The captain looked down at him sprawled on the deck and finally seemed to get the message. He killed the power, and all Luke could hear in the ensuing silence was Mac screaming for help for his father. Thank God at least one of them was okay.

The boat went silent just as Mac reached his father, who was facedown with a dark slick of blood surrounding him. The back of his head was wide open. With shaking hands, Mac turned him over. “Dad. Wake up.” He slapped his cheeks. No response. Mac plugged his father’s nose and began rescue breathing, all while treading water to keep them both afloat in water that was cold year round. “Where the hell are the paramedics?” he called to the onlookers above.

“I can hear the ambulance,” someone said. “Hang in there, Mac. Just another minute or two.”

“Oh my God!” Stephanie cried from the pier above them. “What happened?”

Mac cradled his father’s head against his chest. “Don’t you dare even think about leaving us, do you hear?” he whispered between breaths. “Don’t you dare.”

“I didn’t know he was in the water,” the captain said, his words slurred.

“Shut up,” Luke said. “Just shut the fuck up.”

Mac continued to breathe for his father and went weak with relief when Big Mac finally coughed up a huge load of water and began to breathe again on his own. But he still didn’t come to.

“That’s it,” Mac said, tears streaming down his face. “Nice and easy.” He pressed his lips to his father’s forehead. “You’re going to be just fine.” Finally, he could hear the sirens getting closer. “Rescue’s almost here.”

The next half hour was a blur. Paramedics entered the water, loaded Big Mac on a gurney and lifted him out while a second crew tended to Luke. Chief of Police Blaine Taylor, a high school classmate of Mac’s and Luke’s, carted the boat owner away in handcuffs. While running after the paramedics hauling his father, Mac asked Stephanie to call his mother.

“I’ll find her and get her to the clinic myself.”

“Thank you.” Even though the morning sun was hot, Mac shivered uncontrollably after spending thirty minutes in the water. He handed Stephanie his ring of keys. “Will you lock up?” As she took the keys from him, he noticed her hands were shaking. “Where’s Luke?”

“Cops took him to the clinic. I heard one of them say his ankle is badly sprained, if not broken.”

“Shit,” Mac muttered. What a clusterfuck, he thought as he got into the ambulance to accompany his father to the island’s small community clinic. He sure hoped it was equipped for whatever his father needed.