Page 74 of What We Keep
Elsa let out a breath, stroking her hand over the massive whale. “I thought they’d be here by now.”
“Whoever reported this just called the wildlife hotline, and they notified the troopers, but the message sat in voice mail,” Asher explained as we walked back to the truck. “That’s what the troopers said when I called.”
Elsa was shivering. “Sweetheart, why didn’t you call me sooner?” I asked.
“I was in a hurry and thought the troopers would be here.” Her breath slipped out. “And you weren’t home, and I yelled at you the last time I saw you.” She blinked, giving her head a quick shake.
“Let’s get you dry and changed.”
“I’m not leaving,” she replied, her words edged with stubbornness.
“I know you’re not leaving,” I returned. “We’re gonna get this whale through the night, and hopefully, the tide rises enough soon.”
“It’s already coming in. I can hear the rest of them waiting for her,” Elsa said.
“I know. She’s got friends, just like you do.”
“I’m worried her calf is stressed,” she fretted.
“Probably.”
While I nudged her away to my truck, Elsa continued rambling with worry about the whale, and all the while, my heart felt split wide open. Elsa loved wildlife as much as she loved humans.
By the time she dried off and changed, I was relieved she wasn’t shivering anymore. She didn’t even want to bother eating when the troopers arrived, having actually done as Asher had requested and brought takeout from a nearby gas station that served pizza.
“We’re here to help and set up as many lights as you need,” one of the troopers called out.
“Thank you. We love you!” Elsa called through the gloaming, with the lights shining on the whale as we poured water over it.
I didn’t even know how long we were out there until the tide rose. Between us and two of the troopers, once we had enough water underneath the whale to get her pushed off the sand, Elsa cheered and burst into tears as the whale swam into the deeper water on her own.
We were all overcome with emotion. She jumped up and down and threw her arms around me. “Thank you!”
She proceeded to hug everybody there. Standing in the water as the lights shone out over it, we watched the pod of whales circling the mama whale, and the calf sidled up to her. It was kind of hard to tell in the darkness, but I could have sworn they were thanking us when they collectively blew misty air and water from their spouts.
We were all salty and sandy as we climbed back into our trucks.
Standing by the passenger door by Elsa’s car, Jude looked from me to Elsa. “Want me to drive your car back?” he asked.
“Oh!” Elsa gave her head a little shake. “I forgot to consider that. If you don’t mind, that would be great.”
Jude flashed a quick grin. “I offered.” After she fished her keys out, he hopped in and waved.
I waited for a moment after Elsa was in the truck. Relief gusted through me. The whales were safe, and she was safe. I turned to face her. Words were boomeranging around as I struggled to collect my thoughts.
“Elsa,” I finally said, my voice hoarse with emotion rushing through me. “I wanted to talk to you tonight.”
Her eyes were big in the dim glow of the dashboard lights.
I took an unsteady breath, turning to face her and reaching over to palm her cheek. “Are you okay?”
She blinked. “Yes.”
Her hand curled on my wrist, sliding up and down as if to comfort me. Touching her after a few nights of not touching her was like throwing a lit match into dry kindling.
“I missed you,” I murmured as I leaned across the console and pressed a kiss to her forehead. When I lifted my head, she tugged me back and brought her mouth to mine.
I poured so much feeling into that kiss. It was messy and open and hot. It was so much more need than lust. Love didn’t even capture how much she meant to me.
