Page 23 of Falling for the Enemy (Whisper Cove Sweet #4)
Chapter Twenty-Three
AVA
T he rain eased for about ten minutes, and for a second it seemed even the sun was going to come out and save the day, but as quickly as things looked brighter, they turned dark and ominous again. The rain began to pour from the gray sky, and that same annoying wind started kicking around debris. It was as if the jungle around us was a living creature, and the trees and ferns and shrubs had uprooted and were slowly marching toward us like in a fantasy movie. I was relieved when Harold and Mia returned for a second round to take Robyn and Evan back to the station. Norman pretended to be heroic or benevolent or chivalrous, but I knew he was balking at leaving because the walk across the bridge looked more horrifying by the minute. The river was now rushing over it. It was still just an inch of water sloshing over the wobbly planks, but Evan slipped on his way across. Robyn gasped and clutched the ropey railing with one hand as she reached the other out to Evan. I was just about to start across to help them when Evan made it back to his feet. The rest of the crossing went without incident, and seconds later they were waving goodbye as the dirt bikes rode off, leaving rooster tails of mud behind them as they went.
Norm and Ian sat in their huts, hugging their packs and listening for the bikes to return. I wasn’t entirely sure we’d get Norm across the bridge, but the camp was disintegrating before our eyes, and staying at the campsite was far less inviting than a short romp across the flooded, wobbly bridge.
Jack and I finally had a chance to pack our belongings. He came into the hut carrying his pack on one shoulder and looking about as bedraggled and wet as one person could look. It was hard not to smile.
“Are you telling me I don’t look as good as I feel?” he asked.
“Let’s just say you’ve earned your true adventurer stripes this trip.”
Jack sat on the edge of Robyn’s empty cot while I finished rolling up my last shirt to push into my pack.
“Do you think we’ll get Norm across?” Jack asked.
“I plan to walk him across myself.”
“I can do it.”
I shook my head. “No, he’s my student, and you’ve already done more than your part in babysitting the guy. Plus, that bridge looks really fragile, and it’ll be less weight if I walk him across.” I put down the pack and stared out at the destroyed camp. “They rushed us out here so we’d miss the big rainy season.”
“I’d sure hate to see what that’s like,” Jack said. “I think the problem is the weather is becoming far too unpredictable.”
“Seems that way.” I sighed deeply. “What a disaster. I feel bad, Jack. I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want to go on this trip.” He was shaking his head as I spoke.
“It’s been good for me, Lo. I’ve been cooped up in that science building for too long. I forgot what real science was all about—experiencing things firsthand, instead of virtually or through a microscope lens. Could have done without the hurricane, but I don’t regret this trip at all.”
One thing was certain. The terrible storm had helped wash away some of the bitterness we’d parted on last night. Today we were facing something difficult and uncertain, and the last thing we needed was to be angry at each other.
Ian stepped through what was left of the canvas door. “They’re back. It’s time for Norm and I to take off. Or, I could wait and go with Professor Sinclair,” Ian suggested. “If you want to go first, Professor Lovely.”
“No, Ian, my main goal is to have all of you safely back at the station. I’ve been through much worse than this and came out the other side just fine. The professor and I will hunker down here and wait for Harold and Mia to return.” I looked at Jack. “We’re going to have to do something nice for those two. What a day—riding back and forth on that trail, and they’ve done it much faster than I expected.”
“They are the true heroes, that’s for sure,” Jack said.
Ian and Jack went out to meet Harold, and I walked over to let Norm know it was time to leave. He was sitting on the cot, holding on to his pack as if it was his life support system. It already seemed so long ago that we were both in the river trying to free his shoe while hungry crocodiles swam toward us.
“Harold and Mia are back. Time to go.”
“I could wait,” Norm said. “Why don’t you go?”
I shook my head and walked over to the cot. “Because I’m the teacher and I’m going to make sure all my students make it home safely. You’ll be back in the civilized world with real bathrooms and decent food. Professor Sinclair and I will be along shortly, then we’ll start making plans to fly back to the states.”
He looked up at me. “Is there no way across other than that rickety bridge?”
“I’m afraid not. I’ll walk across with you. Let’s go. Harold and Mia have been riding back and forth all day. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”
Norm took a deep breath, lifted the pack onto his shoulders. “Wait, maybe I’ll leave this behind. It weighs a good twenty pounds and that’s twenty pounds less on the bridge.”
“It’s up to you, Norm, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
He dropped the pack onto the cot. “Nothing in there that can’t be replaced.”
“You’ll only have one set of clothes, and they’ll be wet.”
“I’m fine with that. Beats having that bridge snap and falling into the river. When Evan and Robyn crossed it, the water was already running over the bridge. No way to survive those rushing rapids, especially a non-swimmer like me.” He had a point, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
We walked out. The wind had slowed, but the rain was still coming down in buckets. The puddles around the campsite were ankle deep, and as Norm had mentioned, the river was rushing by at a speed that would sweep away anyone unfortunate enough to fall in.
By the time we made it to the bridge, Ian was already across, and the three were waiting on the bikes for Norm to join them. We’d all been complaining about the heat and humidity, but now I craved it. I was soaked to the bone, and there was no chance of a fire or warming sunlight. The storm had cooled the air down considerably.
Norm paused at the bridge. Jack was there waiting. “It’ll be fine, Norm. Just hold on tight to the railing.”
Norm laughed nervously. “Railing? It’s not a railing. It’s rope, and it’s moving around like a jump rope on a playground.”
I moved past him, and my foot slid through the mud. My shoes were so covered with mud, I couldn’t see them anymore, and they made my footsteps heavy and clumsy. “I’ll go first and show you the best path. Just stay behind and focus on me … not the river.”
I stepped onto the bridge. It was no longer swinging freely in the wind but shifting up and down like the deck on a boat. The river washed over it and took away some of the sticky mud on my shoes. I looked back at Norm. “One foot in front of the other and hold on tight.”
Norm grabbed the rope and took his first step onto the bridge. It was going to be a long crossing.
I took a few more steps, and Norm followed behind. Jack looked worried as he watched us inch across. We were halfway. The river raced beneath us in muddy torrents. We had the undivided attention of people on both sides of the river.
I looked over my shoulder. “Halfway there, Norm. I hear there’s pizza waiting at the other end.” That seemed to energize him. He took another step.
I turned forward and knew something was wrong the second I looked at the opposite shore. One of the poles holding the netting and straps of the bridge collapsed and fell into the raging water. As it was dragged off, the second pole got pulled along with it. The far end of the bridge began to sink into the water.
“Back, Norman! Go back!” I yelled.
Jack was waving wildly. It took Norm a second to understand what was happening. Norm spun around and raced back toward Jack. I followed closely at his heels. I could feel the tension in the rope go slack as the bridge fell away behind me. Norm leapt toward shore and yelled out as his foot wedged between the last two planks. I bent down. He yelled again as I yanked his foot free. Jack leaned dangerously out over the bank and the collapsing bridge and grabbed Norm by the shirt. He pulled him roughly to shore and then turned around to help me.
The bridge was taking its last breath of life. My heart pounded as the muddy river raced past my legs. Jack held out his hand. “Take it!” he yelled.
“I’ll pull you in,” I yelled back.
He lunged forward. I grabbed his hand, and he yanked me off the last plank as it got sucked into the water. I landed against his hard chest. His first reaction was to wrap his arms around me and hold me. After the last few seconds, I didn’t mind. My heart was thumping but not nearly as fast as Jack’s.
It took both of us a minute to get over the shock of what had just happened. I was as reluctant to leave his embrace as he was to release me. I peered up at him, and the look in his eyes was different. Something had changed between us in those last few seconds, but I wasn’t sure if it would last or if it was just the explosion of adrenaline and fear that had caused it. But right then, it felt as if a connection had grown between us, a connection I never would have predicted.
I turned around and stared down at the river that rushed past us like an angry sea. I was an excellent swimmer, but I could not have survived falling in. I looked across the river. Harold, Mia and Ian stared back looking pale and stunned. They’d had to watch helplessly from the other side as the river swallowed the bridge right out from under us.
Harold put both hands on the sides of his mouth to make a megaphone. “I will radio you to see how you’re doing.”
We waved them off. Ian looked back with a sweet, worried expression. I waved again to him. Norm was sitting fully in mud holding his ankle and groaning. “How will we get across now?” he asked.
It was a good question. Jack and I exchanged glances. We both knew the answer, and Norm wasn’t going to like it.
“We’ll have to wait for the water in the river to recede, so we can wade across,” I said. I squinted up into the wet mist falling from the clouds. “At least the rain and wind have slowed. Hopefully, we’ve seen the worst of it.” I surveyed the campsite and sighed. “What a mess.”