“Kinda wish we’d kept some of that rope free,” Ty said to him as soon as Zane came up to him. He looked back at the river, his eyes searching for the easiest place to cross. There wasn’t one.
“Winch on the ATV?” Zane suggested.
Ty was already pulling out the blue synthetic rope from the Gorilla winch mounted on the front of the vehicle, wrapping it around his hand and elbow. “If we move it closer to the water, it might reach,” he agreed. When it hit the end, he looked up and said, “’Bout fifty feet, thereabouts.” He looked across the water. It wasn’t actually a big river. It was just a creek overfull from the downpours and roiling along at too fast a clip to make it safe to cross. “It might make it,” he wagered again as he looked down at the rope. He sounded nervous, though, as he weighed his chances of making it across.
“I could take it,” Zane suggested, though he didn’t really expect Ty to let go of that rope.
Ty looked at him and nodded. “I know you could,” he said seriously.
The corner of Zane’s mouth curled. That was a compliment. “You’re probably a stronger swimmer than me,” he allowed as he looked at the current. “You’ll almost certainly be off your feet in that mess.”
“Yeah,” Ty agreed. He glanced up at Zane and looked back down at the rope as he slid it off his forearm and placed the coil on the ground. He untied his boots, stood back up, and began unbuttoning his jacket. “But someone’s gotta anchor it on the other side,” he said finally as he stripped off every piece of clothing he could afford to. “Maybe I can pull myself along the bottom rather than trying to swim it,” he hedged.
“I know me saying I don’t like this won’t make a difference, but I’m saying it anyway,” Zane said as he took each item as Ty handed it over.
Ty laughed softly. “Believe me, neither do I.” The water wasn’t the only danger. The logs and other debris it carried were moving at a fast clip, fast enough that a large piece could knock a man unconscious.
“Are we sure this is the only idea we have?” Earl asked finally.
“You want to get home?” Zane answered without even looking over at the older man, his voice a little sharp.
Earl didn’t reply. There was no arguing that trying to find a different place to cross would be futile and time-consuming, nor was there any question that Ty was the best choice to make the attempt.
Ty got down to his briefs, folding his discarded clothing neatly before handing it to Zane so it could be packed and kept dry.
“Get the ATV going, Deuce,” Zane ordered. “We’ll need the nose right up at the edge of the water.”
Deuce moved to mount the ATV, shaking his head and muttering about heroes. He nudged the four-wheeler closer to the water as carefully as possible, slipping and sliding in the deep mud.
As he positioned the ATV, Ty stood barefoot between Zane and Earl, already shivering in the chilly air. He held the end of the blue synthetic rope and clenched his jaw as he looked out at the water. After another long moment of nothing, Zane huffed, although the sound of it was lost under the rushing water. He turned to help Ty secure the blue rope to himself, tying it around his chest where it wouldn’t hinder his swimming strokes. Then he stepped in front of Ty and reached out and cupped Ty’s face with both hands. Ty looked up in surprise as his shoulders snapped back.
Leaning close to Ty’s ear, Zane whispered, “Don’t make me come after you. You get swept off, I’m eating your share of the pie.”
Ty’s eyes tracked sideways as he listened, and his lips quirked into a wry smile as he looked away. “Understood,” he responded, loud enough that the river didn’t cover it.
Zane nodded, squeezed Ty’s shoulder, and took a couple steps back before looking out at the deluge. Well, at least it wasn’t dark, he thought grimly.
Ty was checking the end loop of the rope when Earl took hold of his shoulder. Deuce looked up at them from where he sat on the ATV, holding his breath as he watched them just like Zane was.
“Be quick about it!” Zane heard Earl shout over the sound of the river. Ty nodded, said something Zane couldn’t hear, and then turned to look over his shoulder, raising his chin at Deuce. Deuce nodded wordlessly at his brother in return.
Ty turned his head to look at Zane one last time before he glanced back out at the water, rolling his neck as he tried to convince himself that the cold water wasn’t going to hurt like hell when he hit it. When he started wading in, broken branches and other debris almost immediately smacking into him, Zane flinched harder than Ty did and curled one hand into a fist. Ty visibly struggled as he waded in up to his knees, the water yanking at his feet and the larger pieces of debris trying to upend him. Zane and the others watched helplessly. Each one of them would have gladly done the task, but all they could do now was watch and wait as sticks and stones did their best to batter Ty to his knees in those cold waves.
Ty stood knee-deep in the water, wasting precious seconds before he went hypothermic, trying to decide the best way to continue. Zane knew what he was thinking: did he keep trying to walk it and risk getting broadsided by a log, or did he give up the footing and try to swim it, putting himself at even more risk for being swept away downstream?
As long as the rope stayed attached to his chest, though, the biggest danger was being dragged under and not being reeled in faster than he could drown.
Before Zane could ponder the dangers any further, Ty dove headfirst into the water, disappearing under the little whitecaps and the sticks and other debris that floated past.
“Goddamnit, Ty!” Zane yelled, even though he knew Ty wouldn’t hear him. He turned and kicked the ATV’s tire before running a hand over his head and beginning to pace. He looked back out over the water, every part of him tense. He hadn’t thought it could be worse than watching his partner wade across the river. But not being able to see him at all? That was so much worse.
He knew they should be doing something—securing the ATV so it wouldn’t slide, packing up their equipment into the ponchos to keep it dry as they crossed, manning the winch in case Ty got washed downstream—but he couldn’t. He had to watch for Ty.
The blue coil of rope on the ground in front of the ATV unwound steadily, whether because Ty was actually making progress across the river or because the water was pulling it in was hard to tell. Zane found himself counting the seconds, wondering how long Ty could hold his breath. A few minutes at least, give or take.