He knew she wasn’t going to like it, but what choice did he have?
“Petula. I need to?—"
“I’ve got it.”
Julian nearly wept with relief.
Spencer’s presence had never been more welcome.
Julian immediately felt him grab for the remaining length of rope, and while Julian hung onto Petula tightly, Spence tied it around her waist.
Even with his wetsuit on, Julian could feel the coldness of Petula’s body against his.
Time was certainly of the essence.
The fear in Petula’s eyes was also slowly dimming; her body losing all its rigidity, and had she just now started…humming?
“I’m not so cold anymore,” she marveled waveringly. “And Julian? I’m not afraid, either. This is really just like a big bathtub, isn’t it? And…you’re here.”
Her voice, which just a few minutes before had been sharp and scared, was now slurred and euphoric.
“Hypothermia is setting in,” Spence told him unnecessarily, tying the rope off to his own utility belt.
Yeah.Julian understood that, and it scared the crap out of him. “Let’s move.”
Trask held up an inflatable vest. “We need to get this on her first, so she doesn’t go under.”
It was a smart move, just in case.
While Trask was doing that, Buck came forward holding a neoprene cap, gloves, and booties. “These will help. Not much, but a little.”
Buck yanked the hat down onto Petula’s head, gave Julian the gloves to deal with, then dove down below them to put the booties on Petula’s feet.
It was the best they could do for now.
Once those tasks were complete, Trask raised his voice toward the shore.
“Pull,” he yelled to those waiting.
Mason and Kyle hauled on the rope, while Julian—with the help of the vest—kept Petula’s head from dipping down. His brothers in the water teamed up in arrow formation ahead of them, making sure their path was cleared of debris.
It was a rapid trip in, considering there were four of them with fins cutting through the water.
By the time they reached shore, however, Petula was drifting in and out of consciousness.
Dry hands hauled them onto the bank, where EMT’s quickly and competently stripped Petula down, then covered her, head to toe, with thermal blankets. His brothers had turned their heads away, so as not to see her naked, and for that, Julian was thankful.
“You also need to be checked out, Julian,” his older brother Mason ordered. “You were out there in the cold water quite a while.”
Julian gestured to the three siblings who had come to his aid. “They were?—"
“—in drysuits,” Mason finished for him. “Theyhad time to suit up properly. You, on the other hand, did not.”
Mason actually winked at him and tipped his head toward the emergency vehicle.
Julian got it. What his brotherwasn’tsaying out loud. Julian’s exaggerated coldness would be a way for him to ride in the ambulance with Petula.
Julian didn’t hesitate.
