Prodigal

Chapter 24

24

Shower spray soaked JJ as she jerked the curtain back the rest of the way. No wonder there was no steam—the water was freezing. She cut off the shower and the faucets, then squatted and leaned over the edge of the tub to grab Adam beneath his armpits. His wet skin was slippery, and he was heavier than she’d imagined. She tried to lift him and slid on the edge of the tub, falling forward onto his naked back and bumping her head against the tile.

Don’t panic, Janie Girl. Her dad’s voice. The only person other than Adam who ever called her by her middle name. She took a deep breath, then tucked a hand towel around Adam’s head and neck and started to roll him over. His skin squeaked against the tub and stuck a few times, but soon she had him lying on his back.

“Adam? Talk to me.” She leaned down, cheek above his blue lips, counting off the seconds.

Jesus.

He wasn’t breathing.

JJ threw Adam’s towel over his midsection, less for his modesty than to protect her knees. Then she hopped in, trying as best she could to avoid turning an ankle or falling on Adam again. Thank God her father had opted for the full-sized tub. Nestling her knees in the narrow gaps alongside his waist, she sat astride Adam and began compressions.

Rhythm, counts, nothing else… And… And… Keep the rhythm… And… And… Break for breaths…

“JJ?” a voice called from the front of the house.

“In… here,” she said, keeping her rhythm, trusting that because Trooper hadn’t barked, whoever knew her name wasn’t here to kill her. Breathe…

There was movement in the hall outside the bathroom.

“Oh, my God.”

It was Grant’s voice. And Trooper’s whine.

And… And… And…

“Do you want me to take over?” Grant asked.

And… And… “Not… yet.”

JJ bent forward, cheek to Adam’s face. Counting. Praying. Staring at the small key that hung down next to Adam’s armpit, just free of the hair that curled there. She felt the slightest tickle against her face. Yes, there. And again. She hadn’t imagined it.

JJ let her cheek touch Adam’s forehead in thanks, just for a moment, then whispered, “Good job,” in his ear.

A tear dropped off the end of her nose and landed on Adam’s chest. “He’s breathing,” she said, turning to Grant. “Can you drive us?”

“Yes.”

It was even harder climbing over Adam to get out of the tub than it had been climbing in. Grant caught JJ’s elbow and steadied her during the final lurch.

“Help me get him out of the tub,” she said.

Grant blinked, then disappeared.

What the hell?

He returned with folded fabric in his hands. “He’s naked,” Grant said, flinging a sheet from the hall linen shelf over Adam. “If I were naked, I’d want a sheet.”

Men.