Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Anna
“Do you want to go back to the house?” Anna asked. “You’re probably exhausted and just want to sleep.”
“I am, and I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around you and fall asleep with you. But right now, I want to go to the beach and sit there with you, to look out at the skyline and hold you there.”
“I would love that,” Anna said with a sigh as she kissed his cheek again. “It’s still surreal that you’re here. I’m so glad that you’re here.”
“Me too,” he said with a low chuckle.
It didn’t take them long before they were on the beach, close enough to feel the ocean spray but far enough that they weren’t at risk of the waves lapping at their feet.
The sun was beginning to dip low over the horizon, casting the beach in a soft amber glow.
The tide rolled in and out with a rhythmic hush, the salt-laced wind brushing against Anna’s cheek as she lay nestled against Luke’s side.
They sat in the sand, half-wrapped in a faded navy blanket they’d pulled from the back of the studio, her head tucked under his chin, his arm around her waist like he needed to keep her close or she might vanish.
She hadn’t let herself cry when he came home, not really. Not in the loud, soul-cracking way she’d wanted to. But here, under a sky smeared in gold and lavender, with nothing but sand and surf around them, she let herself breathe. Let herself feel it.
“Will you tell me what happened?” she asked quietly as she stared out at the ocean.
She could feel him nod, before he sucked in a slow breath.
Luke’s voice was low, gravelly, a little raw from the dust and smoke he hadn’t entirely shaken off.
“It was the electronics. The nav system started glitching first. Tim was flying, and we thought maybe it was just a bug. But then everything started lighting up—altitude, engine warnings, you name it.”
Anna didn’t move, her fingers tightening slightly against his chest. She listened. She didn’t interrupt. She knew she needed to give him the space to open up and talk about it.
“We were over the mountains. I don’t even know where exactly, somewhere way off course. We tried to correct, but nothing responded. And then the left engine just…” He stopped, exhaled, the breath rattling. “It went. No warning, just fire. The cockpit filled with smoke.”
She turned her face into his shirt, the fabric rough against her cheek, and waited.
“I thought—” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat.
“There was this moment, maybe three seconds, maybe less, when I thought that was it. That we were going to hit the side of the mountain. I could see it. I saw the snow and the rock and I thought… I wouldn’t see you again.
I wouldn’t hold you. I wouldn’t hear the kids laugh. ”
A tear slipped down Anna’s cheek. Luke’s hand moved to her back, drawing circles there with his thumb. He stared out at the ocean, eyes dark and far away.
“Tim fought it. God, he fought it hard. We managed to angle it, glide, really, toward a clearing. It was more luck than anything. We hit hard. Everything went white.”
“Luke,” she whispered, finally, her voice catching.
He leaned down, pressed a kiss to her temple. “I remember thinking… if I die, I hope you know. I hope you know how much I loved you. That I never stopped. Not one second.”
Anna turned her body into his, sliding her arms around him as tightly as she could. Her fingers curled in the fabric of his shirt. “I knew. I’ve always known.”
They sat like that for a while. The breeze played with the ends of her hair, and Luke’s hand moved to her hip, grounding himself in the shape of her. Then he started again, quieter.
“After we crashed, I blacked out for a bit. Not long. Maybe a few minutes. Tim was up before me, yelling my name. When he found my parachute, he pulled me out of my seat when I didn’t respond. Said the whole area could’ve gone up any minute. But it didn’t.”
“Jesus,” she murmured, her lips brushing against his neck.
“We didn’t know where we were. No working comms, nothing salvageable. And it was cold, snow up to our knees. I’ve never felt cold like that, Anna. Not in my bones.”
She moved her hand to his cheek, guiding his face down so their eyes met. There was so much unsaid between them, so many nights she’d lain awake picturing his body in some frozen ravine, unknown and unreachable.
“We tried walking. Thought if we followed the sun, maybe we’d find a village or at least shelter. But it got dark fast. And that’s when we saw them. Lanterns. A group of villagers had seen the smoke and came looking for us.”
Her breath caught. “They saved you.”
He nodded slowly. “They did. Got us inside, warmed us up. Gave us soup, blankets. Dried our clothes by the fire. They didn’t speak English—not much anyway, but we figured out how to communicate. One of the older men had a radio. He hiked three miles up a ridge to find a signal and call it in.”
Anna could barely speak, her heart twisting in her chest. “I want to find them. Thank them.”
“So do I,” Luke said. “They didn’t have to help us. But they did everything they could to get us home.”
Anna reached up, brushed her fingertips over his jaw. She kissed him, soft and slow, with everything she couldn’t say. He kissed her back with a kind of desperation, like he needed to prove to himself that this, that she was real.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered against her lips.
She pulled back just enough to look at him. “For what?”
“For everything I missed. For putting you through that. For—”
“No,” she said firmly. “Don’t. You did what you had to. You survived. You came back to us. That’s what matters.”
He leaned his forehead against hers, eyes closed. The tide was creeping closer, curling around their bare feet in chilly waves. The light was fading fast, but neither of them moved.
“I didn’t let myself think,” Anna said after a moment.
“Not really. I kept telling myself you’d come back, that you always do.
But there were nights…” Her voice cracked.
“There were nights I curled up in your sweatshirt and prayed I wouldn’t get a knock at the door.
That the kids wouldn’t have to grow up without knowing what it’s like to be loved the way you love them. ”
He kissed her again, harder this time, a kind of promise. Then he pulled her into his lap and held her like he was still afraid the wind might take her away.
They sat there until the stars came out, until the moonlight danced on the waves and the sand turned silver. They didn’t say much after that. They didn’t need to.
Their hands stayed intertwined. Luke rested his chin on the top of her head, and Anna breathed in the scent of salt and him and home. In the quiet, in the dark, they found their way back to each other.
“What happens next?” Anna asked.
“I don’t know,” he said softly. “I see how good your Mom looks, and how happy she is with you and the kids here, and I think…I think that it’s time for me to start processing my retirement paperwork. I think that we need to come back to the Vineyard and be as close to your mom as possible.”
“What?” she gasped. “Retirement?”
“I’ve put in my twenty and this has put a lot in perspective, Anna.
I…I don’t want to leave you guys again. Life is too short, and I’d rather be here doing whatever, with you and the kids by my side every single day.
That’s what’s important. We need to be surrounded by our family and friends.
My parents are gone, but your mom, your mom is still alive, and we should be here with her. ”
Tears rolled down Anna’s cheeks as she looked back at her husband in shock. She wasn’t sure if he even knew what he was saying, but she loved what she was hearing.
“I’m so glad you’re home safe,” she murmured. “And I love everything you’re saying. For right now, let’s focus on this moment, and tomorrow or the next day, we’ll talk about what’s next.”
“Deal,” he said as he kissed the top of her head.
Anna relished the feeling and fought back the happy tears that wanted to fall. She didn’t think she’d ever be in his arms or feel his kisses again. This was the best day of her life.