Chapter 6 Ace #2
“Ace.” Zane’s voice crackled through the static.
“Thank goodness. We haven’t heard anything since Grace managed to get a call through earlier.
She told us Willa had gone into the water and that you’d gone in after her.
That she and the other teens were heading for the cave.
” There was a crackling pause. “We’ve been going out of our minds here with worry. ”
“Everyone’s okay,” Ace said. Zane exhaled on the other end of the line.
The relief in it was audible and real. “Willa’s safe.
She’s sleeping right now. Grace and Andy are both fine.
Rad and Margo made it to the island as well.
They’re here with us. All the teenagers are accounted for, and no one was hurt.
Just a little bit soggy and frightened.”
“That is good to know,” Zane breathed. “I know a few people who will be glad to hear this.”
“We’re all in the cave on the eastern side, exactly where Grace said we’d go. We’ve got a fire going and enough supplies to get through to morning comfortably.” Ace glanced around the cave once again.
“That’s some of the best news I’ve heard all night,” Zane told him, and Ace could hear Carmen’s voice in the background asking something sharp and urgent, and Zane’s muffled reply telling her everyone was okay.
“Ace, I’ve got Holt here. He and June have been at the Coast Guard station for a while now. I’m going to put him on.”
There was a brief shuffle on the line, and then Holt’s voice came through, quieter than Zane’s but considerably more controlled, which told Ace exactly how hard Holt had been working to hold himself together for the past several hours.
“Ace.” Holt’s voice was measured and even.
“Hi, Holt,” Ace greeted the man.
“Are my grandson and son okay?” Holt asked. “And Willa, Margo, and all Willa’s kids and the other teens?”
“Tyler and Rad are here safe and sound. Just like everyone else on your list,” Ace replied with a smile.
“Thank you,” Holt’s voice resonated with relief. “It’s been so tough trying to will everything to be okay from here.”
“I can understand that,” Ace assured him.
His heart squeezed as he realized the only person he had was his grandmother.
She lived in a retirement village in Miami and probably had no idea Ace was even in trouble.
That hit Ace like a ton of bricks. He glanced around the cave, knowing that each of the people there had someone who was worrying about them right now.
Ace had a grandmother who lived miles away.
His eyes landed on Willa, Grace, and Andy again.
They were the only family he had. Ace swallowed and pulled his mind away from that thought.
He wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity. Good grief, what the heck was wrong with him?
He was single and living his life by the choices he’d made.
“Hold on a moment, Ace,” Holt said, pulling Ace from his thoughts. “June wants to talk to you.”
June’s voice came on the line before Ace could respond.
“Ace, is Willa safe?” June asked, her voice filled with panic and concern. “And my grandchildren? How is everyone there? How are you, Ace?”
“Willa’s fine, June,” Ace said gently. “She’s right here all curled up in a sleeping bag with Grace and Andy on either side of her.
They’ve all been asleep for a couple of hours now.
” He looked across the cave at the three of them, the steady rise and fall of Willa’s breathing, Grace tucked against her side.
“Other than Willa being exhausted, she’s going to feel the impromptu swim tomorrow in every muscle she has.
” He gave a soft laugh. “But other than that, Willa is okay. As are Andy, Grace, and everyone else.” He glanced to where Rad and Margo were sleeping. “Including Rad, Margo, and Tyler.”
“Oh, thank you, Ace,” June said, her voice sounding a little gruff. “We’ve been so worried not knowing.”
“We did try to call earlier, but there’s been no signal until now,” Ace explained.
“I know,” June stated. “It’s one of the more frustrating things. We have all this technology, but one temper tantrum from Mother Nature, and nothing works.”
“She does have a way of ensuring everyone feels her wrath,” Ace agreed with June.
“Please, Ace, I know she’s sleeping, but I really need to hear Willa’s voice,’ June told him. There was a pause, and he heard whispers in the background. “Oh, wait, Holt needs to speak with you again first.”
Holt came back on the line. “Ace, we’ve got a rescue underway,” he told him. “The harbor approach is blocked with storm debris, so the boats can’t go out safely. We’ve got the Coast Guard rescue helicopter on the pad here.” He paused briefly. “Dean is going to fly it.”
Ace straightened slightly on his rock. “I was wondering if Dean was going to insist on flying this rescue operation.” He smiled. “You know he taught me how to fly?”
“Oh!” Holt said. “That explains why you’re so darn good at being a pilot, then.”
“Yup,” Ace said proudly. “Dean was like a father to me growing up. I’m glad he’s flying the rescue mission. At least I know we’ll be in good hands.” He took a breath. “Please tell Dean to be careful.”
“I will,” Holt promised.
“Tell him we’ll be waiting,” Ace said. “Dean knows where the cave is.” He grinned at a teenage memory. “He’s been here many a time to get myself and Shaun when we were teens.”
“I remember,” Holt said with a soft laugh. “I’d better give you back to June. She’s getting impatient to talk to Willa. Dean will be about twenty to twenty-five minutes out.”
“Okay,” Ace said, glancing at his wristwatch.
Before Holt could say more, June came back on the line.
“I’d like to talk to Willa now, please, Ace,” June demanded
“Give me a moment,” Ace told her.
He lowered the phone and crossed the cave carefully, stepping around the sleeping bags with the practiced quiet of someone who had been navigating the space in the dark for hours.
He reached Willa and crouched beside her, taking in the sight of her for a moment before he did anything else.
She was deeply asleep, her face relaxed in a way it rarely was when she was awake, the constant, low-level alertness she carried smoothed away entirely.
Grace was pressed against her one side, and Andy sprawled on her other side.
His hand had reached to rest on his mother’s arm.
The three of them together looked so completely, quietly right that Ace stayed crouched there a beat longer than he strictly needed to.
Ace took a breath before he reached and gently touched Willa’s shoulder.
As he woke her up, a strange feeling hit him as if something between them had changed.
A cold shiver washed over him, and he could’ve sworn he heard a deep, familiar voice whisper in his ear, “It’s time to tell Willa how you feel, Ace. Stop being a wimp!”
Wimp! That’s what Shaun had always said whenever Ace hesitated to do something. Ace tried to shake the feeling away, convinced he’d lost his mind somewhere in the cold Atlantic Ocean.
“Ace?” June’s voice came through the line and lifted it to his ear.
“Give me a minute,” Ace whispered. “I just had to deal with a ghost,” he muttered to himself as he leaned over and gently shook Willa’s shoulder again, and this time softly called her name.
But as her eyes opened, that cold feeling washed over him again, and Ace suddenly knew it was time to tell Willa how he felt.
He just had to find the right moment to do so.