18
The Army had taught Cody to be early. It was a habit that stayed with him. But the habit had nothing to do with why he was at the park across from the animal shelter half an hour early that Friday morning.
He had no choice but to be here early. He’d been thinking about Andi all night, praying for her, begging God that somehow she would listen to what he had to say. Sometime around seven o’clock, he saw her step off the shuttle bus. She turned and faced him and Cody had to force himself to breathe.
There were two swings in the small park. Cody was already sitting in one of them. He watched her come closer. She was so pretty. Black jeans and a white T-shirt with the name of her relief organization. The attire of the volunteers in the flood zone. But even then she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Andi . . . please don’t turn me away. God, please guide our words this morning.
But as she drew closer, Cody felt his heart sink. Her eyes looked distant, closed off. She stopped when she reached him, her eyes locked on his. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He nodded to the swing beside him. “I saved you a seat.”
She smiled, but it didn’t come from her heart. The way her smile usually did. “Thanks.”
“How’s your puppy?”
“Perfect.” Her eyes softened a little. “He’s still at the hotel. I’ll bring him to the shelter later. I can’t leave him in a cage all day.”
“Although I’m sure he likes having friends.”
“True.” Andi seemed like she was starting to enjoy herself. She must’ve noticed it, too, because her smile faded and she took a seat in the swing.
They held on to the chains and moved a little, swaying lightly, their feet never leaving the ground. She broke the silence first. “I prayed about it, Cody. About us.” She paused. “I’m sorry.”
She was sorry? This wasn’t how he wanted the conversation to go. “I . . . There’s more to tell you.”
Her phone began to ring. She glanced at it and her eyes filled with alarm. “Oh, no!” She looked up at him. “I have to go.” She started walking toward the street.
Cody kept up with her. “Wait. What is it?” Was this really how things were going to end today? “I just got here.”
“It’s an emergency. A resident just found a single mom and her kids. They’ve been stranded all this time.” Andi kept walking toward the shuttle stop. “I’m sorry, Cody. I have to go. I’m closest to the woman’s house and my agency needs someone to help her. Now.”
“Wait.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “I have a car. I’ll take you.”
His idea must’ve shocked her because she stopped and looked right at him. “You’d do that?”
“Of course.” He took her hand and led her in the opposite direction, to the spot where his rental car was parked. Whatever was ahead, his training as a soldier would help. “I handled a few rescues back in the day.”
They hurried to his car and set out toward the address her supervisor had texted her. This was exactly what Cody had wanted to do when he first arrived in Louisiana. Work with her and talk to her. Show her kindness and consideration, the way he hadn’t in far too long.
Whatever it took to remind her why she had loved him in the first place.
For that reason, as Cody navigated the debris and damaged streets, he didn’t think about the emergency situation or the work ahead. That would come. For now he could only think about one thing.
Andi was in the seat beside him.
• • •
ANDI COULDN’T GET past the feel of her hand in his. In fact, she couldn’t believe what was happening. Cody Coleman was driving her to the site of an emergency? She took it all in. The familiar way his hands looked on the wheel and the faint smell of his cologne. The whole thing felt like something from a dream.
Focus on your job, she told herself. You have to focus. She stared straight ahead and willed herself to concentrate. “I guess . . . the victims’ house was nearly destroyed. The woman and her kids are stranded and the ambulance is still half an hour away.” Andi could feel herself switching gears, getting into work mode. “Her family couldn’t get through to her and they reported her missing.” She pressed her back against the passenger door so she could see him better. And so she wouldn’t be tempted to take his hand again.
The way she’d done a thousand times before.
“I don’t know how they survived.” Cody sounded concerned. He kept his eyes on the battered road. “Things could be bad.”
“Exactly.” Andi texted her supervisor, explaining that Cody had joined her and that he would help in the first phase of the rescue. At the same time she gave Cody directions through the flooded neighborhood until they weren’t able to drive any further. Cody parked and they met up with a volunteer from another agency, a man waiting with a rowboat. He would take them the remaining few blocks to the house.
“The water’s still so high.” Cody looked around and shook his head. “The flood in this part of town was days ago, right?”
“Yes. This was part of the second flood.” Her eyes met his as they climbed into the small boat. “It’s always like this. People think floodwaters just dissipate.” As the volunteer began rowing, Andi had no choice but to sit next to Cody. Their knees touched, and Andi shivered a little.
“You cold?” Cody wore a sweatshirt and as he spoke he peeled it off his body and handed it to her. “Here. Wear this.”
“No . . . it’s fine.” But even as she said the words she took the hoodie from him. It was warm from the heat of his body.
“Wear it. Please, Andi.” He looked at her. “You’re cold. I can tell.”
He was right. Whether it was the early morning chill or the closeness of Cody Coleman, Andi wasn’t sure. But her shivering was worse. She slipped his sweatshirt on and immediately she felt relief.
“Better?” He put his arm around her and eased her against him. “Stay by me till the chill’s gone.”
It’s a dream. It has to be a dream. Andi couldn’t believe any of it.
Cody’s sweatshirt. His arm around her. The boat and the flooded street. The emergency at hand. How could this be real? She tried to think about the rescue ahead but all she could imagine was her own. It wasn’t safe for her heart, being this near to Cody. If she let herself get caught up in him again, what would become of her? She was about to slide over, put distance between them. Then she changed her mind.
It felt so good being this close to him. Maybe she could pretend they were still together. Just this one day. Because in this moment it seemed like they’d never broken up, never moved on from each other.
They reached the house and once more Cody took her hand. They didn’t have waders, so as soon as they stepped out of the boat their jeans were immediately soaked. He took Andi’s bag from her. In it was an emergency kit full of water bottles, medications, and first-aid supplies. Cody set the bag on a ledge as they made their way into the house.
“Wait . . . we need that.” Andi looked back.
“I’ll get it later.” Cody still had hold of her fingers. “Right now I want my hands free. We don’t know what we’re going to find.”
Inside, the two of them slogged through waist-deep water. A few feet from the door, a bookcase blocked their path. Cody easily moved it out of the way, and then together they navigated the other broken furniture in their path.
“They must be upstairs.” Cody started up, taking the lead and testing the stair rail. It gave way and fell to the ground.
“After a flood everything can crumble.” Andi was glad Cody was being careful. “Walls can collapse without warning.”
“I bet.” Cody took his time. “Stay on the edge of the stairs. That’s where the support is.”
“Okay.” They reached the top. “Hello?” Andi called out. If the people were here, they weren’t making a sound.
Noise came from one of the rooms. A woman’s voice, weak and definitely afraid. “We’re in here.”
“This way.” Cody led her to a door at the far end of the hallway. The carpet was drenched and the drywall that lined the hall was crumbling. Clearly the upstairs had been flooded, too.
No training could prepare Andi for the scene in front of her as Cody opened the door. A woman was huddled on a soaked couch, her two little girls and one boy beside her. The upper ridge of the sofa was the only dry thing in the entire room.
All three kids were very still, their faces blank. Like they were in shock.
“It’s okay.” Andi released Cody’s hand and approached the woman as they came near. “An ambulance is on the way. What’s your name?”
“Cara Grace.” The woman’s hair was matted to her head and her wet sweatshirt clung to her body. “Thank you. For finding us.”
“Of course.” Andi put her arm around the woman. “What happened?”
Dark circles under Cara Grace’s eyes showed how exhausted she was. “It was the second flood that got us. We’ve been here four days.” Tears filled her eyes. “I wasn’t sure anyone would ever come.”
Cody gave Andi a quick look. He motioned to the stairs. “I’ll get your bag.” Then he hurried out of the room.
Andi was trying to listen to the woman, but she kept thinking about Cody, the way he had been willing to jump in and help. Again she forced herself to focus. Cara Grace was explaining how neither of her girls knew how to swim. Tears filled the woman’s eyes. “When the flood came it swept away our car before we had time to evacuate.”
“So you all came up here?” Andi was in the moment now. She needed to help Cara Grace and her little ones. “But the water kept rising, right? At least it looks that way.”
“The water rose so fast.” The woman’s tears spilled onto her cheeks. “We . . . we stayed upstairs on my bed. But then the floodwater soaked the mattress.” As Cara Grace spoke, she began to shake, as if the horror of what she’d just survived was finally becoming real to her. “The water came up all around us and then . . . then it stopped.”
“We almost drowned.” One of the kids, a blond little boy, spoke up. He looked to be the oldest and he seemed more frightened than the others. Probably because he was able to understand the danger they had been in.
“I’m so glad you didn’t.” Andi still had her arm around the woman. “Help is coming. It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not.” The woman whispered the words. Then she began to shake harder. She mouthed her next words. “We lost everything.”
“We can help you with that. Really.”
“Okay.” Cara Grace took a shaky breath and finished the story. She told how her cell phone had been broken, and she had no landline, so when the waters started to rise she wasn’t sure what else to do but head upstairs. She had grabbed two loaves of bread, a package of sliced cheese, and a case of water bottles.
They had survived on that.
The drinking water was gone now and so was the food. Her story finished, the woman fell quiet once more. Andi was about to ask the children how they were feeling when Cody came back. He carried the bag with the emergency kit and handed it to Andi.
Then he moved to the littlest child, a girl who looked to be three or four. “I’m Cody.” He sat beside her. “I’m going to help you, okay?”
Andi couldn’t take her eyes off him, the compassion in his voice and kindness in his gentle smile. Like he’d been helping with rescues all his life.
“I’m hungry.” The little girl looked at Cody. “Can I have toast?”
“Soon.” Cody smiled at her. He pressed the back of his fingers to her forehead and then took her small hand. He felt the pulse at her wrist. “You’re a very brave girl. What’s your name?”
“Emma.” Her eyes were bright with admiration. Cody was her hero, no doubt.
Cody glanced at Andi. “Her heartbeat’s steady. No fever.” He moved to the next little girl. Like her siblings, the child wore several layers of damp shirts and sweaters. Andi watched as Cody felt this girl’s forehead. “And what’s your name?”
“Esther.” This girl seemed to be five or six. Her eyes looked glassy, and she seemed weaker than her sister. “I don’t feel good.”
“I’m sorry. We’re going to take care of you.” Cody took the child’s pulse. Clearly she wasn’t well, though Cody seemed to do his best to hide the fact. “Tell me about school. What grade are you?”
“First.” She managed the hint of a weary smile. “I’m the best reader in my class.”
“I’ll bet you are.” This time when Cody looked at Andi, he silently mouthed, “Fever. She needs a doctor.”
Quiet tears filled Cara Grace’s eyes again. “I’ve been so scared. I knew Esther was sick.”
“It’s going to be all right.” Andi released her hold on Cara Grace and took her hand instead. She pulled a thermometer from the bag and took the woman’s temperature. It was elevated, but not badly. “You’re all going to get through this.” She focused on Cara Grace’s eyes.
She looked at Andi. “Please stay. Until we can get out of here.”
“We will. We’re not going anywhere.” Andi continued to hold the woman’s hand as the two of them watched Cody.
He had moved on to the boy, who was maybe nine years old. “How you feeling, buddy?”
“Tired.” He leaned his head against his mother’s arm and studied Cody. “Are you a fireman?”
Cody put his hand on the boy’s forehead. “I trained as a firefighter when I was in the Army. So kind of.” Cody smiled, but there was no hiding the alarm in his eyes. “We’re going to get you something to drink, okay?”
“I’m not thirsty.” The boy’s words were slightly slurred.
With a gentleness that belied his soldierly strength, Cody checked the boy’s wrist. Then he checked it again and Andi could see the muscles in his jaw clench. “Dehydrated,” Cody mouthed his assessment to Andi. Then he looked at the emergency kit. “Is there anything rehydrating in there?”
Andi let go of Cara’s hand and reached for the bag. “I think so.” She sifted through the items and found a few packets of mineral replenishment. They needed to work quickly. With steady fingers, Andi opened one.
“Here. Let me.” Cody gently took both from her. He poured the packet into a water bottle from the kit and shook it up.
Andi felt dizzy as she moved to the boy and took his temperature. This was why she had fallen in love with Cody in the first place. He was calm and completely focused, stronger than any guy she knew and completely in control. No wonder she felt protected around him.
She read the thermometer. The boy’s fever was high. Nearly 103 degrees. A quick look at Cody. “He’s hot.”
Cody knelt down in front of the child and handed him the mixed water. “Here, buddy. Drink this.”
“I’m still not thirsty.” The boy remained with his head against his mother.
“You know what this is, right?” Cody held the bottle out to the child. “This is a superhero drink. It’ll make you really strong, okay?”
Andi watched, mesmerized. Cody was brilliant with the boy. The superhero bit seemed to make the difference. The boy took the bottle and drank a few sips. “It’s salty.”
“Superheroes need salt.” Cody sat beside the child. “What’s your name?”
“Edward.” The boy took another few sips.
In the distance, Andi heard sirens. The ambulance would be here soon. Then the family would be taken to the hospital and examined more thoroughly. Andi stayed next to Cara Grace while Cody continued talking to the kids.
Emma was the chattiest. “I wanna be a superhero, too.”
“You are a superhero, Emma.” Cody smiled at her. “I can tell.”
Minutes later two paramedics hurried through the bedroom door and began working with the family. Once they could see the situation was stable, they directed Andi and Cody to help move the family to the ambulance down the street.
“We’ll have to take two trips.” One of the paramedics took Edward in his arms and the other carried Esther.
Cody lifted Emma, then he turned to Andi. “You got Cara Grace?”
“Yes.” Andi helped the woman to her feet and the two followed the others. “We’ll be right behind you.”
One of the paramedics took Cara Grace and the kids, and then the rowboat returned for Cody and Andi and the second paramedic. After they were all safely in the boat, Cody sat beside Andi on the quick trip to dry ground. Their bodies were so close Andi could hear him breathing. They arrived just as little Emma was being helped into the waiting ambulance.
Cody gave the young girl a thumbs-up as the child was loaded into the back. “Superhero, okay? Don’t forget?”
An innocent smile lit up her eyes. “Okay.”
Andi stood beside Cody and they watched as Cara Grace and her other children were placed in the ambulance, and the vehicle pulled away. After several seconds Andi turned to him. “You were amazing back there. With the children.” She searched his eyes. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He watched her for a long moment and then he pulled her into his arms. “And you . . . you were beautiful with that woman, Andi. You have this . . . peace. A strength. You helped her be brave.”
“You, too.” Andi pressed against Cody. Wrapped in his arms and still wearing his sweatshirt, she didn’t want the moment to end. If this was a dream, she would have to wake up sometime. Just not yet. She closed her eyes and rested her head on Cody’s chest.
Once, a long time ago, Cody’s mother had shown Andi a few photos from his time at war. Pictures of Cody with several Middle Eastern children. They clambered around him, hanging on to his neck and grinning at him.
Was that how he would be with his own children one day? He would make an amazing father. He had proven that much over the past hour.
Andi took a quick breath and stepped back. What was she doing? Standing here with Cody and dreaming about his ability to be a father? Andi blinked. She needed to get out of here, had to find her way back to reality. She crossed her arms and looked at the ruins around them. “Cara Grace and her kids will be okay.”
“They will.” Cody looked bewildered. Like he wasn’t sure why she had pulled away.
Andi studied the street. The neighborhood was destroyed. Several houses had floated away. It was a miracle Cara Grace and her family had survived at all. Everyone had been evacuated from the area except the mother and her three children.
Somehow they had been forgotten.
Andi and Cody were both wet, and now that she no longer had Cody to keep her warm, Andi began to shiver again. “Those kids could’ve drowned.”
“Definitely.” Cody reached for her hand once more. “Let’s get you back to your room. You need dry clothes.”
Neither of them said a word as they walked back to his car and Cody climbed behind the wheel. The quiet between them remained the entire drive back to Andi’s hotel. As long as his hand held hers, there were no words needed.
Cody waited in the lobby as she headed up to her room. Once there, Andi checked on her puppy. He was sleepy, and he barely moved as she patted his silky ear. The events of the last few hours hit her all over again and she moved slowly to the window. What’s happening, God? Why is he here?
She loved everything about this morning. Working beside Cody, watching his tender strength, pretending they were a couple. Just for today. The moments with him were everything she had dreamed.
He was everything she had dreamed.
As if in response, scenes from their past filled her mind. The times Cody had grown distant and silent. Nights when he seemed a million miles away. She stood a little straighter. She couldn’t do this again. Couldn’t let herself be swept away. No matter how wonderful this morning had been.
They still needed to talk.
With new determination, Andi changed into fresh jeans and her own sweatshirt, and then she returned to him. He watched her as she approached and as she handed him his hoodie. “Thanks for this.” Her smile felt slightly awkward. “I needed it.”
“Hey . . .” He looked more deeply into her eyes. “Andi? Something’s wrong.”
She took a slow breath. “Do you have a few minutes?”
Panic fell over his face. He must’ve changed into a fresh pair of jeans from his car because he was dry now, too. He slid his hands into his pockets. “Sure. Where do you wanna go?”
“Back to the park.” She didn’t want to break down here. All of her co-workers were staying at this hotel. She met his eyes again. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course.”
As they drove to the park Andi thought about the animal shelter and how she would need to go back to the hotel and get her puppy. Then she would meet up with Caleb and they could pick up where they’d left off with the frightened cats and dogs.
Anything to keep from thinking of Cody and the way it had felt being with him today, working with him, wrapped in his arms. No, she couldn’t think about any of that. Because the talk they were about to have would be one they’d both remember forever. Andi was sure of it. And after today Cody wouldn’t be there to help her.
He wouldn’t be there at all.