Playing to Win (Summer Beach Vets 2) - sweet contemporary romance by H.Y. Hanna Read Free Book Online

straining her eyes.
    A minute later, she saw Will’s dark head break the surface of the water. He was coughing and spluttering, trying to stay afloat, but Ellie could see that he was struggling. He bobbed up and down, going under and coming back up again. His head turned suddenly back towards the beach and Ellie caught a glimpse of his wide, scared eyes.
    “Will! Hold on! I’m coming!”
    Ellie plunged into the surf. The water wasn’t very cold, but it was still a shock as she was suddenly immersed up to her chin. She started swimming, cutting through the waves, heading for the boy. She was a fairly strong swimmer, but these waves were powerful—much more powerful than what she was used to. She felt them buffeting her body as she rose and fell with the swell. The fact that she was wearing clothes didn’t help much either. Her denim shorts quickly became waterlogged and the drag added to the resistance underwater. It took all her effort to stay on course. By the time she reached Will, she was panting from the effort.
    “Will! Are you okay?” She grabbed the boy around his waist with one arm and helped him stay afloat while treading water with her other arm and kicking with her legs.
    He coughed and nodded. “Y-y-yeah.”
    “What were you doing?” demanded Ellie.
    “I was w-w-worried about Milo! I thought I s-s-saw a shark! Sharks eat dogs, y-y-you know. I w-w-wanted to rescue him.” He coughed again.
    Ellie glanced around. Milo was happily swimming back to shore a few dozen yards away from them, his ball clamped in his jaws. He must have come out into the water to retrieve it. Ellie shifted her hold on Will and turned to start swimming back towards the beach.
    For some reason, the shore suddenly seemed much farther away now. We must have drifted out farther than I realised, thought Ellie, getting a tighter grip on Will.
    “Ellie, I’m scared…” said Will.
    “It’s okay, it’ll be fine… ‘No worries’, as you guys say,” said Ellie with a wan smile. “Just kick as hard as you can. I’ll help you and we’ll swim back to the beach together.”
    Will nodded and Ellie started swimming towards the beach, pulling him with her. But something wasn’t right. Even though she was kicking strongly and cutting through the water with powerful strokes, they didn’t seem to be making any progress. Something was pulling against her, dragging her back even as she tried to plunge forward.
    Ellie felt a prickle of fear run down her spine. She didn’t say anything to Will—she didn’t want to scare the kid even more—but as she fought harder against the water surging around them, she realised the terrifying truth.
    They were being dragged backward, out towards the open sea.

CHAPTER 7
     
     
     
    Ellie doubled her efforts, trying to kick harder, but she could feel herself being carried backwards in the water, no matter what she did. It was as if she was caught in some invisible current that was dragging her swiftly out to sea. Her muscles were quivering as she strained against the tide. Already, her legs were starting to feel rubbery, her arms flailing slightly as she tried to pull herself and the child through the water.
    She felt so tired… so exhausted…
    A swell rose up suddenly in front of her and caught her unprepared, salty water gushing into her mouth, up her nose, and stinging her eyes.
    Ellie choked and spluttered, losing hold of Will. She splashed and floundered, treading water frantically. Panic clamped its fist around her throat and squeezed tight. She couldn’t see, couldn’t get her nose and mouth clear of the surging water, and she felt her body sinking… going under…
    “Ellie!”
    A strong hand caught her arm and pulled her upwards. Her head broke the surface and she gasped, choking and coughing. She blinked, shaking the water out of her eyes, and saw Dan in the water next to them. He was holding onto Will with one arm and treading water, his grey eyes watching her with concern.
    “I…