HeroAdrift_PRC Read Free Page A

she'd jumped into the water after that little boy. The boy was fine. Oliver had checked with the hospital before leaving the station. He hadn't dropped by the hospital--he'd had more than enough of hospitals lately--but it was good to know the kid was fine. So was the woman.
    He whistled softly thinking about her. Oh man, she was a package all right. After the too-thin bodies that seemed to be everywhere in Miami, this woman had been a sight for his hungry eyes. And, after taking the dive into a river, her figure had been clearly outlined in the pants and blouse she'd worn. He'd never seen a fully-clothed person who actually looked good wearing a regulation P.F.D., but this woman had been close. When he'd boosted her up on the deck of the Comfort , he'd had his hands full of the softest, roundest piece of ass he'd seen in years. Even now, nearly forty-eight hours after the incident, just thinking about it almost gave him a hard-on.
    If that was the kind of action awaiting him here in Buffalo, he could see how this duty was going to be no hardship at all.

    * * * *
    Abby opened her apartment door and stomped out into the entrance hall of her building. What a truly shitty forty-eight hours. First she got wet and cold trying to rescue one of her children, and now it seemed she was on the verge of losing her job.
    One of the parents was threatening to sue the school district over the incident on the boat. It wasn't Billy's parents. They had been more than thankful and grateful for Abby's actions. Even after she told them that she didn't actually rescue Billy--the real hero was the dreamy Coast Guard swimmer--the Borrellis had insisted on playing up her part of the rescue.
    That's what made the lawsuit threat so disheartening. The parents filing the suit claimed they hadn't given permission for their son to go on the trip, and neither had they signed a permission slip. Abby had double and triple-checked the sheets to make sure all the children had signed permission forms, but now those forms couldn't be found. Abby was uncertain if they were still on board the Belle, which was being held for investigation by the Coast Guard, or if they had fallen out of her trip folder on the bus.
    The school board was worried other parents would be jumping on the litigation bandwagon, and Abby knew the board would be meeting tomorrow night in a closed session to discuss the issue. If she'd had a few more years' teaching experience, she could probably weather this storm. But she hadn't been tenured yet, so she didn't have much say in the whole thing.
    It just wasn't fair. She was a great teacher and she loved her job. She'd just been trying to do what was right. She really needed a hero now, but she knew the likelihood of finding one was small. She'd had her brush with true bravery and she still didn't know his name.
    She stepped across the small hall to where the building's mail boxes were and sighed. Maybe there was a way to least learn her hero's name. What would it hurt to call the Coast Guard and see if they'd tell her who he'd was? She had her key in the lock when she felt and heard the swoosh of the outside door opening, followed by the inside foyer's door.
    The man that came in was not one of regular neighbors. Perhaps her prayers would be answered after all.
    It was her Coast Guard hero in the flesh, and he looked even better dry than he had wet. Abby tried to smile and hoped he wouldn't realize she was creaming her panties.
    "It's you!" she said. She hoped he wouldn't think the grin she knew was on her face was sappy.
    He stood strong, tall, proud and, Abby felt like she was two seconds away from being a puddle at his feet.
    "Yes," he said. "I just got up off my shift. We work four days on and four off."
    Abby nodded. She felt she had to say something. But what could she say? She didn't think it would be a good idea to ask him to marry her. Not yet anyway.
    "Do you live here?"
    "I'm 1C," he said, shifting the duffle bag he was carrying