Page 75 of Take Me Home

I woke up to pouring rain and what sounded like pounding. Was that just drips from the trees?

Then more pounding. Then yelling. Then my name.

“Jake! We have to go! The creek’s rising!”

My brain was foggy. Was I dreaming? My bedside clock read 2:33. In the afternoon. Oops.

More pounding. “Jake? Jake! I know you’re mad at me, but we have to get you out of here! We’re flooding!”

Then it was a steady thump. I stepped into the hall and saw the door bowing in the middle from the impact. “Jake! Seriously! Please! I know you’re mad, but the creek is flooding!”

I unlocked and opened the door, a soggy Darcy stumbling into my arms. I righted her and stepped back. Darcy wore a blue and white striped crop top with shorts overalls on top, accompanied by rain boots, a hat, and a rain jacket, all dripping. I couldn’t help but smile at her. She looked like a hero from a movie, all feisty and ready to save the day.

By contrast, I was in a zip-up hoodie with no shirt underneath and some basketball shorts, which did nothing to hide my morning wood. Er, afternoon wood at that point. My energy was Guy Who Just Woke Up. Her energy was Crisis Management Mode.

She gripped my arms with her wet hands, speaking slowly but with urgency. “Jake, come on. The creek’s flooding. We have to get you out of here and bring Selena. Go pack a bag and I’ll get her ready.”

My brain was still catching up, reeling from her touch and basic grogginess. I peered behind her outside. Water about an inch deep rushed over the ground in front of the barn.

“Shit. Okay,” I said, finally understanding.

“Meet me in the barn,” Darcy said, walking away.

“Darcy? About this morning, I —” I started.

“We can talk about that later. Right now we have to go,” she pushed.

“Right.”

I packed quickly, throwing most of my stuff in what Darcy called my “murder bag” just in case the whole trailer got flooded. I had robot pieces I didn’t want to get ruined. I also grabbed a quilt that looked handmade, just in case it was a family heirloom for them or something. When she said flooding, I wasn’t sure how much water that could actually mean.

In the barn, Darcy was almost finished prepping Selena, clipping on a riding helmet. The creek was already well above its banks. She threw me a backpack to fill with dog food.

“What’s your plan?” I asked.

“I don’t think we can both ride Selena and have her jump the creek. Do you think you can run and jump? I did that on the way over.”

“Darcy, you can’t jump the creek with Selena. It’s too dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt,” I said, my stomach sick thinking about it.

“She and I have a few tricks up our sleeves. We’ll be fine,” she said, lifting herself into the saddle.

“Darcy, you could die! It’s not just you against the world. Brianna loves you. Your family loves you,” I struggled to find my words, watching her eyes turn sad. “I care about you.”

Her eyes searched mine for a moment, then looked down to the creek. “Look, we don’t have time to debate. We need to cross before it’s higher. I jumped Selena a couple times this week. She should be able to do it. We have to go now.”

It took every fiber of my being to do as she asked. I couldn’t stand the thought of something bad happening to her, but she was right. We had to go or the creek would decide our fate for us.

“Jake,” she called after me. I turned. “I care about you, too. Be careful.”

If we’d had more time, I’d have run back to kiss her, because I really was scared. One of us could die. Instead, I put my energy into making it across the creek safely. I stood at the creek’s edge, throwing my bag as hard as I could to get it to the other side. Thankfully, it made it, as did the dog food bag. Then, I backed up, getting a running start before I jumped. I crashed down into the mud on the other side, water rushing over my calves. I faintly heard Darcy scream over the roar of the swirling water. I clawed my way onto the creek bank, finally making it to safety unscathed, just wet and muddy. I stood up and looked back at Darcy, a giant mud streak running down my front.

“Your turn!” I yelled.

“Are you okay?” she called.

I shot her a thumbs up and she shot me one back. “Careful, baby!” I shouted.

Darcy started Selena at a trot in a circle, finally breaking into a canter as she straightened out and turned for the creek. Those seconds felt like they went in slow motion. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I held my breath as I watched Selena lift her hooves on one side, gracefully leaping across and crashing down in a splash on the safe side. I let out a whoop and clapped, hardly believing she’d actually done it.

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