Page 90 of The Engagement Party

“Take off your shirt.” She hated the way her voice shook.

“What are you doing?” Mitch sounded groggy.

She didn’t know much about hypothermia. It wasn’t a topic that came up while she tilled dirt and laid garden pavers, but she feared they were testing the limits of what Mitch’s body could handle. Rather than take the time to answer him, she stripped his wet top off and let it land with a smack on the bottom of the boat. She wrapped her dry shirt around him. It pulled tight across his shoulders, but she mentally declared it good enough. Better than the alternative.

Icy cold water gurgled up and around the material they’d stuffed into the hole. The boat continued to chug along, but her feet were now soaked. Lifting them up wasn’t an option because shifting her weight could knock them off-balance. Her feet also provided a bit of a buffer for Mitch because he sat on them, keeping his body off the soaking bottom of the boat and on her.

The landscape, so beautiful and teeming with life during the previous day, took on a shadowed and gloomy tint in the aftermath of the wild storm. She didn’t see a person or a building as the world passed by. She breathed in and closed her eyes, trying to find a moment to think as their fitful progress continued.

A scraping noise broke her silence. The front of the boat stopped moving and Ruthie dropped the oars. The back of the boat floated sideways in the current.

Sierra’s eyes popped open. “What’s happening?”

Ruthie looked over the side. “I think we hit a higher part of the causeway.”

She’d eaten up most of the distance between the island and the shore. They were ten feet from firm ground. She could see the canoe Alex and Cassie used for their escape.

Sierra had spent the whole ride worrying and playing nurse. Now, she scanned the parking lot. Two cars, but no Cassie and Alex. “Where are they?”

Ruthie shook her head. “Hiding like the rats they are.”

“Don’t blame innocent rats.” Mitch let out a pained groan as he pushed up to his feet, his body shaking.

“Whoa.” Ruthie grabbed on to the sides of the boat as it rocked.

Sierra debated between holding on and reaching for him. “What are you doing?”

Mitch gestured toward shore. “They took the extra golf cart.”

Sierra had missed that. Now she saw the empty pole and abandoned chain.

“How fast can one of them go?” Ruthie asked.

Mitch smiled for the first time in what felt like days. “It can’t outrun a car.”

They took turns stepping out of the boat. One would balance it, while the other jumped into the calf-high water. They didn’t have time to secure the craft, so they let it drift and headed for the rental car Alex drove there.

Ruthie stopped at the back of the car. “Who’s in charge?”

Mitch nodded at Sierra. “She drives as if she’s a breath awayfrom a heart attack and needs a hospital. That’s true on a highway or in a drive-through.”

“Good.” Ruthie nodded. “Sierra wins.”

Sierra didn’t waste time. She put the heater on blast as she maneuvered the SUV down the long path, not bothering to slow down for the crumbling road or bent branches dipping into the path. At one point Ruthie made a squeaking noise. Mitch held on to the handle over the passenger side window but didn’t balk at the careening ride.

About ten minutes later, after a few turns, the golf cart came into view. Cassie was driving and they hadn’t gotten far. Unchaining the thing and getting it running probably had burned through time. Now Sierra had the advantage.

“What’s the plan?” Ruthie yelled the question from the back seat.

“I’m going to run them down.”

Mitch glanced at her but remained silent.

If Ruthie disagreed she kept it to herself. Sierra appreciated that because she didn’t see another alternative. The narrow road and towering trees lining each side didn’t allow for intricate maneuvering. That left them with two options. Cassie voluntarily stopping, which wouldn’t happen, or a crash. Not a bad one, of course. Just a little tap on that empty seat at the back of the cart to let them know they needed to hit the brakes.

Alex and Cassie took turns looking over their shoulders at them. Cassie shook her head. Sierra ignored her. She vowed to give them a minute to do the right thing and slow down. She counted out the time and got to twenty before giving up.

“Screw it.” She tapped the gas and brought the car right tothe back end of the golf cart, threatening and promising at the same time.

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