matter how strong they could swim, the current had a way of doing its own thing.
Sawyer stopped at the first woman, while Mr. Green Eyes continued out to the other.
A teen stood at the water’s edge, watching the event unfold, a surfboard clutched under one arm. Natalie altered her direction and ran toward him. “Mind if I borrow this?”
He passed it to her without question.
Natalie ran toward the water.
By the time she slid onto the board, Sawyer was on his way back to shore with the first girl. Green Eyes had reached the other.
The poor woman was so frightened she clung to him, climbing up his body to get farther out of the water.
They were so far out, Natalie wasn’t certain she’d get there before the two went under, but she had to try. The lifeguard wasn’t far behind her. Between the three of them, they should be able to help the woman.
As she neared, Green Eyes was attempting to untangle the woman’s arms from around his neck. The more he tried, the more desperate the woman became.
Then Green Eyes went under.
The woman clinging to him went down with him, but immediately let go and struggled to the surface.
Natalie paddled faster, searching the water for the man who’d disappeared. Come up, Green Eyes, she prayed. Come up!
Duff should have stayed at the pool with the kids. Now he was in over his head in the ocean, with a dangerous riptide and a panicked woman climbing all over him.
So much for relaxing.
When he’d had his fill of water up the nose, he dived down. The woman who’d clung to him despite all his reassurances that she’d be all right, let go and fought her way to the surface.
Duff stayed down long enough to circle the woman and come up beneath her. She slapped at the water, her strength waning.
Grabbing the woman by the ankles, Duff yanked her down, climbed up her back and secured an arm over her shoulder and diagonally down to her waist. Then he surfaced, leaning her back so that she faced the sky, her arms and legs batting at the water like a puppy learning to swim.
“Damn it, woman. Stop struggling,” Duff bellowed.
“Way to make a frightened victim less scared,” a female voice said from behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder into the blue eyes of the woman in the black swimsuit he and Sawyer had been talking to before they’d gone for a swim. “What are you doing out here?” Duff demanded. “Didn’t you see the red flag?”
“I did. But I thought you might need something more than your muscles to get the woman to shore. The current is too strong to get her back on your own.”
Duff treaded water with his one arm, his other clamped tightly around the woman, holding her head above water.
“What’s your name?” the woman on the surfboard asked the one in the water.
“Lisa,” she responded weakly.
“I’ll bet you’re tired.”
The woman in Duff’s arms nodded.
“My name is Natalia,” the blonde said. “And this is...?” She raised her brows, giving Duff a pointed look.
“Duff,” he said.
“And the lifeguard is here, as well,” Natalia said.
Duff glanced behind Natalia at a young man barely out of his teens paddling toward them on a surfboard.
“Lisa, do you want to go back with me, or the lifeguard?”
Lisa gulped and answered, “You.”
Natalia nodded. “Good. I think Duff can help you climb up on this board. Would you like that?”
Lisa nodded though her hands tightened on Duff’s arm.
Natalia held out a hand and smiled encouragingly. “Take my hand, Lisa. The man behind you will help you onto the board and stay right beside you all the way back to shore. Won’t you?” Natalia prompted Duff.
“I will.” Between them, they hoisted the woman onto the board.
Duff took a moment to breathe normally before starting back to shore.
Natalia had Lisa lie on her stomach and then she did the same, lying over the woman’s back. She started paddling. “Paddle, Lisa. The more you paddle, the faster we get to shore.”
Lisa paddled, weakly flailing her arms, her face turned toward the shore.
Duff circled behind them and pushed the surfboard. With all three of them working it and cutting at an angle, they eventually made it to the beach, the lifeguard following. A group of young women met them, helped Lisa out of the water and enveloped her in a half dozen hugs.
Duff stood beside Natalia, propping the surfboard in the sand. “Thanks.”
She responded in her pretty English accent without looking up. “You’re quite welcome.”
Duff held out a hand. “Name’s Duff.”
Natalia glanced at his hand and hesitated. Finally she shook it. “I’m Natalia. Lisa was lucky you were on the beach today.”
He shrugged. “I’m glad I could help. Look, we didn’t get much of a start back there. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
She didn’t even bat an eyelash before responding. “No, thank you.”
“Duff!” Sawyer approached, his arm around a woman wrapped in a beach towel. “Glad you made it back to shore. Wouldn’t be the same diving without you tomorrow.”
Duff snorted. “Nice to know you missed me.”
Lisa broke free of her group of friends and wrapped her arms around Duff’s neck. “Thank you so much for saving my life. I hate to think what would have happened if you hadn’t gotten to me when you did.”
“I’m sure someone else would have helped.”
Lisa turned to Natalia and hugged her, too. “You two are my heroes. After the horrible past two days, I needed you.”
Natalia hugged the woman. “Horrible? Did you get caught in the current yesterday?”
Lisa shook her head, her eyes tearing. “No, I lost one of my sisters.” The rest of the young women gathered around her, all hugging each other.
“What do you mean?” Natalia asked.
Lisa sniffed.
