Saved by Love (Willow Valley Book 3)(32)

He was reeling from the revelation and almost didn’t notice Braden, Bryce and Dillon on the shore waving them in. He caught Abby’s attention and they made their way back to the beach.

“That was incredible,” Braden said, awe in his eyes as he watched Abby carry her board up and stick it in the sand. The other guys agreed and Ethan wrapped his arm around Abby’s waist, dragging her to him for a wet, salty sea water kiss.

“It was,” he murmured in her ear.

She was grinning and full of pride, and as she looked up at him, her eyes full of emotion, she said, “Thank you so much for encouraging me to do this. It was better than I ever could have imagined. I think I’m going to be sore for days, though.”

“Probably,” he agreed. “But in a good way. What’s up, guys?” He turned his attention to the men standing around.

Braden spoke first. “We heard from some of the instructors that there are some bigger waves down the beach a few miles past the cove. We surfed there last year. We’re going to check them out if you want to come.” He looked from Ethan to Abby and back again.

Ethan absolutely wanted to go, but there was no way he could let Abby surf those waves if they were anything like he remembered. While they weren’t crazy, they definitely weren’t for beginners, and there was an occasional undertow that could be dangerous if you weren’t experienced.

He looked at Abby, then shook his head regretfully. “Sorry, bro, but I can’t take Abby out in those, and she’s having too good of a time to stop yet.”

“It’s okay,” she interjected quickly. “I probably need the break. Plus, we’re here for four more days. There’s plenty of time for me to practice.” She still had a flush to her cheeks from the exertion and the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and Ethan couldn’t resist pulling her closer and running his hand down her back and resting it on her hip.

“Are you sure?” He wanted to go pretty badly, but he didn’t want to cut her fun off prematurely.

“It’s fine. I promise.” She looked up at him and smiled encouragingly.

“Okay, if you’re really sure.” She nodded at the question in his eyes. Then he grabbed his board and high-fived Braden. “Then what are we waiting for?”

***

Abby sat on a beach towel watching the four guys as they surfed some pretty great waves. They were all really good, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Ethan. He looked like he was at home out there on his board. She was glad he hadn’t missed out on coming down to this part of the beach.

She still felt high on her adrenaline rush and couldn’t get over how amazing it felt to actually get up on her board and ride a wave. Sure, she’d wiped out pretty quickly every time, but what did she expect her first time out? It was still one of the most thrilling things she’d ever experienced. Her mom would have been so proud of her.

She let her mind drift to her mother, something she didn’t allow very often. But she didn’t feel the deep sadness she often did when thinking about her. This time she felt a sense of pride that she’d done something she’d always wanted to. Something her mother would have wanted her to do.

When she’d married Derek, he had expected her to settle down. He didn’t think it was becoming of her to still want to live out her teenage fantasies and be a wild child. She shook her head, wondering now how she had ever been okay with that. That was who she was—then and now—and she’d nearly forgotten that. She suppressed her passion for living her life because she’d loved him so much.

But now that she was falling for Ethan and experiencing such a different kind of love, one that accepted her for who she already was, she wondered how she and Derek had ever even ended up together. She could only chalk it up to being young and not knowing any better.

She felt a little bit of guilt at thinking back on her relationship with him with anything but good memories, but if she was honest, they never should have gotten married in the first place. If anything good could come out of the tragedy of his death, she thought that finding herself again might be it.

While she watched Ethan and his friends enjoy the waves, her mind drifted back to the day Derek had died. They had rented a boat and gone out for the afternoon. When they dropped anchor to have lunch and swim for a while, she never expected what would happen next. They shared a bottle of wine and some pasta salad, then he said he wanted to go for a swim and took off his life jacket.

Abby recalled vividly the irritation she felt when she told him that under no circumstances was he getting off that boat without a life jacket. They were out in the ocean, for goodness sake.

He laughed at her. “Come on, Abby. I’ve lived by the ocean my entire life. I think I can handle a swim.”

He should have known because of that just how unpredictable the ocean was. He hadn’t been in the water for more than five minutes when he got caught in a rip tide. He was a decently strong swimmer, but he’d had more to drink than Abby. He was pulled out to sea, disappearing from her sight almost before she knew what happened.

Abby swallowed the lump in her throat at the memories flooding in. She’d made an emergency call and the Coast Guard had initiated a search for him. After a few hours, they found him. But it was too late.

She squeezed her eyes shut at the onslaught of images in her head. His body being pulled from the water. The pity in the rescuers’ eyes when they told her he was already gone.