CARLY STOOD NEXT to Mia at the edge of the helipad on top of the ambulance control building. Rain lashed their faces as wind whipped around them, biting their skin. She wrapped her raincoat more tightly around her, but it didn’t make any difference. Rain found a way of getting in, made worse by the chopper’s rotors turning each drop into a barb pricking her skin.
Mia shivered next to her and swiped her hand across her eyes. ‘We’re never going to get there in this weather.’
‘We just have to pray for a decent weather window. That’s all we need. Thirty minutes to get there. But we have to be ready to go.’ Carly shifted her weight, her rucksack straps digging into her back.
‘Thank goodness you’re well enough connected to grab us a lift with these guys.’
‘As soon as I heard they were trying to rescue some of the ferry passengers, I knew they’d dispatch a chopper.’
‘Right.’ Mia nodded towards two paramedics stomping across the tarmac. ‘Here goes nothing.’
Bent almost double against the downdraft and the wind, they followed the two men and huddled next to each other until it was their turn to climb in.
Carly went first, hauling herself up into the helicopter’s main body. The two paramedics were already seated, not talking. The only sound was the roar of the engine. And was it her imagination, or was the helicopter actually rocking in the wild wind?
Stomping on her nerves, she found two empty seats across from them, buckled in, put on her headphones and listened to the pilot talking them through the plan. ‘There’s been some casualties over there. Sounds bad. As soon as I get a chance to go, we’ll go. Be ready. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.’
Mia climbed in and sat down next to Carly, her face ashen. She made a weird sort of sound.
Carly glanced at her. Was she scared of what they were going to find on their beloved island?
Of course she was. Carly was too. Scared of what she might find and what she might have already lost.
She slid her hand over Mia’s and squeezed, summoning up an optimism she hadn’t known she had. ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay.’
But her friend’s eyes were fixed on one of the paramedics in the seat opposite—a tall guy with cropped hair. Good-looking. ‘I don’t think so.’
The weird thing was, he looked spooked too. Then he blinked and turned away, one hand pressing on the headphones as the pilot began to speak again.
Their panic was infectious. Carly’s heart rate ramped up, her palms starting to sweat. Now it wasn’t just a case of, would Owen have her back? It was more a question of, were they going to get there alive?
Owen stood in the pitching fishing boat, shivering in the cold and rain as he helped lift his patient onto the Rāwhiti Camp jetty, being careful not to jolt her in any way. The wood was slippery and slick with water. The noise from the wind was almost deafening but its ferocity had definitely lessened over the last few minutes. The rain blurred his vision but it didn’t stop him seeing the flotilla of boats bringing back the wounded from the ferry. The storm might be dying down, but his work was far from over.
‘Careful!’ he shouted, so the wind didn’t steal his words, and the greeting party of island helpers heard his instructions. ‘I’ve given her some pain relief and stabilised the fractures. Get her up to the camp and keep her warm until I get back. She’s going to need an evacuation.’
One of the helpers shouted back, ‘The chopper’s just landed, Doc. Paramedics are on their way down.’
‘Thank God. The ferry’s listing badly and there’s more injured to come.’ But the sense of relief of not being alone almost made his legs give way. It was one thing to be a first responder, but another to be the only medic on the island. He couldn’t go back out on the boat to help rescue the victims and stay here to tend to the injured all at the same time.
He needed more experienced helpers. He needed Mia.
No, he needed Carly. For her strength and clear head. For her kisses. For her warm open-heartedness.
God, he missed her.
‘Okay, Doc. We’ve got her. You’re free to go.’
Free? He was tied to Carly for ever. His heart was hers. And, as soon as this nightmare was over, he was going to find her and tell her. Promise that he’d wait for her, no matter how long, or that he’d give everything up, and Mason and him would go with her. Anything to be with her. Whatever she wanted. Because a love like this didn’t come round twice in a lifetime.
He turned back to the boat, wishing he didn’t have to go back out there to the swollen, dark sea and the screams for help. But he pushed against the jetty and let the boat glide deeper into the sea.
‘Owen! Owen!’
He looked up and blinked and for a moment his heart almost exploded. The rain was definitely blurring his vision, or exhaustion was making him see mirages of hope, if he thought Carly was running towards him in a bright yellow raincoat, her hair flying behind her, like some kind of superhero.
No. It was not Carly, just wishful thinking. He blinked again and watched the chasm of water between the jetty and the boat grow.
‘Owen! Wait!’
It was her voice. His body went into some kind of shut-down. At least that must have been why he couldn’t move, not one muscle.
It was Carly, and she was haring down the jetty. In one smooth motion, she jumped into the boat. He couldn’t read her expression. ‘Owen.’
‘Carly.’ His heart was the first thing that came back to life. Hope was a flower opening in his chest. ‘What the hell?’
She gripped the side of the rocking boat. ‘Where are the kids? Harper and Mason. Where’s your boy?’
Her first thought was for his son. ‘At the camp with Anahera.’
She put her hand onto her heart and nodded, sighing. ‘Good. Right. What do you need?’
You.
He wasn’t sure what she meant. Why was she here and not in the city? Why had she come back? ‘Um. We’ve got to get back to the ferry before it sinks. There might be some people who need immediate life support.’
Like me.
She grabbed the steering wheel. ‘Okay. Let’s go. Tell me where to head.’
She’d come to help. Of course she had. She’d come back to the island when it needed her. She hadn’t come back for him.
After a stomach-churning trip, he pointed to the ferry as it started to lurch sideways. ‘Don’t get any closer. Stay here.’
‘What about the passengers? We’ve got to get them. Save them.’ Her hand was over her mouth as they watched the boat’s white hull slip deeper under the water. She edged the boat closer, but he made her stop. ‘No, Carly. No closer.’
‘We’ve got to help them, Owen. Please. Please.’
‘No.’ The white paint was subsumed now. ‘It’s not safe for us to be there. If we get any closer, we could be dragged under too. This time, you don’t put your life on the line. I’m not going to lose you.’
‘No. No...’ Her body crumpled and she swayed with their pitching boat. Ugly waves thrashed the sides, spilling over and soaking their feet.
He held her arms and held her steady until she broke and sobbed against him. ‘It’s not fair. It’s not fair.’
And his heart broke along with hers. He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. He thought about the way her husband had died, the emotions all wrapped up in that and how witnessing this would be unbearable. ‘I know, darling, it isn’t fair. It just isn’t. But we’ve done what we can.’
‘It’s not enough.’ But she gripped his shoulders, trembling, tears streaming down her face. And he let her cry and cry until all that was left were dry sobs.
A smaller boat with a bright white light slowly made its way towards them. The coastguard. Owen reluctantly let go of Carly, leaned over the side and shouted to the people on board, ‘What’s the score? How many people are left on there?’
‘All evacuated. Captain here says he was the last person on board.’ He pointed to a forlorn-looking man in uniform shivering in the hull. ‘It’s going down, so keep away.’
‘No one’s left on there? Really?’ Carly’s voice was cracked but hopeful.
‘All rescued, thanks to this man and his team.’ The coastguard pointed at Owen and then waved. ‘See you back at base.’
‘Thank God.’ Carly closed her eyes and gripped the side of the boat.
‘Let’s go back to help the survivors.’ Noticing she was shaking, he gently peeled her hands from the metal and brought her into the cab. ‘You sit down. I’ve got this.’
‘No. Thanks.’ But she leaned against him. Or had that just been caused by the sudden lurch of the boat? ‘You okay, Carly?’
She pressed her lips together and nodded. ‘I think so. I’m sorry. I just lost the plot there.’
‘I told you, don’t ever apologise for being you. I know how much you lost, Carly. I just wish I could help.’
‘You do.’ She smiled sadly and closed her eyes.
I love you so much. Even more now, and more each day.
He brushed wet tendrils of hair from her face and looked at her. He was so glad to see her but worried too. ‘You cut your trip short.’
‘Yes. I had to come back.’ She looked at her hands. He didn’t want to hear her say that she’d only come back to make sure everyone was safe.
And he realised that, if he didn’t want to watch her leave again, it was time to take that risk. ‘Listen, I’ve got something to say. I need you to hear it.’
She looked up at him and frowned. ‘What is it?’
He swallowed. Jump, man. Do it.
‘I made a mistake. A huge one. I was scared about you leaving, so I did the most stupid thing and made you leave. Just to take some control and protect myself. I didn’t want you to go. I thought I wasn’t enough to keep you here.’
‘Oh, Owen.’ She cupped his face. ‘You are more than enough for me.’
Was he, though? Dared he ask? He covered her hand with his. ‘Truth is, I do want you to stay here, Carly. With me and Mason. But I know that’s a big ask, so I’m not going to say that.’
‘What?’ She shook her head, no doubt confused by his rambling.
‘I’m going to take Mason out of kindy, put the job here on hold and we’ll come with you on your adventure. If you’ll have us. Plenty of families travel. We could just do it slowly, visit all the places you wanted to explore. It’ll be great learning for Mason.’
‘Oh, no.’ She shook her head vehemently.
His chest tightened like a vice. ‘No, we can’t come? No, you don’t want us?’
‘No, I’m not taking my boy out of kindy. He needs stability—he’s only just settled in. And we both know what a rough ride he had before that.’
His heart swelled. ‘“My boy”?’
‘Our boy.’ She swallowed. ‘I shouldn’t have left you when I saw how much you wanted me. But then you told me to go, and I felt rejected again.’
He’d done that? Done what all those families had done to her in the past? ‘God, no. I am so sorry. I want you more than anything. I just didn’t have the guts to admit it to you or myself. Until it was too late. I didn’t want you to put off your plans for me.’
‘I should have insisted that I stayed and made you see sense, but I was confused about how I felt. So I ran. Being alone has been my default. Sure, I had Raff for a few years, but essentially I’ve been on my own my whole life. I lost so much when Raff and his parents went, but I lost myself too. And I thought that if I was on my own I’d come back to me. But I know who I am, and I have to believe in myself. I have to listen to my instincts.’
‘Which are...?’
‘I don’t need to go off on an adventure when the adventure is right here. Falling in love, growing close, building a future, building a life. The biggest risk we can take is to open our hearts, right?’
‘It’s been a hard lesson, but yes.’ He stroked the back of his knuckles down her beautiful cheek. ‘But what will you do here, if you’ve sold the camp?’
She shrugged. ‘I’m going to take some time to work that out. I’ve got a few ideas around conservation and regeneration, and I love teaching, so I might start a sustainability and nature business. Take people on tours of the island and teach them about the bush and growing native plants. We have enough visitors here now that I think I’ll be busy enough. I need to do some research and get together a business plan, but the money from the camp will give me some breathing space to work out what I really want...other than being here with you and Mason. If that’s okay?’
‘Okay? It would make me the happiest guy alive.’ He pulled her to him, just about managing to stay upright as the boat lurched from side to side.
She gripped onto his arms and looked up at him. Then he pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her, long and slowly.
When she pulled back, she was smiling, and even in the dim light he could see it: that certain sparkle he’d wanted to see. He couldn’t quantify the pride he felt at putting it there. He barely had words, but he found enough. ‘I love you, Carly Edwards.’
She smiled. ‘I love you too. Now, let’s start this adventure. Together.’