Chapter Thirty-Nine

Riley

"Lena!"

I shout her name once more above the tossing waves. Then I draw a deep breath and plunge into the water.

That's when I see her. Falling like a rock to the bottom.

No.

I swim to her as fast as I can. I grip her waist and wrap her cold arm above my shoulder. As I swim back to the surface, I keep praying.

Please, if there's a God out there, don't take my wife and child away from me.

It seems an eternity before I reach the surface, an eternity wherein I try not to think of the worst. Through the raging waves, I try to look for the boat.

"Riley!" Someone waves from it.

I swim towards it. The current pushes me back and Lena's weight drags me down. Raindrops splatter on my face like bullets. But there's no way I'm going to lose against the water.

Summoning every ounce of strength I have in my muscles, I swim against the current, against the waves. My legs propel me forward.

Come on. Come on. Faster.

This is more important than any race I've ever been in. This is a race to save my family.

I swim even faster, pushing myself to the limit. My lungs hurt from gasping for air. My legs begin to ache and feel like they're falling apart. I ignore all that and keep swimming.

Eventually, I reach the boat. Someone pulls me and Lena aboard.

"Lena!" her mother shouts.

My body aches all over. Still, I pull myself up and crawl towards her, holding her hand as the paramedic with me gives her CPR.

"Lena, please!" her mother wails.

I squeeze Lena's hand and speak against her ear. "Don't you dare give up on me, Lena."

When she still hasn't responded after a few seconds, though, I feel myself starting to give up. Then, just when I think all hope is lost, she gasps. She lifts her head to throw up the water she swallowed, then coughs.

I let out a sigh of relief as I hold her in my arms. Thank God.

"Everything's alright now, Lena," I promise her as I rub her back and arms to keep her warm. "Everything's alright."

~

"Your wife is going to be alright," Dr. Madison assures me as she steps into the waiting room.

I let go of the breath I've been holding as I stand up and run a hand through my hair in relief.

"And the baby?" I ask hopefully.

"The tests don't show any abnormalities or adverse effects," Dr. Madison says. "Heartbeat is good, too."

I put my hand over my chest as I exhale. "Thank goodness."

"They're both fine because they were rescued just in time," the doctor adds. "A moment longer and they might not have made it."

I nod. I know. That's why I was putting everything I had on the line to beat the clock. And I did. Again.

And this time, the exhilaration I feel is even greater than all those times I won a race, because this time the reward isn't a medal. It's the lives of my wife and child.

I give the doctor a smile. "Thank you, Doctor."

"I wasn't the one who saved her," she says.

She glances at her chart. "Also, Janet Hunt is doing fine. She's your mother-in-law, right?"

I nod.

"She seems to have sprained her ankle, but otherwise she's okay. We're just running a few more tests to make sure."

"I understand."

Dr. Madison walks off.

"Can I see Lena now?" I call after her.

She turns. "Yes. Yes, of course."

~

The hospital room is a lot quieter than the hallway outside. The only sound is from the machines attached to Lena. She's sleeping on the bed, her hair fanned around her head. Her breath fogs the mask on her face.

I plant a kiss on her forehead but she doesn't stir.

That's fine. She must be exhausted after all she's just been through.

I glance at her belly and then at the machine. I can see the lines going up and down. Just as Dr. Madison said, the baby seems to be doing fine.

They're both fighters. Survivors.

"How are they?" My father's voice jolts me out of my thoughts.

I glance over my shoulder to see him standing behind me with a bouquet of flowers.

"They'll be fine," I answer. "Are you supposed to be here? I thought you were still in Vancouver."

"There was no point in me staying after you'd left." He approaches the bed and stands beside me. "Then of course I heard about what happened."

"From who?" I ask him curiously.

"Conrad Lawrence."

Jerry and Judy's father.

I draw a deep breath. "What did he say exactly?"

"That you punched Jerry."

"That I did," I admit.

"That you've had them thrown in jail."

"That I did, too. For kidnapping."

"Conrad was begging me to ask you to withdraw the charges," my father says. "He wants you to drop the case."

I touch my chin. "And what did you say?"

"That I won't forgive anyone who tries to harm a McAllister."

I turn to him with wide eyes. That wasn't the answer I was expecting.

"I know I haven't been a father to you," he says. "But you are my son, and Lena and your unborn baby are family."

I sigh. "We're already divorced, though."

"So?" My father shrugs. "Just marry her again."

My eyebrows arch. Really?

He places a hand on my shoulder. "Frankly, I never wanted you to marry Judy. She was the worst choice. I was hoping that if I told you that you had to marry her, it would motivate you to find someone better. And you have. Someone far better."

My eyebrows furrow. "You're messing with me, right?"

"No." My father shakes his head. "You know, I never told you, but your mother didn't want to marry me."

"What?"

"She was supposed to marry someone else, but I fell in love with her, so I spoke to her father and made a deal with him. And so our marriage was arranged. She hated me at first, but, ah, she learned to love me. And we were happy."

"I don't understand," I tell him. "I appreciate that you've told me this, but what does your marriage to my mother have to do with my marriage to Lena?"

"I wanted you to find your own bride and win her over," my father says.

"By saying I should marry someone else?"

"Like I said, I knew you didn't want to marry Judy. So I knew you'd find someone else."

I shake my head as I slip my hands into my pockets. "You are so weird."

"Even when you were thinking of divorcing Lena, I was trying to discourage you by dangling the prospect of marrying Judy."

My gaze narrows. That's what he was doing?

"If you didn't want me to divorce Lena, you should have just said so. Then I wouldn't have signed those stupid papers."

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?"

"Fun?"

"The most valuable lessons in life are the ones you learn on your own. Not the ones someone else teaches you."

I shrug. "Is there also a lesson I'm supposed to learn from being forced to help you run the company?"

"Yes," my father answers. "Hard work. Well, hard work on behalf of others. I know you worked hard at swimming, but that was for yourself. And I wanted you to learn the basics of running a company so that you could start your own if you wanted."

Unbelievable.

"Also, I thought it would be good if you tried some other things besides swimming. I didn't want your life to pass you by."

"So you forced me to settle down?"

"I forced you to start living," he says.

"I was living."

"Maybe." He shrugs. "But you were missing out on a lot, too."

I sigh. "Fine. You did everything that was best for me. You're a great father."

"It was your mother who made me promise, you know. As she was dying, she didn't ask me to take care of you. She asked me to help you make the most out of life, to realize the most important thing in life. And it seems you finally have."

"Okay." I take a moment to digest everything he just told me. "I have just one question."

"What?"

"Why did you marry Mickey?"

"That's a secret," he answers.

I frown.

He pats my shoulder. "Don't let Lena go. Don't let anyone take her away from you."

I nod. "Don't worry, Dad. I won't."

~

As soon as Lena wakes up, I sit on her bed and take her hand in mine. She lifts her other hand to touch my cheek.

"Riley," she whispers my name. "I thought I'd never see you again."

I frown. "I thought so, too."

I kiss her hand.

"I thought I'd lost you."

"But you didn't," Lena tells me. "You found my message, didn't you?"

"The one on the soap?"

"I think I might just like that purple soap after all."

I chuckle.

"And you saved me," she says. "You came after me like I knew you would. I didn't give up hoping, you know, and you didn't give up on me."

I squeeze her hand. "Didn't we promise we wouldn't give up on each other no matter what?"

She smiles, but then her features twist in concern.

"How's the baby?"

"The baby's good."

"And my mother?"

"She's fine, too. Everything's fine."

Lena nods and smiles again. "It's all thanks to you."

She squeezes my hand back and our fingers entwine. That's when I remember she's not wearing her wedding ring.

We're no longer wed. But like my father said, it doesn't matter.

"I did lose you, though," I tell Lena.

Her eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean?"

"The divorce," I say.

"Oh."

"We're not married anymore."

"Right."

"If you don't want to marry me again, I'd understand," I tell her. "You've been through a lot since you married me. But if you don't mind, I still want you as my wife. In fact, you're all I want as my wife."

Lena's blue eyes narrow. "Are you proposing, Riley Boyle McAllister?"

"I don't have an engagement ring, but..." I go down on one knee by the bed. "Lena Hunt, I don't believe I asked you this before..."

"You didn't."

"Will you marry me? For real and for good?"

Her eyes dance as she chuckles. Then she nods.

"Yes, I will."