Page 7 of Mail Order Splash

I ran back over to look at her face. “She switched eyes, so she’s gone into her second sleep cycle.”

“That’s good, right?”

“I think so. I’m still worried about too much water in her lungs. I’d feel better if she coughed.” I sat back down. “I don’t wanna leave, Josh. She fought so hard to survive, I can’t leave her now.”

“I understand; I’ll stay with you.” He stood from the edge. “Why don’t I go get us some dinner and grab those two cots in the back?”

“Are you suggesting a sleepover, like a full-blown pajama party?”

“Why not? We can gossip about all the kids at school and eat ice cream.” He laughed. “You want me to pick up some clothes or pajamas for you?”

“I have my sweat suit, I should be fine. I’ll pretend that they’re pajamas.”

Josh left to get food. The shower in the corner called to me. A five minute wash-off and I felt much better, not to mention less salty. I checked Netty to see if she was still sleeping then went to get the cots in the back office. I figured I might as well get some sleep while Netty was sleeping. With the alarm set on the sling to let me know if she moved, I went off in search of sleepover goodies. Flipping the light switch on in the back room, I came face-to-face with a photo of my favorite person in the world.

Thanks for always telling me to keep a bed handy for overnight rescues, Granddad. You always stayed, and so will I.

Chapter Four

DALTON

“Can you at least smile?” my older brother, Kellan, complained. “It’s a party, not a funeral.”

“It’s boring!” I groaned back. “Why do I need to be here?”

“Because you’re part of the family businesses and we Hawthornes show up for things,” Kellan argued. “You’re acting like a spoiled brat.”

“Hey, I’m here, aren’t I?” I put my hands out, waving around to the party. “You asked me to be here and I’m here.”

“Well, I’m sorry to have dragged you away from playing on your yacht, yet again.”

“Don’t be like that. You know darn well I work hard for this family and, if you must know, I wasn’t playing. I was helping to rescue a dolphin.”

“Uh-huh, and what happened to the dolphin that you had to rescue it?”

“You’re a jerk sometimes, you know that?” I walked away.

“Dalton, come sit with me.” My Aunt Victoria waved me over. “Why are you and your brother arguing again?”

“Because he thinks we should all live and breathe by the Hawthorne empire, and I have other ideas.”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know, but I want to do more than meetings and paperwork in an office.” I chugged a glass of water on the table. “I’m not meant to do this stuff; I want to be out with people and animals.”

“Animals? That’s a new one. I’ve never heard you talk about a love for animals.”

“That’s just it, I didn’t know until today. This crazy thing happened, and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“I’m listening.” She turned in her chair to look at me. “Tell me about it.”

“I was out on my jet ski and a boat was out there with this girl in the water trying to hold a dolphin up. The dolphin was caught in some netting, and she saved it, we saved it, and it felt so good to help with that.”

“That must have been something special to see.” She smiled. “Do you think it had more to do with the girl?”

“Not at all. I actually loved helping. I wanted to go with them to bring the dolphin in, but it was time to head in for this party and now I don’t know where they went or if the dolphin survived.”

“How disappointing. I wonder if my friend, Dr. Garcia, knows of any rescued dolphins today.” She looked around the room. “He works with that place on the intracoastal. I can’t remember the name of it.”

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