Page 60 of One Sweet Day I Found You

And three, he didn’t want Tom to have to deal withsixindividuals by himself.

The coast guard would certainly assist and could help with basic measures, but they didn’t employ a medical team, themselves. In this case, the guard would be doing more of the search-and-rescue, while Tom and Nick would be facilitating the emergency medical response.

Nick really didn’t want to leave Tom on his own. He only hoped he wasn’t too late.

He leaned into the turn and raced into a parking spot inside the lot of the Heritage Bay coast guard station, which sat on the northern end of town, north of Headland State Park.

Tom’s car was already here. The boat’s engine hummed as Nick grabbed his emergency supply kit and the duffel bag of personal items that he kept in his Jeep for trips like this. A pair of sunglasses and a change of clothes, among other necessities, often came in handy for a water rescue. He double-timed it toward the rig.

Hopping up onto the dock, he flashed his identification card and boarded the boat.

After a few words with Tom and the others, he stopped for a second, pulled up Courtney’s name on his phone, and punched out a few words.

Got called out—a rescue. Need 2 reschedule. Pls don’t be mad.

He added the sad face emoji and hit the arrow. Send.

She’ll understand.

He turned off his phone to save the battery and tossed it inside his bag. He wouldn’t get any bars out on the water anyway.

The roar of the boat’s engine signaled they were leaving shore and Nick breathed a sigh of relief. He stood at the back of the boat as it pulled away from the dock, his eyes on the lake as the water churned to white.

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