Jesse and Silver maneuvered the gurney through the tent and outside, and then Jenny stepped in. “We’ve got it from here, Moretti. Thanks.”
“Have you seen Daisy?”
The words had Jesse’s head turning.
Ellie’s mother stood about twenty feet away, glancing around her. “I set her down for just a second to zip Daniel’s coat.”
Jesse stopped where he was, looked around.
His heart gave a hard knock.
Jesus Christ!
A pink tassel. Blond hair.
He started running. “She’s by the water!”
Ellie’s parents turned and saw her, but it was too late.
Daisy slid on the ice and slipped over the edge and into the frigid reservoir.
* * *
Ellie heard Jesse’s shout, heard her mother scream.
“Daisy!”
She ran outside to see Jesse sprinting toward the polar bear plunge area, her parents running behind him. Her father had Daniel. But where was Daisy?
Oh, God! No!
“Daisy!” She ran, slipping on snow, her heart slamming in her chest. “Daisy!”
Jesse reached the water and without a moment’s hesitation jumped in. He looked around for a moment, then dove under the water.
A crowd had begun to converge, people drawing closer to see what had happened.
Ellie fought her way through them. “That’s my little girl! Move! My little girl’s in the water!”
She broke through, saw Jesse come up, take a breath and go under again. “Daisy!”
Dear God, not Daisy!
“Daisy!” She sank on her knees next to the hole in the ice, oblivious to the cold, every catastrophic scenario she’d ever seen as a nurse flashing through her mind. Daisy drowning. Daisy’s heart stopping from cold shock. Daisy severely hypothermic.
And Jesse.
The human body could only last so long in 34-degree water.
His head came up again, teeth chattering. “The current took her.”
His words made her panic crest. “Not Daisy. Not my baby, too.”
He looked into her eyes, took a deep breath, and dove under again.
“The fire chief’s on his way!” someone shouted.
A thousand prayers raced through Ellie’s mind.