The sound of a siren broke the silence of the moment, and Cole quickly began to move away the bystanders. An ambulance pulled into the area. Two EMTs jumps out, grabbed their gear and a gurney, and headed toward the people down the beach who’d wadded themselves into a crowd. A police unit pulled up beside the ambulance. Two officers exited the car. It seemed like hours, but it had only been a few minutes since the drama had unfolded. The crowd began to disperse. Professionals had everything well in hand.

Debbie stepped back as emergency services were being rendered and watched as the elderly couple was taken away. She located Cole, who was still talking to the two officers, and knew that everything was under control. There was nothing for her to do but gather their gear and wait until she was retrieved.

“Hey, lady!” the hot dog vendor yelled. “Have a seat. They’ll be a while.”

She grinned, dragged their stuff toward the vendor’s cart, and, before she knew it, was sitting beneath Wally’s umbrella, drinking a lemonade, and listening to him talk about the stock market’s latest ups and downs.

*  *  *

Cole had given the officers all the details and learned that this was the twelfth such incident at the beach in less than three weeks. He absently turned around and then faced nothing but milling crowds. Debbie was nowhere in sight! Swift panic surfaced. She was such a stranger…and too trusting.

And then he heard her laugh. He followed the sound. And when he finally saw her, feet propped up on Wally’s hot dog cart, sipping a lemonade in the shade and sharing conversation with the owner of the cart, relief made him weak. He didn’t know whether to shake her or hug her. He settled for a touch on her shoulder instead.

“Hey, Little Red. I lost you,” he teased, letting his grip on her shoulder tell her what he could not.

Debbie jumped up and whirled around, threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him. She’d needed to touch him ever since she’d seen him coming back through the crowd with that serious expression on his face. Until she’d seen him, she’d imagined the worst.

Condensation from the icy drink in her hand dripped down the back of his neck. He could have cared less.

“Sorry,” he said, grimacing as he unwound her from around his neck. “This isn’t such a great start to our day off, is it?”

“I think it was perfect,” Debbie said. “You’re a hero.”

He blushed and tried to ignore Wally’s grin.

“No, I’m not. I chased those punks and still let them get away.”