Page 74 of A Line in the Sand
Molly took it, and with fingertips entwined, they made their way to the nest. Ursula tugged at the end of her leash, nose twitching, but Molly made sure she didn’t get too close.
“Here we go.” Max gestured toward a blanket on the sand, anchored down on one corner with an ice bucket containing a bottle of rosé and two glasses. A dog bowl filled with water next to a large bone with rawhide knots on either end held down the opposite side of the blanket. The other corners were weighted down with small piles of seashells.
Definitely a date.Molly’s smile felt like it bloomed from inside out.
They settled onto the blanket, facing the ocean. The sea was a blank slate, not a boat or a ship in sight. A few late-night beachgoers walked past, but after about half an hour or so, the shore went quiet save for the gentle lullaby of the sea. Ursula tucked herself into a ball around her bone, and her tiny form rose and fell in a sleepy rhythm. Molly’s head found its way to Max’s shoulder.
“You know what? I think Opal, Ethel, and Mavis might be right,” she murmured. “You’re not so bad after all.”
He chuckled, and it moved through Molly like an electric current. “Are you sure, or is this just the sand sculpture going to your head?”
Molly lifted her face to his and looked him straight in his sea-blue eyes. “It’s not the sand sculpture. It’s all you, Wilson.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and this time, Molly didn’t wait for him to kiss her. She took control of it all on her own. Nothing was going to get in the way of this moment. Not again. She rose up on her knees, placed her hands on either side of his chiseled face, and lowered her mouth onto his.
Max’s hands went straight into her hair and his lips were hot and ready…as if he’d been waiting for this to happen since the moment they’d first tried to grab hold of each other in the swirling riptide at the dog beach. Maybe they had. Maybe this entire summer they’d been reaching for one another, desperate for contact, only to slip apart time and time again.
Finally coming together, finally feeling the warmth of his mouth and their hearts crashing against each other should have been a relief. But it was more than that. It was like drowning…like sleeping deep underwater only to find that you could still breathe, still live while at the same time completely losing control.
“Molly,” he whispered. Her name was a prayer on his lips. A plea.
She could only whimper in response.
“Open your eyes,” he said gently. “Look at me.”
She did as he said. His eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them, like a tempest.
“I want us to be together. I want us to give this a try—for real this time.” His thumb caressed her cheek in a tender circular motion. “Would you be my date to the Under the Sea Ball?”
“I would love that.” She grinned.
His gaze drifted to her mouth and just as they were about to kiss again, Ursula jolted awake, leapt to her feet, and let out three sharp barks.
“Shh, little puppy.” Molly turned to quiet the dog down, and then she saw it—a tiny turtle hatchling poking up through the sand.
She blinked. Stared harder at the nest. Two more hatchlings popped up, tiny flippers waving at the air.
“Max.” She fisted his shirt in her hands. “It’s happening!”
But he was already moving, already getting to his feet. Molly grabbed Ursula, held her close, and followed.
“What do we do now?” she whispered.
The first three hatchlings were fully emerged now, crawling toward the water.
“We just watch and make sure no one gets turned around. Sea turtles are born with an instinct to move in the brightest direction. They’re drawn toward the moonlight over the ocean.”
Molly nodded. “Right. That’s why the Turtle Team puts up signs every year asking people to turn off their porch lights at night if they live on the beach.”
“Mainly, we’re here because if people are around, predators are less likely to swoop in and take them,” Max said.
“So we’re like turtle bodyguards.”
He laughed, his voice soft as velvet in the darkness. “Yes.”
Max took her hand again and squeezed it tight as the nest overflowed with hundreds of baby sea turtles crawling their way home. They didn’t need anyone to show them where to go or what to do. They just knew.
Move in the brightest direction.
