She tapped on his name. “It’s ringing.” Once. Then twice.Come on, pick up, Caleb.Three times.Please, God, don’t let me lose the signal.Why wasn’t he answering?
A click sounded. “This is Caleb. I’m unavailable at the moment. Leave a message and I’ll get back with you.”Beeeep.
“Caleb, it’s me. I’m in a boat in the middle of the main basin. Currently just west of Inlet Bay and drifting westward. I ran out of gas and hardly have a cell signal and my phone’s running out of battery. Please come as soon as you can!” There was no sound on the line. She checked the screen.
“He didn’t pick up?”
“No. And the call dropped. I don’t even know if the message went through.”
All the hopes that had buoyed her the past minute sank like a two-ton boulder, leaving her with a severe adrenaline crash.
“Maybe we’ll get a signal again.”
“I’m down to 7 percent.” She shut off her phone. Even if Caleb later saw that she’d called, her voicemail might not have gone through. He might try to call her back, but that wouldn’t do any good. They were likely stuck out here for the night. She hugged herself against the cold breeze.
“We should probably think about getting settled for the night.”
She glanced around the small boat. What did “settled” mean exactly? There were two metal benches, too short for even her to stretch out on, and a flat-bottomed hull that was probably cold as ice.
“You’ll be warmer when you get down low, out of the wind.”
The boat rocked with his movement. A seat well cover squeaked as he lifted it. “We can open up the life vests and lie on them.”
“Do you want your hoodie back?”
“Keep it. I’ll be fine.” He handed her two vests and they made a pallet of sorts in the middle of the boat.
She pulled up the hoodie and tied the drawstring under her chin. Then she lowered herself onto the floor, lying on her back on the lumpy pallet, one of the life vests cushioning her head.
The boat rocked hard as Gray settled somewhere beside her.
Minutes ticked away as the vessel settled in place. Water licked thehull. Crickets chirped and a bullfrog croaked, making it seem as if the boat were just offshore. Funny how sounds carried over the water.
It really was warmer down here though. No wind. And the vests provided welcome insulation from the cold hull.
She was supremely conscious of Gray’s body and the heat rolling off it. She could hear his breaths. They were all alone out here. In the dark. Under the stars. Her heart acknowledged that fact with a few heavy thumps.
“I know it’s early,” he said, “but we should probably try to get some sleep.”
She was still trying a while later. Maybe an hour. Maybe two, judging by the drop in temperature. She shivered, then crossed her arms over her chest, hoping to conserve some warmth. It was hard to fall asleep when she was so cold.
Gray had been still for a long time. At least one of them was getting some rest.
Maybe she should check her phone one last time and see if Caleb had gotten her message. It would be worth it, even if it took the rest of her battery. Once morning arrived, other boaters would be about. They wouldn’t need the phone then.
She rolled as quietly and gently as she could away from Gray so the light and motion wouldn’t wake him. Then she powered up her phone. It was bright in the darkness. There was no signal, and as her gaze flicked to the battery icon, it dropped to 3 percent. Hopes dashed, she shut down the phone.
Looked as if they’d be out here all night.
Chapter 29
This was torture. They were in the middle of the lake, all alone, night closing around them, and he was lying inches from the woman he’d spent his whole adulthood reminiscing about. Sure, he’d been working with her for over four weeks. But this was different. Out here there were no distractions.
There was nothing but time andher.
Moonlight draped over her form like an ethereal blanket. He smelled the sweet scent of her shampoo. Heard her shallow breaths. Felt her shivering. He could easily alleviate her suffering by pulling her into his arms. But that would take his own torture to a new level. Anyway, she’d been still for a while. Maybe she’d finally fallen asleep. It was probably his own bedtime by now. Too bad he was wide awake.
She rolled away from him, moving slowly and carefully. A moment later the light of her phone illuminated the boat. She wasn’t asleep after all. She was still holding out hope for a rescue. The phone went dark again and her quiet sigh drifted through the night air.
