10. Margot
TEN
Margot
I looked at Jacob when we heard the siren. I didn’t wait to ask him what it meant, I took off running. Out of the break room. Down the long, narrow corridor. I pushed through the door to the outside. Jacob was behind me. He didn’t try to slow me down or tell me to stop. He was the only person today who hadn’t tried. Thank God for that.
The sirens blared and echoed off the water and buildings. My legs carried me faster and farther toward the boat slips. Somewhere along the way, the bandage came loose, and my knee started bleeding again.
Nothing mattered, except that there were at least five boats heading into the cove. It was dark. I could only make out the red and green running lights.
Where was he? Was he okay? Oh my God. I closed my eyes together. Was he alive?
I took a step onto the boardwalk. I had broken my promise to stay out of the way and not interfere. I was in the middle of the commotion. I pushed past men in uniform. I squirmed by a medical staffer. I kept going until I was at the end of the pier by the very last boat slip.
“Come on, come on, come on,” I whispered. He had to be okay. He had to be on one of these boats. “Where is he?”
That’s when the Coast Guard cutter floated from the shadows into the light cast from the overhead pole.
As soon as I saw him, my knees nearly buckled. I choked on a sob. There was a heavy, solid hand on my shoulder. But I didn’t bother to look to see who it belonged to, I knew it was Jacob there to steady me.
The commotion on the docks was chaotic. The siren hadn’t stopped. More boats were streaming into the Coast Guard marina now. People ran up and down the piers, but I heard nothing. My eyes and focus were fixed on only one thing.
As soon as the cutter coasted to the pier, I jumped on board. There were shouts and screams meant to stop me.
“Caleb!” I barreled headfirst to him. There was a grin on his face, accompanied by a rough bandage and streaks of blood.
“Oh my God,” I whimpered.
His arms wrapped around me. I buried my face into his neck. I inhaled him. I shook. I breathed harder than I ever had. I didn’t know if I didn’t believe I’d hold him again or if my body was unprepared for how overwhelming it felt to smell him. Taste him. Be held by him.
“I’m okay,” he whispered, cupping the side of my jaw. “Everything is all right.”
“I—” I couldn’t get a word out. My throat had clamped shut.
“Shh.” His mouth covered mine. I didn’t need to speak. This was a language we both understood. We’d always shared this language.
My hands ran up the back of his neck and into his damp hair as his lips crushed mine with the ferocity of a wave crashing on the shore. I wanted to scale him. Devour him. Love him endlessly and hopelessly, no matter who was watching. The sirens could scream all they wanted. He was home. He was safe. He was alive.
It was the kind of kiss that warmed my scared, cold body limb by limb. Caressing my tongue with lashes so deep the warming effect spread through my blood, reaching my toes. His thumbs pressed against my cheeks, holding me to him. I craned to get closer. To have the friction of his lips burn my skin.
Someone on the dock coughed and cleared their throat. “Officer O’Connor? Excuse me, sir?”
Caleb drew my hands away from his neck for a second. He kissed my cheek. He turned to the dock with a scowl. “Yeah. I’m kind of busy.”
“Sir, we need you to see medical.” One of the younger sailors wriggled uncomfortably, knowing he had caught us in our reunion.
I glanced up and studied the bandage on his cheek with a more discerning eye, even though I was still dizzy from that kiss. I hadn’t caught my breath.
“He’s right, Caleb. It looks like someone taped a tissue to the side of your face.”
He shook his head. “I’m not worried about my face. I’m worried about Gabe. I need to check on him.”
My eyes widened. “Where is he? Isn’t he with you?” I had been blinded by my own relief to notice that his best friend wasn’t on the cutter with him. My stomach rolled with queasiness.
“He took a pretty hard hit. He’s right there.” Caleb pointed to another vessel, docking now. I didn’t recognize it as a Coast Guard ship. It looked like a fishing boat. The medical crew boarded, and assessed a person who wasn’t moving. That was Gabe?
“Oh God, Caleb.” I gripped the front of his shirt in my hands. Why did it feel like the world was falling out from beneath me when he was here? Safe. Unharmed.
“Come on.” He took me by the hand. His grip was firm and warm. He helped me off the boat and onto the pier.
Jacob strolled toward us. I stepped aside just as his older brother yanked him into a big bear hug. He patted him hard on the back.
“You had us worried. Little shit,” Jacob teased. He stepped back and wiped his nose. “I’m going to call Mom right now.”
“Okay. Dad’s coming in too. I think the entire island was out there.”
Jacob grinned. “You know they were. I can’t wait to hear about this.”
Caleb’s fingers threaded against mine felt like the only reason I could stand upright. Now that he was here, my body was starting to fill with exhaustion. I had been running on adrenaline and coffee. Bad coffee.
“Later. I’ll tell you about it later. I’ve got to find out where they are taking Gabe.”
Caleb and I hurried to the next set of boat slips. Gabe was already loaded onto a stretcher, and the straps were tight against his chest.
“Any alertness?” he asked the medic. “Has he woken up at all?”
The woman shook her head. “Pulse is steady. We’re taking him to Pointe Harbor.”
We stood back to give them room to wheel Gabe toward the ambulance that was waiting in the parking lot of the marina. I noticed Commander Guthrie was positioned next to the ambulance doors. He was talking to the sheriff.
It was then that I started to realize the base was dotted with police cars.
“Caleb, what are they doing here? What happened?” My eyes darted back and forth.
Another medic hurried up to us. “Officer O’Connor. We have to look at your face. You need stitches.”
The swirl of activity was dizzying. We couldn’t finish a sentence. It felt like we couldn’t finish a thought before another urgent message was delivered or a request was made.
Jacob appeared. “Hey, I’ll wait with Margot while you get your face stitched up. I already talked to Mom.”
Caleb looked reluctant to leave. His face was bleeding again. “Go,” I urged. “He’s right. They all are. You need to get stitches or you’ll have a scar.”
“You think I care about a scar?” he grumbled. “I want to go home.”
There was nothing I wanted more than to take him home. I wanted to wrap my body around his and hold on to him until the sun came up, the sun went down, and it came up again.
“I would still love your face with a scar,” I teased. “But it’s bleeding again and you don’t want it to get infected.”
“Listen to her, little brother,” Jacob chimed in. “She’ll be fine. I swear. I’ve taken care of her all night.”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “All right. I’ll head to medical. Can you tell Dad he doesn’t need to stick around?”
“Sure. Anything else?” Jacob asked.
Instead of storming off in defiance, Caleb turned and hugged his brother a second time. “Thank you. For staying with her. And, you know…just thanks.”
He sauntered off toward the second ambulance that had waited behind after Gabe left. But he didn’t go inside. They loaded another person.
I looked at Jacob. “What happened out there?”
Jacob’s eyes filled with concern. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. First, let’s get you to Caleb’s room.”
I nodded and followed him past the police cars and ambulances. Past the officers. Past the sailors. We stopped in front of Caleb’s door.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to stay. I know you have to talk to your dad.”
Jacob leaned against the outside wall. “I promised Caleb I wouldn’t leave you alone.”
I smiled. “I swear it’s okay. I need to call Josie, and…” I didn’t want to fill in the blank with Ethan’s name, but I needed to let him know he could go back to the island motel. “Plus, I have clothes here. And a toothbrush.”
“Right. You sure?”
“I am.” I flipped up the light socket cover and retrieved Caleb’s hide-a-key he had left for me on nights when I snuck in by the beach. I turned the key in the lock.
“Okay. Well, I think I’ll just stay out here. You know in case.”
I cocked my head to the side. “In case?”
He shrugged, sliding his hands in his pockets. “I’ll give you your space to brush your teeth.” He chuckled. “But if Caleb gets tied up at medical or whatever, I’m here. Right outside the door until he gets back.”
I knew the O’Connor brothers were equally stubborn. I wasn’t going to convince Jacob to leave me until he knew I was safe with Caleb.
“Thank you.” I nodded. “And I’m glad we finally met tonight.”
“Me too. Goodnight, Margot.”
“Goodnight.” I closed the door behind me and turned on the lamp next to Caleb’s bed.
I pulled the phone out of my back pocket. I had two important calls to make.