He grabbed the floater that was attached to the ship as the woman bobbed up out of the water a few yards away—possibly thrown out by an angry wave. She didn’t appear to be swimming anymore. Cody barreled toward her, catching her under the arms as a wave pounded into both their bodies.
He held on to the life preserver as two seamen pulled them in. They reached the boat, and the men on the deck helped get them on board.
Quickly they sprang into action. Cody tore the goggles off his face and checked to see if she was breathing. Her body had gone limp and her pulse was faint.
“Let me help, sir,” one of the men said, and only then did Cody realize he was doing the job of the entire crew—something he’d likely have to answer for later.
He didn’t care. Maybe he had something to prove. Maybe it was this ocean and this island that needed to be reminded that it couldn’t beat him anymore.
One-two-three, he counted in his head as he administered rescue breaths. No response.
Not a great way to start out his sentence on Nantucket. Back after all these years only to lose one his first day out? That couldn’t happen.
He closed his mouth over hers again. One-two-three.
“We were too late,” one of the seamen said.
Cody shook his head, and just then the woman’s eyes opened, she coughed up a bucket of water, and he turned her over.
Another rescue boat pulled alongside theirs, and Cody’s entire body sighed in relief. Thank you, God.
The woman coughed again, then tried to sit up. She wasn’t small or frail—she was muscular and athletic, the kind of person who made activity a part of her daily life. Would she be ticked off to find out she’d required saving? Lots of women were these days.
But as she shifted and brought her intense blue eyes to his, it wasn’t anger or irritation he found there. It was recognition.
“Cody?”
He leaned back on his heels and studied her face—freckles that trailed across the bridge of her nose, hair darkened by the sea, and familiar eyes as bright as the sky.
“Louisa?” Her name escaped his lips, almost a whisper.
“You two know each other?” Jessup knelt beside him.
She hadn’t looked away since she’d said his name.
Was their entire history flashing through her mind too? Was she wondering where he’d been? Whom he’d loved? Why he was back? Why he never called? Did she want to know how he and his family had survived after they left the island? Or maybe, just maybe, she was thinking of that stupid pact they’d made all those years ago. Back when things were simple and it seemed like there would never be a day they wouldn’t be in each other’s lives.
Of course, it was possible she was thinking none of those things. Maybe she was simply thinking that he was a jerk for saying the things he did.
She’d be right.
But there was a whole world she didn’t understand, and he wasn’t about to explain it to her. He stood.
Her eyes followed.
He didn’t like it. He didn’t like being watched. Being seen. Not by Louisa Chambers, anyway.
The crew of the other boat boarded their vessel and got to work. Soon Louisa would be headed for the hospital.
Once she was gone, Cody might be able to breathe again.
CHAPTER TWO
LOUISA SAT IN A WARM HOSPITAL BED, wondering if she could patent a new design for a hospital gown that was slightly more flattering than the tent they currently had her wrapped in.
Not that her attire mattered exactly, because, let’s face it, the real objective here was restoring her health. But truly—would it be too much to ask for a girl to get something with even a hint of shape to it? With her long hair a tangled mess of salt water and her face still pale from nearly dying, she could use all the help she could get.
These thoughts, she realized, were wholly unlike her. And she blamed them on the almost-drowning thing. Or more accurately, on Cody Boggs. The man who’d saved her life.
She’d been assessed upon arrival at the hospital, and her condition had been declared “fair.” As a result, she now found herself awaiting her discharge from the emergency room by way of a twelve-year-old Doogie Howser who’d told her he wanted to observe her for a few more hours before signing off and sending her home.
“We just want to be sure you’re okay,” he’d said when they first put her in this room.
She’d wondered if she should give him a lollipop because children typically liked those.
When had she gotten so old? Or maybe she wasn’t old. Maybe she only felt old because she was quickly approaching thirty and she was still as single as the day she was born. With hardly any more clothes on at the moment.
A nurse entered her room, and Louisa could see a small crowd in the hallway.
“The news heard about the daring rescue,” the nurse said with a sigh. Her name tag said Kiki, and she had short hair and a big, bright smile. “That is one hunky Coastie. You sure are a lucky girl.” She wrapped a sleeve around Louisa’s arm and started taking her blood pressure.
“Right. Lucky.”
Kiki’s eyebrows shot up. “Have you seen that man without all his gear on? I think you were pulled out of the water by a Greek god.”
Through the small window in the door, Louisa caught and held Cody’s gaze. His eyes practically drilled into her, leaving her with about as much oxygen as she’d had when she was underwater.
He looked away, a serious expression knitting his brow.
Cody hadn’t always been serious. She supposed she had something to do with that. Or maybe she didn’t. (How arrogant of her to think so!) Maybe he’d simply grown up and nothing she’d done made a bit of difference to him anymore.
But she knew that wasn’t true, didn’t she? She knew it because she still felt those deep pangs of guilt. She knew it because she was the one who had ruined everything.
Kiki rambled on and on about Cody’s muscles (which were, in all honesty, impressive) and his dark hair and even darker eyes. “He’s got this sort of mysterious thing going on. Do you want me to bring him in here? I mean, he did save your life.”
“No,” Louisa said quickly.
Kiki stopped what she was doing (what was she doing?) and stared at Louisa. Louisa quickly shifted. “Thanks, but I’ll talk to him in a little while.”
Kiki shrugged. “Suit yourself. If it were me, though, I’d be looking for every possible chance to talk to that man. And maybe slip him my phone number.” She laughed. “I mean, if I was single. I’m not. I’m happily married. But you don’t have a ring, so I think you should go for it.”
Louisa closed her eyes. Of all the people to show up as an answer to her prayers. Was God trying to play a mean joke on her or something? Are you just throwing this all back in my face or what? She groaned.
“You okay?” Kiki again. Hadn’t she left yet?
“Sorry, yes. How long until I can go home?”
“Oh, I couldn’t say, but I’ll go find the doctor for you.”
Louisa let her head fall back on the pillow. Her family wasn’t on the island yet, and she wasn’t looking forward to calling them to let them know she’d nearly died that morning. Her mother would be sick with worry. Louisa could practically see her fanning herself with all the drama of a Southern beauty queen.