Blue Autumn in the Bayou (Gumbo Love) (22 page)

“It’
ll be fine, Autumn. Cheer me on, okay?” 

“You
crazy folk go right ahead,” Denise chuckled. “We’ll be right here when you’re done.” She pointed to the spot just before the entrance. “There’s no way you’re getting me anywhere near that thing!”

Travis backed away from Autumn. He blew her a kiss before he turned and rushed through the gate. His brothers stepped in right behind him. He led the way through the roped-off area. Three people had just finished their jump
, and were being lowered down to a ramp. Once securely strapped in, the brothers counted to three, and then took the plunge from the platform.

On the
second downward swing, Travis felt the strap pull before it actually snapped. The loud, cracking sound whistled through the air, and could be heard throughout the park. The crowd below yelped loudly. Screams filled the air when they saw Travis falling.

Travis tried to remain calm, wrapping his arms around his body as he tucked his head into his chest to hopefully keep from injuring his neck.
He’d dived from heights greater than the distance from the platform to the water before, only then he knew what was beneath him. He prayed the water below him was free of debris and would take pity on him. At the speed his body was falling, Travis knew he would hit the water hard. His next thought went straight to Autumn, the love of his life. Without her, his life didn’t mean anything. His heart leaped hard against his chest. He could hear the screams below. The sound caused him some alarm, but again, he attempted to release the tension in his body.

His effort
s proved futile when he crashed against the lake. Sharp blades of water stung his skin through his clothes as he plummeted to the bottom of the tarn. With every effort he could muster, and once his descent slowed, he unwrapped his arms and began to fight his way back up to the surface. His face felt like the nicks he got when he cut himself shaving too fast. He closed his eyes but even they hurt like hell.

Autumn’s scream
, trapped behind her tongue, died in her head. She leaped forward into a full sprint, shoving people aside as she pushed her way through the crowd. Reggie and Denise were on her heels. Their eyes focused on the two men strapped to cords still in motion. They neared the lake and tried to get past the lifeguards who were already moving. Two men were already in the water. The other three were racing in the same direction with portable life rafts tucked under their arms.

Reggie and Denise reached for Autumn’s arms
. “No, Autumn, stay back,” they pleaded. Autumn slipped right out of their grasp. Her focus was directed at the spot where Travis had disappeared. She entered the river with all the force she had. Autumn grew up surrounded by water, and she’d learned to swim at an early age.

She swam hard
and ignored the plea from the guard to stay back. She didn’t hear Denise or Reggie call her, or knew when or how Michael and Trae got into the water so quickly. She swung her arms and kicked her legs as hard as she could. Maneuvering through the water without getting some in her mouth seemed impossible; and she ignored the sharp pain in her lungs. “Travis!” Her heart pounded against her chest. “Travis! Travis!” She took a deep breath before she plunged into the murky waters.

When she came up, one of the lifeguards with a life vest caught her. “Please lady, we need you out of the water.” He attempted to pull her. She fought back.

“No! We have to find him.” She tried unsuccessfully to pull away from him. He was much stronger than her.

“Let her go!” Trae pulled Autumn toward him as they continued in the direction where they saw Travis go under. The guard willingly obliged.

Travis was an excellent swimmer and should have already
surfaced, which meant he was in trouble. With Autumn’s hand in his, Trae, and her both went below the water again, desperate to find Travis.

Travis
’s whole body ached but he continued to move up. He couldn’t tell how far he’d fallen, or understand why it was taking so long to resurface. The air in his chest was just about gone. He hoped the guards were already in the water after him. He didn’t want to be dragged out of the lake with his lungs full of water. Just when he was running out of steam, through burning eyes, he could see the color of the water changing. With it, he could see other people and a sigh of relief washed over him.

He felt hands grab him, pulling him to the top. When his head finally broke the surface, he
gasped for air. He closed his eyes once again. They stung like they’d been pierced with knives. Arms he quickly recognized wrapped around him. He opened his eyes to see a worried stare meet his. Her wet hair clung to her face. Autumn had come to find him. His heart sang.

“I’m here
,” she whispered breathlessly.

Travis allowed her, Trae, Michael, and a lifeguard to guide his worn
-out body toward the shore. He closed his eyes again.

“We got you big guy
,” Michael reassured him.

Both he and Trae
panicked when they heard the screams. The bungee operator had quickly released the tension in their still bouncing chords to release the rigid movement, and at the same time he lowered them. They scrambled to release their straps and dropped into the water when they didn’t see their eldest brother. Helplessness consumed them when they saw guards moving toward them and knew something was wrong. And now, that Travis was safe, they had no intentions of letting him out of their sights until they knew he was okay. 

The guard shouted instructions as they near
ed the shore. He then turned his attention back to the trio surrounding Travis. “We’ll have a guard bring in a stretcher. We want to be careful. We can’t be sure if he’s hurt his neck or back. So don’t move him until we get him strapped to that stretcher, got it?”

No
one argued with him. They just wanted Travis out of the water as soon as possible. Travis remained still. He allowed them to move him toward the life raft even though he knew he was okay. His eyes burned, so he kept them closed as he listened to the voices round him. They hadn’t quite gotten him to the raft before he began to move. Energy slowly sipped back into his body, and he lifted himself up in the water. “Whoa! Take it easy.” Trae instructed. “Stay still Travis, man we don’t know if you’ve hurt your neck or back.”

Autumn hadn’t said much but he could feel her trembl
ing hands on him. “Autumn.” He coughed as he reached for her.

“Trae’s right, sweetheart. We have to get you out of the water. Please be still. Please.”

“I’m okay.” He pulled her into his body. Autumn went to him reluctantly as she attempted to keep herself afloat without pulling Travis down into the water.

“Be careful. We don’t know if you’re hurt.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” He held her with the little strength he could manage.

“It’s okay, Travis. Just let us get you out of here. Please
, baby.”

Paramedics were already on the scene and
insisted on taking him to the hospital, but Travis outright refused. They checked and had him sign a waiver before they released him to his brothers. Denise found dry clothes in Travis’s truck. He always kept a gym bag and towels, for days he worked late or wanted to go to the gym. Autumn slipped one of Travis’s shirts over her wet clothes.

The brothers got Travis into the car and Trae drove. News had already traveled to his parents
, and Diane demanded that they stop by the house so she could be sure her baby was okay. She fussed over him and fussed at him. She also fussed at Trae and Michael. The ladies braced themselves because they just knew they would be next, but Diane didn’t scold them at all. Thankful when she finally finished her rant, Trae drove them home.

Travis went straight to the bathroom. When he looked at
his reflection in the mirror, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was bruised. Luckily he hadn’t been hurt any worse. He peeled away his clothes and got under the scalding spray of the shower. When he finished, Autumn brought up some soup and tea, and ordered him to get into bed, to drink his tea, and eat the soup. He complied without protest.

She then took a shower and washed her hair. When she came
back, Travis had done what she’d instructed. He watched the flat-screen television bolted to the wall directly across from the bed. They hadn’t said much. Both mulled over what happened but gave thanks for the outcome. When she picked up the tray, Travis’s hand halted her. She looked at him. “Did I tell you I was sorry, Autumn?”

She kissed his forehead. “Yes. And I’ve already accepted your apology, babe. Get some rest.”

“This is not how I intended us to spend our weekend.” He referred to both the setback from last night and the bungee scare.

“I’m here with you. That’s all I want
, Travis.”

“Hurry back.”

“I will.” She kissed him again
before taking the tray back to the kitchen.

Autumn curled up next to him until he fell asleep. She held her emotions in check
, kept her cool so as not to break down in front of Travis or his family. She focused on the positive outcome and did not give in to the idea that it happened because of the old Grimillion curse. She wanted to believe that the incident was a mere accident, nothing else, but the nagging bothered her to no end.

“God
, why? I don’t understand.” Her thoughts consumed her so much that when Travis finally dozed off, she eased off of the bed and headed to the bathroom. She closed the door, sunk down the wall to the floor on the far end of the bathroom, and cried.

*
* * *

Mer Drace sat up in her bed with as much energy as she could
, and stayed there for a long while, staring into the darkness. Autumn was in crisis; she could feel it. The second time in less than a day, she wished she had a telephone in the house. It bothered her that she could not see what was wrong or know whether or not she would be okay. Her only living granddaughter reminded her so much of the younger version of Drace Grimillion.

Thankful
, though, that Autumn’s life outcome would ultimately be different than her own, she willed her thoughts to positive things for her Autumn. She sat for a few minutes longer before she shoved off the bed and went to her favorite praying spot in the house. She knelt, bowed her head, and prayed.

No more than fifteen minutes later
, Mer Drace heard a knock at her door. She knew it was one of two people, her daughter, Maree, or her grandson, Tempest. She slowly came to her feet and went to the door. Without looking, she pushed back the locks and released the front door. “Mer Drace.” A worried Maree hugged her mother.

CHAPTER 23

Travis stirred for a minute, and then reached for Autumn. She was not there. His body still ached from the fall earlier, so he rolled to the end of the bed and headed to the bathroom. His heart nearly stopped when he heard her crying. “Autumn.” With help from the dim light on the digital clock, he could see her balled up on the floor.

He walked over and bent down. “Autumn. Baby
, what’s wrong?” He pulled her up to a sitting position. She still didn’t answer. “Come on, sweetheart. Get up.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you.” She sniffled.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“I was so scared today, Travis.”

“I shouldn’t have done the bungee jump, Autumn. It was selfish of me. I knew that.” He rubbed his hands down her arms.

“This was my fault, Travis. This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for me.”

He frowned. “What? That makes no sense, Autumn. This had nothing to do with you. What happened was an accident.” He pulled her up by her arms and drew her into his embrace. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I shouldn’t have scared you. Come on.” He reached for a face cloth, dampened it and helped Autumn clean her face.

Travis helped her back to the bedroom. He placed her gently on the bed and climbed in next to her. “Listen to me.” After he flipped on the lamp near the bed, he cradled her close to his chest and rested his chin on top of her head. She trembled in his embrace. “If there’s one thing I know for sure, I’m absolutely, positively, certain that what happened today had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with anything that happened to your grandfather, or your grandmother, or anyone else.”

He dropped his face close enough that their noses almost touched. “We’re going to have a good life together because we have something special. I think our life together will be whatever we make it.”

Autumn sought comfort against his body. She felt safe with him. Still a small lingering voice, the voice of fear grabbed her. She wanted
to believe Travis. Not just for the moment, but forever. She finally settled on putting her fears aside like she did the night before when she found out about Savannah, and trusted her heart. The effort was proving challenging, to say the least. Autumn responded by moving closer into his embrace. She pushed him onto his back. “I don’t want to lose you.” She whispered.