Page 79 of Vanishing Legacy
“Just a cut. A few stitches and I’ll be good as new.”
“You’re the best CPR partner I could ever ask for, but we’re gonna have to talk about your field dressing.” He nodded to the duct tape over her eyebrow.
She tried to sit up, but the crew captain touched her shoulder. “Whoa. I think it’s best if you stay there until we get clear of the sinking vessel.”
“If I lie here on this backboard, I’m going to get seasick.” Alana eased into a sitting position. “Now help me.”
With the help of Cash and the crew captain, Alana hobbled to the bow of the rescue boat.
A woman with a thick blanket over her shoulders held Penny and planted kisses on her head. “Oh, baby girl, I’m so glad to see you.” The woman adjusted Penny’s blanket and tucked it under Penny’s chattering chin, then turned to Cash.
He saw her scraggly wet hair and mascara streaking her face and gasped. “Bailey!” He rushed to her and crushed her to his chest. This. This was what he’d forgotten. Alana telling him Bailey was on board. “What…are you okay? Why are you here?”
“I’m fine, big brother.” Bailey smiled and hugged him again. “It’s a long story, but that meeting I had with the leader of the Madrina cartel turned out to be with Ziva.”
“Where’s Ziva now?”
Bailey and Alana exchanged a look. Alana cut her eyes to Penny. “She saved Penny’s life, but...”
Cash wrapped Bailey in another hug. “God, thank you for hearing my prayers and saving us.”
When he released her, Bailey looked up, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry, Cash. I didn’t mean for?—”
Cash’s throat tightened as he shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault. We’re happy you’re okay.”
Bailey pointed at Alana’s leg. “Alana, what happened?”
Alana’s teeth chattered, and she pulled the blanket tighter around herself. “Let’s save the story for another day. I’m exhausted and freezing.”
Cash crouched in front of Penny and checked her vitals. Her pulse was strong and her pupils responded to light. He tickled her side. “Hey, where’d you get that juice box?”
Penny smiled around the straw and pointed to the men untying from the yacht. He kissed her and settled her beside Bailey. Almost right away, Penny’s eyes drooped. Cash gave it thirty more seconds before she was asleep in her aunt Bailey’s lap.
He sat beside Alana. “Can I take a look at that leg?”
“Maybe later. Right now, I just want you near me.”
He held her by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Thank you. Thank you for what you did.”
Alana glanced down. “I didn’t protect her. She got taken.”
He lifted her chin with his finger and looked deep into her eyes. “But you chose her. You almost gave your life for her. That’s what I asked you to do, and that’s what you did. And I can’t thank you enough.”
“I did it not because I’m a protector. I did it because I’m a mom.”
“And you’re a great mom, Alana. The best I’ve ever known.”
Once everyone was secured, the rescue boat headed toward the larger Coast Guard cutter ship waiting to take them back to shore. As they rode the waves, Cash turned to Alana. Her wet hair whipped in the wind and tangled around her shoulders. Water splashed her face and his. Or maybe they were tears. He didn’t care. His heart swelled with love for the fierce, brave woman who’d flipped his whole world upside down.
Cash cupped her face in his hands. She looked at him with a sleepy smile. He kissed her eyelids. Her nose. Her curved lips. She wrapped her arms around him. Clung to him and kissed him so long he didn’t care if anyone was watching. He just kept kissing her because she had his whole heart. In that moment, he poured it all out to her.
Their kisses slowed with the speed of the boat. When they separated, they looked at each other. Everything had shifted and become permanent. Real. There was no more Elite Guardian and needy father, but two parents. Two people on equal footing.
“Alana, I love you.”
She pressed her forehead to his. “I love you too.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “We made it.”