With his feet dangling out the window, Nate grabbed hold of her face and planted a hard, short kiss on her lips.
“Hi.”
“H-hi.” Gracie smiled, but he knew she was fighting the urge to break down.
“Come on.” He grabbed her hands and pulled “Keep ahold of my hands and I’ll pull you through the window with me.”
“I can’t,” she shook her head.
The water inside the car had already gotten much higher. It was almost chest-level and the bottom few inches of her hair were floating around in it.
“Sure you can. Just don’t let go.”
“No,” she pulled back on his hands. “I mean Ican’t.My foot’s stuck.” They both looked down to the floorboard near the center of the car. “I was thrown forward when we hit the water. My foot got jammed up in there. I can’t get out.”
Nate wanted to howl with frustration, mentally cursing the fact that they faced yet another road block in getting her to safety.
Pushing it back, he made his way fully into the car and forced himself to sound calm.
“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to go under and get your foot unstuck.” He glanced back at the open window’s edge. The water only a few centimeters away now. “In the meantime, if you see the water is going to get above your head before I’m back up, I want you to take the deepest breath you can and hold it. Just like that day at the cliff.”
“Nate, please. Just go.” Her bottom lip quivered and a tear fell down her cheek. “There’s no reason for us both to die today.”
“Gracie, listen to me. No one else is dying today, you hear me? You can do this.”
Nate leaned up and kissed her one more time before dipping his head beneath the water. He saw where her left foot was trapped, but try as he might, he couldn’t get her loose.
Unwilling to give up, he continued his attempts to work her free until he saw black dots flashing before his eyes. Knowing he’d be no use to her if he passed out, Nate shot back up for another quick breath.
Terror gripped him when he realized the water was about to come into the car from the window. Once that started, it would only take a few seconds before the entire car became completely submerged.
“Nate!” Gracie shouted his name. Her fear was palpable as she looked at him with wide, panicked eyes.
Water poured in through the driver’s window. Because Nate was free to move about, he was able to get his head up next to the car’s ceiling. With Gracie being stuck, hers was at the same level as the seat’s headrest.
Gracie tilted her head as far back as she could, but it made very little difference. The water was already hitting the bottom of her chin.
“Take a deep breath!” he ordered from above her, his eyes fixated on the rapidly rising water.
“I don’t know if I can!” Tears fell from her eyes. “I feel so weak.”
“Goddamn it, Gracelynn, just do it!”
“I love you, Nate!”
His eyes flew to hers as she inhaled deeply then closed her eyes and mouth.
“Gracie!” he shouted back. “I love you, too!”
But water was already above her head. She hadn’t heard his precious words.
They were words he swore he’d never say to any woman, his mother the only exception. Now, as the interior of the car became flooded and they began to sink at a much faster rate, Nate found himself praying for the chance to say them to her again.
Ignoring the yelling coming from outside the car, Nate filled his lungs, and went back to work trying to pull the plastic panel trapping her foot free.
It moved an inch or two, but Nate lost his grip on the damn thing when the car jolted, coming to a rest on the lake’s shallow bottom.
He started to pull again when he felt something tapping him on his shoulder. Looking up, Nate realized Gracie was waving her arms through the water, trying to get his attention.
