Kaitlyn nodded, feeling a bit calmer now that they had a plan. Together they began gathering branches and stones to create a small shrine for those who lost their lives in the crash. When they were finished, Carter stood back and looked at his work with admiration before turning to Kaitlyn with warmth in his eyes.
"Let's get out of here," he said gently as he took her hand in his own. He gathered up their supplies and led her away from the wreckage, leaving behind them a silent tribute to those who had been lost that day.
They didn't go far, both aware that to be rescued, they'd need to be in sight of the wrecked plane.
Kaitlyn shivered as the sun began to set and the island grew colder. She had been too preoccupied with trying to think of a way to signal for help that she hadn't noticed how dark it was getting.
She glanced over at Carter who had seemed so distant since he'd found remains in the wreckage. He sat a few feet away from her, staring out at the ocean with a strange stillness about him.
She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, feeling his body tense beneath her touch. "I don't blame you," she said softly, hoping she was right and that he needed to hear those words. "Not for any of this."
She felt his body relax slightly, but he still wouldn't look at her.
"I blame me," he whispered, his voice barely audible against the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. "This was my idea."
Kaitlyn tightened her hold on him, willing him to understand that she wasn't angry with him. That this was not his fault.
She pulled back and looked into his eyes and knew that he finally understood what she was trying to tell him. He nodded before leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips and then wrapping his arms around her waist in an embrace so tight that all their fears melted away into nothingness.
They stayed like that for a long time until finally Kaitlyn spoke again, breaking the silence between them.
"We'll make it out of here," she whispered against his chest before pulling back and looking into his bright blue eyes once more, feeling more confident now than ever before that they would survive this ordeal together.
Kaitlyn hated the idea of spending the night on the beach. She hated the thought of having to spend a night in the open. She had probably seen more episodes of Man vs Wild than any other show, but it had never occurred to her that she would be the host.
The night passed uneventfully and Kaitlyn curled into Carter's embrace, unsure what to do or how to get through things. At least she had him by her side, and she wasn't alone.
Kaitlyn finally drifted off to sleep, but woke with a start in the morning as the sun shone brightly on the island. Carter cradled her close and she snuggled into him, strangely content. They'd survived the impossible, somehow, and while she was sad for those who hadn't, she was grateful they had. She felt surprisingly refreshed and ready to take on whatever came their way.
She sat up and looked over at Carter who was still sleeping peacefully beside her. She smiled softly before standing up and stretching her limbs.
She heard a steady sound and felt Carter jerk awake.
"That's a helicopter," he said.
Kaitlyn sat up and looked in the direction of the noise. She let out a sigh of relief when she spotted it and Carter stood up, pulling her into a tight hug while whispering in her hear, "I told you they'd come rescue us."
She smiled, not sure how to tell him she trusted him completely.
They both watched the helicopter come their way and hover before finding a safe spot to set down. She leaned into Carter's embrace and blinked back tears. He'd told her they would come, and he'd been right.
The rescue crew helped them onto the helicopter, gave them water and blankets, and headed for a destination unknown.
Kaitlyn and Carter lay together, wrapped in each other's arms. Neither of them said much. Neither of them needed to. There was nothing more than needed to be said.
They were both alive, they had one another, and they would soon be safe again.
Chapter18
Carter
The most harrowingmoment of Carter's life might have been the wreck and the fear of losing her.
Or discovering that a life without her might not be one he wanted to live.
Now, six weeks after the wreck, he and Kaitlyn stepped off a boat onto a paradise island only miles from the one they’d crashed on.
The sand was pristine and the sun shone brightly, sparkling off the gentle waves of the shimmering ocean. It seemed almost too idyllic, like something from a dream as he wrapped his arms around her.