Overcome with emotion, she wanted to cry, but the glacial temperatures and crippling fear left her too numb to do anything but try not to drown. And so far, she wasn’t doing a great job.
“Lawn chair!”
Completely disoriented, she thought she heard Colt shouting something, but it didn’t make any sense.
“Lawn chair!” The strange command came again, more urgent this time. But what did it mean? Was it possible she’d passed out and was experiencing a delirious dream? Wasn’t her life supposed to flash before her eyes? Instead, she got an incoherent hallucination.Just her luck.
“Lean back and bend your knees!” the figment of her imagination shouted.
Suddenly, a hazy memory of Roxie’s safety briefing sprang to her mind and on impulse, she quickly obeyed.
The new position gave her instant relief from the bitter surge trying to force her under.
“Hang on. I’m going to get you out of here.” Like a vision, Colt appeared by her side, linking his arm with hers.
“There’s a fallen log protruding from the bank up ahead,” he hollered over the deafening swell. “I’m going to steer us toward it, but I need you to work with me, okay?”
The river continued to drag them downstream at an alarming rate, and Penny stared into his unflinching gaze, unable to speak. Was this really happening? What was he doing here?
“We’re going to be okay. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
Without hesitation, she nodded.
“Good. Don’t fight the current. It’ll wear you out. We’ll gradually work our way toward the edge. Just stay with me.”
After what felt like hours of struggle, but probably only lasted a few minutes, Colt latched on to a branch, summoning all his strength to pull them toward the log and out of the swift current.
“Hang on. The raft will be here any second.”
As Penny clung to the massive tree trunk, Colt’s muscular arm braced around her shivering body, the reality of the situation washed over her.
Colt Davis had just saved her life.
Chapter 15
The fire crackled, sending amber sparks flitting into the obsidian sky. An endless swath of glittering stars canopied Pinedrop Rafting’s base camp, while an army of silhouetted pines stood guard around the perimeter. Although she could still hear the rumble of the river through the trees, she felt safe here—protected. But her sense of security had less to do with her sheltered location and everything to do with the man standing just beyond the campfire, surrounded by fellow rafters eager to recount the details of his heroic rescue.
She still couldn’t believe he’d jumped into the dangerous current, risking his life to save hers. And each time he looked past the crowd of gushing fans to catch her eye, her stomach fluttered.
“You aresolucky.” A young twentysomething woman wearing a hot-pink tank top emblazoned with the wordsTeam Brideplopped onto the log beside her and snatched the bag of marshmallows. “Your boyfriend is a heroandsuperhot.”
“We were on the raft behind you guys.” A petite brunette with a matching tank top squeezed onto the log between them, nearly stabbing Penny with her s’more skewer. “I wish we’d been close enough to see the whole thing go down. I heard he didn’t even hesitate before diving into the river after you.”
Tugging the wool blanket tighter around her shoulders, Penny shuffled over a few inches to give them room. She thought about correcting their assumption that she and Colt were a couple. But rather than have the entire bachelorette party converge on him like a swarm of flirtatious bees, she merely smiled and focused on her slowly browning marshmallow.
“I wonder if Ansel would do the same thing for me.” The bride—as denoted by her white tank top—puckered her lips in a contemplative pout.
“Of course he would!” her posse rushed to assure her. Although, she didn’t look entirely convinced.
A twig snapped, drawing their attention to the other side of the campfire.
“He’s coming over here,” the brunette squealed under her breath.
“Come on, ladies. Let’s give the lovebirds some privacy.” With an authoritative sweep of her hand, the bride gathered her dutiful followers to the second firepit, tossing Penny a wink over her shoulder as she waggled her ring finger suggestively.
Flustered, Penny diverted her gaze into the bright flames, hoping the heat would camouflage her telltale blush as Colt approached.
“Still working on the same marshmallow?” he asked with a playful smile.
