Page 94 of Courting Danger

“Well, I must say, I thought about leather boots to protect their feet and match their collars, but those wouldn’t have worked for them on the beach. It’s been so long since I’ve had a dog; I didn’t realize just how many accessories had been created, including raincoats, which I also ordered.”

“Sweet! I can’t wait to see them all dressed up for rainy-day walks,” Roan declared.

“For now, they will have to stay in their shady, screened-in spot,” Pope declared. “But I did the two-day shipping and got the damned subscription to boot, since I foresee many more orders in our future. So, let’s get changed and get out there before Danger tries to cartwheel across the living room.”

“Wait?” Ocean said, pausing mid-turn to stare at Danger. “You can do a cartwheel?”

“Poorly executed, but yes,” Danger admitted. “And I should not have done it on the way to the parking lot.”

“Dude!” Ocean said, eyes wide, “You’d have been pissed if you split your head open again.”

Groaning, Danger pinched the bridge of his nose, because yeah, it hadn’t been the world’s best idea.

“That’s what I said,” Pope replied, chuckling.

The boys disappeared into their room to change, the dogs glued to their hips.

While they hated being left behind, the dogs no longer barked for the first few minutes of being in their screened-in space and instead settled down on their pillows, with clean bowls of water to lap whenever they needed them, watching them closely through the mesh. There was no doubt in Danger’s mind that they could tear that screen down if they really got it in their heads to join them, but they stayed, slowly learning to trust that they’d come check on them frequently and spend time with them.

“I hear you have a surprise for me,” Danger said when they reached the beach. Roan’s skin, once boasting a farmer’s tan, was now tanned all over from how many hours he’d spent out here with Ocean and Pope.

Pope had carried something out with him that he refused to allow any of them to see. Covered in blankets, he’d placed it on the sand like a colorful teaser and forbidden them all to peek.

“Yup,” Roan replied before racing into the water.

Danger waded in behind him, watching as Roan dove beneath the surface when it was high enough, emerging several feet away, strokes smooth when he began to swim further away from him. He flipped over on his back, floating, then swam back to him, before rolling over again, showing off the frog strokeOcean had taught him. Where once he’d been afraid to go further than waist-deep, now he swam out until the water was well over his head and calmly treaded water with a confident smile on his face.

“Wow! Talk about a quick study,” Danger said when he reached his side. “Well done!”

“We practiced every morning there wasn’t a storm,” Roan declared proudly.

“You practiced,” Ocean said. “I just got the pleasure of watching you get better and better every day, but the effort was all you. You were determined to learn a new skill and look at you. That was fabulous. I’d say you’ve earned the surprise Pope and I have been cooking up for you.”

“Is it what’s under the blanket?” Roan asked, eyes lighting up at the praise.

Danger could practically feel his excitement carried through the current.

“Uh-huh,” Ocean said. “Wanna go see?”

“Hell yeah!” Roan said and took off with surprising speed.

Ocean kept pace with ease, but Danger, who hadn’t been in the water for over two weeks and sporadically before that, actually found that he had to push himself to catch up with them. On the beach, Roan nearly faceplanted trying to scramble through the sand to get to the blanket, only to yank it off to reveal a brightly wrapped package underneath. Squealing, he tore the wrapping paper off, revealing the brightly colored boogie board beneath.

“Oh my god it’s awesome!” Roan squealed, hugging it to his chest.

“We thought it might be easier for you to start with one of those and move up to a big board later, if you decided you like it and want to keep learning,” Ocean explained.

“I love it! Thank you! Will you teach me how to use it now!”

“Could I have that honor?” Danger offered before Ocean could respond.

Roan blinked, and for a moment, Danger was afraid he’d decline and choose to work with Pope and Ocean, since they’d been the ones to teach him how to swim, then his face lit up, and he rushed over and right into Danger’s arms.

“Yes, please,” he said as Danger hugged him tight.

“I am so proud of you,” Danger said. “You earned that. Now let’s teach you how to ride it.”

“Awesome!”