Meg screamed, stood, and Dougal stood too, as the boat rocked beneath them. Pushing Meg to sit, he tore off his coat and kicked off his boots.
“Stay here,” he growled, and slipped into the water to disappear under the dark waves.
“Dougal!” she called, leaning to the side.
Mackenzie took her arm to balance her. “Careful. He will get the boy. Do you know the lad?”
“My son,” she said hoarsely. Mackenzie murmured something and sat her beside him, putting an arm around her shoulders.
Norrie gave a swift order, and Alan lunged to grab the rudder as they angled the boat toward the headland. Then Mackenzie took the rudder while Alan took up the oars again as the boat went swiftly through the rolling waves.
Ahead, Meg saw Dougal cut through the water with strong, even arm strokes. Meg leaned to the side and saw Sean’s arms and head bobbing in the water. She cried out, fearing Dougal might not reach the boy in time, even as the man tore through the water. Seeing her son’s head disappear under the waves, she stood to grab the boat’s rim, ready to plunge in herself.
Mackenzie tugged her backward. “Stay here! Dougal will get him.”
Hearing shouts, she saw that men had launched a boat into the surf from the harbor beach, while a small crowd gathered on the sand. From the direction of Sgeir Caran, the workmen sailing behind them rowed harder now that the men saw what was happening.
Then Meg saw the shark fins turning to glide toward the splashing commotion of the swimmer and the floundering boy. She screamed out, while Mackenzie kept a steadying arm around her shoulders to prevent her from jumping into the water herself.
Norrie growled a command and Evan bent to grab a coiled rope, standing to position himself to toss it toward Dougal as they drew nearer.
The boy bobbed up again, arms flailing, then went under. Dougal was nearly there now, arrowing forward relentlessly. Pressing her hands to her mouth, Meg whispered a prayer under her breath, repeating it, heart pounding.
The basking sharks were there, too, a circling menace of enormous size. Meg cried out again, even as logic told her the beasts tended to be uninterested in humans. But a fin sliced through the water between Dougal and Sean, creating a wakethat took Dougal up—and took the boy up too, which gave him a chance to breathe and reach for the man swimming closer. Dougal cleared just over the animal’s tail, brushed by it. Struggling, Sean thrashed, nearly within reach.
Then Mackenzie slipped out of his coat, ready to dive into the water. They were within yards of the man and the boy now as the boat rocked closer on high, sloppy waves.
Another of the huge sharks turned. Meg could see its gigantic mouth open just under the water as it streamed steadily toward the swimmers. It only scavenged for fish, Meg told herself, but she knew it could take the boy too. Then Evan Mackenzie threw the rope to Alan and dove past Meg to lunge into the water.
In that moment, Dougal rolled to shave the big basker with his foot. It flipped its tail, upended, and dove downward, raising a deep wake that sucked Dougal under.
Seconds later, he emerged beside Sean and caught the boy to his chest.
As the little arms closed around the man’s neck, Meg sobbed out. Evan sliced through the water now, and turned to reach up as Alan threw the rope outward to fly snake-like until Mackenzie snatched it with one hand. He grabbed Dougal, and together they used the rope to haul toward the boat, cutting a swath between the sharks, the huge beasts simply sinking to disappear, waves surging around them.
As they treaded water, Alan hauled them closer. Hearing shouts, Meg looked around to see the boat carrying the work crew rapidly approaching. Other shouts came from a fishing boat that had rushed toward them from the small harbor. Lifting a hand, Alan signaled all was well.
As Dougal hooked his arm over the rim of the boat, he lifted the dripping child into the safety of Alan’s arms. Meg rushed toward them to gather her son to her, while the boat rocked as Dougal and then Evan clambered aboard.
Saturated and smelling of brine, Sean shivered in Meg’s arms as she wrapped her plaid around him. Sitting, she held him, rocking, grateful to feel his sturdy weight in her arms, grateful to kiss his soft, wet curls. She looked up as Evan and Dougal sat near, even as Norrie and Alan rowed the boat swiftly over the water to the shore.
With his coat tossed over his shoulders for warmth, he sat close enough to press against her. She leaned into him, cradling Sean in her lap as she rubbed the boy’s back and limbs to bring more warmth to him, and looked at Dougal.
“Thank you,” she said, voice breaking, tears stinging her eyes. He nodded, shivering a bit, and reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair. Then he rested his arm around Meg’s shoulders as naturally as if he had always done it. She leaned against him, warmth springing there. Then she looked at Evan Mackenzie, who sat smiling, watching them.
“And thank you, Mr. Mackenzie, for helping.”
“Oh, all I did was keep you from jumping into the sea after them,” he drawled, as they laughed together.
Norrie left the oars to bring a plaid blanket to wrap around the boy, then stooped to murmur to his great-grandson in Gaelic, patting the boy’s cheek. He looked at the others.
“Dougal Stewart,” he said, “we are in your debt forever. I have seen many brave deeds in my life, but nothing like that. Went through the very sharks, you did, to rescue our lad.”
“Just baskers, Norrie,” Dougal said. Chuckling, Norrie went to the oars to pull for home.
Still leaned against Dougal, Meg felt wrapped in a warm cocoon. Only she knew what that close circle meant—mother, father, child huddled together in gratitude. In love, she thought.
“Dougal,” she whispered, and he bent his head to hear her. “I cannot thank you enough.” Tears threatened, and she dipped her head to Sean’s, throat tightening, heart too full for words.
