by the buoys. In the distance she saw the lifeguard station and Logan sitting in his chair surrounded by his fan club. She could hear the giggles echoing toward her, and the familiar feeling of being left out seeped into her chest. She shook it off and, eyes closed, waded deeper into the welcoming water where the sounds and images would not travel. The soothing water hit waist level and sent a chill through her body. She caught her breath as a strong wake from a passing speedboat almost made her lose her footing. She righted herself and waited for it to subside.
A faint cry caught her attention. Immediately, her lifeguard training kicked in. Her eyes flew open and searched the surface of the lake, trying to locate the sound.
“Help,” a voice gasped behind her.
Turning around sharply, about twenty feet away in deeper water, Shelby saw a woman’s head bobbing up and down. Her arms flailed in the air as she gasped for help. Shelby swam quickly toward her, eyes fixed on the gray-haired woman’s position. Just as Shelby reached the spot, the woman dropped out of sight.
Shelby dove, kicking her legs to go deeper, eyes searching under the water. She spotted the unconscious woman floating limply. There was no time to spare. Shelby grabbed the woman from behind, put her right hand over her right shoulder, and brought the limp woman back to the surface. Using the scissor kick as she had been instructed, she swam briskly to shore, making sure the woman’s head was always above water. The woman began to cough and Shelby hoped she’d gotten to her in time. When they reached shallow water, Shelby stood and supported the woman’s body as they walked to shore.
On the beach, a small crowd had gathered, watching her efforts. Shelby yelled, “Someone call 911.”
She sat the woman on the sand and told everyone to step back. The woman leaned over and spit out water as she coughed again. Relief flooded Shelby and she almost passed out herself from the adrenaline drop.
Logan, his face pale, rushed in beside her. “I’ll handle the situation now,” he said. Shelby took a step back as Logan began questioning the woman. “How are you feeling? Are you on any medication?”
The woman broke out crying.
A siren wailed in the distance. Shelby stood close, her whole body shaking. The woman reached out to her. “Thank you,” she said between tears. “I used to be such a good swimmer.”
An elderly man scrambled over beside them and took the woman in his arms. “Adele, what were you thinking?”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how far I drifted. That was really dumb.”
He shook his head. “All that matters is that you are okay.” He looked up at the lifeguard. “Thank you for saving my wife’s life.”
Logan pointed to Shelby. “You can thank her,” he said. “They were almost out of my sight range, so it took me a little while to get here.”
“Thank you, little lady,” the man said.
The paramedics came running down the beach with a stretcher and loaded Adele on it. “We’ll take it from here,” they said.
Shelby could hear them asking the woman more questions, but Adele did seem stable and that was the best outcome possible.
They watched as the paramedics whisked Adele away. Logan asked the crowd to please disperse and watched while they drifted away. He turned to Shelby. “I’d like you to come back to my station with me now.”
She nodded and followed him silently down the beach. His face was unreadable, and Shelby wondered if she was in some kind of trouble.
When they reached his station, Logan thanked the other lifeguard for covering while he was handling the incident. Madison rushed up to Logan and tried to hug him, but he stepped back.
“You were amazing, Logan,” Madison said.
“Not me,” Logan said, nodding toward Shelby. “Got to go, I have to fill out a report.”
Madison glared at him then turned to Shelby. Even after the adrenaline and euphoria of saving a woman’s life, Shelby felt the daggers hit their mark, deep in the recesses of her gut. With a flick of her hair, Madison motioned for her friends to follow as she stomped off.
Finally, Logan turned to Shelby.
“I don’t know what you were doing way down there outside the limit area, but I will forever be grateful you were there and knew what to do.”
Shelby looked into his golden-brown eyes and knew his words were sincere.