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She followed him into the dunes. Once they got to the sea grass, it became harder to tell where the tracks went. Grant carefully stepped through the vegetation, his gaze focused on the ground. Molly did her best to follow, trying not to let her footsteps damage anything.
After a couple of minutes, Grant stopped, setting the duffel on the ground. “Looks like it’s right around here.” He motioned to the sand in front of them. “Want to do the honors?” He held out the T-bar to her.
“Of course.” The automatic answer leaped out of her mouth before she’d even had a chance to think about it, which was completely uncharacteristic. She couldn’t decide if she should blame it on the excitement of the moment or the effects of the man she was with. Apparently, trust was a powerful emotion.
It wasn’t until she had the metal rod in her hand that she stopped to considered the task.
“What exactly are the honors? And what am I supposed to do with this?” She held up the tool she’d never seen.
“We use it to figure out exactly where the nest is located. Hold onto the handle at the top, and push it into the sand.”
She adjusted her grip. “Like this?”
“Perfect. We’re looking for soft sand that gives way when you push into it. That’s how we know where Mama has been digging.”
“How far down should I go? I don’t want to hurt the eggs.” Hesitation crept in. This was why she needed to stop and think before jumping into a new situation.
“You don’t want to go too far, but far enough to know if it’s part of the hole. You just have to feel it.”
She eyed him skeptically. “Just feel it? That’s your best direction?”
He gave her a sheepish grin. “Not helpful, huh?”
She shook her head. “Not at all.”
“Maybe it would be easier to show you.”
“Please.”
But instead of taking the T-bar from her to demonstrate, he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, gently closing his hands over hers. Electricity buzzed through her. Of course, they had touched before, but never like this. Never had she felt his warmth so closely or experienced his bold confidence flowing through her as it did right now. The effect was dizzying.
“You just press down, like this.” His breath skimmed across her neck, and she had to force herself to concentrate instead of melting into him.
With his strong hands over hers, they pushed the metal pole into the sand. She hadn’t needed to worry about pushing too deep into the sand, because they barely got a few inches down before it felt like they hit rock bottom.
“I’m guessing this isn’t it.” She tried to keep the moment light to counterbalance the intense emotions that were flowing through her. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. They were supposed to only be looking for turtles. In fact, her whole reason for being in this town was to avoid any sort of close, personal connection like the one flowing through her at this very moment.
“See? I told you you’d be able to feel it,” he said. And just when she thought his touch was going to overtake her, he stepped away, leaving her feeling cold and alone.
Scratch that. Not alone. On her own, which was a very different thing. In fact, it was what she wanted, wasn’t it? And as for the cold, well, she should’ve brought a jacket to combat the brisk morning breeze.
“Now move it a few inches to the left, and try again.”
She did so, hitting the same hard sand only inches below the surface. She repeated the process four or five more times, each time with the same result.
It was on the sixth time that the pole went deeper, like a hot spoon plunging into a bucket of ice cream. She felt the difference instantly and a zing shot through her, bringing with it a smile that stretched all the way across her face.
“That was it, wasn’t it?” Grant asked.
“Soft sand.” It was a glorious feeling, and what made the moment even sweeter was that he hadn’t done it for her. Instead, he’d trusted her to do it herself.
“I think we found ourselves a nest.” He grinned, showing off his deep dimples and causing those same feelings to dance in her chest again. “What do you say we make it official?”
It was barely six o’clock in the morning, but Grant was pretty sure he’d already reached the highlight of his day. Finding a new turtle nest was always a treat, however finding one with Molly had been especially invigorating.
It’d taken about thirty minutes to record all the information they needed for the new nest. Once that part was done, they roped it off with wooden stakes and orange tape, attaching an official warning to not disturb it, along with the date it’d been discovered. Molly had blown the nest a kiss as they’d walked away, already convinced this particular group of soon-to-be hatchlings was special. And Grant, for the first time in his life, was jealous of a pile of eggs.
They climbed on the ATV and drove the remainder of the five miles he was responsible for patrolling, Molly happily chattering the entire way. The rest of the beach seemed to be untouched overnight, and when they got to the spot where a second set of tire tracks started, signaling the start of someone else’s patrol, he pulled closer to the water’s edge.
