21. Gabi
I rubbed my tired eyes, finally allowing myself to feel the bone-deep exhaustion from the past twenty-four hours. The stream of patients had slowed to a trickle as afternoon crept in. Most injuries had been minor—cuts, sprains, one broken arm from someone who’d slipped off a roof trying to determine how bad the damage was from a tree that had fallen on his house. He’d been lucky that was the only thing that had broken. We’d handled it all without a problem, and I was so beyond grateful for the nurses and EMTs, and for the retired GP on vacation who’d showed up to volunteer his services this morning.
Through the community center windows, I watched crews clearing fallen trees from the roads. The hum of chainsaws had become background noise. Word was that power would be restored to most of the island by nightfall, which was a minor miracle.
“Dr. Carrera, why don’t you take a break?” Betty Jo Freeman, one of our nurses, touched my arm. “We can handle things for a while.”
I nodded, realizing I hadn’t eaten since the protein bar I’d scarfed down at dawn. My legs felt wobbly as I stood, and that’s when I saw him. Daniel moved through the crowd with purpose, his Coast Guard uniform muddy and wrinkled. My heart did that familiar stutter of surprise and joy. I still wasn’t used to seeing him here on Hatterwick. I wasn’t used to seeing him anymore at all.
But something was off. His jaw was set, brows drawn together in that way that meant serious business. My stomach clenched. Had they found something in the wreckage of that boat? Was he being called away already? Damn it, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him again. Not with everything still so unsettled between us.
He caught my eye across the room and picked up his pace. The determined expression on his face made my pulse race as he approached. Whatever news he carried, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a casual conversation.
“Hey.” His voice was low, urgent. “Can you get away for a bit?”
My stomach dropped. “Betty Jo, I’m taking fifteen.”
She waved me off without looking up from her charts.
Daniel led me down the hall to an empty classroom that had clearly been used for kids’ summer programming. The walls were covered in children’s artwork, bright crayon drawings a stark contrast to his grim expression.
“What’s going on?”
“Willa Sutter. She a friend of yours?”
Hers was perhaps the last name I expected to hear from his lips. Ice spread through my chest. “Yes. Is she hurt? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think she’s hurt. But, well, while I was at the police station, they were talking about how she found some human remains on her property.”
The room tilted slightly. I gripped the edge of a table to steady myself. “Remains?” The word came out as barely more than a whisper. With Daniel’s training, if it had been a fresh body, he’d have said that. Which meant...
“Not quite sure. Atlantic side of the island. Somewhere further north. The police are trying to get more than the one officer out there.”
Oh God. After all these years, had they finally found Gwen? My heart pounded against my ribs.
“Gabs, you okay?”
I shook my head, trying to clear it. “I need to get to Willa.”
“Come on. I’ve got a boat.” He didn’t hesitate, didn’t ask questions. Just offered exactly what I needed, and my chest tightened with gratitude even through the rising sense of panic and dread.
The wind whipped my hair as Daniel gunned the Zodiac’s engine, sending us skimming across the choppy water. I gripped the rope that ran along the side of the boat, knuckles white. The smell of diesel and salt water filled my nose as we curved past the southern tip of the island. Up ahead, I could see the decommissioned lighthouse that had once guided vessels safely into the sound. The lighthouse and caretaker’s cottage had been converted into a home and expanded over the years by Ford Donoghue’s moms. From my vantage point on the water, it seemed they hadn’t sustained any major damage from the storm surge or high winds.
“Hold on,” Daniel called over the engine’s roar. “It’s gonna get rougher once we hit the Atlantic side.”
He wasn’t kidding. The moment we rounded the point, the swells grew larger, the ocean still churning from the remnants of the hurricane. The Zodiac bounced over each wave, salt spray stinging my face. I clutched my medical bag tighter, though I doubted its contents would be needed for what we might find.
My mind raced with possibilities. After all these years, could the storm have actually uncovered Gwen’s remains?
“You want to tell me what we might be dealing with?” Daniel’s voice cut through my thoughts.
I’d never mentioned this to him in all our time together. Seemed only fair to tell him now. “There used to be three of us. Me, Willa, and Gwen. BFFs forever. Then twelve years ago, Gwen disappeared from the end of school beach party. No trace of her has ever been found.”
There was, of course, so much more to it than that. But those were the essentials.
Grim sympathy flashed across Daniel’s face. “You think the remains could be hers.”
“I don’t know.” And I couldn’t decide if it was better or worse if it was. Was it better to finally have conclusive answers that our friend was dead or to have the mystery remain, along with the admittedly slim hope she could be out there alive somewhere?
“Either way, Willa’s likely to be in a state. She just lost her grandfather about six weeks ago, and she was the one who found him.”
“Shit.” Jaw set, Daniel pushed the throttle forward.
The coastline blurred past as we made our way north, the familiar landmarks of my childhood home looking alien and threatening in the storm’s aftermath. And then I saw the small cluster of people at the edge of the maritime forest. As Daniel began throttling back, I picked out Sawyer’s tall frame first, then Officer Teague’s familiar red beard. And Willa.
My heart clenched. Even from this distance, I could see how badly she was shaking despite the foil emergency blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her massive pit bull, Roy, pressed against her legs, providing what comfort he could.
Daniel expertly beached the boat, and I was over the side before he’d cut the engine completely, my shoes sinking into wet sand as I rushed toward my friend.
“Oh my God, Willa! We just heard. Are you okay?”
The moment I reached her, I could see she wasn’t. Not even close. Her face was ghost-white, eyes glazed and distant in that way that meant she was probably dissociating. Blood stained her knees where she’d fallen. The emergency blanket did little to stop her violent trembling.
“I’m not hurt,” she whispered.
My doctor’s instincts kicked in as I assessed her condition. The bloody knees were superficial, but combined with the shock and clear trauma response, I knew she needed medical attention.
“Honey, you have blood on your knees. And if you’re wrapped up in that foil blanket and still cold, you’re definitely in shock. I want to get you into the clinic.”
“No!” The sharp desperation in her voice made me flinch. “I just want to go home.”
“Willa—“ I started to protest, but Daniel’s warm hand pressed against my back.
“Maybe give her a chance to breathe, Gabs. Reckon she’s done had herself a bit of a scare.”
The familiar drawl of his accent surprised me almost as much as his presence here. But he was right. I needed to back off, let her process. The doctor in me wanted to fix everything immediately, but sometimes being a friend meant knowing when to wait.
He turned to offer a half-smile to Sawyer. “We’ll give y’all a lift somewhere, if you need.”
Sawyer took the hand he offered. “That’d be good. My wife’s had a hell of a day. Who are you, by the way?”
“Pardon me. Petty Officer First Class Daniel LaRue, U.S. Coast Guard. At your service.”
I watched as they helped Willa into the Zodiac, my heart aching at how unsteady she was. Daniel caught her when she nearly fell, and I hurried to sit beside her once we got her settled with a life jacket. Ever the protective guardian, Roy flattened himself next to her.
I took her cold hands in mine. “I’ve gotcha. Headache?”
“Migraine,” she gritted out.
“We’ll get you fixed up as soon as we get back to Sutter House.”
Willa’s eyes squeezed shut against what I suspected was increasing pain, but she still managed to mutter, “New Orleans?”
I understood without further clarification what she was asking. My cheeks warmed. “Remember that situationship I mentioned?” It was all I’d had a chance to tell her when I’d first returned to Hatterwick.
“Yeah?”
“He’s him. I’ll explain everything later.”
“Holding you to that.”
Daniel fired up the motor, cutting off further conversation. The trip up to Sutter House at the northern tip of the island was mercifully quick. Once we reached the dock, the men secured the boat and helped us out.
“We’ll get those knees cleaned, some meds for your migraine, and I’ll finish checking you over. I’ve got something that will help you sleep if the migraine meds don’t do it.”
“No!” Willa jerked away from me, backing into Sawyer.
His arms came around her protectively. “It’s okay. Nobody’s gonna sedate you, Wren.”
I stared at my friend, thrown by her extreme reaction. While her behavior could be explained by the trauma she’d just experienced, I sensed there was more to it. But now wasn’t the time to push.
We made our way slowly up to the house, the men discussing storm damage and power restoration timelines. I noticed Willa growing more distant with each step, retreating into herself in a way that worried me deeply.
In the end, Sawyer was the one who cleaned and bandaged Willa’s knees and hands with supplies from my medical bag. She remained eerily quiet, responding only in monosyllables when I examined her. The thousand-yard stare in her eyes scared me. I’d seen Willa retreat into herself before, but this was different. This was full dissociation.
“I don’t like this, Sawyer. She’s way too shocky.” Was this all because of what she’d seen, or was something else going on?
“She’ll be better after she’s slept,” he assured me, but I could see the worry in his eyes too.
I gave him a quick rundown of symptoms to watch for—changes in breathing, increased confusion, severe headache beyond the migraine. Basic things that might indicate she needed immediate medical attention beyond what we’d already provided. But I knew pushing for more right now would only make things worse.
Daniel hung back, giving us space while still staying close enough to help if needed. The quiet efficiency with which he’d handled everything today—from getting me to Willa quickly to helping transport her home—made my heart ache with gratitude. It was exactly the kind of thoughtfulness that had drawn me to him in the first place.
I watched Willa’s eyes grow heavy as the migraine medication took effect. Part of me wanted to stay, to make sure she was really okay. But I knew Sawyer would take good care of her, and my hovering wouldn’t help.
What terrified me most was not knowing exactly what—or rather who—Willa had likely found out there in the maritime forest. After twelve years, had the storm finally revealed what happened to Gwen? The thought made me sick to my stomach.
I’d spent years trying not to think about that night, about the friend who’d vanished without a trace. But now all those memories came flooding back—the three of us giggling at sleepovers, sharing secrets, planning our futures. Never imagining one of us wouldn’t make it to those futures we’d dreamed up.
“Ready to head home?” Daniel’s quiet voice came from behind me.
I turned to find him leaning against the doorframe, his uniform still covered in sand and salt spray. The events of the past twenty-four hours showed in the shadows under his eyes and the stubble darkening his jaw. Despite that, concern for me radiated from his expression.
“Yeah.” I gathered my medical bag, double-checking that I’d left Sawyer with enough supplies. “Let me just…”
“She’s in good hands.” Daniel nodded toward where Sawyer sat vigil beside the bed, Roy’s massive head resting on his knee. “And you look dead on your feet.”
He wasn’t wrong. The adrenaline that had carried me through the morning was fading fast, leaving bone-deep exhaustion in its wake. More than that, I needed space to process what this might mean. If those remains belonged to Gwen...
I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. “Okay.”