Chapter 30
Katelyn
The air is ripped from my lungs as we slam into the wall of water.
It’s dark. Cold.
I fight to break the surface, kicking my legs as my lungs burn from lack of oxygen. I break through and scan the inky surface. “Garrison!” I scream, panicked. He jumped after me.
He took the hit.
What if he didn’t survive?
“Garrison!” I shout again, then dive back down into the water, searching for him. My hand brushes against something hard, and I grab, tugging his weight up to the surface. He’s completely limp.
Is he even breathing?
We break the surface. “Garrison!” I yell, shaking him as best I can while I fight to keep both of us above the water.
Frantic, I scan for land. How far are we from shore? It can’t be that far, right? We weren’t in the air that long. Cold water laps at my neck, and it takes strength I didn’t know I had to keep us above water.
Lord, be with us. Deliver us from this, please, God.
The shadow of land in the distance gives me hope, so I wrap an arm around him and swim. I’ve never been more grateful for the early morning practices of my college swim team than I am right now. Still, it’s been a long time since I was in the water, and I’m feeling every bit of that.
Using every inch of strength left in my battered body, I swim us both toward shore. When we’re finally close enough to the beach, the waves take over, shoving us forward even as they try to rip us back.
I fight them, my only focus on saving a man who risked everything for me.
God, please don’t let him die. Please, Lord. Tears stream down my cheeks, and I scream in frustration as I fight the current to pull him free.
“Katelyn!”
Someone screams my name, giving me a surge of hope as I struggle to keep Garrison’s head above the water. “Over here!” I yell. “Please! We’re over here!”
A man I’ve never met sprints forward alongside Jack. Both men reach us in quick strides. They tug Garrison to shore. I fall to my knees in the sand and shove them aside to feel for a pulse. It’s faint. Too faint.
I press my ear to his mouth. “He’s not breathing,” I cry, then pinch his nose, tilt his head up, and cover his mouth with mine. I breathe into him.
God, please. Please don’t take him.
Still, Garrison doesn’t move.
Fear threatens to consume me. He can’t be gone. I can’t lose him. Focus, Katelyn.
I lean down and breathe into his airway again, urging his body to take over. Come on, Garrison, breathe.
Still, nothing.
People surround us, but I refuse to give up.
Just as I’m pulling away again, Garrison’s eyes fly open, and he coughs, water spewing from his mouth.
The man who’d rescued us alongside Jack turns Garrison onto his side and breathes a sigh of relief.
Garrison’s body seizes as he fights for air, but after a few moments, he rolls onto his back and stares up at me, lids heavy. “Caught you.”
I cup his face. “You almost died.”
He grins. “Worth it.”
“Thomas?” I whisper.
“Safe and sound. Your boy is a tough one,” he adds with another grin.
“Thank God.” The weight on my chest lessens, even as the adrenaline begins to wane and my body trembles. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for protecting my boy and for keeping Garrison safe.
“You and I are going to have to talk about these near-death experiences, Demo. The cry for attention is getting a little outrageous,” Sawyer says as he sinks to his knees beside us. His shoulder has been crudely wrapped, but at least the bleeding looks to have stopped.
Garrison smiles softly, still out of breath. “I’ll work on that.”
“Please do because I can’t lose you,” I tell him.
He reaches up with a shaking hand and brushes hair out of my face. “Okay…I guess we’re up to five lasagnas now.” I collapse beside him, resting my head on his arm as paramedics and police flood the scene.
I’ll have to move soon, but right now—everything in my world is right.
Because Thomas is safe.
And Garrison Holt is mine.