Page 95 of Sheltering Instinct

He pulled her to his chest. “Swing your leg over, Tess. Good job.”

And now that she was here, Tess could see why Levi’s voice, calm and steady, had the sharp edge of do-or-die.

The water was almost to the edge of the bridge.

“Lean right, Tess. Hold out your arms like you’re going to dive. I’m lowering her now.”

The tree, with her added weight, sank deeper into the flood waters.

For Tess, this was the reason why they shouldn’t be on top of the trunk but holding hands across the trunk.

But after the current reminded Tess of its strength and how that felt as a child, Tess understood that this was a risk they needed to take.

Tess’s heart wanted to mourn those who wouldn’t make it. Surely, the idea of all of them getting to safety was improbable.

How many could they save?

And could they even save themselves?

A glimmer of hope; it looked like they had a reprieve.

For the moment, the rain had stopped again.

As Levi and Tess worked to lower the teacher. Mojo started barking.

The barks rang against the cement and filled their space.

Was he warning them about something they hadn’t perceived yet?

Tess fought to keep her whole attention on getting the teacher situated.

They ended up laying her across Tess’s lap.

While Levi freed the rope, Tess tied the jugs back onto the teacher.

Just looking at her face, Tess thought that whatever injury she had sustained when the schoolhouse flooded and she had nearly drowned was making her system deteriorate. This woman desperately needed a hospital. Even if everything had worked perfectly when this whole day had started with the lightning strike, the hospital was an hour away from where the school had been.

Mojo’s barks grew more frantic and more aggressive.

It reminded Tess of a woman in labor or those who were dying when they seemed to reach out to the world beyond. Abraham said it was a call to the ancestors for help in passage.

Levi had pushed his floatation to his back and tied the rope under his armpits, then once around the trunk without any knots, handing the end to Tess.

“What’s happening here?” she asked. The tree sunk until the water hit her thighs as she bent her feet backward against the current and squeezed her knees together.

Levi leaned in and spoke near her ear; so their plans were between them alone. “I’m going to move forward and get into those branches and see if I can’t compress them to fit under the ledge. When I do that, I have no idea what will happen next. You must—Tess, listen to me—you must let go of the rope. I need a chance to swim away. Youmustlet go of the teacher to save yourself because the children will need your help. If they float to shore, they will be hypothermic without food, water, or skills. Youwillget to shore. Youwillsave the children.”

Tess got it.

He was right.

“And you,” she insisted. “You and Mojo will help them, too.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Levi

As soon as Levi wrangled his two hundred pounds off the trunk, the tree rose to float higher in the water.

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