Submerged. Elizabeth Goddard
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had been so long since she’d seen him, been this close to him, old feelings tumbled over every other thought. She’d missed him. Shaking off the tangle of emotions, she hung her head and sighed.
“I need a minute to think.” Gather her thoughts.
Almost equally as shocking as the events of the past few moments was the fact that Adam sat next to her, wrapped in his own wool blanket. He angled to look at her, his solid form a comforting presence compared with moments ago when another man had tried to kill her.
And if she was drawing comfort from his nearness, then that just proved how befuddled and exhausted she was. He’d pulled her from the depths, saved her life. She knew that. But it didn’t make up for the past.
Adding to her anxiety, tumultuous waves rocked the trawler, much like the turmoil that tossed her mind. She tugged the blanket closer, tighter.
Adam was here with Jared, Nate and Gary, his long-time caving buddies. They’d been Brad’s friends, as well.
Jared stepped from below deck into the small galley and lobbed them each a shirt and jeans. “Found some dry things.”
Cobie stared at the clothes. Too big. She looked up at Jared.
He shrugged. “Adam is the smallest. You’ll have to wear his clothes.”
Adam slid from the booth and stood. “What’s going on, Cobie?”
After that first punch-in-the-gut glance into Adam’s face, Cobie hadn’t wanted to look at him again. Hadn’t she been thinking about him—how she needed to forgive—right before she jumped? God had some sense of humor. She lifted her gaze to meet his multicolored eyes. She’d never been able to decide if they were blue or green the way they seemed to change. All the hours she’d spent thinking about his eyes. But that was ancient history.
Finally Cobie caught her breath. Found her words.
“We need to call the police. Someone tried to kill me.” Cobie pressed her face into her hands. “And Laura and Jen are on their way to the island. They should be there any minute. We’d planned to meet at the cabin to go caving. They were running late, so I went to the cave to scout it out. If they arrive and go looking for me, they could run right into the man who tried to kill me.”
“What?” the male voices asked in unison.
She dropped her hands and stared at them, forcing urgency into her voice. “A man tried to strangle me. I ran away. I got trapped when he followed. I had no choice. I had to face him or jump.”
Adam’s strong jaw dropped along with the blanket. “Call 9-1-1.”
“Coast Guard’s all there is out here.” Nate held up his cell. “And these don’t work here at all.”
“Then call the Coast Guard,” she said. “Someone in authority needs to know.”
Adam scraped the SAT phone from the counter. “I could call Ray. I told him we were mapping the cave and he said he might try to get some time off and join us.”
“Ray?” Cobie asked.
“Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigation. He’s an agent. Investigates crimes. Drugs. Poaching. Anything illegal that happens out here.”
Had she really almost been a victim? And now she would have to give a statement. Answer questions. Cobie’s mind ran back over what had happened. Concern for her friends made her tense. If only she hadn’t been such an idiot. The number where she could reach Laura was with the phone at the cabin.
Adam kept his gaze on her. “He’s probably close. We’ll ask him what to do. Tell him what happened.”
Shivering, Cobie slipped out of the booth. “Can we go ahead and make our way to the other side of the island? Maybe we can intercept Laura and Jen. In the meantime, I’m changing into dry clothes.”
“Why didn’t you travel with your friends?” Jared leaned against the counter. “Why come alone?”
Adam cocked a brow.
“I took a seaplane. The pilot passes over these parts delivering mail and packages and people. My friends are coming by boat from the opposite direction. They were delayed, and I couldn’t change my flight.”
“Why not wait for them to arrive before exploring the cave?” Adam asked. “Why go alone?”
She was a big girl, but saying so would make it sound otherwise. “It shouldn’t have been dangerous. There shouldn’t have been someone else there—much less a man who wanted to kill me. Besides, he could have found me alone at the cabin, too.”
Not wanting to say more, or hear a lecture, Cobie scuttled down the small stairway below deck. She didn’t have to explain her actions to them. Adam said something to his friends, but she couldn’t make out his words, then he followed her down.
“I’ll show you where to go.”
The quarters were tight. Hard to get lost on a boat this size. She could find her own way without his help, but she kept her thoughts to herself. He showed her the master cabin with its walk-around queen bed and then took her through the private guest cabin. Beyond that, berth to port, was a large guest room. Then to starboard, Adam showed her the shower with the private door back to the master cabin where they’d started. The former fishing boat had been refurbished into a near-luxurious recreational boat.
Clinging to the clothes she meant to change into, probably getting them wet as she did, Cobie hung back, near the door to the master cabin. “I thought you were calling your forest service friend.”
“Jared is calling so I can change clothes, too. Gary will contact the Coast Guard. He’s heading to the lagoon where your friends will probably anchor.” The small space forced their proximity, and Adam stared down at her. “I...I’m glad you’re okay, Cobie.” He scraped his hand through his wet hair and looked away, then back at her. “It’s good to see you.”
She didn’t miss the pain in his eyes.
“Thanks...thanks for saving me today.” She wanted to tell him that it was good to see him, too, but she couldn’t find the words. She’d never wanted to see him again.
His clothes were still wet, like hers, and must be cold, but there was a heat emanating from him. The way he looked at her now made that heat wrap around her. She didn’t want to feel that from him, even though she was chilled to her bones.
He cleared his throat. “You can use this room to change.”
“Okay, thanks.” Cobie waited for him to leave.
He lifted a hand. Scratched the back of his head as if he was unsure what else to say. As if he wanted to say more.
Cobie knew she had more to say, too, and to a man she’d never wanted to see or speak to again. Could the day get any stranger? “I’ll be right out.”
He nodded. “Don’t worry, Cobie. We’ll find your friends and warn them.”
“I hope so.” Once she slipped inside and shut the door behind her, she quickly changed into the dry clothes she carried, though they’d grown damp from her clinging. They smelled like Adam. Musky and masculine and outdoorsy. The smells made more images rush back at her.
She pressed her face into the blue-and-gray-plaid sleeve and breathed in the scent. Made her dizzy. Memories of how she used to feel about the guy surged. But that’s all those feelings were now. Memories.
Weird that he’d never even known.
Tears threatened behind her eyes. She dropped onto the bed to gather her composure before she faced Adam again.
She let her thoughts turn to the way he had looked at her. He seemed different somehow. Changed by that day as much as she had been. Especially five years later. Weird how a tragedy, added to a few years of separation, could change a person. And yet even though Adam was different