Chapter 31

thirty-one

. . .

Easton

I woke up in a foul mood. Maybe it was the conversation we’d had last night. Maybe it was the hurt I saw in Henley’s eyes when I’d refused to talk to her about Jilly.

What was the point of digging up the past?

And I was obsessively watching the weather. The winds were increasing, and I just wanted to get this over with.

“I’m ready if you are,” my girlfriend said, as she came out wearing a pair of leggings and a long sleeve tee. It wasn’t that cold in Rosewood River considering the time of year, though the gusts of wind would make it feel colder. And the water would be chilly.

“I’m ready.” My voice was dry. I couldn’t fake the fact that I did not want to do this.

She had her duffle bag with her wet suit, helmet, and river shoes in it. Three things that I’d insisted she have.

I took the bag from her hand and slipped it over my shoulder. I opened her car door and helped her inside before leaning down and kissing her.

I needed to shake this off. A clear mind was important when I was out on the water. Maybe everyone was right, and I was overreacting.

It would be fine.

We’d done this dozens of times.

“So, there are a couple of groups that go out, huh? But it’s not really a race, is it?” she asked, as we drove down to the area where we would be starting. It was a much higher point on the river. There would be a good rapid at the start and at the finish. The middle would be calmer.

It will be fine. Of course, it will.

“Yes. The local diehards get in the rafts. And everyone in town comes out to watch from down at the bottom. It’s just a Rosewood River tradition. We’ve been coming out here and doing it for years. Others do the easier courses for fun. This is the more intense group.” I chuckled.

I was making a conscious effort to appear relaxed.

“Well, you seem like the leader of the intense group, Chadwick.” She smirked.

Her hair was in two long braids, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup other than a little lip gloss. She looked fucking stunning.

“Such a smartass.” I parked the car near the launch point and found the guys all waiting up top with our raft. I glanced down at my phone to see a text from my mom that said they were already down at the bottom, and she was wishing us luck.

We hopped out of the car and made our way over to the guys.

“Ahhh… you decided to show up,” Josh Black said, coming up behind me, and I rolled my eyes. The dude was a wanker, and I had no patience for him today.

He was an insecure asshole, and he’d almost caused us to capsize two years ago because he was reckless and irresponsible on the water.

“How about you just stay in your own lane this year. Worry about yourself.”

“You never like it when someone challenges you, do you?” he pushed, and Rafe stepped up and got in his face, but he continued. “So used to winning, you can’t handle getting thumped by your opponent.”

“Josh, step the fuck off. You’re being a dick,” Rafe said.

“Ahhh… big brother is fighting your battles now, too. You really have gone soft.” Josh barked out a laugh just as Bridger stepped in front of him and bumped his chest into Josh, causing him to step back.

“Move the fuck along, asshole.” Bridger was a man of few words, but when he didn’t like you, he had no problem letting you know.

“Don’t let him get to you,” I said, clapping my brother on the shoulder as Henley watched us with concern, and I turned back to the asshole still standing there smirking. “The problem is, Josh, that this isn’t a race. It’s for fun. It’s about getting down the river in one piece. We don’t all start at the same damn time. Chill the fuck out.”

“Yet they call you the king of the river. Like I said before, it’s time to pass the crown, asshole.”

What is his fucking deal?

“And like I told you before, there is no fucking crown, Josh. It’s just a saying. You’re taking it way too seriously. And they say that because we’ve never capsized before. Not that you didn’t do everything in your power to make that happen.” I turned my back on him because the guy was ridiculous.

“He’s such a jerk,” Henley whispered against my ear, her hand sliding into mine.

“Don’t give him a thought. He just needs to stay the fuck away from us out on the water.” I kissed her forehead. “Let’s get you into your wet suit.”

I set her bag down and helped her slip into her wet suit, life jacket, and river shoes, before putting her helmet on her head and clasping it beneath her chin.

“Looking cute, Hen,” Rafe said with a chuckle.

“How come none of you are in wet suits?” she asked, as her gaze moved from me to Axel, Rafe, Bridger, and Archer.

“We grew up here, so we’re used to the cold water,” Axel said.

“Rosewood River rafters, let’s get ready to ride the river!” Carlton Hobbs, the mayor of Rosewood River, shouted through his megaphone.

“Wow. They don’t mess around here,” Henley said before pushing up on her tiptoes and giving me a chaste kiss.

“Just keep your eyes up, okay?” I said, speaking close to her ear. “And if for any reason you go into the water, remember to stay on your back. I’ll get you, all right?”

“You worry too much, Chadwick. We’ve got this. It’s going to be fun.”

Everyone got situated, and I made sure that Henley was placed between Bridger and Archer, and Rafe and Axel were on the other side of the raft. I was at the back of the raft, the stern, as I would be guiding and steering us down the river.

Fuck. My stomach was twisting, which it never did.

I loved this shit. Lived for it most of the time.

But I also knew the risks. I knew if my brothers or my cousins went into the water, they’d be fine.

We were all skilled rafters.

But Henley was a different story.

I didn’t know how she’d handle that type of situation. Everyone responded differently when they were plunged into the river and being pulled by the current.

She was a strong swimmer, but that didn’t matter. The river was a different beast, and having waves go over your head could be scary if you weren’t used to it.

I’d gone over all of these scenarios with her dozens of times.

Each time we’d gone out on the water, we’d talked about situations that could arise.

Nothing had happened yet, and I hoped today would be no different.

We were the first raft up, and we got into position.

Henley glanced over at me, her sapphire blues locking with mine, and I looked at her, communicating without words.

Be smart. Be safe.

She nodded as if she understood me.

“Three. Two. One. Go!” Carlton shouted, and we took off.

I heard him shout for the next raft, and I was not happy because he knew he was supposed to allow time between each one. With the winds picking up and the current being a little unpredictable, time between rafts was a safety precaution. But we were off and moving.

I was shouting out commands as we paddled and paused. The water was high, and the waves were causing us to catch some air as we came down the first dip.

My gaze was trained ahead, but I kept glancing over at Henley. She was sitting too far forward.

“Don’t lean over the edge!” I shouted to her, but she couldn’t hear me with the wind whipping around us.

She was determined to prove to me that she could do this. She paddled her ass off. Trying hard to keep up with everyone else.

“Dig!” I shouted, because we were traveling through some large gaps. We were approaching the roughest area, and I wanted us to be in a good position. “Hard forward dig!”

Everyone did as I instructed.

We were doing exactly what we needed to do.

My arms burned as I did my best to keep us on track. The large boulder to the right caught my eye. “Bump!”

Everyone leaned into the middle of the boat, pulling their paddles in so we would avoid the rock.

Damn. Henley had it down. She was doing everything I’d taught her.

I’d underestimated her.

She glanced over for a brief second with a wide grin on her face as her gaze locked with mine.

She fucking loved this.

I chuckled as we swerved to the right. Everything was going well as we made our way through the aggressive rapids.

My brothers and cousins howled with laughter, and Henley couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.

This was a grade IV, which was for advanced rafters, but it was also somewhat predictable, so you knew what to expect. The wind whipped around us, which we were prepared for, but this last gust was more intense than the others.

A raft approached in my peripheral, and I tried to steer us to one side, as we didn’t want to get bumped with the rapids moving so quickly.

“High side!” I shouted. “High right!”

This meant that they all needed to leap to the right side of the boat.

They did exactly as they were supposed to.

But Josh motherfucking Black’s raft slammed into us hard, just as we hit a rock, causing the boat to catch air, and everything happened so fucking fast.

Henley’s body flew from the raft in slow motion. Like I was watching my life flash before my eyes, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

She hit the water between the two rafts, and Josh’s raft went right over her body—and I swore to fucking God I’d kill this motherfucker.

“She’s okay! I’ve got her!” Bridger shouted, as he was at the bow up front, and he had eyes on her.

“Can you see her?” I shouted, the panic apparent in my voice. Rafe looked at me briefly, and I saw the concern in his gaze.

He knew I was losing it. The rapids were out of control, and we paddled, and I tried everything to get to her.

I couldn’t fucking get to her.

I could see her moving up ahead. She was on her back, but water was going over her head. She was reaching her hands out to grab onto something.

“Get the fucking paddle to her!” I yelled, as all four of the guys were doing everything that they could to reach her.

But they couldn’t reach her.

I couldn’t fucking reach her.

My heart raced so fast I was sure it would burst through my chest.

I dug deeper into the water.

Frantic.

Panicked.

Desperate.

Bridger’s paddle was within reach.

“Grab the paddle, Henley!” he called out.

But just as her fingers wrapped around it, her body slammed into a rock, and she went back under. Now she was moving sideways down the rapid, and I couldn’t breathe.

I dug harder into the water. Trying to catch her.

Josh was just ahead of us now, and he reached his paddle out for her, but the assholes on his boat didn’t know how to steer and instead, Josh hit her in the side of the head with his paddle.

We caught huge air as we were moving way faster than normal, and we still couldn’t get there. We were almost at the end.

She’d been tossed all over the river, and her body didn’t react when she hit a rock with her side, and panic surged.

Was she conscious?

“Get that motherfucking paddle to her, Bridger!” I cried out, and he tried.

We all tried.

I was done trying.

I dropped my paddle and dove out of the raft.

I swam hard until I reached her.

The water was freezing, but I felt nothing.

I grabbed her arm, pulling her onto my body as I lay on my back with her back on top of my chest, keeping her head above water.

Her body was slack against mine as we traveled down the river with her in my arms and me praying like hell that she was okay.

After we made it through the rough patch, I knew we were close to the finish, and everything slowed. Bridger, Rafe, Archer and Axel were out of the raft and sprinting toward us. I don’t know when it happened, but they were pulling us to the side now, as they were able to stand.

We sat her forward, and I pounded on her back.

She vomited and continued to try to suck in air.

“Breathe, baby,” I said, as I unclasped her helmet and tossed it in the water. My voice was unrecognizable.

Bridger was in front of her, unclasping her life jacket. “She needs air.”

I unzipped the top of the wet suit, rubbing her back as she vomited again.

And then she fell back against me, her breathing labored.

She was breathing.

Her hand clasped mine as she just lay there, staring up at me.

And then she let out a few short breaths and nodded. “I’m okay.”

I’m okay.

I’m okay.

Axel and Rafe pulled her to her feet, and she took a minute to steady herself. I just sat in the water staring up at her.

The lump in my throat made it impossible to breathe.

My head hit my knees, and I fucking lost it.

A loud sob left my throat as my fists hit the water.

“Easton.” Bridger’s voice was hard, determined.

He reached for my hand and helped me stand as fury took over.

Josh walked toward us, holding his hands up in apology. “Sorry about that, Henley. I lost control.”

He wasn’t the only one.

I dove through the air, landing on top of him and tackling him in the shallow water. The first fist hit him in the cheek, and I was hoping the next would break his fucking nose.

But someone stopped my arm from connecting with his face again, and I heard shouting all around me.

My mother was there. My father was there.

Bridger and Axel were holding me back as Josh just sat there in the water, wiping the blood from his face as he smiled up at me.

Rafe and Archer were keeping Henley upright as she stared at me with tears streaming down her face.

“Looks like the king of the river lost his crown today.” Josh laughed.

He fucking laughed.

I fought like hell to get to him again. “You could have fucking killed her!”

“You’re being dramatic. She’s fine. She took in some water. It fucking happens, asshole,” Josh said as he pushed to his feet.

“Easton!” my mother shouted, her hands on each side of my face. “Look at me. She’s okay.”

I looked over at my girlfriend, who was still wobbling on her feet.

“I’m sorry,” she said, as she swiped at the tears streaming down her face.

I held up my hands in surrender. “We need to get her to the hospital. I want her lungs checked for water.”

“I’ve already called 9-1-1,” my father said. “The ambulance will be here soon.”

I heard the sirens in the distance, and everyone watched as we got Henley loaded inside, and I climbed in and insisted on riding with her.

I didn’t speak one word in the ambulance.

Henley’s hand was in mine.

But I couldn’t process what had just happened.

She’d looked lifeless.

She’d taken in too much water.

I could have lost her.