Page 119 of Stepping Into Tomorrow

“Eli is missing,” her father answered.

Nash’s eyes widened, fear splintering his usual stoic mask.

“He took off in a boat,” Isabella added.

“He went out in this?” Nash asked.

“He’s not in the storage yard.” Her dad shook his head.

“He’s at sea.” Isabella held up her phone.

Nash grabbed it from her, studying it intently. “I told him never to go out alone.”

“He was upset,” her mother added.

“I have to go after him. Papi, do you still have the emergency kit in the boat?” Isabella asked.

She turned but Nash and her father were gone. Where were they? Would Nash really abandon her at a moment like this?

Isabella ran outside as the wind picked up. “Papi?”

Nash was in her father’s boat, tossing the ropes off the dock as her father got behind the helm. Isabella raced down the docks as quickly as possible, being careful of the slippery surface.

“Wait! I’m coming with you.”

Nash held up her phone and shook his head. He aimed a fierce, determined look her way. “No, baby. You stay here where it’s safe. We’ll bring Eli back. Promise.” After that, her dad gunned the engine, ignoring the no-wake zone.

“Nash!” She stood at the edge of the dock as he moved farther and farther away. The waves got bigger and bigger, and this was just the bay. Oh Dios, the sea will be so much worse. “I can’t lose him!”

Icy wind whipped against her skin, unforgiving even through her coat. She waited until the boat was out of view before she turned back towards the marina.

Her mother came out with a blanket to wrap around her. “Come inside, mija. There is nothing we can do right now. I’ve called the coast guard.”

“I just want him back—both of them.”

“I know. But Nash and your father know these waters well. Come on.” She led her inside.

She stood by the window, staring out at the churning sea. The tea in her hand was incapable of chasing the chill from her bones. Three of the people she loved most were out there at the mercy of Mother Nature.

52

NASH

Nash’s body trembled from a mixture of adrenaline and the cold. His eyes flicked between the green dot on the phone screen and the dangerous giant waves crashing against the boat. Tomas was careful to angle his vessel the right way so as not to be capsized, however it was slowing down their progress. But it looked like Eli was taking a familiar route that Nash had shown him when fishing on countless occasions. They were almost to Eli’s favorite spot by the sandbar. It’s gonna be hard to control the boat. What if he hits it? His much smaller boat is no match for these waves—especially with a kid at the helm.

Nash searched the green water. The buoy signaling to boats a warning of the sandbar should be there—there it was.

“Where is he?” Tomas asked.

Nash glanced down at the screen once more, but the green dot was gone.

His heart stuttered in his chest. His eyes were glued to the raging ocean. “Where are you, bud?”

A flicker of orange capped a wave and then disappeared.

“There he is!” Nash pointed to the break only yards away.

Tomas gunned the engine, heading towards it. The orange life vest poked through the water once more.

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