She searched for any sign of the turtle, but it had disappeared just as quietly as it had appeared. She decided that, for now, she would keep the experience to herself. It felt too special, and too raw, to share it with anyone yet. All she knew was that if it hadn’t come and calmed her and shown her the way up, the outcome of the incident would’ve been a lot different. Most likely, right now Liam would be comforting a raving-mad lunatic, if she had even survived.

She thought of her mother, who would’ve been astonished. Ethan would also be surprised, and she couldn’t wait to tell him what she’d done. Minus the part about Liam’s help, of course.

Liam buried his feet in the sand and sighed loudly.

“Too much excitement for one day,” he said.

“I suppose you thought I was going to get all hysterical out there on you,” she said, laughing slightly. She was glad he couldn’t see how she’d acted under the water before the turtle had come.

He shook his head. “Nope. I sure didn’t. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. I knew you could do it.” He reached over and poked her on the arm, smiling. “I didn’t mean to lose you out there. I just needed to convince you to give it a try.”

“I would’ve done it eventually,” she lied, knowing that it could’ve been another thirty years before she got the courage to venture past her ankles.

Truthfully, she felt grateful to him. But that could wait.

“Why were you afraid?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. I’ve been frightened of the ocean as far back as I can remember. My mother told me that she took me to Folly Beach when I was five, and I ran when I saw the ocean and refused to come out of the hotel room for two days. It happened again the next time we went, so after that we stopped vacationing near water. A silly fear that I just never outgrew, I guess.”

She hoped her voice didn’t convey that it was anything but silly to her, despite her words.

He looked pained by her confession. “I think I came out of the womb knowing how to swim and craving the water. It’s only out there that I feel completely free, unencumbered by the problems and stresses of this world. The sea doesn’t care about any of it, and that nonchalance reminds me that we are only here for a short time and to embrace the gifts of nature while we can.”

He was right, of course. Quinn hoped that her newfound courage remained with her and wasn’t fleeting. Of course, it would be nice to forget about everything, but right now she couldn’t. Real life awaited just beyond the warmth of the sand between her toes.