Page 29 of The Castle in the Bay

Monty closed his eyes for a moment, the gentle sun on his face and the cool water all around him. ‘Feels weird, but kind of nice.’

Iona laughed. ‘Exactly. Shall I let go?’

‘Ok.’ For a moment, he kept the relaxed pose, before floundering and splashing about to regain his feet. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled.

‘No need to be. It takes practise.’

Monty returned to his stomach and started swimming, his strokes becoming more confident. He could do this. What would Sophie make of it? He tried to imagine her face and her reaction, but his brain kept pushing Iona into the forefront. Oh well, maybe that was common sense. He should pay attention to Iona because if she wasn’t here, he’d be in trouble.

‘Look at you, practically a pro now.’ Iona winked.

‘Hardly. But you’re a good teacher. I admire your patience with a noob like me.’

She smiled at him, and he returned it. Warmth seeped into his veins. When she smiled, she was very beautiful. It definitely suited her more than the scowl she’d worn the first few times he’d met her. Clearly water made her happy. And seeing her like that filtered into him. Why shouldn’t he enjoy this? Whatever he’d dreaded about it wasn’t happening. His limbs were lighter and tension ebbed away from his muscles. For the first time in a long while, he felt truly alive and unfettered.

‘I think we could try the body boards,’ Iona said.

‘Sure, why not?’ Monty quirked his lip, and she raised her eyebrows.

‘Loving the sense of adventure.’

Hopefully she wasn’t the only one who would.

Iona headed back to the shore. Monty watched her leave the water and cross the beach like someone fromBaywatch,though without his glasses, she was somewhat blurred.Her wetsuit fitted her well and she had a lithe figure, well-toned from all the exercise. What did people think of his body? He wasn’t as scrawny as he used to be thanks to the running, but he was no bodybuilder.

He practised a bit of swimming, trying to relax into the backstroke as he waited for her to return. A few moments later, she came out carrying two boards. She waded back to him.

‘You ready for this?’

‘As I’ll ever be.’ Monty ran his fingers through his wet hair. ‘What do I do?’

‘Watch me first.’ She handed him a board. ‘You hold it like this, then get ready for a wave, by watching behind. When you see one coming, lean in and ride it in.’ She waited, then in a fluid movement soared into it, lying flat on her board, letting the wave carry her ashore. She got up and lifted her board before turning back to him. ‘You gonna try?’

Monty held the board and checked behind him. If this worked, it would be nothing short of a miracle. A wave passed but he wasn’t quick enough. ‘I haven’t got the timing,’ he muttered.

Iona reached him and positioned herself, looking back over her shoulder. ‘Here comes another good one. Get ready, we’ll go together.’

Monty glanced back, seeing the swell approaching. ‘Ok.’

‘Now!’ Iona surged forward.

Monty threw himself onto the board, but his timing was off, and the wave crashed over him. For a second, he was blind and couldn’t breathe. Cold dread and fear slapped him as he scrabbled about, flat on the board. Then something gripped his arm, and he opened his eyes, blinking water out of them. Iona came into focus, grinning as she pulled him to his feet.

‘You ok?’

‘What happened? I thought I was drowning.’

She shook her head with a little laugh. ‘You just kind of faceplanted. Let’s try again, only keep the board angled up a bit.’

‘There’s so much to remember. I don’t think I’ll manage it.’ He ran his hand through his wet hair.

‘Don’t overthink it. Use intuition more than technical stuff. Just kind of feel the waves.’

‘I’m not sure my brain works that way.’

‘Try. Watch and listen to the waves. Feel the motion and the pattern.’

He did as she said, somewhat surprised he wasn’t feeling seasick, as he fell into the rhythm and the movement. Natural and erratic as it was, it still had a pattern, like Iona said, and he waited until he was certain. Then he chose a wave, watched it… caught it. He clung on as it lifted him. For a moment, his breath stopped. Would he be pulled under again? But the wave carried him forward, and he glided onto the beach. Still lying clinging to the board, he heard Iona speaking not far away.

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