A nameless dread engulfs me, but one thought burns through the haze of fear and terror. It tells me to swim.
I move as if the devil’s on my heels. No matter the cost, I must save Hayes.
Coughing and sputtering, I swim in the raging river as it travels down another set of rapids. A few yards in front of me, Hayes’s lifeless body bobs like a cork. The river carries him over the rocks and no matter what I do, I can’t close the distance between us.
All I know is he’s face down. Not breathing. Not moving. Not showing any signs of life.
That shock sends a burst of energy surging through me. I double down on my strokes, swimming with the current, and sliding over sunken rocks. The whole time, I keep my head up, as much as I can, and my eyes locked on Hayes’s lifeless body.
And then…
Suddenly…
I’m there.
I’m not a powerful swimmer. It’s a miracle I get to him at all. My fingers grab his shirt. I pull him to me.
Lips blue.
Eyes closed.
He’s not breathing.
By God’s grace, I flip him to his back.
But now what?
The medicine woman of my village taught me how to heal wounds and common ailments, but Lucinda taught Carmen and me the basics of CPR. I fall back on her training now.
Shifting our positions so that he lies over my chest, I wrap an arm under and around his shoulder, holding him tight. With my other hand, I grab his cheeks and push them together. I take in a deep breath, place my lips around his, and blow a breath into him.
Nothing happens.
Again! Do it again!
My inner voice screams at me. I suck in another breath, tighten the seal around his mouth, and blow hard and fast.
Nothing happens.
I take in another breath. I try again.
Nothing.
Then I realize the water no longer rages around me. Knowing I can’t do CPR while floating in the water, I lock my arm around his chest and kick toward the shore.
God is surely looking down on me as the current pushes me toward the bank. I find the bottom of the river with the heel of my boot and pull Hayes toward the bank and out of the water.
Moving quickly, I fall back on Lucinda’s training. There’s no breath. I’m shaking too much to feel for a pulse, but I know enough to roll him to his side and bang against his back.
Water spills from his mouth, and I roll him to his back again. Kneeling beside him, I tip his head back, open his mouth, and breathe into him while watching to see if his chest rises.
Which it does, barely.
I take in another deep breath, feeling light-headed and shaky. I breathe for him, frantic with fear throbbing inside me.
Ashen and blue, there’s no sign of life, but his chest moves with my breath.
It rises, then falls.
Black dots dance in my vision. I’m seconds from passing out myself, but I take in another breath.
I can’t fail him.
Again, I lean over him. My lips press against his, nearly as cold as his, and I breathe with everything I have.
Ice cold, his body temperature plummets as my fear escalates.
“Don’t die. You can’t die!” I thump on his chest, then remember the rest of the CPR Lucinda taught me.
Shifting position, I place the palm of my hand against his breastbone. I lay my other hand on top of the first and lock my fingers together. Then I lean over him and push down as hard as I can.
I don’t remember how many times I’m supposed to compress his heart. The panic pulsing through me robs me of that knowledge, but I remember enough to know I must breathe for him too.
Shifting position yet again, I draw on the reserves of adrenaline crashing through me.
Tipping his head back, I open his mouth, take in a breath, then lean forward, until my lips lock around his. I breathe out and close my eyes in prayer.
I take in another breath through my nose, keeping my mouth covering his, and prepare to blow out when Hayes’s fingers tangle in my hair, then wrap around the back of my neck.
My eyes fly open. Our gazes connect. I try to push back, but Hayes locks his hand around the back of my neck, holding me in place. His lips brush against mine; cold, but alive.
“Rosie, if you want to kiss me that badly, all you had to do was ask.” The corner of his mouth lifts in a grin.
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” I rock back and thump him in the chest.
Hayes yanks me toward him and captures my lips in a kiss.
My fingers claw at the fabric of his shirt, frantic, as he turns my breath into a kiss I will dream about for the rest of my life.
SEVENTEEN
Hayes
My entire body aches. There’s pain in my right wrist, twinges all down my spine, and the throbbing in my head nearly blinds me.
My entire body shakes from hypothermia, but my blood heats holding Rosalie. I capture her mouth and kiss her with everything I have.
To think I could’ve died…
She holds herself up with her arm, propping her body so as not to crush me. Not that she could. I’m twice her size.
I nip at her lips, lay a line of kisses along the angle of her jaw, and trail them down the gentle curve of her neck.
Her angelic eyes stun me, making my heart skip a beat. I lick and nip, finding my way back to her rosebud lips. Once there, I steal the heat of her mouth and devour the quickening rush of her breaths.
My arm wraps around her waist, and I reverse our positions until I’m leaning over her. I take a moment to admire the perfection of this woman I barely understand and debate my next move.
I should release her. Climb off her body and respect her personal space, but the flush in her cheeks, the warmth in her eyes, and the way she clutches my shirt, speak to something else.
“You saved me.” I glance toward the river, the water rushing past, the roaring of rapids upstream, and shake my head. “You’re nothing like what I thought you would be.”
Gaps in my memory worry me, but I remember Rosalie giving me her breath and pumping on my chest.
“You almost died.” Rosie slaps me in the chest again. “Swear, you’ll never do that again.”
“I don’t remember…” My voice trails off, but my attention shifts to the river.
She pulled me out of that and performed CPR. She brought me back from the dead.
“I went to the base of the falls to wait for you.” Tears well in her eyes and her voice cracks. “It was taking forever, but then I saw…” She chokes up and swallows a sob. “It’s a miracle I saw you. There was just this flash of color in the water. You weren’t moving, and I knew something terrible had happened.”
My memory of the waterfall is fuzzy and incomplete.
“What did you do?”
“I had to get to you. I jumped in and tried to reach you, but there were more rapids. It was all I could do to keep my head out of the water and my eyes on you.”
I can’t imagine her fright.
“You jumped in?”
“It’s a miracle I reached you.”
“I was unconscious?” I feel my temple and explore a long gash with my fingertips.
She nods and wrings her hands. “You weren’t breathing.”
Damn.
“I tried to—but I couldn’t in the water. I pulled you here and…”
“Performed CPR?” My hand drops from my temple to rub at my sternum.