She nodded and smiled at me before wading into the water.
We paddled out into the white water area, where Hannah had been learning.
I glanced over at her, paddling beside me. 揧ou抮e getting stronger.?
She shot me a pleased smile. The sun抯 reflection off the water lit up her skin and danced across her face. She moved through the water with more ease and confidence than before. Something warm and proud hit me in the middle of the chest.
We paddled to a spot behind the break and positioned our boards to face the shore. Hannah watched a wave approach, and without needing encouragement from me, she began paddling to catch it.
I sprawled across my board, watching her arms dip in and out of the water. The water rose and fell around me as the wave passed me but my gaze stayed on her. The wave approached, and I had the urge to call over to her when to jump up on her board. I held back though, pressing my hand to my mouth, watching and grinning against my fist.
At the perfect second, she flattened her hands on the board and snapped up?
The board slipped from under her and she fell face first into the water.
Damn it.
I smiled big at her when she paddled back.
揥ipeout,?she called over to me, water dripping off her ponytail.
揧ou got up at the exact right time.?I winked at her and she nodded. Another small wave approached and I gestured at it. 揙kay, bookworm, get back on the horse.?
She took a deep breath, nodded, and her tenacity made me smile. This was the third time we had been out on the water, and she still hadn抰 gotten up on the board to ride a wave. Most people would have given up by now.
Not her, though.
I had been thinking more and more about our deal, how Hannah wanted to be a 慼ot girl? How she had compared herself to her mom.
I抦 never going to meet someone hiding in my bookstore, she had said the other night at the bar. And now here she was, bright and early in the morning, perched on her board, watching over her shoulder for approaching waves.
Huh. She must have really wanted to find someone.
Something weird twisted in my stomach but I focused on Hannah paddling as the wave rolled past me and caught up with her.
揅ome on,?I muttered to myself, leaning on my board, gaze glued to her.
She glanced over her shoulder, saw the wave, paddled harder, and as the water rose under her, she hopped up.
揧ou got it, bookworm, stay up.?I bit my fist as if I watched a hockey game in shootout. My heart beat in my ears.
She wobbled once, twice, but caught her balance, hands out, knees bent, and board skimming the surface as the wave carried her forward. My heart was in my throat.
She turned her head to shoot me a wide, elated and I beamed back at her.
揧eah, Hannah!?I called over. 揧ou抮e doing it.?
She lost her balance, bailed off her board, and a laugh burst out of my chest. That big grin stretched over her face, even as she paddled back to me.
揧ou did it, bookworm.?
揑 did it.?The clear sunlight made her eyes brighter.
Something warm and tight expanded in my chest, seeing her with her hair soaking wet, the sun on her face, and the biggest, proudest smile.
揧ou want to go again??
She nodded eagerly.
Again and again, she paddled hard as the waves approached. She bailed a few more times but caught three more waves. She was getting the hang of it. I watched the whole time, hanging out on my board and enjoying the morning sun on my back.
Half an hour later, her arms moved slower in the water and her jumps up on the board didn抰 have the same snap as before.
揃ookworm, I do believe you抳e earned your moment of solace in nature this morning.?I jerked my chin in the direction of the quiet cove. 揕et抯 go chill out for a bit.?
She nodded and we paddled out of the surf to where the water was calm.
揌and me your leash, would you??I held my hand out and she undid the velcro around her ankle before tossing it to me. I fastened it around my ankle. Now she wouldn抰 float away from me. 揌ow are your feet??
She hoisted herself up on her board and wobbled into a seated position, cross legged, before wiggling her toes. 揚retty cold but they抣l warm up out of the water.?She closed her eyes and tilted her face up to the sun. She sighed. My throat felt tight.
She opened her eyes, taking in the blue sky dotted with wisps of clouds, the forest beside us, the seagulls gliding through the air. 揑t抯 nice here.?
We floated there for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the waves lapping the shore and the seagulls calling out to each other. The thought of leaving this place one day if I went pro broke my heart.
Going pro had been all I wanted since that summer I had stayed with my aunts when I was sixteen. Aunt Rebecca had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer抯， and her wife, my Aunt Bea, struggled to take care of her alone, so I moved in to help out with things. In the mornings, I surfed, and in the afternoons, I picked up groceries, cleaned the kitchen, took the garbage out, or mowed the lawn. I had surfed since I was a kid but that summer, it became everything to me.