Oh whoa, his hands are on my chest.

“If you’re looking for boob, you’re gonna want to slide a couple inches to the left.” Zarar yanks his hands off me as I cough. “Shit, I sound like an ancient chain-smoker. Am I on the floor?”

I think he might be blushing. “You’re in my boat.”

“Boat?” My brow tries to crease, but pain lances through my head. “Ah.” I reach to touch the pain, but Zarar catches my hand on the way up. “What the hell happened?” I croak.

It all comes hurtling back the second I ask the question. Siri flipped the canoe. Siri doesn’t think I’m real?

“Canoe,” I blurt.

“Your canoe flipped.” He carefully lowers my hand to my side.

“Where’s Siri?!” I try to sit up, but Zarar gently pushes my shoulder down. The small movement leaves me feeling woozy.

“Give it a second. You almost drowned and you’re bleeding. I have to grab the first aid kit.”

“I almost drowned and I’m bleeding?” I parrot back, my brain muddy.

Zarar scoots around, carefully shifting things behind him.

“Siri is swimming back to shore,” he says. He lifts his head up over the edge of the boat. “Never mind, she’s stepping up onto the beach now. She seems to be okay.” He sounds a little irritated.

Zarar returns to optimal hover position, holding a white box with a red cross on it. He shines in the sunlight. Beads of water cling to his face, like he just stepped out of a shower. A drop falls onto my nose as he pushes some of my hair away from my forehead.

“Why are you drenched?” My voice sounds a little better. Zarar pulls some sort of thing out of the kit and puts it on some sort of cloth and lowers it to my forehead.

“Ow, Jesus Christ.” I wince. “Is my forehead alive?”

“You’re going to be okay. I’m going to bandage this up, and I’ll walkie Terry. She’s going to get a doctor out here to help you. She has an on-call person; they should be here within the hour. Don’t worry, I’ve been trained for situations like this.”

Situations like this?

“I’m fine,” I grind out. Whatever he put on the injury is burning above my left eyebrow. “Right as rain now that I’ve got someone who’s trained for situations like this in my corner.”

Zarar proceeds to fuss over whatever monstrosity has ailed my head.

The puzzle pieces are slowly coming together here. “Did you … have to jump in the water? Did I actually drown? Am I living a dramatic moment from a Hallmark film?”

“You were floating facedown over the oars.”

“What about Siri?” I insist.