Page 19 of Taming Waves

He takes off running for the Bronco, and we walk over to the volunteers gathered there.

“Thank you for coming out, but everyone needs to head home,” I call. “The storm is rolling in quicker than expected. You have about half an hour to get to shelter.”

They break apart instantly, begin to gather their belongings, and sprint for the parking lot.

“What about the hatchlings?”

I turn toward the familiar voice to see Audrey and Heather approaching. Beach chairs and duffel bags are slung over their backs.

Where did they come from?

“What are you two doing here?” I ask.

Audrey looks down at herself and then at Heather before returning her eyes to me.

“What does it look like? We’re here to see the turtles hatch,” she says.

Huh, I didn’t figure them to be nest watchers.

“Well, the viewing party is over for tonight, ladies. There’s no time to wait for them,” I say.

“But they’re out,” Audrey says, gesturing toward the nest.

I follow her gaze to where the nest sat undisturbed ten minutes ago to see what looks to be around a hundred or so baby turtles.

I glance back at the raging sea.

Fuck.

“Hopefully, they’ll be okay, but you two need to get moving,” I instruct.

“The storm is blocking the moonlight. They won’t be able to find their way,” Heather cries.

Anson and I share a look. We both know we should send the girls for cover. We both also know by the looks on their faces that we’ll probably have to drag them kicking and screaming.

“Do you have extra flashlights?” I ask.

Heather digs into the bag on her hip and fishes out two flashlights with red filters. She hands one to me and Anson.

The girls drop their cargo, and the four of us begin coaxing the little creatures toward the raging water.

Thunder roars overhead, and the rain gains strength. Each drop feels like a nail hammering into our skin. And even though they probably won’t survive the rough surf, we use the flashlights to guide them toward the ocean anyway.

I pull my phone from my jacket pocket as we settle into the back seat of Audrey’s car.

The four of us are soaked to the bone.

“You guys have heated seats. Just press the button by the vents,” Audrey says.

Anson turns them on and adjusts the vents as I call Sebastian’s phone.

“Hey, Park.”

“Hey, man. Did you find her?” I ask.

“Yeah. We just left the last nest and are returning to where we left the ATV on the sidewalk off Northwest First Street. I need to secure it, but I don’t have a way to load it on my truck.”

“Our place isn’t far from there. We’ll come to you. I’ll drive the ATV to the condo. We can put it in our garage for the night.”

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