Page 57 of Riding the High

I push her to keep talking as the rain pelts against my skin. I ask her to tell me all the things she wants to do when she goes with her Grammie Trudy to the cottage, and what she thinks we should make her dad tomorrow for breakfast on his special day. Anything to keep her calm and myself from crying.

My heart sits firmly in my throat as the wind increases, and I fight with all my strength to keep the boat moving straight and heading toward the row of cabins, one of which is ours. The beach is empty as we cruise by, and the waves close to shore are intense. How did I get myself into this situation? Oh, I know, because Ineverfollow the rules. I always have to push it, and now I’ve broken Cole’s trust. I should’ve gone back when I said I would. I should’ve stayed closer to the house.

The water hitting the boat is so loud that I almost cry with relief as I finally see our cabin come into view. I will myself to stay steady and calm.

As we get closer to the house, I spot Cole pacing under the gazebo on the dock, cell phone in hand. The sheer look of panic he’s wearing that turns to utter disbelief when he sees us tears at my heart. No matter what he says to me when I get off this boat, he’ll never make me feel worse than I do right now. I brace myself. The look on his face is both one of intense relief and one that says he’s about to murder me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Cole

Idon’t like the look of the sky as I exit the store after paying to get the tanks filled. In the time I was in there, a bank of clouds started to roll in. And fast. I hop into my truck just as I hear the first sound of thunder. I try to call Ginger. Straight to voicemail. I check my service and see I have full bars. I send her a quick message before I fire up my truck.

Hopefully you’re back. If you’re outside, head in. The storms here have been known to get rough quickly.

I start the drive back to the house, looking up at the sky whenever I can. It’s almost black now, and rain has started to pelt against the windshield. I keep myself calm by telling myself Ginger and Mabel are at home, that they’re huddled inside together and I don’t need to be worried about anything.

I curse myself as I drive with the wipers at full speed. I should’ve told Ginger about the chance of this happening. I should’ve made her wait to take the boat out until I got home. This lake is notorious for sudden storms.Fuck.

I pull down the drive to the cabin as the rain and wind whip against the truck. I don’t even think about getting the tanks out. I just toss the truck in park and make a beeline out into the storm, burning through the front door as soon as possible.

“Mabes? Ginger?” I call out, but it’s too quiet. It’s clear they’re not here.

I tear through the house and out the back door, but when I get to the steps, all the blood drains from my body. There’s no boat at the dock. The level of panic that rolls through at the thought of Mabes in danger is a form of adrenaline I’ve never felt in my life. Right now, I would nuke the entire fucking earth and leave it to char and ashes if it meant bringing her back to safety.

I run so fast down the stairs my feet are a blur. I pull my phone out to call Ginger but it goes straight to voicemail again and I see now that my earlier message didn’t go through.

“Fuck!” I call out, frantically pacing. She must have been caught off-guard.If anything happens to either of them …

Just as I’m ready to dial the number for the coast guard, my fingers shaking, I see them. My legs give way and I drop to my knees on the dock as relief washes over me.

As they get closer, I can see Ginger holding her t-shirt over Mabel to try to shield her from the rain. She’s left in only her bathing suit and must be freezing as the wind and heavy rain droplets pummel her skin. Mabel is huddled into Ginger, but when she looks up to find me, she’s not crying like I thought she’d be. She seems okay. I watch as Ginger brings them in, slow and steady. I jump into the water as they get close to the dock and pull the whole fucking boat the rest of the way.

The rain is already subsiding when I nestle the boat beside the dock. These storms are usually fast and turbulent. Ginger looks at me but says nothing as I hoist Mabel onto the platform and then hop up. Mabel has no idea the danger she was just in.I gather her to me, burying my face in her hair, on the verge of tears as the adrenaline starts to wear off.

“Ginger drove us through a rollercoaster!” Mabel exclaims. “We pretended we were at Disneyland.” She smiles and wrinkles her nose, reaching up to my cheek. “You’re all wet, Daddy.”

“So I am,” I say, huffing out a breath.

I secure the boat to the dock with my free hand and extend my other one to pull Ginger up with us, bringing her to my chest as I hear a near-silent sob choke in her throat. Always testing her limits, she definitely went way further out than she said she was going to and, judging by the horror in her eyes, it scared the living shit out of her.

I’m angry, I’m relieved, I’m ready to both yell at her and kiss her everywhere I can. There’s time later to talk. Right now, I just need to feel both my girls in my arms, right where they belong.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Ginger

Cole doesn’t speak to me in that stern dad voice or yell at me, like I thought he would. In fact, he doesn’t really say anything, which might be worse. The two of us move like wooden people into the cabin, and we all go to change and pack our wet clothes into plastic bags to transport home.

It’s just before dinner when Cole finishes packing up the truck. I hand Mabel a sandwich for the road and, as I head back inside for the final bits, Cole’s eyes meet mine. This is the first moment we’ve had alone since he met us on the dock.

“Cole. I—” I try very hard to choke back the tears I can feel coming.

He doesn’t hesitate for one second. “Fuck, baby, you’re shaking.” He pulls me right to his chest, kissing my shoulder through my hair.

“Listen, there’s lots to talk about,” he whispers, looking toward the porch to make sure Mabel doesn’t hear him. He uses his finger to lift my chin. “You did such a good job of keeping Mabel calm, and from what I can tell, not even phased, through that whole experience. And she should’ve been scared, Ginger,because that was so fucking dangerous—” He sets his jaw and looks down to try to keep his composure.

“Let’s just get home, and Mabel into bed,” he says, sliding his hands down the tops of my arms.

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