Take Care, Sara

you punched him in the face. Spencer and Gracie were there, on the boat. Spencer had to pull you off him. You shouted things.” She suddenly stopped, a lump in her throat. Sara couldn’t say anymore.
    “I told him he was an idiot.”
    Other things. You said other things too. But all she said was, “Right.”
    “Ready to work?”
    “Lead the way, boss.” Sara followed Lincoln as he crossed the yard to get to the house, but her mind was still stuck on that day.
    “You knew she didn’t want to be dumped! What the fuck were you thinking? She could have drowned. Fucking idiot,” Lincoln snapped and turned away from his brother, incalculable rage flashing in his eyes, stiffening his jaw.
    Sara watched him storm to the back of the boat, ignoring Gracie when she tried to talk to him. She’d never seen him so furious before; never . Lincoln’s red plaid swim trunks were stuck to his legs like another layer of skin, his broad back taut. She was stunned by his reaction. Looking at Cole, Sara knew he was too.
    Cole turned to her, his features tight. “I’m so sorry, Sara. I didn’t—I was just having some fun. You’re okay?”
    She wiped water from her face, nodding. The outdoor carpet of the boat prickled her soft flesh and she moved to stand. “I’m okay.”
    He helped her up, wrapping his arms around her. “If anything had happened to you—“
    “It didn’t,” she broke in, eyes on Lincoln. He stared out at the endless water, profile carved from stone. He’d isolated himself from the rest of them, as though he didn’t want their taint of irresponsibility near him, or maybe just his brother’s.
    “Because of Lincoln.”
    Something in his tone made her glance at him; the flatness of it maybe. “Are you mad that he saved me?” Incredulity made her voice higher than it usually was.
    Cole scowled, dropping his arms from her. “No.”
    “Well, that’s good, because the alternative was drowning.”
    The scowl deepened. “I know. It’s just… I’m supposed to save you, not him. I’m supposed to be there for you, not him.”
    “You were too busy having fun driving the boat and trying to dump us,” Sara snapped.
    “I know. I’m an ass.”
    Her anger faded at the look on her husband’s face. It was full of self-recrimination.
    “And proud.”
    He nodded somberly. “That too.”
    She felt herself soften toward him, as she always did. Cole looked so young, so pitiful. “I still love you.”
    Cole looked up, flashing a grin brighter than the sun. “Good to know.”
    “But if I was dead, I wouldn’t.”
    “I’d still love you if I was dead,” he retorted, trailing a hand along her hip and causing her to shiver.
    “Okay, you two, it’s fun watching you almost making out and everything, but can we get going?” Spencer asked from where he lounged on the seat, Gracie beside him.
    Cole moved to captain the boat and Sara walked toward Lincoln. The boat lurched forward as it accelerated, Sara grabbing the ledge to steady herself. She adjusted the yellow swim shorts as she neared him, tightening the straps of the turquoise bikini top. He didn’t look at her as she approached, his cool gaze trained ahead.
    “Thank you,” she said quietly, sitting in the seat next to him.
    Lincoln glanced at her. “I was scared out of mind, Sara, when you went under and I couldn’t see you. I—“
    “Earth to Sara.” She ran into Lincoln’s chest, his hands steadying her as he set her back. “Sleepwalking again?”
    She shrugged, her face burning. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you. That’s what he’d said. She hadn’t wanted to think about what it could have or could not have meant at the time. Sara wasn’t inclined to think about it that much now either. And yet… why had he brought up that day? Was he trying to tell her something without telling her something? Was she looking into it too much? Did he want her to remember what he’d said? Did Lincoln remember what he’d said?
    “Why that day, Lincoln?” she pressed. An icy sharp wind started, tousling her hair around her face. Sara impatiently pushed it behind her ears, not letting Lincoln look away.
    His neck convulsed as he swallowed. But he didn’t look away. Lincoln’s eyes were zeroed in on hers, looking at her in a way that made pressure form in her chest. “That was the day things changed for me.”
    “Meaning?”
    Lincoln finally looked away, tapping a pad of paper against his thigh. “Do you