Page 98 of Rescue You

She wore a pair of tiny swim trunks and a sports bra bikini top that she said were “surf to turf.” They were both different shades of blue, the best color to highlight her hair and eyes, though Rhett didn’t think she’d planned that. Her body looked smooth and strong.

“I couldn’t find you in the house,” Stanzi said. “So I came down here.”

“I’ve been up awhile.” Rhett dug into the wet sand with his toes. “Came down here to warm up.”

He had, in fact, been down here well before sunrise, using the light on his watch to observe the sand crabs scurrying between the hidden holes that led to their vast labyrinth underground. He’d always been fascinated at how quickly and silently they moved, and at how well they camouflaged themselves. Crabs, he’d decided, were ninjas.

Once sunrise peeked over the ocean, a few fishermen had shown up, planted themselves in lawn chairs on the sand and cast their lines. One man had brought a black Lab. He raced up and down the beach, fetching a bright yellow tennis ball, even if it went into the surf.

“Did you sleep okay?”

“Decent enough.”

Better than at home, not nearly as good as after one of her massages. But Rhett wasn’t tired. He was eager for today, as he’d planned everything. Hobbs was covering the gym for the weekend. Mama knew as much as she needed to know about why he’d spontaneously come home, for no apparent reason. The weather was clear and cool but warm enough to make for a perfect morning run. The sound of the ocean, paired with the feel of sand between her toes and the wind drying the sweat on her skin, salt water in her hair and the scent of the beach in her nose, was the perfect formula to pair a new memory with the act of running. He hoped it worked.

Rhett hadn’t planned for the bikini, though. How was he supposed to run while she was wearing that?

“This is perfect.” Stanzi scraped her hair into a messy bun that looked like it’d been mauled by a cat. She sniffed deeply, then jumped up and down on her toes a few times. “Let’s get moving. A little chilly.”

“After you.” Rhett motioned ahead, toward the long stretch of beach that went on for miles. He started his watch. “We can go as far as you want,” he said, keeping her in his sights as she stayed a few feet ahead, “but we’ll have to decide when to turn around. There’s no way to go in a loop out here.”

“Got it.” Stanzi’s cheerful voice matched the airy strides of her light gait.

The little shorts rode up her firm backside as she ran, which helped shake out the remainder of his cobwebs and gave Rhett incentive to keep moving, but also stay a few steps behind. The tide was out, leaving a wavy length of wet sand once the foamy water was dragged back out to sea. The sun was halfway up on the horizon, peeking its round, red dome like a mole from its tunnel, filling the sky with streaks of yellow that hovered behind the last dim drape of night. There were a couple of other runners and early birds on the beach, but mostly they had the place to themselves.

They ran in silence for several miles, nothing but the screech of gulls and lapping of the waves to punctuate their heartbeats. As light overtook the sky, vacationers crawled out of their rental houses, toting chairs and buckets, picking along the shore to collect shells left in the wake of the tide.

Stanzi made a circular motion with her hand as she turned around, indicating the halfway spot to head back to the house. Rhett wondered what she’d used as her marker: the bright pink house or a blue umbrella, sitting lonely and unguarded up near the slope of dunes?

Her pace dwindled a little on the return trip, their second three miles going slower than the first three. Rhett didn’t mind, though. He could see the old runner inside her, coming alive after hibernation, hungry and dying to leave the cave.

“The uneven terrain was a challenge,” she said as they slowed to a stop near the edge of the ocean. The private staircase that led to the back deck of his childhood home was visible in the distance. “So was the barefoot run.” She pointed at her feet. “But I loved it.”

“Yeah?” The water that lapped up around Rhett’s ankles was cold, but not overly so. The breakers were yards out, leaving enough ocean to dip into before things got rough. “Think we should finish it off with a swim?”

His question left Rhett with an image of Katrina, the one and only time he’d suggested they go to Virginia Beach for the weekend. Her face had wrinkled up, matching the “Hell, no” that came out of her mouth. “Why would I want to swim in the Atlantic? It’s so dirty. Take me to Hawaii if you want me to swim.”

Stanzi bounced up and down on her toes and tapped her fingertips together, marking the first time Rhett had seen her behave like a little girl. He wondered, based on the stories of her past, how often she’d actually gotten to be a little girl when she was growing up. Her smile was so big he could see that half-moon dimple on her cheek. “Should we inch our way in or just go for it?” She sidestepped a little ways into the lapping waves.

“Well.” Rhett scratched the back of his head. He’d never seen somebody so excited to dive into the ocean. “I’d say, maybe just...” He reached out, planted his hand between her shoulder blades and gave her just enough of a shove to make her lose her balance.

Stanzi went down, shrieking. She hit the water with a giant splash, then jumped up, clutching her arms around herself. “You jerk!” She dove for him, drenched from head to toe, her smile still big and eyes bright.

She didn’t slam into Rhett’s chest so much as he caught her, and went down willingly. The cold water hit him like icy needles, but he quickly acclimated as he bounced to the surface. Stanzi was next to him, shoving the surface of the water to drive it into his face, over and over.

Finally, he could catch his breath. Stanzi grinned and dove beneath the surface. When she popped back up, she was a few yards out. “C’mon, Rhett!” She stuck her feet up, floating on her back.

They swam until it felt warmer to be in the water than out, until their fingers were wrinkled up and their bodies were full of salt. When they were finally done, the sun was bright and the beach was getting fuller. Rhett collected his T-shirt from the sand and tossed it to Stanzi. She caught it and slipped it over her head. It fell down to midthigh, covering everything Rhett had enjoyed looking at for the past few hours, but the warm smile on her face more than made up for the loss.

Until this moment, he hadn’t been sure about fulfilling all of his reasons for coming down here. She’d had a great run, in a place as removed from home as was possible. That was enough, wasn’t it?

“I want to show you something.” As they neared the house, Rhett took Stanzi’s elbow and guided her to the side yard, which butted up to the sand dunes. Their house was the last in the row before the dunes rose up like a giant, tan wall, dotted with the dense, squat shrubbery native to the area. If you climbed those dunes, the sand and shrubs went on as far as the eye could see.

Stanzi followed, until they were alone and out of view from any of the beachgoers or other houses. She looked around, taking in everything. Her face lit up. “Is this the spot?”

Rhett couldn’t hide his surprise. “You know what I’m showing you?”

“The horses.” Stanzi’s voice went to a reverent whisper. “This is where you saw the horses.” She clasped his forearms. “Isn’t it?”

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