Page 53 of Wanting Happily Ever After

There were no answers, so Sarah took Audrey’s hand in hers and squeezed tightly as they watched Brody make his way to the swim platform. “He’ll get there,” Sarah said, not sure whether she was speaking to Audrey or to herself. “He’ll get there.”

The other woman nodded but didn’t take her eyes off the lake.

“He’s almost there.”

But Sarah could see he was having trouble. It must be impossible to see with the waves and the rain. He lifted his head up to check his distance and that’s when it happened. A hard wave came up and rocked the platform violently. Clara slid on the slippery wood. Next to her, Audrey gasped and clutched Sarah’s hand tighter as the raft pitched, sending Clara straight into Rory, knocking her into the water.

“No!”

Sarah broke away and ran until her feet were in the water. “Rory!”

“Sarah, no.” Byron had appeared. He wrapped a towel around her shoulders and backed her up gently onto the sand. “He’s got her. Brody’s got her. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

But she didn’t know whether she believed that. How could she? She’d lost her husband in that lake. And now…her daughter…in the middle of a storm. She wasn’t a strong swimmer. She was in the water. In the lake. And Brody.Oh God.She squeezed her eyes shut, but only for a second.Keep them safe, Josh,she pleaded.Please. Keep them safe. I can’t lose them, too.

“He’s got her!” Byron yelled.

Her eyes flew open. She strained to see them through the hard rain, but it did in fact look like Brody had pulled Rory out of the lake. The paddleboard pitched wildly, but Rory was lying flat, the way Brody had a moment earlier. He was in the water now, with one hand on the board and one hand reaching out to Clara. She took it and he quickly pulled her onto the board as well.

“Oh thank God,” Audrey cried. “They’re going to be okay.”

But Brody wasn’t getting on the board with them. Sarah shook her head in disbelief. He had to get on the board. He couldn’t swim in these conditions.No.

“It’s going to be fine,” Byron was saying. “He’s on his way back.”

And he was. Slowly. Brody was at the back of the board, hanging off, his upper body holding on and his legs kicking. The going was easier on the way back because of the direction of the wind, but still, the board slammed up and down violently.

Some parents who’d been standing by, watching, ran out into the water up to their waists, ready to receive the board and its precious cargo. As soon as Brody was close enough, Sarah watched him slide off the back and shove it as hard as he could. The paddleboard, and the girls, sailed smoothly through the water into the waiting hands of the parents who scooped them up and ran them to the shore.

The moment her daughter was in her arms, Sarah crumpled to the wet sand, sobbing.

Rory clung to her, shivering and sobbing. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Sarah held her tight, unwilling to let go. “You’re okay.”

Rory started babbling incoherently about her experience, her small voice muffled against Sarah’s chest. “Cold and…the rain….slipped…Brody came and—”

“Brody!”

Sarah lifted her head and with Rory still clinging to her, she searched the water, trying to find the last spot where she’d seen him. Right before he’d shoved the paddleboard and the girls to safety.Where was he? No. No. No.

She could not lose him, too. She could not.No!

“Brody?” She whispered his name and she continued to search in vain. And when she still couldn’t see him, she screamed. “Brody!” In her arms, Rory squirmed against her as she screamed again. “Brody! No!”

She fell to her knees and buried her face into Rory’s wet hair, defeated and heartbroken. He’d promised her he’d keep Rory safe. A promise he’d kept. But he hadn’t promised he’d come back to her.

Wrung out, with a barge of emotions slamming through her, she didn’t hear her name the first time. Or the second.

“Sarah?”

Finally, she looked up and blinked. Once and then again. “Brody?”

He grinned down at her. “Who else—”

She didn’t give him a chance to finish; she leapt to her feet and wrapped her arms around him, needing to feel him to believe it was really him. Sarah was vaguely aware that Rory was still sandwiched between them. But she didn’t care if she hadn’t explained anything to her daughter about their relationship yet. Or that she’d barely even figured it out herself. She didn’t care about anything as she pressed her lips to his and kissed him hard—except that she had her entire family in her arms. Safe.

ChapterSeventeen

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