t find her…
She’d heard Justin talk so many times about how hard it was to spot a human alone in heavy seas. A rescue swimmer could be only feet away and not see them because they were in a trough. That’s how the personal locator beacons helped, giving the flight crew a precise location. But Eden had only the strobe. She had managed to fish the strobe out of her pocket and had clipped it onto her life jacket so that the light faced upward.
Could they see it? Did they know where she was? Would they find her before hypothermia took her or their fuel got low and they had no choice but to turn back and leave her?
A wave crashed over her… then another… and another.
She fought to catch her breath, kicked hard to stay on top of the water, but she knew she was slowly losing the battle. Her head throbbed, and the cold seemed to sap her strength with each passing moment. But she couldn’t die here. She couldn’t.
Maverick.
She saw his little face so clearly in her mind. She was the only parent he had. She couldn’t die, not now.
My baby, my boy.
Tears blurred her vision.
Another wave and another.
And then it came to her. This had been Justin’s life, jumping into frigid water to rescue people who would otherwise have no hope. Every day he’d gone to work, he’d done his best to save lives, with Sean on the helicopter to pull him back. Justin knew how cold it was. He knew. He’d flown so many missions. He’d always been a good swimmer.
Eden’s mind began to drift, her thoughts unraveling into nonsense. At least she wasn’t so cold now.
That’s hypothermia.
Some part of her felt a jolt of alarm at that realization, but the thought faded before she could react.
A light from the sky.
She opened her eyes and saw him. “Justin?”
He was there in the water with her, dressed in his ODUs. But he didn’t seem to be wet. “Eden, you need to wake up. You need to stay alert. Can you do that for me?”
“I’ve missed you so much.”
There it was—that smile she loved so much, lighting up his handsome face. “I’m here. I’ll always be here. But you need to wake up, okay?”
“Justin, I—”
“Hang on just a little longer, honey.” There was worry in his eyes.
“I’m trying, but it’s so cold.”
“Take care of our boy.” He began to fade, a sad smile on his face. “I love you, Eden. I always will. Be happy.”
“No!” She reached for him, stretching her arm in his direction and…
Then her eyes opened, and she saw someone swimming toward her.
Sean!
“Sean!” She cried out for him, but a wave crashed over her, carried her away.
