Page 67 of Forever My Lass

“Where did you get that?” Madeline gasped in horror before she read the answer in Ainslie’s dark violet eyes. She immediately turned her head toward the cave’s entrance. There was still no sign of Iain, and her heart thudded with fear. Ainslie had already begun to saw against the wet rope, but her movements were slow and jerky as the child was shaking so hard. Madeline was trembling almost as hard from the cold as well, but the thought of losing Iain sent a surge of heat and energy pulsing through her veins.

“Give me the knife, Ainslie.” At Madeline’s quiet command, the girl jerked her head up. “It’s going to be all right. I’m going to cut myself free and go back for your father.”

Without a word of protest, the child handed her the knife. The handle was heavy and awkward in her hand, but Madeline closed her fingers around it in a death grip. The blade was incredibly sharp, and while it took several precious seconds to cut through the sturdy rope, she finally freed herself. Iain had wrapped the rope around Ainslie’s waist twice, and the fact he might have expected this moment flitted through Madeline’s head. With the bowline knot no longer holding the rope in place, Madeline handed the knife back to her young charge, then tried to tuck the free end of the rope into the hemp wrapped around Ainslie’s waist, but the girl slapped her hand away.

“Nae. Ye must go after Faither. Please Madeline, ye have tae save him.” The guilt on Ainslie’s face was so stark, Madeline thought the girl might go after Iain herself if she didn’t move quickly. With a nod, she pulled away from Ainslie.

“Tug the rope three times, and Angus will know to pull you back to the beach.”

The moment the child bobbed her head, Madeline turned away and swam toward the mouth of the cave. The last time she’d been this cold and exhausted had been the night Iain had pulled her from the sea. With a resolve that gave her the ability to overcome her body’s protests, Madeline swam toward the dark hole.

The tide pushed her forward, then tried to pull her away, but she fought the water with a determination she knew came from adrenalin. It was a source of energy that wouldn’t last, and she forced herself to remain focused. As she reached the cave entrance, she saw what looked like white caps created by something in the water. Praying it was Iain swimming toward her, Madeline swam forward several strokes.

The tide rolled into the cave and over her head, the current trying to press her down. She fought back and kicked her way back up to the surface. Only a couple of feet away, she saw Iain’s dark head being pushed down into the water and toward the back of the cavern. Desperately, Madeline swam two more strokes forward and pulled his head above the water. To her horror, he didn’t drag in a breath, but remained still as he floated next to her.

“Iain,” she screamed with a grief that sliced through her with the sharpness of his sgian dubh. She shook him slightly, and when he didn’t respond, fiery anger spread its way through her limbs. “Oh no, you don’t, you arrogant Scot. I will not let you get away with saying you love me only to die on me.”

One arm wrapped around his neck, she pushed her way through the water as if she were fighting to win a triathlon. Every second was precious now if she was going to get him to shore in time to save him. She was almost halfway toward the outcrop of rock that enclosed the inlet when she saw Ainslie bobbing in the water in almost the same spot where she’d left her moments ago. Furious, Madeline glared at her, but the child scowled back with a look that mimicked her father’s.

“Ye need my help.”

Despite her anger, Madeline knew the girl was right. Without thinking twice, she pulled Iain closer to his daughter to press Ainslie’s chest into her father’s back. As quickly as her cold limbs could move, Madeline wrapped the rope around father and daughter twice.

“Keep his head above water… as best you can.” Madeline’s teeth were chattering almost as badly as Ainslie’s.

“But how… will ye—”

“Don’t say another… goddamn word, Ainslie. You’re in enough trouble… as it is. If you don’t do what I say, I’m… going to paddle your ass until you… won’t be able to sit down… for a week.”

The girl’s eyes were wide in her face as she silently nodded her agreement to obey. Madeline gave three hard tugs to the rope, and father and daughter slid through the water at a rapidly increasing pace. Fear driving her forward, Madeline swam after them as fast as her contracting limbs would let her.

Weariness flooded her body with a suddenness that made her flounder in the water. The adrenaline that had allowed her to reach Iain had run its course. Instinctively, Madeline knew she wouldn’t make it back to the beach if she tried to swim around the outcrop of rocks. With several lethargic strokes, she headed straight toward the rocks, where she wrapped her fingers around some seaweed to hold her in place for a moment.

A wordless prayer of gratitude moved Madeline’s lips for the brief respite as she drank in deep breaths against the rocks. She was trembling badly, and she realized she was still in great danger. The water was cold, and while it had been bearable in the beginning, her prolonged exposure meant that hypothermia would set in soon, if it hadn’t already. Eyes closed, she rested her forehead against a smooth, flat section of the rock and tried to move, but exhaustion and the cold proved a difficult obstacle to overcome.

It was all she could do simply to drag herself forward along the outcrop using the rock face to steady her. The memory of Iain’s lifeless body made her release a sob of pain, and she tried to move faster. Did Angus and the others know CPR or was she the only one who knew what to do?

Frustration sailed through her at how little she knew about medical history and how slow her body moved. Shouts erupted in the air from the other side of the rocks, and Madeline heard Ainslie and Grace shrieking her name. Their cries were stark with grief, pain, and fear. Instantly, the life went out of her. Oh God, Iain was dead. Just as he’d been unable to save his brother, she’d been unable to save the man she loved.

Grief swelled up inside Madeline, and she threw her head back and released a scream of sorrow that echoed wildly over the sound of the sea. It was a primal vocalization of her heart breaking. Sobbing hysterically, Madeline’s cheek stung as it scraped across the rough surface of the outcrop.

Never in her life had she ever wanted to die until this moment. And she craved death now. Ached for it. Every part of her was dead, and she allowed her fingers to slowly loosen their grip on the wet stone. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, when she heard shouts from up above. Slowly raising her head, Madeline didn’t recognize the two men shouting, and she ignored their cries.

In a listless movement, she bowed her head again silently wishing them to go away. She was too tired, too numb, too dead inside to care if someone wanted to save her. She didn’t want to be saved. Overhead, she heard Ainslie’s voice shouting her name, but she didn’t look up. The small measure of relief that the girl had made it safely to shore, was swiftly replaced with a pain so terrible she had no words to define it. Madeline sobbed again as Iain’s face filled her head.

“Madeline, take the rope, lass.”

Angus’s voice was loud and sharp as wet hemp slapped against her back. She lifted her head to stare upward. Through her tears, she saw a blurry shape she recognized as the tall Scotsman. Madeline rejected his command with a slow shake of her head.

“I have nae seen such a bull-headed lass in my entire life,” he shouted angrily. “Ye and Iain deserve each other. I hope the two of ye make each other miserable until your dying days.”

For a moment, Angus’s words echoed in her ears like an annoying fly buzzing about her head. As each second ticked by, she slowly absorbed the Scotsman’s words. He said he wanted her and Iain to make each other miserable. How was that possible? Madeline’s head jerked up as she stared at the man dangling the rope against her back. Had he just said Iain was alive?

“Aye, so, ye finally see the lay of the land, dinnae ye, lass. Now, put ye head and arms through the loop.” Something almost like laughter echoed in Angus’s voice as he nodded toward the rope hanging against the rock face. “If I dinnae get ye up here then down tae the beach, Iain is apt tae try and fetch ye himself, and the mon is just back from the dead. He’s nae in any shape tae do that.”

Iain was alive. The thought skimmed its way across every nerve ending in her body until she was tingling all over. Joy warmed her blood, and her lethargy gone, she obeyed Angus’s instructions. When she reached the top of the outcrop, she staggered a few feet toward the opposite side of the outcrop’s flat surface to look down at the beach. Iain was lying in the sand, nodding at something Grace was saying to him.

Almost as if he sensed her watching him, Iain turned onto his side and tried to push himself up on his elbow. Her heart swelled as she drank in the sight of him. He was alive. Closing her eyes, Madeline murmured her thanks to God. In the next second, a small frame latched onto her. Ainslie’s arms were tight around Madeline’s waist as the girl looked up at her. Tears streamed down Ainslie’s face, and with another prayer of gratitude escaping her lips, Madeline hugged the child close.