Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“Hurry, come quick.”
“What’s going on?” I ask as we rush toward her. Doesn’t matter if there’s bad blood between us, I’ll still help in an emergency.
“Turtles are hatching!” she announces, then lowers her voice. “Oops, trying not to disturb them.”
“Turtles?” Aaron whispers as he squats to see the baby turtles pushing out of the sand and heading toward the water. “Holy shit. This is a first for me.”
I lift my camera and start shooting in rapid succession. “The idea is to only observe and resist the urge to help them along, though people have different philosophies on that.”
“Agree. It’s hard not to help,” Beth says. “But they need to find the ocean on their own. It’s instinctual.”
“This is surreal. What kind of turtles are they?”
“Hawksbills,” I reply. “They’re endangered, so I hope most of them make it.”
Aaron gasps. “Why wouldn’t they?”
“Predators.” Beth points to the sky and then the sea. “Drowning, any number of scenarios.”
“Isn’t that a reason to help them?” he asks with emotion in his tone, and it reminds me of the first time I saw the turtles as a kid. I said much the same until my father explained some things.
“Humans shouldn’t intervene with nature. Survival of the fittest and all that.”
One of the turtles heads toward the walkway, his internal navigation getting him lost. Aaron silently pads behind, watching him but not touching. Beth shows him how to redirect them by building little trenches in the sand so they turn toward the ocean. That’s definitely human intervention, but one that’s acceptable around here.
“How did you know about the turtles hatching?” Aaron asks Beth.
“I follow their life cycles. It’s the reason I came down here, hoping tourists wouldn’t get any ideas about taking or helping them.”
“That’s awesome of you,” Aaron says. “Did you know about the frogs too?”
“The frogs?” I ask.
“The ones June told me fell from the trees. The curse or whatever.”
I smirk because it’s a ridiculous notion, knowing Beth sees it differently.
“It was my grandmother who had an inkling. Her intuition was stronger.” She clears her throat. “But though mine plays a part too, that’s not the only thing I rely on. I’ll admit there’s a certain energy to this place that I pick up on, for good or bad.” Understatement. “And that day was odd all around.”
“I happen to like the energy around here,” Aaron says, and Beth smiles. My stomach tilts in this weird way, wondering what he means. “It’s like a cross between Mayberry and Sunnydale.”
I snort. “A Buffy fan, I take it?”
“Who isn’t?” he quips.
Beth winks. “Well, I don’t know of any vampires in Aqua Vista, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
I shake my head. “I’ll take Sunnydale over Amityville.”
“I should hope so,” Beth replies with a slight shiver. “That movie was inspired by a true story.”
The next couple of hours are spent babysitting the turtles and taking photos. The high tide finally retreats, so we lay out the blankets as close to the water as possible and settle in. Aaron and Beth chat about everything from the turtles to how Aqua Vista got its name. He tells her about growing up in San Jose, and I listen intently to him discussing his mom’s asthma. She has something called FAO which is a more severe, chronic type and his voice takes on a strained, worried tone. He really loves her. Another reason he’ll never consider leaving the city she lives in. Not that the option is on the table.
When all has quieted down with the turtles, Beth stands and pats her skirt. “I think I’ll get some shut-eye and check for any stragglers at sunrise.”
“Sweet dreams,” Aaron replies. “Thanks for showing me the turtles.”
That’s true enough. We may have missed them had we headed in the opposite direction on the beach. Though I still wish it was me who’d introduced him to another thing to draw that look of wonder from him, the first being the eagles.
“You men have a good night.” She gives Aaron a look. “I’ll have your mom’s bracelet ready tomorrow.”
“I nearly forgot.”
“It’s all right. You would’ve been back around these parts again.”
“Is that right?” He chuckles nervously.
“Maybe I’m wrong—Lord knows I’ve made plenty of mistakes—but I can feel it squarely in my gut, and that’s gotta mean something.”
She throws me a wary glance before she walks away, and I clench my jaw.
When she’s out of earshot, Aaron rounds on me. “What’s that about?”
“Beth and I have history.”
“I gathered that much.” He plops down on the blanket beside me. “Care to elaborate?”
I stare out at the ocean, threads of memories curling around my thoughts. Ah, hell, why not? “The week of the accident, she had an instrumental part in keeping the search going—because of her so-called intuition.”
Aaron grows silent as he takes that in. “Why is that a bad thing?”