Page 19 of Until We Break

“Are you his mom?” I paused long enough to finally take her in. All of her. She was standing in wet clothes. The shorts stuck to her skin like a wetsuit, hugging the silhouette of her hips. It was an inconvenient time to notice she was still beautiful.

She shook her head. “No. I’m not his mom. Or maybe. Should I be? Will you let me go with you if I am?” She bit her lip. “Let me go. Please. I want to know what happens to him. Okay? I’ll stay out of the way.”

I wasn’t supposed to let anyone who wasn’t family onto the cutter. Of all the people, the last one I needed to interfere with the work I had to do was the girl who shattered my heart.

“Please, Caleb.”

I didn’t have time to argue with her. He seemed stable, but with a head injury, anything could happen to the kid.

“Come on.” I gestured for her to climb aboard with me. “Untie us all right? I’ll get him settled.”

She lifted the knot I made and shoved off while I flipped the bench seat up and buckled the kid so he was secure. She sat with him in on the bench, brushing his bangs off his forehead. I noticed there was something lost about both of them. Yet, they fit together.

I called in on the radio that we were only ten minutes from the docks. Base dispatch said the ambulance was already waiting.

“Hey.” I couldn’t believe she was here on the cutter. “Keep him as steady as you can while we get through the shoals.” The ride was about to be even bumpier.

She nodded. “Okay. I’ve got him.” I watched as she unbuckled the belt, wrapped her hands against his arms, and secured the boy to her chest.

By the time we reached the harbor, there was a crowd gathered around the docks. The ambulance lights flashed. I eased into the boat slip reserved for emergency vessels.

I hadn’t even cut the engine before the team of paramedics boarded, checked his vitals, carried the kid off, and placed him on a gurney.

“Emergency contact?” they asked. “Known allergies? Blood type?”

She shook her head. “I-I found him in the water like that. I don’t even know his name.”

I realized Margot’s clothes were pajamas. I opened the stowage door beneath the wheel and retrieved a blanket. I stepped toward her while they scribbled information on a clipboard. He was a stranger to her. She wasn’t able to answer any of the paramedics’ questions.

Once they began to wheel the kid away, I saw her lunge toward the pier.

“Hey, hold on.” I wrapped the Coast Guard blanket against her shoulders, but she pushed it off along with my hands.

“I need to go with him,” she urged.

“They’ll take care of him. He’s in good hands. I know these guys. Work with them all the time.” I smiled. This was my third rescue of the month. “I’ll ride you back over to the island. Come on.”

“No.” She scrambled away from me, scraping her knee on a deck board as she stretched to her feet. “Shit.” She hurried toward the ambulance.

“Wait,” I called, chasing her through the gravel parking lot. “They aren’t going to let you on the ambulance.”

The lights circled and the tires spat out bits of rock and dirt while the siren blared.

“No,” she whimpered, watching the ambulance drive away. “I don’t know his name. I don’t know who he is. They don’t either. I should go. Someone should be with him when he wakes up. He’s going to be so scared.”

I stood next to her. “He’s going to be okay. I can make a couple of calls.”

“No. I’m going to the hospital.”

“In your wet pajamas?” I questioned.

“Does it really matter?”

“Look.” I took a deep breath. “Give me a second. I’ll figure something out.” I jogged back to the boat and lifted the receiver on the radio.

TEN

Margot

---