“It’s rising fast,” Jason said, voice raised over the wind.
Visibility was just about nil. The air was thick with rain and whatever the wind was tossing around—tree branches, sand, dirt, lawn furniture…
Jason helped her into the Jeep, his hands on her waist, her hips. A light touch. An impersonal touch. He’d have helped anyone.
But she absorbed the feeling of his hands on her, the one on her spine, the one on her hip, both coaxing a shiver from her that had nothing to do with the icy air, and she realized something horrifying.
Her secret little crush, the one buried deep inside her, had renewed itself.
She watched as he came around the driver’s side, moving with the easy grace of a man who’d been trained and honed into a physical prowess she could only dream of.
He was as drenched as she, his hair dark and shiny, his lashes inky and spiky over those solemn and determined eyes.
Being wet suited him.
He tossed the backpack to the backseat and turned on the engine. “What?” he asked, meeting her gaze.
“Nothing.” At least she wanted it to be nothing. She put on her seat belt as he flicked on the radio, searching for local news. “Jason…I realize I’m completely overreacting. In my heart, I know Cece’s fine.”
“But you have to see for yourself. I get it. It’s your hang-up, not hers. I feel the same about my baby sister.”
She let out a low laugh. “I’ve just been in control for so long, I’m having trouble letting go.”
“I get that, too. Loss of control sucks.”
She got the feeling he was speaking from personal experience, but he turned his attention to the rain that pelted the roof, only partly drowned out by the heater, which he cranked full blast. She blinked out through the windshield wipers whooshing back and forth. The ocean to their left was a frothy mess, the waves higher than she’d ever seen, splashing up and over the entire beach and onto the parking lot across the street, a sight that made her breath catch.
“Evacuations are in effect from Eastside to Sixth now,” the deejay said. “Repeat—the streets on the Eastside are flooding. Stay off the roads from Eastside to Main. Head to higher ground from the west.”
She looked at Jason. “There’s no reason for both of us to risk our necks.”
“You’re going to piss me off with that.”
“Just saying.”
“Well, stop. Just saying.” He shook his head. “You always did have a problem asking for help.”
“Me? I never needed your help. It was your teacher who made you come to me for tutoring.”
“Well, I guess that makes us both stubborn asses then.” He pulled out his vibrating cell phone and looked at the ID. “It’s Dustin.” He flipped open the phone. “Yeah, yeah, I’m home two days early. You order all this rain for me?” He listened a minute then looked out the window, away from Lizzy, his shoulders tensing. “If you’ve talked to Mom, you know I’m fine—No, I don’t want to talk about Matt. Jesus.” He glanced back at Lizzy. “Yeah, I’ve got her. She came to the house, looking for you—Uh-huh, that’s the plan.” He paused. “Okay. I’ll tell her.” He closed his phone, shoved it into his pocket and put the Jeep into gear.
“Tell me what?”
“Dustin’s at the hospital, part of the roof blew off and the backup generator failed. They’re transporting patients to San Luis Obispo Memorial, he’ll be busy for hours. So you really are stuck with me.” He looked at her as if expecting further objection. When she didn’t say anything, he pulled out of the driveway and turned right.
Except they needed to go left to get into town. “Where are we going?”
He downshifted to merge onto the main highway above town. “Keeping out of the low areas.” There were no other cars on the road that they could see, which was just as well, as every time he turned, the rear-end of the Jeep fishtailed. He kept his focus straight forward, his body seemingly relaxed, but she knew it was taking all his concentration to keep them on the road.
“According to Dustin,” he said. “Main Street is a water slide. The Jeep might be able to plow through.”
Or might not.
He didn’t say it, he didn’t need to.
“A foot of floodwater will float most vehicles. Two will plain and simple just carry us away. I don’t know how much water we’re dealing with right now, but it’s clearly rising. We’ll go the long way around, get on the highway and come in from the other side. It’s an extra two miles, but on higher ground.”
Okay, smart move. “Thank you.”