The Deputy's New Family (16 page)

An alarm rang.

“What’s that?”

“Bilge alarm.” Julie’s eyes were huge, her face white.

“Julie, get everyone up here. We hit the corner of the shoal light. I don’t know how bad it is.”

Millie cried harder.

“How do we check it out?” Nick’s deep voice echoed.

She opened her eyes in time to see Julie feeling along the cabin floor.

“What?” Beth cried.

Julie wobbled to the cockpit. “Gerry! We’re taking on water into the cabin!”

“Grab the helm!” Gerry slipped around the corner to the cabin desk devoted to charts and the radio. “Everyone out now! Nick, tether them in the stern for now. Julie will help you.”

Beth watched as Nick sprung into action, helping Millie and her mom first out into the cockpit. Rain pelted them, pasting their hair against their heads as it soaked them through.

She glanced at the floor. Her feet were tucked up underneath her, and she was dry. Corey, too, because he sat in her lap. Where was the water coming in? Why did they have to go up top?

She couldn’t move. Gripping Corey close, she tried to breathe evenly and think. Think!

“Mayday, Mayday, this is the
Showoff,
over.” Gerry’s voice sounded strained now.

She watched him as if she’d fallen into a bad dream.

The radio crackled to life and someone answered.

“We hit the crib and we’re taking on water. Six adults and two children on board.”

Beth listened as Gerry gave them their location, as well as their water situation. Something about pumps not keeping up but they had time.

They were taking on water! How much time did they have before they sank?

They were going to sink!

Beth couldn’t hear the rest of what was said, because Gerry’s voice had grown fuzzy.

They were going to sink.

“Nick!” she choked out.

“Come on, Beth. You and Corey. Now!” Nick shouted again. “Beth!”

She looked at him. He was tethered on to the railing and held out another tether. How would they unclip in time before they sank?

The wind still whipped. The boat sort of wallowed in the water but it wasn’t going down. Gerry had adjusted the sails that now flapped in the wind. She glanced at the floor. Still pretty dry except for the darkening of the carpet toward the front end of the boat. Maybe they’d be okay. At least they weren’t flying sideways anymore.

Corey clung to her.

She took a deep breath and stood.

Lord, please help us.

Gerry grabbed her arm. “Come on, Beth. It’s okay. Help’s on the way. The Coast Guard’s already in the area somewhere. We’re not the only one in trouble today. Once the storm passes, we’ll abandon onto the dinghy. We’ll be okay.”

She looked at him and then at Nick.

“Come on, honey.” Nick’s smile was sweet.

She stepped out of the cabin, still clutching Corey, who walked beside her. Rain assaulted their faces. “Take care of him first.”

Beth held on to Corey while Nick tethered in his son.

Another gust hit and the boat tilted.

Beth slipped and fell against the bench seat. Clawing against the cushioned seats, she couldn’t grip the slippery vinyl. She slammed against the railing, flipped and went over.

“Beth!” Nick screamed.

She fought the waves, choked on them as they splashed over her face. The water was cold, but not as cold as the rain slicing her face.

She heard yelling and screaming. “Man overboard!”

Beth caught a glimpse of the sailboat. It rocked back and forth in the water. With all her might, she kicked and moved forward to the boat. The dinghy bounced on the waves behind it.

If she could reach the dinghy, she could pull herself in. She kicked with all her might and tried to swim forward but was tugged farther away by the waves.

Away from the sailboat.

Nick threw the life ring her way. “Grab it.”

She tried. Felt the rope slip through her fingers and come up short as she was pulled away.

“Beth. Hang on.”

“I’m trying.”

Again with the life ring. But it didn’t reach her this time.

Beth swam forward. The water dragged her back.

This time Nick threw something else her way. It hit the water and floated, tossed by the waves.

“Grab the seat cushion.” Nick’s voice barely skipped across the water’s surface.

She swam toward the cushion, still out of reach. Sputtering after another wave swamped her. She tried again and managed to grip the canvas loop. Pulling herself onto the small square cushion, Beth rested, exhausted.

She watched as Gerry and his brother struggled to raise the sails, only to drop them back down. Everyone hunkered in the cockpit, hanging on. Gerry fought the waves but pulled the dinghy close to the stern. The
Showoff
didn’t look as if it was sinking, but it rode lower in the water. Or was that the waves?

She saw someone pointing her way. Nick.

“I’m coming!” he screamed.

“No!” Beth reached out her hand. He couldn’t leave Corey alone.

The boat waffled. Maybe they couldn’t maneuver. She saw Julie let go of the rope to the dinghy. They couldn’t come get her in that!

No. The dinghy wasn’t going anywhere. And the waves pulled her farther away. She was on her own. Alone.

Chapter Fourteen

“D
ad, no!” Corey clung to him.

Nick cupped his son’s cheek. “I’ll be back. It’s okay, Corey. They’ve got you. You’re safe until help gets here.”

Nick scanned the horizon. No Coast Guard in sight. But then, Search and Rescue could come by boat out of Frankfort or by air in Traverse City. Didn’t matter. Help was on the way.

His boy wouldn’t let go.

“I’ll get Beth and come back. I promise.” Nick added that last bit praying God would make it so.

Beth was a strong woman and a swimmer to boot. He’d seen the lithe muscles in her arms and legs. If anyone could tread water for days, it’d be her. Only they didn’t have days; they had hours. How many, he wasn’t sure. Exposure to the warming but still-cold water temperatures worried him.

“Noooo.” His boy sobbed.

Nick’s gut twisted.

He was leaving his son behind again, but he couldn’t leave Beth out there all alone. The seas were still too rough to take the dinghy and risk the kids’ safety.

No, he had to go. Beth would have a better chance staying warm with both of them huddled close.

The storm was already blowing itself out, leaving so much damage in its wake. The
Showoff
was broken, but it wouldn’t completely sink, according to Gerry. Too much flotation, he’d said. Whatever that meant. In Nick’s mind, any boat could sink, including this one.

He glanced at the two men hanging on to the railing at the back, exhausted from their fight against the wind. The front end of the
Showoff
dipped below the water but then bobbed back up.

Smaller swells churned the dinghy against the sailboat, but their tie held firm. Julie had instructions to unclip the dinghy loose if the sailboat sank any farther.

Julie gripped Corey close. They both huddled with Millie and her mom. All of them shivering. But safe. His boy was safe.

Beth wasn’t.

Nick could barely see Beth bobbing farther away from them, struggling to swim. “Corey, I have to go after Beth. We can’t leave her out there all alone, can we?”

“No.” His son hiccuped on a sob.

Nick pulled away, but Corey screamed. “Dad!”

“It’ll be okay.” He looked at Julie, who pulled his boy back away from the edge of the dinghy. “Don’t let go of him.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll be back, bud. I promise. I love you, son. I love you very much.”

His son cried harder.

Nick looped a life ring over his shoulder and slipped into the water. His breath caught. It wasn’t polar-bear-dipping cold, but certainly not shoreline warm like the harbor at South Manitou.

With the Coast Guard on its way and Gerry’s boat equipped with a satellite tracking system, they’d be found. Hopefully soon.

But he had to get to Beth.

Nick swam hard and choppy. The waves pushed him forward. Toward Beth instead of away from her. God was with him. He knew that, but his legs tingled in the cold water. His fingers did, too. How long before they got into real trouble out here?

“Help me, Lord.”

* * *

She was so tired.

And cold.

Pushing herself up on the seat cushion Nick had thrown her, Beth tried to paddle, but her arms felt as if they’d fallen off. She couldn’t feel her fingers anymore. She couldn’t feel anything...but regret.

Regret stung sharper than the cold water twisting the skin on her toes and numbing her fingertips. Why had she gone sailing, why had she brought Nick and Corey along, and even more troubling, why was she so afraid to make them a real family with a marriage license?

She’d always lived a safe life. Through high school, college and even now Beth weighed the risks of every decision she made, choosing the easy way. The safe way. She’d always prided herself on being practical. But she was practically scared of her own shadow, if the truth be told.

She spotted the boat as it bobbed up on a swell. Then it disappeared. So far away.

Glancing to the west, where the leftover clouds had turned dark peach from the late-day sun pushing its way down behind them, Beth wondered if this might be her last sunset.

She closed her eyes. “Lord, I’m so sorry....”

What was she sorry for?

“Everything. Not trusting You. Not telling Nick and Corey how much I love them.”

Nick...

Beth started to cry.

Nick had said they were all in God’s hands. But Beth didn’t want to believe it, not really. She’d been too wrapped up in keeping her heart safe from hurt.

God hadn’t given her what she wanted; He’d given her what she needed. Who Beth needed in order to rely more on Him. Nick and Corey were gifts she’d refused.

How selfish could she be? Hurt was part of life, right? God never promised a carefree life without suffering. Yet she’d been striving for exactly that. Why rob them all of the blessing of being together because she was afraid of pain?

The fear of loss.

Beth never regretted a moment spent with her dad, even though his time with her had been cut short. Her father had taught her the importance of passion and love. But she’d traded those in for fear. She didn’t want to face the possibility of Nick’s death, and yet here she was facing her own.

She was going to die in this cold water.

And she’d never told Nick that she loved him.

A sob welled up and spilled over. Water splashed against her face as a wave lapped over her shoulders. She coughed and slipped back into the water. The seat cushion popped forward. Out of reach.

She didn’t care.

Death is never final.

Was that her mom speaking?

Life is eternal.

Love never fades....

Beth let her head fall forward. Her face dipped into the water, startling her. Her hair had soaked up the cold water like a sponge and lay like stringy icicles against her neck. Her nose seared icy cold. With eyes closed, she smiled. At least, she thought she smiled; she couldn’t feel her cheeks anymore.

God was with her. She felt Him drawing near. Lifting her up out of the water and breathing warmth on her face.

“I’m ready, Lord.”

“Beth?”

Nick?

“Beth, honey. Come on, baby, talk to me.” He swatted her face.

“Owww.”

He laughed and then kissed her.

Heat.

Beth grabbed his hair and pulled.

“Owww.”

“You’re real.” Beth’s teeth chattered.

He chuckled. “Of course I’m real.”

“Corey?”

“He’s safe with the others. Help’s on its way.”

“Thank You, Lord.” Her head flopped against Nick’s shoulder encased in the life vest. He wore one at work, too. He was a careful man. Why hadn’t she realized that before?

She kicked her legs, tried to stave off that tingling sensation.

“Come on, Beth. Fold your arms close to your body and keep still.” He wrapped his arms and legs around her, pulling her close.

“Hmm, this is nice.” She felt his body’s heat seep into hers as they huddled together. Bobbing like human buoys.

He kissed her again.

Too brief.

She searched his storm-gray eyes, feeling stronger now. Now that he was with her. She slipped down and water splashed over her face again. She coughed and closed her eyes.

Nick lifted her higher, onto the life ring, and then held on to them both. “Stay with me. Don’t sleep. We’re going to be fine. And you’re not leaving me. I’ll get a desk job or something, anything to keep you with me. Is that understood?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“What do you mean, no? No? I said you’re not leaving me.”

She smiled at how fierce he sounded.

Beth couldn’t let him give up his passion because of her fear. She was done trading on fears and worries. “I love you, Nick. I love that you’re a good father, a wonderful man and a careful cop.”

He hugged her closer, if that was possible considering their life vests made a barrier between them. “Then marry me. You, me and Corey. Make us a family and we’ll figure out the rest.”

“Don’t forget Peanut.”

He rubbed his nose against hers. His was cold, too. “And the puppies, too. I love you, Beth.”

“I’m glad.” Her eyes itched and her lids lagged too heavy to keep open.

Her mom was right. God had whispered through her heart when she’d finally stopped and listened. Once the noise of her thoughts clamoring inside her practical, reasoning mind quieted. Out here in the water, she couldn’t do anything but listen to the whispers in her heart. Did she really need to flip overboard for that? Why couldn’t she have lain down on a bed of soft grass to hear...?

“Beth.” Nick shook her.

She startled awake.

Nick held her close. “Kiss me.”

She tried. She was so tired she could barely rally the strength to kiss him, but she managed. This was where she wanted to be and where she belonged.

Beth didn’t know how long they huddled together in the middle of the Manitou Passage. When the sun finally dropped beneath the line of the lake’s water, a Coast Guard rescue boat drew near.

Noisy, too.

Men shouted orders and their boat engine purred as it idled.

She shook her head. “Small boat.”

Beth couldn’t see the faces of the men leaning down to get them up and out of the water because of the glare of lights that shone from behind them.

Nick laughed. “It’ll do.”

As they were pulled into the boat, Corey lunged for his father.

“Dad!”

Nick pulled him close and squeezed him tight.

Beth glanced at everyone huddled in blankets, but she couldn’t raise a hand to wave. She was ushered into the cramped cabin before she could say another word. But then her teeth chattered something fierce and her eyelids grew heavy again. Someone helped her out of her windbreaker, life vest and clothes. Right down to her bathing suit.

And then a warm blanket was wrapped around her with packs of something warm placed directly on her skin. Her vitals were taken, including her temperature.

The heat washed over her like a warm wave followed by sharp needle pricks of tingling. Her feet went into warm slippers, and a warm hat with long woolly flaps was wound around her neck and head. Someone gave her a cup of hot chocolate, but her hand shook.

“Drink slowly.” Someone held it for her.

Beth took a couple sips and then leaned back against the wall. Her head felt heavy.

“Is she okay?” Nick stripped off his wet T-shirt on his own.

Beth spotted a small, round puckered scar on Nick’s shoulder with a bigger one on his back before the same kind of blanket went around him, too. A bullet wound. She’d touch that scar and make sure it didn’t taunt her.

“Groggy, but good vitals. You’re both hypothermic.” The Coast Guard guy pointed at her. “She’s borderline moderate, but I think she’s warming well. Keep her still and we’ll check her vitals again soon.”

Nick nodded and sat down next to her. He scooped up Corey, also bundled in a blanket, onto his lap. Both were given hot chocolate.

“You okay?”

“Not the way I envisioned our sailing trip.” Beth gave him a watery smile. “I’m so sorry.”

He caressed her cheek before helping her take another sip of hot chocolate. “I’m not.”

Corey looked up at his father. “I’m never going on a boat again.”

Beth reached out her hand and patted the boy’s knee. “Sometimes bad things happen, like today, but we can’t let it make us afraid of living.” She thought about Nick’s scars. He might receive more over the course of his career, and she’d have to deal with that. Trust God to help her through the fear. “Or enjoying the beauty around us and trying again.”

Corey’s eyes went wide and he looked up at Nick.

“She’s right, son. But we’ll take it easy for a while. Maybe stick to Lake Leelanau.”

Corey looked as if he thought hard about that one.

Beth smiled at the boy. “There’s a great beach by your house.”

“Soon to be our house.” Nick took hold of her hand and kissed it.

Beth smiled. “Yes, soon to be our house. Nick, I don’t want you to change what you do. Not for me.”

“Beth—”

She cut him off with her fingers against his lips. They’d handle this together with openness and honesty. She was a cop’s daughter who could teach Corey a thing or two about being the child of a deputy officer. She’d trust God to help her be a good cop’s wife. One who’d give her fear and worry to God. He could handle it. She couldn’t on her own.

“Bad things happen, but we’re not going to live in fear. God is with us and we’re in His hands. Right, Corey?” Nick echoed her words, but his gaze remained locked on hers.

Corey poked his dad in the ribs. “Is Miss Ryken going to be my new mom?”

“Is that okay with you?”

Corey nodded, but he wore a serious look on his face.

“What is it, bud?” Nick asked.

Beth held her breath.

“I’m glad because we’re already a family.”

“Yeah, bud. We are.” Nick gave her that lopsided grin that wasn’t much of a grin.

It made her heart ooze. Completely thawed out and pliable.

“Dad?”

“Yes, son?”

“Do I have to still call her Miss Ryken?”

Beth laughed.

Nick did, too. “I think it’ll be okay if you call her Beth.”

“I love you. I love you both.” She leaned forward and hugged these two men brought into her life so that she might truly live.

They were a family. And they would remain a family no matter what.

Nick wrapped his arms around her. They had Corey trapped between them, but he snuggled in close.

This was real warmth. Real peace. And Beth was never so grateful for God’s whispers into her heart in the dark waters of Lake Michigan. He had been with her then and she needn’t fear the future, because He’d always be with her. With all of them.