Page 15 of Gentle Persuasion

The sound of a siren broke the silence of the moment, and Cole quickly began to move away the bystanders. An ambulance pulled into the area. Two EMTs jumps out, grabbed their gear and a gurney, and headed toward the people down the beach who’d wadded themselves into a crowd. A police unit pulled up beside the ambulance. Two officers exited the car. It seemed like hours, but it had only been a few minutes since the drama had unfolded. The crowd began to disperse. Professionals had everything well in hand.

Debbie stepped back as emergency services were being rendered and watched as the elderly couple was taken away. She located Cole, who was still talking to the two officers, and knew that everything was under control. There was nothing for her to do but gather their gear and wait until she was retrieved.

“Hey, lady!” the hot dog vendor yelled. “Have a seat. They’ll be a while.”

She grinned, dragged their stuff toward the vendor’s cart, and, before she knew it, was sitting beneath Wally’s umbrella, drinking a lemonade, and listening to him talk about the stock market’s latest ups and downs.

***

Cole had given the officers all the details and learned that this was the twelfth such incident at the beach in less than three weeks. He absently turned around and then faced nothing but milling crowds. Debbie was nowhere in sight! Swift panic surfaced. She was such a stranger…and too trusting.

And then he heard her laugh. He followed the sound. And when he finally saw her, feet propped up on Wally’s hot dog cart, sipping a lemonade in the shade and sharing conversation with the owner of the cart, relief made him weak. He didn’t know whether to shake her or hug her. He settled for a touch on her shoulder instead.

“Hey, Little Red. I lost you,” he teased, letting his grip on her shoulder tell her what he could not.

Debbie jumped up and whirled around, threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him. She’d needed to touch him ever since she’d seen him coming back through the crowd with that serious expression on his face. Until she’d seen him, she’d imagined the worst.

Condensation from the icy drink in her hand dripped down the back of his neck. He could have cared less.

“Sorry,” he said, grimacing as he unwound her from around his neck. “This isn’t such a great start to our day off, is it?”

“I think it was perfect,” Debbie said. “You’re a hero.”

He blushed and tried to ignore Wally’s grin.

“No, I’m not. I chased those punks and still let them get away.”

“I’m not talking about those creeps. I’m talking about the fact that if you hadn’t chased them, you wouldn’t have retrieved Florence’s bag, and then she wouldn’t have had her medicine. I know the ambulance came soon afterwards. But you might just have made the difference, Cole.”

“Yeah, buddy,” Wally chimed in. “Don’t consider this gratuity or nothin’, but have a lemonade on me.”

Cole grinned as the vendor handed him a tall, ice-cold cup of lemonade. He tipped it in a salute and drank, relishing the tart, refreshing liquid as it ran down his throat and into his stomach.

“Thanks—” he looked down at the side of the cart just to check the name “—Wally.” He stuffed the empty cup in the trash, and grabbed up their bags. “Now, come on, girl. It’s time to get you wet.”

***

It took a while. They had to make a stop at the rest rooms. And he had to rent an umbrella. But when she came out, Debbie was minus white shirt and shorts. Once again, Cole lost his breath at the small, curvaceous body in the tiny red suit, and tried to ignore the rush of lust that wanted to make itself known. For God’s sake, Cole told himself, not now, and not here.

And then finally, they were on the beach.

The sand was endless and warm and in her shoes. Debbie stepped out of the canvas slip-ons, stuffed them in her bag, and squiggled her toes with relish.

Cole grinned. “Feel good?”

“Feels great,” Debbie replied. “Can’t do this at home. Too many sandburs.”

He laughed. “No stickers here, but watch out for trash. I don’t want you to cut your foot on a piece of metal or glass. They police the area pretty well, but sometimes things can get buried in the sand.”

She nodded. “Where do we put our stuff?”

Cole had already pinpointed a fairly sparse assortment of sunworshipers and pointed Debbie in their direction. “Just walk that direction and when you see a spot big enough to sit down in, grab it, and don’t move until I spread out our towels and plant the umbrella.”

“You got it.” She grinned and almost danced across the beach in her excitement to begin their day.

None too soon, everything was in place. Debbie was fairly bursting with anticipation.

“Just one more thing,” Cole said. “Come here, Little Red. Let’s get some sun block on you so that you don’t burn.”

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