Her limbs were exhausted and her eyes were stinging from the constant onslaught of salt water but somehow she figured out which way the waves were going and angled the board so that it was pointing towards the beach.
She picked up a wave and was swept towards the shore at the same time two lifeguards prepared to enter the water.
The mother was standing at the edge of the water, holding the baby who was crying as hysterically as she was.
Abby finally felt sand under her feet and then the lifeguards scooped up the child, laid her on her back on the sand and started resuscitation just as a helicopter landed on the beach.
Relieved to have someone else take responsibility, Abby plopped down on the sand, but she didn’t take her eyes off the child.
Breathe. Breathe.
It was painful to watch the mother’s distress and Abby looked away for a moment, her own problems as miniscule as a grain of sand in comparison to the woman’s agonising grief.
What did it matter? All this stuff she worried about. What did any of it matter really?
It wasn’t important, was it? How had she lost sight of that?
She felt humbled and ashamed that she’d allowed herself to treat something trivial as the end of the world. It could be fixed. And even if it couldn’t be fixed, it would work out in some way and she’d handle it. But if this woman lost her child...
She heard a thready cough, then choking, and the little girl vomited seawater everywhere.
The mother burst into sobs of relief and Abby was close to joining her.
Thank God.
After that everything happened in a whirl of activity. Abby watched as the paramedics scooped the child into the helicopter, then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
One of the teenagers stood next to her. His limbs were lanky and long, his hair mussed by the sea. He gave her an awkward smile and offered her a can of drink.
“In case you swallowed seawater.”
“I did.” She gave a grateful smile and took the drink. “Thanks. And sorry for stealing your board without asking.”
“It was cool. What you did was cool.” The boy frowned. “You’re bleeding.”
“Am I?” She glanced down and saw the ugly gash on her leg. Blood mingled with seawater. “It was probably the rocks. It’s only a scratch. It’s not important. Was it you who called the coastguard?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “It’s 999 over here by the way, in case you’re planning on saving anyone else while you’re staying.”
She gave a near hysterical laugh. “That was my first and last rescue.”
She glanced across the beach. There was no sign of the mother or baby. Presumably they’d gone in the air ambulance.
One of the lifeguards approached her with a first aid bag. “Let me deal with that cut. You did well to grab the board. Bystander rescues don’t usually end well.”
“I’m aware. But what was I supposed to do? There was no one else around.” Although she hadn’t really thought it through that carefully, had she? She hadn’t weighed options. She’d seen the child disappear and reacted. But now the immediate adrenaline rush had receded, the horror of it seeped into her. It could have ended badly. Her teeth were chattering which made no sense because it wasn’t even cold. Maybe she was still feeling the effects of her overindulgence the night before. “I couldn’t stand there and let a child drown. I’d had a bad day. I didn’t want it to end that way.”
He cleaned the cut. “You saved a life. A child’s life. I’d say a person’s day couldn’t get much better than that. You don’t needstitches, but you’re going to need to change that dressing tomorrow and if the wound looks red get it checked.” He glanced up as someone else arrived. “Hey, Tris. Are you okay?”
Tris? Oh no, no, no. That was the last thing she needed.
Unfortunately, although her memory of the night before was a little hazy, she had a clear memory of her time on the beach with Tristan. She’d propositioned him and he’d turned her down. He’d all but carried her from the beach to her bed, but she didn’t remember much about that part. Embarrassing didn’t begin to describe it. And then there was the fact he’d overheard the message she’d left for her mother.
Currently he knew more about her than any other person in this village.
“I heard someone went into the water after a child. Anything I can do? Use the pub, if you need to. We have food and dry clothing.”
“Thanks, but it’s all under control. The air ambulance has taken the child to hospital, but it seems she’s going to be okay. As is our rescuer.”
