Chapter 17
Knox
Imade it until two o’clock and then was so jittery and unfocused that I texted the guys to see if we could meet at the marina at two-thirty instead of four.
I could use the smell of diesel and the feel of gliding through the water as a distraction from my already distracted mind.
Captaining the boat takes all of my focus, and I look forward to having silence in my head for a while.
Until some asshole tries to ruin it for me.
“Aw, shit. Jake, where’d they go?” I turn to look over my right shoulder, but I come up empty. I love this boat, but the damn thing’s got a blind spot a mile wide at five o’clock and seven o’clock thanks to the rope tower and upgraded speakers.
“They’re coming up on your port side faster than those shitty things have any right to go,” Jake replies.
What I don’t love is how fucking crowded this lake gets on the weekends. And what I love less than that is how the marina rents power boats and jet skis to anyone with a fucking driver’s license and no safety education whatsoever.
I let up on the throttle, but I have to start into the turn.
The lake ends in a rocky cliff face straight ahead, so it’s now or never.
I turn the wheel and feel the powerful boat slice through the water, cutting an angle that drops my port side toward the dark lake, creating a larger wave behind me on that side.
“Uhh, Knox?” Jake says with a large amount of what the fuck in his voice.
“Gotta turn, Jakey, or you and I are going to meet our Maker.”
“Shit.” He scrubs a hand down his face, reading the situation as quickly as I do.
Jet skiers like to trail boats like mine because we create waves for them to play in. It’s only safe when there isn’t a boarder behind me, and since Phoenix came in fifteen minutes ago, we’ve picked up two jet-ski tag-alongs.
Based on how fast they’re going, the fact that their fucking life jackets are unclipped, and one of them is holding a GoPro stick while driving recklessly one-handed, I’m going to say they’re out-of-towners trying to catch some footage for their social media accounts while simultaneously working on their tans.
Except the one in the back is about to get thrown off his jet ski because instead of following me into this turn, he’s riding my flank, and that wave is going to send him flying, no matter how slow I’m going now.
The girl in the front zooms by.
“Jake! Grab the wheel!” I yell.
“Knox wai—”
I don’t hear him finish his sentence because I throw my hat on the floorboard and leap over the side, breaking the surface just in time to see the guy’s jet ski go airborne and its driver thrown twice as high.
Shit. Even the volunteer firefighters are trained as EMTs at our station, so I already know, at the very least, this guy has a concussion, if not a broken neck.
Thanks to the breakaway cord, the jet ski lands in the water and bobs up and down, lifeless, instead of continuing its mission.
I raise my fist in the air and make circular motions, knowing Jake understands I want him to protect this asshole by circling him with the boat so no one runs over him.
Fucking tourists.
“Goddammit,” I growl, spitting water as I swim toward the idiot who’s trying to die in my lake. I just wanted a day on the water with the guys.
When I’m within ten feet of him, I realize he’s face down, and my heart stops in my chest because even though I can’t see his face, I’d recognize him anywhere, in any state.
Great, now we’re both at risk of drowning.
I roll Taylor onto his back, while carefully cradling his neck, and lightly tap his cheeks, trying like hell not to let my rising panic take hold.
“Taylor. Hey. Come on, baby. Wake up for me.” I check his pulse, which thankfully is strong.
I try placing the back of my hand next to his nose and mouth to see if he’s breathing, but I can’t tell, so I move my cheek next to his face. The relief that pummels through me when I feel a light exhale against my skin is so fucking dangerous.
Now that I know he’s alive, the rest of the world comes into focus a little bit more, and I look up to see Jake circling us slowly with the boat.
Aw, hell. The guys are on the boat…and Taylor’s in my arms.
Taylor’s eyes begin fluttering, like he’s clawing his way back to consciousness.
“Atta boy,” I whisper practically into his mouth as I swim us toward the ladder Hudson just threw down.
“Oh shit. I died, didn’t I? Livvy is going to be so mad at me,” Taylor says, his eyes closing again. I’m not sure he realizes it’s me who’s holding him.
“What? No, Taylor. You’re not dead.” Thank fuck.
“Yes, I am!” he wails dramatically, and I can’t help my smile. This is more like the guy I first met. Not the somber, serious man who climbed onto my lap while I tried to drink myself into oblivion. But then, I guess there are layers to everyone.
We make it to the side of the boat, and I look up at Phoenix and Hudson. “A little help here, fellas?”
I hoist the limp, wet noodle up as much as I can. Thankfully, my boys are strong, and once they have Taylor’s life jacket, he’s as good as on the deck.
I climb up after him, Phoenix already guiding him to the bench seat, supporting his head and neck, and taking him through a mental-status exam, trying to assess for a concussion. Once you’re trained as a first responder, you never really stop responding, even if it’s no longer your job.
Taylor is slow to answer and confused about the date and time, which isn’t a good sign, but he’s not fighting us, and he seems aware of his surroundings.
As I climb on board, I hear Taylor tell Phoe dreamily, “You’re a hot doctor.”
I groan. Everyone thinks Phoenix is hot.
Phoe pops a perfect white smile at Taylor. “Not a doctor, just a retired firefighter.”
Then Phoe swings his gaze to Hudson, and I feel my skin grow warm. “He look familiar to you?”
Before I can answer, Hudson laughs. “Oh shit! It’s him, isn’t it?”
I’m saved from having to confirm or deny when Taylor’s jet ski partner races toward Taylor’s abandoned jet ski bobbing upside down in the water.
“TAYLOR!” she screams in total panic.
“Yup,” Hudson whispers with a smirk. “It’s him for sure. Nice catch, Phoe.”
“Knock it off,” I reply as I stand and wave my arms at the girl I recognize from the karaoke stage. “Over here!”
She spins her jet ski in our direction, and I can see her tears. “Where’s my brother? Ohmygod, did he drown? Why aren’t you in the water looking for him?”
“He’s safe. He’s lying down right here,” I reassure her, pointing at the seat Taylor’s on.
“Do you need help getting over here?” I can see her hands shaking, and although she has a life jacket on, I don’t like the state she’s in.
I’m in the water before she can answer. I swim to her jet ski and start pulling it behind me.
“He’s okay,” I say again. “He likely has a concussion, but he’s talking, so that’s good.
Are you Livvy by any chance?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I recognize her from the men’s room.
The girl nods her head. “I’m his sister.”
“He thinks he died and that you’re going to be pissed at him,” I tell her, trying to hide my laugh.
“I could never be pissed at Tay,” she says lovingly.
Phoenix reaches down to give Livvy a hand when we hit the ladder. She rips her life jacket off and throws herself at Taylor’s side.
“Tay, can you hear me?” she says, grabbing his hand.
“Livvy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to die,” he says, his eyes still closed.
She laughs in relief and throws a glance at me over her shoulder.
“Told you.” I smile back.
“Taylor, you idiot, you’re not dead. Open your eyes.”
Slowly, he does as she commands and turns his head toward her.
Immediately, I move forward to stop him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy with your neck until we can assess it better.”
Finally, his eyes widen with recognition.
“Knox?” he asks, now trying to sit up.
I almost step on his sister as I move beside him so I can place my hand on his chest to get him to lie still.
“Taylor, I need you to be still until Phoenix can finish checking you out.”
“I’d rather you do that part,” he says, melting into the cushion and closing his eyes again.
Phoenix looks at me like he needs to stand where I am so he can finish his assessment, but I just glare. “Work around me; I’m not moving.”
As he returns his attention to Taylor, Livvy looks up at me from the floor of the boat.
“You’re Knox. The contractor. The guy from the bar.
” Her eyes scan my frame and then slowly move around the boat, taking in my friends.
“God, my brother has fantastic taste even if it always bites him in the ass.”
Jake chuckles from the captain’s chair, and Hudson smiles from the bow before answering her. “That’s Knox, all right.”
I flip Hudson the middle finger while Livvy stands and moves to the bench seat connected to the one Taylor is currently lying across.
Phoenix is standing at Taylor’s head and I’m now on my knees next to him.
I’m not sure when I grabbed his hand, but I look down to find my thumb tracing light circles over the back of it.
After a few minutes of poking, prodding, and questions, Phoenix decides Taylor isn’t in a life-threatening situation, but feels he should still get a set of X-rays and be assessed for head trauma by a physician.
“I’ll take him,” I volunteer quickly before remembering his sister is on my boat, and I probably overstepped. Turning to look at her, I backtrack. “I mean, I can go with you, if you want. It might be helpful if I’m there, since I saw him hit the water.”
She gives me a wary smile. “Yeah, sure. That’d be great. Any chance you could help me get these jet skis back to the marina?
Twenty minutes later, Taylor’s jet ski has been righted, both vehicles are attached to my boat with tow straps, and I’m still holding Taylor’s hand.
Phoenix passes by me to pull the ladder up in the back before we head to the marina and says, “Knox, keep him awake.”