Chapter 12, Part 2

Shea Rannoch looked out the window of her rental car. She knew she should put the car in gear and flee the ocean's compelling tug. It beckoned to her, tempted her against her will. She had loved the sea all her life, but only recently had she been exposed to its ruthlessness.

Jim Tollinton, the man that she loved had fallen prey to the ocean, never to return. She would be with him now, had she not been thrown from the car. Blame it on her stubborn refusal to wear a seat belt. Funny, she thought, that a piece of equipment designed to save lives had actually taken one instead. When the car had hit the water the belt had tightened so that he was unable to free himself before drowning.

She shut her eyes to block it all out, the ocean, the loneliness, the pain, and the guilt, but found them all to be more vivid that way. She reopened them only to be confronted again by the newly replaced guardrail. Although shiny and new, it didn't hide the skid marks leading up to it. Her eyes traveled back to the sea which continued its seductive dance. It gathered all the colors of the twilight sky and sparkled them back toward her in an attempt to woo her to its shore.

The ocean's soft trade winds mussed his hair playfully. He drank in the striking umber of the setting sun against the blues and teals of the evening sky, trying in vain to draw solace from them. The vibrant show of color was lost on him though as Brenda was not here to share it with him. He ached for the warmth of her body to take the chill out of the air, and for her smile to renew the sun's glory.

This beach had been they're refuge, their place of peace and tranquility. Jax knew that if he could accept Brenda being gone anywhere, it should be here. He just didn't feel it though. Might everyone be wrong somehow? If she really were gone, wouldn't he feel it? Wouldn't he KNOW if half of his soul was gone for good? Veronica's body had washed up onto the shore and she'd been dead as a doornail, but Brenda had been alive! Why would the tide carry off a kicking, struggling woman, but not a corpse? It didn't make sense at all and Jax felt himself flailing against the idea yet again.

Jax sat listlessly on the beach scanning the waters before him. His guilt was tearing him apart inside. He should have been able to save Brenda, and now the price he paid was that of guilt and utter loneliness.

Off to the left and out of the corner of his eye, Jax watched as a woman walked across the shoreline rocks. She was completely oblivious to him as she made her way to a steep overhang. Her hair was pulled back at the nape, but some of it had worked its way loose to dance about her face spryly. Jax thought of warning her about the slippery rocks, but subtle things in her demeanor stopped him. She held a stance that made her seem at one with the waters, and her pensive gaze spoke to him in a way even he didn't fully comprehend.

His thoughts didn't have a chance to go any further. A chilling cry escaped her as she plunged off the overhang. Jax raced to the edge, and upon not seeing any sign of her, dove into the water after her. In the back of his mind the eerie resemblance to Brenda's accident nagged at him. He dove twice more before finally finding her, thanking God all the while for their proximity to the shore.

Jax was frantic to get her out of the water. His heart pounded like a jackhammer, his vision tunneled to focus only on the beach. He was hell-bent on not only reaching it, but safely getting the woman there as well. God please, help me this time! He realized as he neared the shore that he was shaking and crying hysterically.

When he finally made it, he collapsed with her in a trembling heap next to fire he'd built. He gathered her in his arms and pulled the blanket around them both. He buried his face in her wet hair and sobbed until he was too weak to continue. Pulling her even closer to himself, he whispered one phrase over and over:

"Thank you…"

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Some time later, Jax saw the woman's eyes flutter open. They were a bright sage green and a sharp contrast to her auburn hair. They searched the sky blankly at first, trying to remember, then flared in alarm at the stranger holding her. She tried to sit upright, but grabbed her head in pain. Jax held out a tentative hand to steady her.

"Easy now. You hit your head when you fell. I pulled you out of the water and brought you here to warm up. How do you feel?"

"I feel groggy…a bit sore. I think I'm ok though." Her accent was light, but without a doubt of Scottish stock.

"You don't feel dizzy or sick do you?" Jax was concerned that she might have a concussion.

"No." She looked at him as though unsure of what to say.

"Might I get your name so I can thank you properly?"

"Jasper Jacks, but everyone calls me Jax. Really, no thanks are necessary." His eyes dropped to the fire in front of him. There was no way for him to explain what saving her life meant to him.

"Of course it is. I would have drowned. I'm lucky you happen to be here…" His look wasn't lost her. She recognized the same need to escape from the world.

"I was about to warn you that the rocks were slippery, but you looked so deep in thought that I was unsure of disturbing you. You fell before I had a chance to make up my mind." He looked up sharply.

"Is there anyone you need to call?"

Her eyes went to the sea, sad and distant again.

"No, there's no one. I came here to…" She remembered that she was talking to a stranger and stopped.

"Make sense of things?" Jax finished her sentence on the hunch of shared confusion. Her startled eyes confirmed it.

"Yes." Jax sensed her apprehension and went out on a limb.

"My fiance and I used to come here all the time. This was our favorite spot because it always seemed so peaceful to us."

She didn't look at him, but continued to stare at the breaking waves. A familiar lump formed in her throat as his words pierced her heart. She understood.

"What happened to her?" Her voice barely whispered the question.

"She was killed recently. Her car went off a cliff and into the water." He watched as her eyes closed tightly and a pained expression crossed her face.

"I'm sorry. You must be devastated…"

"It seems to be something you understand…" He paused as she nodded almost imperceptibly.  "Who was it?"

"My fiance as well. In fact, it happened here."

The hairs on Jax's arms stood on end. He realized suddenly he hadn't asked for her name.

"Before we say any more, I should ask your name…"

Her eyes were still fixated on the incoming tide as she answered.

"Shea. Shea Rannoch."

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