Moonlight Bay

Mike Sanders was totally stumped. It was obvious that he had played his cards poorly. He regretted not being able to land an obviously talented and forceful ER doctor for the hospital, but he was more concerned for his son.

Diane had kept him informed on the budding romance between Jessica and Dave. He and Gail were both pleased that Dave seemed to looking for a more meaningful and lasting relationship. The fact that it was with the beautiful doctor visiting town was icing on the cake. Mike hadn't tried to push Dave toward Jessica. He knew Dave well enough to realize it would only serve to have the opposite effect. He had spoken with other board members and all agreed the young ER doctor would be extremely beneficial to the hospital, as well as the community. He thought it would pave the way, romantically, for the couple. Instead, he had somehow caused it all to come crashing down and he was sick at heart.

Dave's face had turned beet red as he watched Jessica stomp from the room. Nancy Williams was more flustered than she imagined possible. What had just happened? Why had Jess suddenly become so hostile? Dave was one of the finest young men she had ever seen and her daughter had rejected him in no uncertain terms.

Mike felt he needed to apologize to his son, although he had no idea what he had done wrong. "Dave, I'm sorry. I had no idea I'd upset her..."

"Never mind, Dad. It's over now. I have to go get ready for work," was all Dave said as he quickly left the room, leaving both sets of parents shaking their heads in confusion.

Once outside the hospital, Dave realized he had left his truck at the scene of the accident and had no way back to his apartment. Then he heard his name called from the parking lot. Turning, he saw Derrick waving to him, and he was standing next to his truck!

"I saw the stream on Facebook, so I knew you left your truck behind. Heather and I went out to pick it up for you. Where's Jessica?"

"She had things to do," was Dave's terse reply as he put his truck in gear and pulled out of the parking lot.

As Heather and Derrick were walking to his car, Jessica rushed up to them. "I need a ride back to the hotel!"

"Dave just left. Why didn't you ride with him?" asked an obviously perplexed Heather.

"I won't be riding with that jerk ever again!" snapped Jessica. "Could we go back to the hotel now?"

Willow was looking at her phone when Jessica walked into their shared hotel room. "Well, if it isn't the gator whisperer. How's Dave doing? The guy wrestled an alligator bare handed for you. How romantic is that?"

"Not romantic enough to make me ever want to see him again!" growled Jessica as she dropped into a chair and began sobbing. "He was just leading me on so I'd do my residency here at General. His father had him be nice to me in hopes I'd stay in this one horse town. That'll never happen!"

"Wow! You've had some day," observed Willow with concern. "I could point out that you're much more upset about this problem with Dave than you were when James, your boyfriend at the time, called you a lousy cock sucker in public. I could also mention that the kiss you gave him sure made it appear like you thought he was a pretty good guy."

"You saw me kiss Dave?" sobbed Jessica. "Was that streamed on FaceBook, too? This is so embarrassing!"

"It really isn't, when you think about it. He's a great looking guy and you aren't too bad yourself. You stared down an alligator and saved a man's life. Then Dave saved your life. It seemed like the natural thing to do," reasoned Willow. "Is it possible you're overreacting, that maybe Dave wasn't leading you on and he really does have feelings for you?"

"Not likely, but it doesn't matter now. I slapped his father's face! Then I slapped Dave's!" revealed Jessica. "I hate being used, so I was furious. They may have deserved it, but I shouldn't have done it. Mom and Dad are going to be upset. They saw me do it."

"At least that wasn't streamed over the internet." Willow joked in an attempt to lighten Jessica's mood.

Jessica spent the next two days at the hotel pool, refusing to go to the beach or anywhere else she might encounter Dave or one of his many friends. Her parents, along with Heather and Willow, allowed her two days to recover her equilibrium before dragging her away from the hotel one afternoon.

"Heather and I are going on a boat tour of Lancaster Island, and you're going with us," insisted Willow. "You need to get out and get some fresh air. You've hidden out long enough. This'll be fun and you don't have to worry about seeing Dave. It's a tourist thing. Locals have seen the island hundreds of times. We leave in an hour."

Two hours later Jessica was sitting between Heather and Willow gazing at the wild horses roaming Lancaster Island. The guide on the fifty foot pontoon tour boat was very informative and the girls were thoroughly enjoying it. Jessica had been recognized as soon as she stepped onto the boat. Several people even asked her to pose for pictures with them. Jessica was uncomfortable with the attention, but realized she had no reason to decline the requests. The hard part was listening to some of the women telling her how handsome Dave was and what a sweet kiss she had given him. Everyone assumed they were a couple.

"I should be upset with you for luring Dave away, but after the way you faced that alligator and worked to save that man's life, I can't be angry. I see why Dave thinks so highly of you," stated an older woman with two young girls sitting next to her. "I just wish you were both staying here and working out of General Hospital."

"What makes you think I'm luring Dave anywhere?" asked a confused Jessica. "As far as not working at General, I really don't care to discuss reasons for my personal or professional decisions."

"My husband's the head of the county EMS. Dave approached him a couple of days after you made your now famous debut and added to our local lore, at his mom's restaurant. We had friends eating there and they told us all about it.

"Dave asked about getting a good letter of recommendation if he decided to move to the Baltimore area. He wondered if my husband could make suggestions about where he might apply since we lived in Baltimore ten years ago. He had decided he was going to do try to get to know you better and the only way to do that was to work someplace near where you worked," concluded the woman.

"Why would your husband give a waiter, or even a maitre d', a letter of recommendation?" asked a very perplexed Jessica. "Dave's thinking about moving to Baltimore because of me?"

"The recommendation wouldn't be for the food service industry," laughed the woman. "Dave doesn't brag, but he's the best paramedic in the county, and maybe the state. You saw firsthand the other day what he can and will do to help others. My husband hates to see him go, but he told Dave he'd give him the best possible recommendation and call a few friends to pave the way for him when he went looking for work up north."

"Dave is the best paramedic in the county? That's his job?" repeated a stunned Jessica. "He said he'd move to Baltimore for me?"

"I hope I didn't let the cat out of the bag," worried the older woman. "I just assumed you knew all of this. What do you and Dave talk about when you're with him?"

"Not our work, obviously," replied Jessica as she mulled over the information the woman had given her.

The boat shuttered as it began to circle around the north end of the island and the engine suddenly stopped. "Don't worry folks," announced the guide. "This happens now and then. All we have to do is make a few adjustments. The captain will have her running in no time. Everyone's welcome to grab a free drink out of the cooler while we you wait."

"I hope you get it fixed pretty soon," responded an older man as he glanced at his phone. "I'm looking at Doppler radar and it looks like severe thunderstorms headed our way."

Twenty minutes later, the engine still wasn't running and the tour guide's demeanor had changed. He picked up his microphone and spoke to the concerned tourists. "We can't seem to get the engine started. I'm calling back to the marina and asking them to send out a boat or two to take everyone back. I'm sorry about this inconvenience. You'll be refunded the full price of your tickets."

Nancy Williams had called Dave a little earlier in the day. "Jessica's going on a tour of Lancaster Island with Willow and Heather. I'm hope I'm not meddling, but if you ever hope to patch things up with her, you need to talk to her, maybe when she comes ashore. She has the idea you're just stringing her along so she'll agree to work at the local hospital. She heard some nurses talking about it and took it to heart.

"I don't think that's true and your intentions are honorable. The thing is it doesn't matter what I think. If you were serious about Jess and not playing her, you need to plead your case. She wouldn't have been this upset if you didn't mean a great deal to her."

Dave found himself pacing the docks impatiently as he waited for the tour boat to return. It should have been in sight, but all Dave could see on the horizon were thunderheads billowing tens of thousands of feet into the sky. Having been raised in Moonlight Bay, he well knew how quickly a dangerous storm could pop up.

"Dave!" called the marina manager from his doorway as he summoned Dave over. "The tour boat lost its engine on the north end of Lancaster Island and can't get it working. The local tow boat is twenty miles south pulling in a disabled charter. There's a storm brewing and we need to get those folks back before it hits.

"Old Will has agreed to take his big fishing boat out and load up the tourists, but his nephew's got the day off and went to Orlando. Will's worried about going alone and having trouble in the storm. Would you go with him? We'd sure appreciate it."

Dave soon realized it was a good thing he went with the old man. The sky was growing darker by the minute and the wind had picked up. The old man had lost all interest in the project and was constantly grumbling about risking his boat for a bunch of rich tourists. Dave had to use some strong persuasion to keep the man from heading back to the marina.

"Maybe we should try to float closer to the island," suggested a man is yellow shorts. "That storm is headed this way. We could get close and then wade in. At least we wouldn't have to worry about sinking."

"We don't have to worry about sinking, unless we do float closer to the island," replied the tour guide. "We have to stay this far out to avoid shallow water and rocks close to the surface on this end of the island. We'd sink for sure if we drifted too close. We'll have to anchor right here and wait."

The temperature seemed to drop drastically in just a few minutes and the rain began hammering the canopy that shielded the seats of the tour boat from the sun. Within minutes it was raining so hard visibility was down to a few dozen yards. The wind continued to increase and the rain was driven horizontally across the seats. The passengers were soaked within minutes. The ocean became even rougher as the winds increased.

"Is this boat moving?" asked a worried Heather as she hunkered down against the wind and rain with Willow and Jessica. "It feels like we're moving, doesn't it?"

"That's just the waves," responded Willow through clenched teeth. "We're anchored and ..."

Suddenly the boat slammed into something solid and passengers were hurled against the starboard side of the boat. Screams and loud sobs filled the gloom as passengers struggled to regain their feet.

Jessica had been trying to look over the side to see if they were getting close to the rocks protruding from the water when the boat's starboard pontoon was slammed into a rock. She clutched for the hand rail but was unable to grasp it before being flung over the side. Her head glanced the same rock the pontoon had smashed into. Jessica found herself feeling very woozy as she forced herself to cling to the rock as the waves buffeted her continuously.

"The pontoon is ruptured" shouted the tour guide. "If we keep banging into these rocks, we'll sink for sure. Where's that rescue boat?"

Passengers had been slammed into seats and railings. More than a few were now bleeding as people lay sprawled on the deck and across the seats. In the mayhem following the collision, no one noticed Jessica's absence.

Dave was now guiding the old man's boat. He saw the lights on the tour boat and slowly worked closer while avoiding the rocks he knew had to be dangerously close. Surprisingly, the wind suddenly died and the rain abated. People on the tour boat began waving frantically, urging him to move faster. It took a few minutes but Dave was able to get close to the other boat; too close for safety, he was sure.

The tour boat was no longer moving with the waves. It remained still and tilted, which concerned Dave. It had to be sitting on rocks, but he knew that wouldn't last very long if the wind and rain picked up again. The captain of the tour boat found a rather long board, lifted the end up and rested in on the bobbing fishing boat. Dave grabbed some bungee cords and quickly secured them around a notch in the board so it couldn't slide back off the edge.

The man on the other side was urging people to crawl up the plank to the fishing boat while Dave was at the top helping them into the boat. It took over ten minutes to get everyone across, but Dave never saw Jessica! The tour guide crawled into the boat next, followed by the captain. The wind had once again picked up and the movement on the fishing boat finally became too much as the board between the two boats plunged into the water.

Dave was frantic as he searched the faces looking at him. He saw Heather huddled with Willow.

"Where's Jessica?" he yelled over the sounds of the storm and the chatter of relieved passengers.

"I thought she was here!" shouted the suddenly frightened Heather. "The last I saw her she was standing by the railing."

"Dave, we have to get out of here!" hollered the old man that owned the fishing boat. "Those goddamn rocks are off the port side and getting closer every fucking second. If we don't get moving, we'll run aground or sink!"

Dave turned to the captain of the tour boat. "Help him get this boat back to the marina. You know these waters. I'm going to go look for a girl on your boat. Don't wait for us. You can't risk everyone's lives. We'll wait out the storm somehow and catch a ride back in the morning."

Once the man nodded grimly in agreement, Dave jumped over the side! He landed near the tour boat, which was now tilted badly enough that the broken pontoon was totally submerged, making it a fairly simple matter to climb over the side and into the sinking boat.

Jessica had struggled mightily to cling to the rock as she slowly regained her bearings. She was able to see the tour boat slowly descending into the choppy water. It was sinking! What about all of the people on the boat? There were kids. Heather and Willow were on the sinking boat! Would they be able to get to the rocks, or maybe even the island? Oddly, she didn't see a single person in the water. What had happened to them?

"Jessica!" yelled a voice from the sinking boat. "Jessica! Can you hear me?"

"Dave?" Is that you? I'm on a rock!" shouted Jessica as Dave slid into the water as the boat disappeared below the surface. Like Jessica, Dave was wearing a lifejacket. He also had a seat cushion with him that could serve as a flotation device.

"We need to get away from these rocks!" yelled Dave over the increasing wind and rain. "The wind's pushing south. We have to try to swim away from these rocks and let the wind push us until the storm ends!

"Jess! I'll stay with you," promised Dave as Jessica shook her head and clung to the slippery rock even as the waves began bouncing her against them. "We have to do this. You have to trust me."

Suddenly making up her mind, Jessica released the rock and pushed away, swimming strongly. Seeing how well Jessica swam, Dave pushed away from the rocks and moved next to her, dragging the seat cushion with him. They swam furiously for several minutes before Dave spoke again.

"That's enough, Jess. We're away from the shallows and the wind is pushing us south. You've got to keep your strength and keep your head above the waves," instructed Dave as he pushed the cushion in front of her and signaled for her to place her arms across it, before doing the same.

Jessica was amazed at how calm Dave remained as he settled in next to her and spoke into her ear. "Don't panic. We'll be okay. Once the storm is over, boats will be looking for us."

It was totally dark now. Jessica couldn't even see Dave, but she could feel his strong hand gripping hers and she felt surprisingly safe. The two of them clung to the floating seat cushion as the storm raged for hours. Dave wondered how a thunderstorm could last so long. He finally determined that they had to be traveling with the storm, unable to break free from the driving wind that pushed them along.

The old man in the fishing boat wasn't the most courageous person in the world, but he knew his boat and he knew the waters. With the help of the captain from the tour boat, he was able to make his way safely back to the marina. By the time they moored the fishing boat, an almost full moon had risen and the waters were calm.

A large crowd had gathered to welcome the passengers back and to help with the injured. Willow had spent the entire ride back to the marina giving aid to those in need. She used everything in the boat's first aid kit, which was surprisingly well stocked, and had even asked for shirts from some of the men who were not hurt to use as slings, wraps and support for those more severely injured.

Once docked, those able to walk were quickly ushered off the overcrowded boat so EMS could have room to treat and transport the injured. Willow remained on the boat to lend assistance where she could. Diane met Heather just as the teary eyed girl reached her parents.

"Where's Dave!" she demanded. "Is he on the boat?"

"No! He jumped into the water to look for Jessica back by the tour boat. It saw it sink! I don't know if they made it. The water was rough and the wind and rain made it so we couldn't even stand up at times. I'm scared for them!"

"Dave jumped into the water to look for Jessica?" asked Diane to be certain she and Heather's parents understood the girl correctly. "They weren't on this boat when it docked? You're telling me that even after she slapped his face and cursed him to hell the other day, he jumped into ocean to look for her? I guess that just might tell you something about how he feels about Jessica!"

Gail and Mike Sanders had come up behind their daughter as she questioned Heather and heard everything. "We'd better start getting some boats out as soon as possible and find them. The Coast Guard will have a few boats looking, but it's a big ocean and we don't want to risk losing them. I'll start making calls," stated Mike calmly.

Nancy and Ben Williams were immensely grateful as they watched boat after boat begin preparing to search for the missing couple. The marina was alive with activity. Officers from the Coast Guard were explaining where and how they wanted the search conducted in order to keep it safe and orderly. They watched silently as over a dozen boats of all sizes and ages pulled away from the marina and headed out to sea in the moonlight.

They waited in the office of the marina with the Sanders, hoping to hear that Jessica and Dave had been found. The Coast Guard had sent divers to search the sunken boat for bodies but had found nothing. It was after noon the next day when Mike Sanders made a suggestion.