Chapter Twenty-eight
Darcy packed a small bag with Liam’s swim trunks, a swim shirt, and some sunscreen. She threw in a beach towel, too, because it felt weird to rely on Emerson to take care of that sort of thing. She resisted sending him with snacks, but she did fill his favorite water bottle and tuck it in with everything else.
They drove into town and Liam gushed his excitement to spend the day with his favorite person. When they pulled up behind the café, Emerson was sitting in one of Alex and Lia’s Adirondack chairs. She stood and waved.
Liam hopped out of the car and ran right to her, flinging his arms around her waist. Darcy followed more slowly, grabbing her purse and Liam’s bag. “Thanks for doing this.”
Emerson grinned back. She seemed to be nearly as excited as Liam. “Thanks for asking me.” She slung her arm around Liam’s neck and mussed his hair. “We haven’t hung out in forever, have we, buddy?”
Liam squirmed, but didn’t protest. “Forever.”
“If you’re going to the beach, be careful. Liam, you know the rules.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We’re just staying on the harbor side,” Emerson said. “Barely any waves to speak of.”
Darcy nodded. “Okay. I’m almost late. Call if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you around five.”
“Got it.” Emerson offered a playful salute and Liam mimicked her.
Darcy shook her head. “Bye, you two.”
She headed inside and Emerson looked down at Liam. “Ready to go?”
“Yep.” Liam nodded, but then made a face. “Are we really not going to Race Point? Or even Herring Cove?”
“We have plans, my man.”
“What kind of plans?”
Emerson shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Liam pouted a little. “How long do I have to wait?”
“Only as long as it takes you to stop pouting and come with me.”
“I’m not—” Liam looked at her and thought better of talking back. “I’m ready.”
Emerson led the way to her car, which she’d technically parked illegally, but kept in her line of sight. She opened the back door for Liam to get in and enjoyed watching his eyes get big. “Are those surf boards?”
“Not quite. Paddleboards.”
“Awesome!”
“Now you know why we need to be where the water is calm.”
He nodded. “This is so cool. Carlos has gone paddleboarding before and he said it was so cool.”
“It is.”
Liam looked at her with awe. If only Darcy were as easy to impress. “You know how?”
“I do. I don’t have a ton of practice, but I’ve been out a few times.”
“This is going to be so fun.”
Emerson started the car and made the short drive to a parking lot she’d scoped out earlier that had easy beach access. As she paid the attendant, she realized Liam was still in street clothes. “How do you feel about changing in the car?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. I’ll get out to give you some privacy and I’ll come stand by your window so no one can peek in.” By the time she’d rounded the front of the car, he was wiggling out of his clothes. In what felt like less than thirty seconds, she felt the car door bump against her backside. “That was quick.”
It was Liam’s turn to shrug casually. Emerson popped the hatch and formulated a game plan. “Sunscreen first.” Liam made another face, but didn’t protest. When Emerson was sure she’d smeared them both in sufficient SPF 50, she put the bottle back in her bag. She picked up one of the life vests she’d rented. “Let’s put this on, too, so we don’t have to carry it.”
“Okay.”
Emerson handed it to Liam and watch him slide his arms through and snap the buckles in place. She tightened the straps, making sure it fit snugly and couldn’t slide off. “All right, buddy. How does that feel?”
Liam tugged at the vest, then patted his front. “Feels great. Are you going to wear one?”
Emerson didn’t usually wear a life vest, but she knew enough that modeling good behavior was way more effective than demanding it. “Absolutely. Safety first.”
She donned her own vest, then surveyed their equipment. “If I get both boards, can you carry paddles?”
“Yep.” He scooped them up.
She stacked the boards and wrapped her arms around them. She locked her car and they ambled a few hundred feet down the beach, stopping about ten feet from the water’s edge. “Let’s stop here. We’re going to practice in the sand for a little bit.”
“Okay.”
They plopped down their things and Emerson positioned their boards side by side. She guided Liam on where to plant his feet, how to shift his weight from side to side to maintain balance. Then she demonstrated how to hold the paddle and alternate strokes to move through the water. “What do you think? Ready to give it a try?”
Liam nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah!”
“All right. I’ll stay with you at first until you get the hang of it.” She handed Liam the paddle and picked up his board, carrying it into the water. She waded in until it was about knee-deep, set the board in the water, and held it in place. “I’ll hold it steady and you climb on.”
Liam set his paddle on the board, then eased on, ending up on his hands and knees. Even with Emerson holding it, the board rocked under him. “Whoa.”
“You’re doing great. Just take your time, get steady. If you decide you don’t ever want to stand up, that’s okay, too.”
“No, I can do it.”
Emerson couldn’t tell if he truly felt brave or if he was pretending for her benefit. “Okay. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
After about a minute, when everything had stilled, Liam said he was ready. He planted one foot, then the other, bracing one hand on Emerson’s shoulder. The next thing she knew, he let go and was standing up completely on his own. “I’m up!”
She smiled at the triumph in his voice and the huge grin on his face. “Okay, I’m going to take one hand off and hand you your paddle. Remember what we practiced. Try to keep your weight evenly balanced. If you feel like you’re tipping to one side, lean the other way, but only a little.”
“Don’t overcompensate.”
She’d not used that word, so the fact that he did made Emerson laugh. “Exactly. Don’t overcompensate.”
She handed him the paddle. “If you fall, it’s no big deal. You’ll just land in the water. I fell at least a dozen times when I first learned.”
“Okay.”
“Are you ready for me to let go?”
After only the slightest hesitation, he nodded. “Yes.”
She did and he rocked back and forth a little, but didn’t tip. “Nice. You’ve got it.”
He dipped his paddle into the water on one side, then the other. From everything she could tell, he was a natural. More so than she’d been at least. Maybe it had to do with him being smaller and having a lower center of gravity. He repeated the motion and, in the still water of the cove, managed to move himself a good ten feet away from her. She climbed onto her board and followed him.
“This is awesome.” Liam turned to look at her as he spoke. The abrupt movement threw off his balance. After a few seconds of flailing, he landed in the water with a splash.
Knowing the water was shallow enough that he could still touch the bottom, Emerson didn’t immediately jump off her board. Liam bounced up, wiping water from his eyes, but laughing. Emerson took a deep breath. “So, big rule of paddleboarding. No sudden movements.”
With impressive dexterity, Liam hauled himself back onto his board. “Now you tell me.”
Emerson let herself laugh then. “I think it’s a sub-rule of keeping your weight balanced.”
She watched him plant his feet and come to a squatting position. He picked up his paddle and stood up slowly. “Right.”
“You really are good at this for it being your first time.” She would have praised him no matter what, but it was true.
“Thanks. It’s a lot of fun.”
They paddled along the beach in relative quiet. Emerson liked that, for as chatty as he could be when excited, Liam wasn’t one of those kids who talked constantly. She glanced back at where they’d left their things. She didn’t want them to get too far away. She’d learned the hard way that fatigue could come on quickly. “How about we circle back?”
“Okay.” The fact that he didn’t protest told Emerson her instincts were right.
“We can jump off and turn our boards around or we can try to steer a U-turn.”
“I can steer.”
“Cool. Let me go first, then I can guide you.”
Emerson went a little past Liam and started pivoting herself. She was just perpendicular to the shore when she caught Liam out the corner of her eye. Instead of staying put, he’d followed her. Only he was turning wide and heading straight for her. Emerson tried to speed up, but it was too late. She saw the fear in Liam’s eyes as his board t-boned hers and they both went flying.
Emerson stood and looked around for Liam. His head was above water, but he didn’t stand. Instead, he clutched at his arm and started screaming. Panic rose in her chest as she sloshed over to him. “Liam, it’s okay. I’m right here.”
The screaming stopped, but in its place came tears. Fat, genuine, in pain kind of tears. Emerson resisted the urge to scoop him out of the water. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Tell me what hurts.”
“My…arm…” He choked out the words and Emerson thought her heart might break.
“Can you let me see it?” He moved the uninjured arm out of the way. “Can you point to where it hurts?” He used his good hand to point at his wrist. “Can I touch it? I promise I’ll be gentle.” He sniffed and nodded.
Emerson ran her fingers along his wrist and forearm. He flinched, but didn’t cry out. Nothing felt out of place, so that was good. Still, it could be fractured. She needed to get him checked out. Which meant she’d also need to tell Darcy. She swallowed the new wave of panic. One thing at a time; focus on Liam for now. “Everything’s going to be all right. First, we’re going to get you out of the water, okay?”
Liam nodded. She contemplated trying to get her car closer, but didn’t want to leave him alone. She walked him to dry sand. “I’m going to go get our boards and stuff, okay?”
“Oh…kay.” He continued to cry, but with less intensity.
Emerson sloshed back into the water and dragged their stuff in. She made a split-second decision to impose on Will’s day off instead of taking the time to lug it down the beach. “Do you think you can make it to the car?”
“What…a…bout…the…boards?”
The fact that he was even thinking about them was a good sign. “I’m going to ask my sister to get them. Don’t you worry about it.”
It seemed to take ages to walk back to where they’d started. In truth, it probably wasn’t more than a hundred yards. Emerson grabbed their bags and guided Liam to the car. “I’m going to leave your vest on so we don’t jostle anything. How are you holding up?”
“It really hurts,” he managed, although he was breathing normally and got the whole sentence out at once.
“You’re being super brave. I’m going to call your mom and ask her to meet us at the doctor, okay?”
Emerson helped him into the backseat and buckled his seat belt. He blinked at her; the tears had stopped, but some still clung to his eyelashes. “Do you think we’re going to be in trouble?”
“No, buddy. You are most definitely not in trouble.” She wished she could say the same about herself.
Emerson climbed into the driver’s seat and tried to stay calm, which proved to be no easy feat. It might be nothing but a bump or he could have a broken arm. Not knowing, combined with knowing she needed to tell Darcy, made her sick to her stomach. Before starting the car, she picked up her phone to call Darcy. As it rang, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.