Oath of Honor

was heavy. The third time she pulled him from beneath the surface,

hooked an arm around his shoulder and over his chest, and kept him

afloat while a Coast Guard helicopter dropped a rescue basket, her arms

and legs were trembling and her heart hammered in her ears. Evyn

circled in a dinghy nearby, waiting to assist in the transfer to the lift

basket. When they got the patient secured, the helicopter lifted off, the

churning wash from its rotors blasting her with icy froth. After the first

time she’d gotten a faceful and nearly choked up a lung, she’d learned

to turn her head away and keep her mouth closed. Wearily, she fought

the water’s relentless pull, threatening to carry her out to sea.

“How you doing?” Evyn called.

“Great!” She caught a wave wrong and coughed out a mouthful

of brine.

“Head in. Take a break.”

“Roger.” Wes stroked toward shore while Evyn docked the dinghy

on Cord’s boat. When she made it in close enough, she stood up and

waited for the rest of the team, letting the blue-green ocean swirl around

her calves. Despite the painful trembling in her shoulders and thighs,

she felt great. She’d managed to keep her patient alive, gotten him

transferred to the medevac chopper, and avoided drowning. Not once

but three times. She considered that a damn good day.

• 136 •

Oath Of hOnOr

“Looked pretty good out there.” Evyn jumped out of the boat

into the surf beside her. She unzipped the neck of the wetsuit, and Wes

caught a glimpse of smooth pale skin framed between her breasts.

“I feel like I’ve just run twenty miles with a full pack.”

“Tough work. You did a lot better than a lot of first-timers.”

“Thanks.” Wes looked around at the small ORS building and the

mostly empty beach. Gary stood talking to Cord and Jeff, the other

rescue instructor, at the boat dock. “Anywhere nearby we can grab

lunch? I’m buying. Gary and the others too.”

“Jeff and Gary played football together in college,” Evyn said, “so

Gary will probably hang here with Cord and Jeff.”

“Just you, then.” When Evyn hesitated, Wes wondered if she’d

broken yet another rule of training no one had bothered to inform her

about.“I know a little taco place not far from here,” Evyn finally said.

“Mexican okay with you?”

“Sounds great.”

“Let’s change, then, and get out of here. We’ll need to be back at

fourteen hundred for open-water rescue.”

Wes sighed. “I’m going to need a lot of tacos.”

v

“‘One’ does not qualify as ‘a lot of’ tacos,” Evyn said as Wes

pushed her plate aside. They’d both dug in when lunch arrived and

hadn’t paused for more than casual remarks while devouring the very

good food.

“If I have to be back in the water,” Wes said, sipping iced tea, “I

don’t want to cramp.”

“We’ll have at least an hour until we get everything loaded up and

out to the rendezvous point.” The rest of the day ought to be a little

easier than the morning, and so far Wes was acing the training. Not

that Evyn was surprised. Wes was solid—uncomplaining, focused, fit.

She’d handled the recovery drills with calm competence, the way she

seemed to do everything. “How are you feeling?”

“Not bad for a desk jockey.”

Recalling her not-so-subtle put-down of Wes’s teaching creds,

Evyn managed not to blush. She really hadn’t made a very good first

• 137 •

RADCLYfFE

impression, not that she usually cared. With Wes, she did—but she

couldn’t very well apologize for speaking her mind. “Okay, so maybe I

was wrong about you instructor types.”

“The day isn’t over,” Wes said lightly. “Are you and Gary the only

water-certified agents on the detail?”

“No. When POTUS is in or on the water, two water-certified

agents are with him at all times. The medical staff usually remains on

shore, available by radio.”

“I prefer to be on the water—close by him,” Wes said. “Being on

shore is too far away.”

Evyn nodded. “I agree. When possible, we’ll set you up in the

patrol boat.”

“Good enough. What about general security?”

“We clear the airspace, the surrounding water, and the shore.”

“And transport?”

“Usually Coast Guard, but again, depends on where we are and

the location of the closest medical facilities.”

Wes’s phone buzzed and Wes slid it from her pocket to check the

readout. She shook her head. “Sorry. My mother.”

Evyn laughed. “Go ahead. I’ll get the bill.”

“I’ll just tell her I’ll catch her later.” Wes tapped the screen to take

the call. “Mom, I’m at work. I’ll call you as soon as I can, probably

tom—what? No, I’m fine. Denny exaggerates, you know that. Really.

Nothing. I’ll call you. I love you. I’ve got to go. ’Bye.”

Color rose in Wes’s face and Evyn hid her smile. The calm,

unflappable doctor was embarrassed. “Mothers. They never get that we

aren’t always available to talk when we’re working.”

“Oh, she gets it. She just thinks whatever she has on her mind is

more important.”

Evyn laughed. “Isn’t it?”

“Of course.” Wes took the bill the waitress had left on the table

stood and they walked to the cashier.

“Does she know about your new post?”