Page 59 of A Line in the Sand

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Max was vaguely aware of the photographer from the paper snapping photos as he and Nate waded into the sea. They stepped gingerly past the first sandbar until the water came up to their knees, and then they carefully lowered Crush into the ocean.

The turtle’s flippers went into overdrive the second she realized she was back in her proper home. Max and Nate exchanged a glance. The intern’s smile was so big that it nearly split his face in two.

“It’s time to let her go,” Max said.

With a mutual nod, they removed their grip on the turtle’s carapace. A wave hit right afterward, knocking Max slightly backward on his feet. But Crush sliced right through it, like a warm knife through butter. In a split second, she was gone. Headed home to the blue depths of the sea.

Back on the shore the crowd whooped and hollered. Max jammed a hand through his damp hair and let out a breath.

“Yes!” Nate raised two fists in the air, and then scooped up two handfuls of water and splashed Max’s shirt.

Within minutes, the shallows of the dog beach turned into a party. People waded into ankle-deep water, splashing each other and dancing along to music blaring from a nearby TBFD fire truck. It sounded like songs from the fifties, along the lines of the music they played at the skating rink above the post office. Then the familiar notes of “Happy Together” started, and he realized the fire department was playingThe Turtles’ Greatest Hits.

Max laughed to himself as he waded back to shore.Nice touch, he thought. It had Molly’s name written all over it.

He’d probably been too hard on her earlier. She’d put so much effort into making today a success, and she’d succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. But just when his feet landed on dry beach, he finally found her again—standing by the dunes with the pompon-wielding Charlie’s Angels as Ursula dug frantically at the sand.

To her credit, Molly appeared to attempt to intervene. She begged and cajoled and at times dragged Ursula away from her hole. But the little Cavalier couldn’t be stopped.

Max told himself to let it go. And he tried to do just that. He really did. But by the time he reached the dune, his jaw hurt from gritting his teeth so hard. A muscle ticked in his cheek. The effort it took to keep biting his tongue nearly killed him.

“Oh, Max. There you are.” Molly leapt in front of Ursula and the hole, as if that simple maneuver would keep him from seeing it.

Actually, it was more effective than he wanted to admit, given that she was wearing her mermaid costume. Max could barely drag his attention away from her.

Until sand flew from behind her back, pelting him on the legs. Ursula’s signature move.

Molly pretended not to notice, but her smile hardened in place. “Can you believe this turnout? Fantastic, right?”

Max leaned to the side to peer around her. All that was visible of Ursula was her dainty backside and feathered tail. She was tipped nearly vertical, straight into her hole.

“Oh, boy,” Mavis said under her breath.

“Molly.” Max crossed his arms.

She heaved a sigh, and a pink lock of her hair tangled itself in her mermaid crown, an elaborate, bejeweled creation crafted from shells, pearls, and polished bits of beach glass. “She can’t help it. She’s a puppy, and this isherbeach.”

He held his tongue, rather enjoying how flustered she was getting.

“Are you going to go around policing all the children who dig holes, too?” Molly planted her hands on her hips, drawing his attention to her curves.

Nice try, but he was still worried about Ursula’s hole. If she didn’t stop soon, she might bury herself. Max jerked his head toward the dog and tried to warn her, but Molly kept talking.

“I didn’t think so. Just admit it—you really do hate dogs.”

The tick in his cheek kicked up a notch. “But I don’t.”

Mavis, Opal, and Ethel stood watching the exchange with their arms at their sides, pompons drooping, as if they couldn’t decide who to cheer for.

Molly regarded him through her thick fringe of mermaid lashes, tipped with glitter. “So it’s just Ursula who gets under your skin?”

Ursula didn’t get under his skin.Mollydid. Okay, maybe her dog did too, but in a wholly different way. The puppy couldn’t be blamed for Max’s sleepless nights, though. It was Molly’s face that Max saw when he closed his eyes and listened to the ocean’s roar through his open windows. It was her voice he heard calling out to him when he dreamed of the waves pulling him under.

Wilson!

Max swallowed as Molly stared at him, waiting for an answer.

“Um, guys? There’s something you really need to see,” Opal said, breaking the loaded silence between them.