Page 52 of Wanting Happily Ever After

Audrey, tears streaming down her cheeks, shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said through sobs. “Rory and Clara—they’re gone. They were here one minute. Right over there.” She pointed to exactly the spot where Brody and Sarah had left them earlier. “And when the wind picked up, everyone…well…when I looked to find them, they were gone.”

Brody didn’t need to hear anymore. He looked around one more time, hoping that maybe the girls had been hiding under a picnic table. But of course they weren’t.

He turned in the direction of the lake andknew.Of course they’d go exactly where they weren’t supposed to. Sarah followed his gaze; her hand clamped down on his arm when she came to the same realization he had. Her mouth opened in terror. Brody grabbed her hand and without a word, together they took off running through the trees and toward the beach.

The calm, idyllic lake they’d visited last week was gone. Replaced by frothing, angry white caps. It looked more like the middle of the ocean than a small glacier-fed lake in the mountains.

“Not the lake. Not the lake.” Sarah froze. “Oh my God, Brody. The girls!”

He’d seen it at the same time. The girls were huddled on the swimming platform anchored in the lake that was pitching and tossing them around in the wild wind and waves. Their cries could barely be heard over the whistling wind and the crashes of thunder overhead. The rain had started to fall while they’d run to the beach and the big, cold drops came in sheets, blurring their vision and at times making it hard to tell where the lake ended and the sky began.

How did they get out there?

It didn’t even matter.

They needed a boat. It was the only safe way to get to the girls. But, of course, all the boats had been safely secured long before the storm. There wasn’t even a rowboat to be found and no way was Brody going to waste any time searching for one.

He ran through the rain, toward the shore, stripping off his T-shirt as he went.

“Brody! No!” Sarah was right behind him. “It’s too…”

He turned to her and saw the horror on her face. This was her worst nightmare coming to life and he couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through her head. Quickly, he crossed back to her. “It’s okay, Sarah.” Quickly, he held her face in his hands and kissed her hard. “I’ll get her. I’ll keep her safe. I promise.”

Water streaked down her face but he couldn’t be sure whether it was tears or rain. “I’ll get her,” he promised.

And then he was on the move again. He scanned the shoreline and found a paddleboard that had been abandoned. It would have to do. Brody hauled it into the lake and jumped on, lying flat on his stomach. He paddled with both arms and fought hard against the crashing waves. Beneath him, the board bounced and slammed. He could hardly see as water splashed into his face, blinding him.

It was taking too long. He should have been at the swim platform by now.

Sarah’s face, full of horror and fear right before he’d headed into the lake, was seared into his memory. He wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. And he’d meant what he’d promised. He’d keep Rory safe. No matter what.

Brody lifted his head and looked in vain through the sheets of water. But still, he couldn’t see. He could only hope he was going in the right direction.

He dug deep and paddled harder, forcing the board through the water.

And then, through the howling wind and the pounding rain, he heard it. A shriek. It was close. It was the sound of a little girl.

Rory.

He had to make it. He had to get there in time.

Sarah couldn’t take her eyes off the scene before her. The swim platform raft pitched and tipped precariously in the building storm. The little girls clung to the cold slippery wood, but for how long?

What were they doing out there? How had they gotten out there?

So many questions, but it wasn’t the time to get any answers. Nor did they matter. The only thing that mattered was Brody getting to the platform safely and quickly and getting the girls.

The paddleboard he was on slammed up and down in the waves. His progress was laborious and made harder by the gusting winds.

Sarah wrapped her arms around her waist, clinging to herself tightly in an effort to force herself to stop shivering. Whatever cold she was feeling, it was nothing compared to what the girls were feeling. Or the type of bone-deep chill she’d never be able to warm up from if Brody didn’t make it.

“Oh my God! Clara!” Audrey was next to her, screaming into the storm. Sarah hadn’t noticed her arrive. “What are they doing out there?” She turned to Sarah, her face crumpled with fear and worry. “How did they get out there?” she demanded of Sarah. Mascara ran down her face, streaked by tears or rain or both.

Sarah was sure she looked the same.

Two mothers. So different, but so fundamentally the same when it came to the only thing that mattered.

Their daughters.

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