Clancy loosened his cross-body carry, only because it was obvious they were out of danger. She slipped from his grasp and floated a few feet away. They stayed there, bobbing together in the sea, staring at each other and gasping for breath.
“Thank you. I owe you one.”
“Na. It was nothing. I do it all the time.”
They both laughed at that.
It got a little awkward after they finished laughing. Clancy didn’t even know her name and he suddenly found that he’d lost his ability to speak.
“I’m Evie,” she said, sticking her hand out above the waves.
“I’m Clancy.” He shook it. Funny how just shaking her hand made him want more—a lot more.
“Awesome,” she said.
“Cool. Let’s swim in.”
It took a few minutes to make it back to shore. It was a high-drama situation, with Evie’s sister in tears and the other girls in a general state of freaking out. Clancy wasn’t into that sort of thing, so he slipped on his sandals and began to walk up the dune. It was so weird, but he knew the exact second Evie started following him. He felt her.
“I’m staying at the Sand Dollar.”
“I live here on Bayberry.”
“I kind of figured you did. So maybe we’ll see each other around this week?”
“I hope so. Later, Evie.”
Clancy walked along Shore Road about a mile until he reached the Safe Haven. The whole way back he couldn’t decide—was the buzz he felt from saving someone’s life, or was it from meeting Evie—touching her skin, talking to her, looking into her eyes, and feeling her even when he couldn’t see her?
He had no friggin’ idea. He’d never saved anyone’s life for real like that, the way Duncan had shown him. And he’d never met anyone quite like her.
God, he wished he knew what to say to a girl as cool and as pretty as Evie.
Chapter Five
“I can’t see her! I can’t see the pretty mermaid!” Chrissy began to jump up and down on the sidewalk. “I want up! Put me on your shoulders, Aunt Cricket!”
Evelyn made a hasty calculation. Rationally, she knew that there were so many kids balanced on so many adult shoulders along the parade route that one little pirate boy wouldn’t draw attention. Besides, she hadn’t seen Clancy Flynn at all.
But she’d taken a quick peek at the morning cable news shows while Christina slept. Though the volume was off, she’d seen all she needed to. As expected, Evelyn’s and Chrissy’s faces and names were now all over the place. So if she put Chrissy on her shoulders she’d be taking a risk.
“I want to do shoulders! Please, Aunt Cricket! I only want to see the mermaid!”
“Okay. Okay.”
She turned around, crouched down, and felt Christina climb on board. They had done this so many times back home—at the beach, at the farm, and hiking in the mountains around Moose Lake—that it was second nature to both of them. With Christina’s hands gripped in hers, Evelyn stood up.
“There she is! There’s the pretty mermaid!”
Evelyn began to move farther back from the street but toward the parade float that had captivated her niece’s attention. At least that way, she’d have several rows of people in front of her along the route.
“What does it say? What are the letters?”