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She shook her head. “They’ll want to thank you.”
The woman visibly shook, tears gathering in her own eyes. “I don’t need it.”
“Still.”
“She’s my wife,” a man said, the same one who’d backed everyone up. “She teaches babysitting classes, including CPR.”
“I’ve never had to do it on a live child,” the woman said, her voice fragile and brittle. She stepped into her husband’s arms, and his jaw jumped as he clenched it.
“Her name is Tamara Weeks. I’m Gill.”
“Thank you so much.” Hannah hugged them both again, then stepped around a couple of people who hadn’t left yet.
She opened her arms to Missy, who ran to her and clutched her tightly. She’d gotten so tall this year, and Hannah marveled at her strength and quick thinking. She stroked her hair and whispered, “You were so smart to scream like that. You acted so fast. You saved him.”
Missy sobbed into her, and Hannah looked up to the older gentleman. “Thank you for your prayer and your help.”
He only nodded, his eyes quickly going back to Connor. “He’ll be okay?”
“The paramedics are here,” she said. “I think he’ll be okay.”
Two men walked down the beach, catching Hannah’s attention. She gently unwrapped Missy’s arms from around her and said, “Time to be brave, munchkin. Let’s go talk to the paramedics.”
She met them when they were still several yards from Luke and Connor. “He went under in the tide,” she said. “We’re not sure how long he was under. Luke got him up, and Tamara Weeks performed CPR. He spit up a bunch of water, and he was crying.”
“All good signs,” one man said. “You’re?”
“Hannah Otto,” she said. “My friend and I brought the kids to the beach for their parents.”
The paramedics reached Luke and Connor, and they started examining him. Listening to his heartbeat. Asking him questions. Taking his temperature.
Hannah’s stomach rumbled, as she’d brought a lot of food and hadn’t eaten any of it yet. Missy quieted at her side, and Hannah started looking for her phone. Someone signaled to her, and held up her device, and she went to retrieve it.
“Thank you.”
The man smiled at her. “I knew you didn’t even know you’d dropped it.”
“I didn’t.”
He handed it over, and Hannah returned to Missy. She typed in the names of the people who’d helped, as well as everything else that had happened. She wanted to be able to remember the kindness of strangers, and Nate and Ginger would want every detail they could get.
Eventually the paramedics said they could take Connor to the hospital or not, and Hannah met Luke’s eyes.
“I don’t think he needs to go in an ambulance,” Hannah said. “Let’s call Nate and Ginger and see what they want us to do.”
He nodded, and they shook hands with the paramedics and cops who’d come to the beach. The commotion died down, and with it, Hannah’s adrenaline.
“Can I call?” Luke asked, extending his hand toward her, indicating he wanted her phone.
“Yes.” She had no idea what she’d say to Ginger. Luke had Connor in his arms, the boy’s legs wrapped around his torso and his head resting on his shoulder. He could still hold a phone to his ear, but Hannah dialed for him and handed him the device.
“Nate?” he asked.
She nodded, and an entirely new face slipped over Luke’s features. His game face.
“Nate,” he said a few seconds later. “We had an accident at the beach, and we’re wondering if you’d like us to bring Connor home or meet us at the hospital.”
Hannah turned away from Luke as he continued to explain what had happened. She couldn’t imagine getting a call like that. How would she react? Would she go numb the way she had waiting for Luke to resurface?
