Page 6 of The Love Haters

“Right? I know. It would have been everywhere anyway because the footage was so dramatic—”

I was nodding now. “He got lowered down to the beach on that wire, and then he climbed all the way back up to that tiny ledge—”

“A hundred feet—”

“And the dog was in so much pain, it was snapping—”

“And he hummed the song ‘Heart and Soul’ over and over until it felt safe.”

I nodded. As heroes went, this one was pretty top-notch. “Remember that little paw he splinted?” I said.

Cole nodded. “And then he put the dog in a rescue basket, and climbed in with him, and did the hoist.”

Guess Cole had seen it a few times, too.

“What was his name again?” I asked, like it was on the tip of my memory.

“The media nicknamed him Puppy Love.”

“Tom something,” I said, thinking.

But now Cole tilted his head at me. “Wait. Did you watch it all those times andnever realize that was the Coast Guard?”

I tried to think of a more respectable answer thanyes. “I knew he was some type of rescuer person?”

Cole shook his head. “This is why they need promo videos.”

I waved my hands. “Look, I wasn’t focused on themilitary details. I was focused on the heartwarming…-ness.”

To my surprise, Cole accepted that. “It was very heartwarming,” he said, in a tone like maybe it was a little too heartwarming.

“That video would’ve been huge no matter what,” I said. “But then add Jennifer Aniston into the mix? That moment when he delivers the dog into her arms—andshe’s crying?”

Wasn’t that what we were all looking for? Something real?

“That’s great television,” Cole agreed.

A pleasant moment of harmony.

Then I said, “And the swimmer they want us to profile just happens to be him?”

“It’s not a coincidence. It’sbecauseit’s him. It’s a recruiting video, after all.”

“But…” I thought back. “Didn’t that guy refuse to do interviews?”

“Correct.”

“What changed his mind?”

Cole cocked his head, likeHello?“Hissuperior officerchanged his mind.”

“I seem to remember him saying, ‘I’m not a hero. I was just doing my job.’”

“That’s absolutely something he would say,” Cole said. Then he added, “Though he doesn’t usually say much,” like he knew him or something.

I waited for more.

But Cole just went on, “So getting him in your YouTube series would be a great catch. Like, a career-saving catch. If this guy did a ‘Day in the Life’ with you, it would take over the internet. You’d be on easy street.”

---