by Tara Randel
“We’re okay,” both boys said at the same time. Their parents hugged them, not seeming to care about getting wet or sandy, and Tony gave them space for a minute before he approached. The teens needed a lesson about getting too far out and going beyond the limits of their swimming abilities, and Tony knew they were probably hearing that message now. He would talk with the parents in a moment and give them their options for further medical care if they felt it was needed.
“Experience is a hard but good teacher,” Laura said seriously, her eyes meeting Tony’s as she came up to him. A touch of the vulnerability he’d seen the previous summer reappeared for a moment, but then she looked away.
“That’s the truth,” he said. “I’ll write up a full report after I talk to their parents.”
“Can I get a copy of that?”
“Uh...sure.” Now that the initial shock of seeing her had worn off somewhat, Tony could have a polite conversation. They weren’t strangers. “How have you been, Laura?”
Her lips parted for a moment as if she was considering her answer. It was strange, meeting this way after not seeing each other for so long. Tony had wondered about her over the past year.
“I’ve been fine. How about you?”
“Fine,” he said. “I’m just surprised to see you.”
“I’m here for the summer,” she said. “Working at the Pursuit of Fun beach shack and supervising all the teen workers.”
A summer job. Spending time with her sister before she got married. The pieces began to fall into place and Tony felt his shoulders relax.
“Teaching high school is good practice for that, I’d bet,” he said.
Laura tilted her head and raised both eyebrows a hair. “You remember I’m a teacher.”
“I remember,” he said. He didn’t elaborate on what else he remembered from the previous summer, as he thought Laura was just as likely to want to forget it. “Are you a lifeguard?”
She shook her head.
“You’re not a lifeguard, but you ran into the ocean and tried to save people anyway,” he said. Exactly the kind of bystander he and his partners on the fire department didn’t love. The kind that often needed to be rescued, too.
“We actually did save them,” she said. Her cheeks colored and she crossed her arms.
“You shouldn’t put yourself in danger.”
“You do it all the time,” she said.
“That’s different. I’m a trained first responder with a lot of experience.”
“You weren’t here,” Laura said. “And I was. Besides, I’m more capable than you think.”
Tony clenched his jaw, not wanting to argue with Laura, knowing he wouldn’t win. She was right about being there and being successful, but it could have quickly gone in another direction. Good intentions only went so far and often ended up getting people killed.
“I’ll make sure you get a copy of that report,” he said.
He grabbed his boots and stomped his feet into them without bothering to tie the laces. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to Laura and how that would have devastated her family, who had already suffered enough.
Copyright © 2020 by Amie Denman
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ISBN: 9781488061868
Always the One
Copyright © 2020 by Tara Spicer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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