We have her on the beach within a minute and Knox is already pulling the life vest off her. He tilts her head back and blows two breaths into her mouth, while I grab her hand and squeeze.
“Come on, babe. Breathe.” I kiss her knuckles, urging her to suck in air.
Knox blows into her mouth two more times, her chest raising and she starts to choke on the water, so he rolls her onto her side and she spits it out, coughing and gagging.
She takes a few deep breaths, then her eyes find me. “Jax?”
“Hey Squirt.” I kiss her forehead before helping her sit-up.
“I helped too,” Knox whines and she looks over at him and grabs his hand, kissing his knuckles.
Emmett and Callum are around us a moment later, crouched around her.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she says, pressing her palms into the sand, still taking a few deep breaths.
“Ev!” Beckett yells, followed by Will.
“I’m fine.”
“Let him look over you darling,” Donna says with her arm wrapped around Lizzy’s.
“I’m fine.”
“Everlee,” Callum and I both say in a commanding voice and her eyes snap to attention.
“Fine,” she huffs.
She has all the sass she usually does and her color looks good, but I’ll feel better after Beckett and Will look her over.
Emotion rocks me deep within, as the adrenaline from the moment tapers off, causing me to fall back onto my butt and grab my knees, but eyes are still focused on her. Every rise of her chest, every pulse in her neck, and every sigh and eye roll she’s giving Beckett.
“She looks good, but I’d still take her to the hospital to have a doctor evaluate her.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Everlee,” I bark louder than intended. “We almost lost you. Knox and I carried your near lifeless body back to shore. You’re going to the goddamn hospital to get checked out.”
Her eyes are wide, and tears form on the rims.
Fuck. Shit. No. No. No.
“I’m sorry,” she says, crawling into my lap. “I don’t want to scare you. I didn’t mean to. It’s just that those waves kept crashing on my face and the current or something was pulling against me. I couldn’t get away.”
Brushing the hair off her face, I rest my forehead on hers. “It’s ok. We’ve got you now. You’re safe, but we would all feel better if a doctor gave you the green light. Do this for us? You scared us.”
“Ok.”
Lizzy clears her throat and we all look up at her, then Donna.
Fuck.
She’s staring down at us with a look of confusion and understanding.
Well, we’re fucked. There’s no way she didn’t see through all that. We’re damn near hovering over her, protecting her like she’s ours. Which she is, but we’re excluding the rest of her family. When Beckett gave his two cents, then backed away, the four of us closed in that gap.
“I’ll go get the car,” Emmett offers, pushing off the sand.
“Let’s go.”
