Instead, she tossed sassy words to him like a lifeline. “You got this, Jaybone! I know you can do it, just like you passed that public speaking class after I coached you. Or when you won that dance contest you didn’t want anyone to know about? Get your butt onto this pier before I tell young Tyler here the whole story. Didn’t you have to wear a shirt with ruffles that made you sneeze? And you looked like a bullfighter? It’s one of the biggest tragedies of my life that I didn’t have a phone with a camera back then. Tyler, want me to show you his ending pose? It was awesome.”
Maybe it was unorthodox, but it was working. Jason’s pace just about doubled as he raced toward the pier. “You got this, Jaybone!! Go, go, go!”
Tyler joined in and the two of them jumped up and down, cheering on the two swimmers.
Finally, Tyler’s dad reached the ladder at the side of the pier, where Kendra directed Tyler to shine the light. She reached down to help him climb the metal rungs, then stepped back to give him space to wrap his arms around Tyler. She draped a blanket over his shoulders, then added another one just in case.
Then she turned her focus to Jason’s weary climb up the ladder. He practically fell into her arms when he reached the top. His body sagged against hers, and she wondered if he’d lost consciousness. But no—he was just murmuring in her ear. “I didn’t look like a bullfighter. I looked like a pirate.”
She laughed with so much relief that she just about cried.
She helped him toward the pile of blankets. He sank down onto his knees on the worn planks of the pier, then lost steam. She plucked a blanket off the top of the pile and wrapped it around him, adding a tight hug and a kiss on his cold cheek. “That was some hero shit out there.”
“Oh stop. Just doing my job. Pirate style.”
She laughed softly and rubbed her cheek against his to warm his skin. The search light of the oncoming speed boat glared in her eyes.
“Looks like the rest of the fire department’s finally showing up.” She stood up and waved at them. “Everyone’s here and safe,” she called.
The next few moments were all hustle and bustle, as Tyler and his father got quick medical checkups and were handed space blankets and water bottles. Jason waved off all help except for a long drink of water.
“Do you know what started the fire?” someone asked Tyler’s dad, who introduced himself to everyone as Brent Caldwell.
“No idea. I heard a noise and then smelled smoke and saw fire coming from the engine compartment. It’s not my boat, so I can’t vouch for the maintenance. We barely had time to grab life jackets. Tyler lost his when he jumped. We might have drowned if it hadn’t been for him.” He gestured at Jason, who didn’t argue, possibly because he was too tired.
The firefighters decided they didn’t need to take either of the two fire victims to the hospital. Instead they loaded them onto the temporary fire boat and zipped across the lake toward the house they were renting.
Colleen Hopper, who ran a juice bar when she wasn’t being a volunteer firefighter, stayed behind to tend to Jason.
“Do you have any idea who that is?” she asked as she crouched down next to him.
“No.”
“He’s a freaking billionaire. Caldwell Industries? That was his grandfather. I heard they’re having a big family reunion at Sans-Souci. My mom’s doing some of the catering.”
Kendra whistled. Sans-Souci was the most lavish estate on Lake Bittersweet, and the only one with a fancy name like that. The locals didn’t bother to pronounce it the French way, just referring to it as “Sansussy.” But apparently it meant “no worries,” which certainly didn’t fit what Tyler and Caldwell had just gone through.
“Just goes to show, even rich people need firefighters now and then.” Jason sounded as if his throat was raw, but at least he was spitting out full sentences now.
“That’s right. I gotta tell you, Jason, this might put you over the top for the fire chief job.”
“No, it’s probably too late for that,” said Jason.
“Are you talking about that douche who fell off the dock?”
“Yeah, he said he was the new fire chief.”
“Bullshit. Especially after I write up my report and make you look like Superman.”
Kendra laughed and exchanged a high-five with Colleen. “Now that’s how you do it. Seriously, he was a superstar. We heard the shouts and as soon as we figured out what was going on, he dove into that water and took care of business.”
“You were amazing too,” Jason said. He still had the blanket wrapped around his wide shoulders, and his arms looped around his knees. “She picked up the kid in a kayak,” he explained to Colleen. “And she called dispatch.”
“So uh…what were you two doing out here so late, anyway? Pretty lucky break for the Caldwells.”
“Well, you know, we had that concert, and there was a lot of cleanup, and…” Kendra realized she was starting to stammer.
Colleen laughed and waved off her explanations. “I’m teasing. You kids do whatever you want. Just take care of him, Kendra.”
It’s not like that, she wanted to say, but Colleen was already hurrying down the pier.
When she looked back down at Jason, she saw his eyes were drifting shut. Time to get Superman into a bed.
Eleven
When Jason woke up, he couldn’t stop sneezing. He also didn’t know where he was. He seemed to be in some sort of a cozy cabin. He was staring up at an A-frame ceiling made of raw pine boards. As he dragged himself into a sitting position, he noticed a piece of lined notepaper pinned to a nightstand by a paperweight shaped like a loon.
At least he was still in Minnesota.
The note was from Kendra.
Bad news: you have a fever. Good news: you’re kind of famous. There’s chicken soup and multiple hot dish casseroles in the kitchen. Holly will be here later. I’ll check in on you as much as I can. Kendra.
He sneezed ferociously and stumbled his way to the bathroom. He didn’t bother to check the kitchen for soup because his stomach would have thrown a full-on rebellion.
Instead, he went back to bed and didn’t wake up again until the door creaked open and Holly peered in. She wore flip-flops and torn cutoffs, making him wonder if he’d slept until summer.
“Oh good! You’re awake. You must be dealing with some major trauma from last night.”
“No therapy-speak,” he croaked. “Water.”
She disappeared and came back into the room with a tall glass of ice water. It helped. The fire in his throat eased, and he was left only with the fire in his head. Were his brains burning up?
“I have so much to tell you.” Holly sat cross-legged on the foot of the bed. “Where do you want me to start?”
“Uh…where am I?”
“The Harlequin Duck Cabin. Gina rearranged some reservations so you can stay here as long as you want.”
“Why not home?”
“Kendra said you were too exhausted to go home last night, and this morning you were running a fever so she didn’t want to kick you out.”
That made sense. But where was Kendra? He ached to see her. He had vague memories of a tender touch on his cheek and a warm blanket coming around him like grace itself. She hadn’t left his side, he knew that much. So where was she now?