Carried Home (23 page)

 

The second Gage faced away from her, Ivy sank down onto the sand. Her head hurt. She had been so terrified when the boar had charged straight at her. And it was not over by any means. No, now she was terrified for Emma and Gage and Reed.

God, please help him. Please let him save my child. Our child.
Even though Emma had not been born to her and Gage, she was still every bit theirs.

Gage strode into the water as if the waves crashing against his legs did not affect him one bit. He continued at an angle toward the raised strip of boulders where Reed had perched himself with Emma.

The water reached Gage's waist, and soon his body tugged back and forth with the force of the current. He must have lost his footing, for he suddenly slipped to the side and his head almost went under. Gage quickly righted himself and spun around. “Reed? I'm going to have to go back and take my boots off. They're getting in the way. I will be right back and I promise I will get you and Emma down, all right?”

Reed whimpered, and Ivy felt like doing the same. She would help Gage, but she had never been in the water before. She had no idea how to swim. Her help would probably only cause more trouble. Although her body itched to go take the situation into her own hands, common sense told her to stay back and trust God and Gage to save Emma and Reed.

Gage made it back to shore and shucked his boots and his weapons. Ivy cringed. He must have not been thinking when he charged straight into the water. His gunpowder was probably wet now and they had nothing to defend themselves with if the wild boar came back. Soon he was back in the ocean, heading towards Reed and Emma with a determined look on his face.

He met a wave head-on, lunging forward to break some of its force.

“Mr. Thompson! I don't know if I can stay up here much longer. I-I'm just so tired.”

It hurt Ivy's heart to see the poor dear so upset. Her little Emma was crying, too.
Oh God, please help Gage. Please let him get those children safely back here soon.
Ivy wished she had paid more attention when they were out on the beach yesterday. Had the tide completely covered the rock Reed was perched on, or did it stop short of it? If the tide reached Reed and Emma before Gage did, they could be swept away and it would be far more difficult to rescue them.

“Hang in there, little man. I'll get to you in just a moment.” Gage had made it to the wall of rocks. He reached up and grabbed a rock that jutted out, and then propelled himself upward. A wave crashed against his body, but he shook off the water and continued on, scaling the wall. The water rapidly filled up the narrow strip of rock that led to the children.

Gage finally made it to the top of the stack of boulders. He crouched at the summit and carefully stood up, keeping his balance against the surging water. “Reed, can you move over to me very slowly?”

“N-no. I'm afraid. I know I should be a big boy, but I'm not. I'm afraid, Uncle Gage.”

“Reed, I know you are afraid. It's all right to be afraid, little man. You just stay right where you are, then, and I will come get you.” Gage moved forward with agonizingly slow speed.

He was just feet away from the children now. Only a few more steps.

Please.

A huge wave surged up from behind the rocks. Reed swung an arm out, blindly grasping for something to hold onto. Something to catch him. In his other hand, he clutched little Emma against his chest.

Ivy could not hold back a cry. Gage froze in his path.

Reed fell backward into the swirling water.

“Reed!” Gage jumped forward, straight into the ocean. Reed went under with a wave. Gage's body lurched to the side. Soon, his head disappeared under the surf also.

Panic surged through Ivy. Her heart seemed to stop. “Gage!” She pitched forward, straight into an incoming wave. Ivy didn't care. Gage, her child, and Eden's child were all underwater, battling the violent waves.

The water rose around her at an alarming rate as she made her way toward Gage. His head had not surfaced yet. Shouldn't he have come up already?

Oh God.

“Gage!”

Her boot caught on something under the water. She kicked it free and continued on. The water reached her waist and the current tugged at her, but she continued. Maybe if she could get up to the rocks, Gage would be able to grab ahold of her hand and pull himself back up to safety.

“Gage!” Her throat was raw from tears.

A dark mass moved toward her from under the water. She could not quite make it out underneath the froth of the ever-moving waves, but she knew enough about the sea to guess it was a shark.
Oh no. It probably killed the children or Gage. Or both.

Tears blurring her eyes, she dodged to the side. “Someone help me!”

She almost made it to the slippery wall of rocks. Something grabbed her ankle. A…hand. Well, sharks didn't have hands.

Gage's head popped above the water, followed by his shoulders and…Reed and Emma, circled in his arms.

Ivy nearly collapsed with relief, but she forced herself to remain standing. She was not about to give poor Gage yet another person to go rescuing. “Oh, thank God, you are all right.”

But his face was grim.

“What's wrong, Gage?”

He nodded down at Reed and pushed past her, straight to the beach. “He's not all right, Ivy.” Although he tried to steady his voice, Ivy could sense the tremor of terror in it.

Gage reached the shore with Ivy close on his heels. Ivy squeezed her eyes shut against a wave of nausea. Reed was not okay. Eden's son was not okay.

“Take Emma.”

Ivy grabbed the child and held her soaking wet body tight against hers in an effort to keep her warm. She checked to make certain the girl was breathing properly. The little one seemed frightened, but all right. There were no visible injuries or setbacks. Not so for Reed. Gage gingerly set the boy down on the dry sand.

Reed's face was washed over with a bluish tint. Ivy sucked in a breath of shock. Would…would he be all right?

“Can you hear me, little man?” Gage shook the child's shoulders. He failed to respond.

Gage leaned down and put his mouth to Reed's, breathing air into his lungs. He pulled back after a long stretch. “Come on, little man.”

Nothing happened. Ivy's heart sank.

Gage moved to face her. Tears streamed down his face, mingling with the ocean water. He shook his head.
No! God, please. This child means everything to Eden and her husband. Please.

Ivy fell into Gage's arms.

A scratching sound met her ears. Coughing
. Coughing?
She glanced down at Reed's limp little body. He was coughing!

Gage, hope lighting his chocolate brown eyes, rotated the child onto his side. Water poured out of his mouth. After another fit of coughing, his violet-blue eyes opened. Ivy had never been happier to see someone's eyes in her entire life.

“I kept Emma above the water.” Concern drew tight lines on Reed's small face.

“Aye, that you did, little man. That you did. Emma is all right.” Gage drew the boy into his arms, laughing in relief.

Ivy wrapped her hand around the child's small hand. “Reed, we were so worried about you.”

He pushed himself until he was sitting up, facing the two adults. “I am all right. Where are Mama and Papa?”

“They are still in town. Did you want to see them?” Gage brushed a wet lock of hair off of the boy's forehead.

“Oh, I can wait. I don't want them to worry about me or think I can't take care of a little sibling.”

“All right, little man. I'm proud of you, do you know that?”

Reed's face brightened into a smile as Gage hugged him.

After a moment, Gage leaned backwards and pulled Ivy and Emma with him until they were lying back against the sand. He slung an arm around Ivy's shoulders. She leaned her head against his chest. “Ivy?” He trailed a finger along the inside of her arm.

“Yes?” She closed her eyes against the soft glare of the afternoon sun.

“By fire and thunder, what were you doing running out into the ocean?”

“I…I couldn't see you. I was not going to stay safe and dry on the shore while you and Reed and our…Emma drowned.”

Gage inhaled a long breath. “How did you expect to save us when you don't even know how to swim?”

Ivy stiffened. “How do you know I do not know how to swim?”

“Because I know you, and if you knew how to swim, you would have run in front of me to go save the children yourself before I even got a chance to do it myself. Besides, I know Eden never used to know how to swim. I figured you would not, either.”

“Well, you are correct. But I would have found some way to get to you.”

He leaned to the side and pressed a kiss against her nose. “I am glad you did not have to, my dear.”

****

Gage twisted his head to the side and kissed Ivy's cheek. The freshness of citrus engulfed him like a pleasant, heady sort of perfume. He smiled. Oh, how he loved this woman. Emma crawled over from Ivy's arms until she rested on his stomach. He patted the dripping wet tyke on the back. They all were in desperate need of some towels and a change of clothes, but that would have to wait.

Ivy's soft hand wrapped around his. The dear woman was soaked from head to toe as well. He twisted a lock of her copper hair around his finger. Most of it had tumbled down from the blasted bun she always tied it up in. Well, he would not get caught complaining about that.

Her stormy gray eyes met his and they were filled with such admiration that his heart seemed to cease beating altogether. He propped himself up with an elbow against the sand, leaned over her, and lowered his lips to hers. She made a soft noise at the back of her throat and tore her hand from his, only to wrap both her arms around his shoulders. Gage took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss and run a hand through her beautiful orange curls. She moved a hand up and down his arm.

He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. She tasted like salty water, but it was the most pleasant flavor he had ever tasted. Just as he leaned in for another kiss, a small hand landed on his back. “Hey, Uncle Gage? Are you gonna marry Lady Shaw? Because if you are kissing her like that, I think you should marry her. It's what my Mama and Papa did.”

Gage immediately pried himself away from Ivy and stood. Why, he had all but forgotten they were not alone while he was busy kissing the woman senseless. He knew his face was turning red, but maybe not as red as Ivy's. She also stood, balancing Emma against her hip as she brushed sand off of her skirts. It was no use, though. They would all have to wait until their clothes were dry to get the sand off of them.

The woman was going to wear a hole in her skirt if he did not stop her soon. “Ivy.”

Her hand stilled.

“Look at me.”

She looked at his chin.

“Look at me in the eyes, my sweet.”

Her gaze made it to the bottom of his nose.

“Ivy.”

Finally, her eyes met his.

“I have been meaning to ask you something for a while now.”

She swallowed.

“And little Reed here just reminded me what that question is.”

****

Ivy's heart jumped into her throat. Was Gage really going to ask her what she was thinking he was going to ask her?

The charming man bent down on one knee. The sun brought out the bronze streaks in his hair and the golden flecks in his chocolate brown eyes. Those eyes regarded her with such admiration and adoration that Ivy's stomach twittered with pleasure. This man, this wonderful man, was looking at
her
in such a kind way.

“Ivy, my dear, I love you. I have loved you ever since I first saw you on Captain Emery's ship that day you came running to save your friend. I love you more than I ever thought I would be able to love, and I would be honored to call you my wife.” He pulled an engraved silver ring out of his pocket. A small clear gem sat in the center of it.

Excitement coursed through her. “Gage, I love you, too.” She crouched down until she was resting on her knees before him. “I want nothing more than to marry you.”

His face brightened with a large smile. He winked, and then leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against her lips. Finally, he pulled back, grabbed her hand, and slipped the ring on her finger. And then burst out in laughter.

Ivy raised an eyebrow. “Is it funny that I agreed to marry you, sir?”

He pulled her against his chest. “Ivy, my beautiful, beautiful betrothed, it does not amuse me that you agreed to marry me. I was laughing because I have spent the entire day desperately trying to propose to you because I was afraid the ring would not fit you properly and we would need to get a silversmith to fit to your size while we were still in Charles Town. But it fits you perfectly.”

Ivy pressed a kiss against his jaw. Although he had probably shaved this morning, stubble scratched her lips. “I could not be happier, Gage. And I want our wedding to be soon.”

Reed gasped. “My Papa is a captain so he is allowed to marry people. He could marry you both tonight.”

Gage beamed, allowing Ivy a glimpse of his charming white teeth. “Why, that is an excellent idea, Reed.”