CHAPTER 7—A MOMENTARY INTERRUPTION
Stacey didn’t know who got the bigger fright. Her and Dan, who jumped when the door to the hut opened, or the man who opened the door and saw them going through the surfboards.
“It’s unlocked!” he was saying in shocked tones, as he stepped inside.
His head was turned to whoever was with him, and he almost walked into Stacey before he saw her. Stacey didn’t recognise him, and he didn’t seem to know who she was, at all.
“What the devil are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’m looking to see if my board is still here,” Stacey told him.
“How’d you get in?” He’d come to a stop, and was staring at her in confusion.
“I have a key,” Stacey explained, holding it up for him to see.
He snatched it out of her hand, ignoring the man who had followed her in.
“And who gave you this?” he demanded, comparing it to his own.
“The club gave it to me.”
“But that’s against club policy…” he sputtered. “It’s—”
“—too dangerous. Yes. I agree,” Stacey told him, “but I wanted to see what condition my board was in before I donated it for auction.”
She watched as several replies to this crossed his mind, pretty sure that one of them was something along the lines of “and why would anyone want to buy your board?” Instead, he settled for something less provocative.
“And you are?”
The man behind him opened his mouth as though to answer, but Stacey didn’t give him the chance.
“I’m Stacey MacMillan,” she said, and extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
He accepted her hand, but more as a reflex than anything else, and this time he did glance back at the man who had come with him.
“Is she?”
The other man nodded, and looked at Stacey as though he didn’t know quite what to do. Stacey watched as he finally settled on a smile, and was surprised when he bent down to hug her.
“It’s good to see you back,” he said, then paused. “Are you sure you want to donate your board?”
“Sure,” Stacey said, managing to push back a sudden surge of tears. “It’s not like I’m going to be able to use it again.”
“You’re not going to try?” he asked, and Stacey suddenly remembered who he was.
“Garran?” she asked, and his smile widened.
“You didn’t recognise me?”
“Not at first. It’s been a while.” Which was true. It had been a while since she’d last seen Garran Doherty. He’d been coaching her, when she’d had her accident. He’d been the one who’d pointed out the talent scouts the day before the crash, and explained to her why they were there.
“So,” he said, and Stacey remembered that Garran wasn’t anything, if not persistent, “you’re not going to try?”
Stacey stared at him, and wondered why he didn’t get it. This time, she couldn’t stop the tears that sparked in her eyes. She gestured at the chair in frustration.
“There’s a reason I’m in this chair, you know,” she said, and the smile faded from his face.
“So they didn’t tell you then?” he asked.
“Tell me what? And who?” Stacey knew her voice was loud with frustration, and she didn’t care.
The other man, the one who’d taken her key, took a step back, giving Garran a nervous glance. He laid a hand on the coach’s arm.
“Maybe now isn’t the time, mate.”
Garran glared at him.
“Time? Of course it’s time. It was time ages ago. Why hasn’t she been told?”
“Told what?” Stacey demanded, frustration making her snap, and both men turned to look at her.
“That just because you can’t walk, doesn’t mean you can’t surf.”
Stacey took a breath, and stared at him in disbelief.
“Ah, it kinda does,” she said. “Can’t stand on the board, remember?”
“Yeah, but you don’t need to stand on the board,” Garran said. “I sent a bunch of stuff to your parents. Didn’t they talk to you?”
“No. Why?”
“Why? I don’t know why they didn’t mention it,” he said, sounding as frustrated as Stacey felt.
“No. Not them. Why did you send it?”
“Oh, that,” and Garran ran a hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was feeling stressed. “I thought it would cheer you up. Give you something to work towards.”
He paused, staring at her.
“Don’t you want to get out into the waves?”
Stacey stared back. Did she? She wasn’t sure. Something of her uncertainty must have shown on her face, because he sighed, letting his hand drop back to his side.
“Well, think about it, and if your parents can’t find the stuff I sent, or you don’t want to ask them, you know where to find me, okay?”
Stacey nodded, not quite trusting her voice, and then caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye. Unfortunately, Garran caught it too. He’d always been pretty sharp eyed.
“Who’s there?” he asked, and, to Stacey’s horror, Jelly and Wade appeared, out from behind the shelving. They were wheeling Veleia.
“I should have known,” Garran said. “And who’s this with you?”
“Cousin,” Wade said. “From New York. She came over to lend Stacey some moral support.”
“Yeah, but she’s got to go back soon,” Stacey said, relieved to see Veleia’s blanket had been tucked very carefully around her, and that not the slightest hint of scale or tail could be seen. “It was only for a couple of days.”
“Oh, okay then.”
“We’d better be going, then,” Stacey said. “I’ve got a lot to think about… and discuss with my folks.”
“No worries,” Garran told her. “Let me know what you think about trying to surf again, okay?”
“Sure,” Stacey said, putting her hands on the wheels.
“Isn’t that thing motorised?” Garran wanted to know.
“It was,” Dan told him, moving behind the chair and pushing it towards the surf hut’s door, “but someone went and sat on the sand under the jetty, this morning, and the chair got just a little bit wet.”
“Oh. Oh dear. Well, I won’t expect to see you too soon, then,” he said. “You’ll probably be grounded.”
He was right, and Stacey felt her heart sink, as Dan pushed her out of the surf hut and into the bright coastal sunlight. Wade and Jelly followed with Veleia, waving goodbye to Garran as they went.
“Stop by when you can, okay?” Garran said, and Stacey nodded.
“We will,” Dan promised, wheeling Stacey out to the carpark.
“Let us know what you decided about auctioning the board,” the other man called after them, and Stacey waved in response.
She was glad when Dan didn’t stop, but kept pushing her up the street towards home.