The Summer Girls (34 page)

C
arson woke from a strange dream about her mother with her heart pounding, tears running down her face, and a profound sense of longing. She blinked heavily in the dim light of predawn. In the dream it was foggy and she was swimming through choppy water. Her mother was calling to her but she couldn’t reach her. She hardly ever dreamed of her mother, but this time . . . even awake, it still felt so real.

A strange ear-piercing noise echoed from outside. Was it a bird? Or someone crying? Waking farther, she lifted her head, alert, and sharpened her listening. That was no bird. That was a dolphin’s scream!

Carson whipped back her blanket, thrust her feet into her flip-flops, and tore through the house, out the door. Outside, the dolphin’s screams pierced the air, frantic and fearful. Nothing like she’d ever heard before. As she ran she cried out, “Delphine!”

The sky was overcast and the water was rough with the current and wind. Her heart was pumping hard in her chest as she raced to the end of the dock. She searched but didn’t see the dolphin. Then she froze and listened hard. The screaming was not at the end of the dock at all. It was behind her, nearer the shore. She gripped the railing and looked over the side.

“No!” Her heart rose to her throat at the sight.

Delphine was in shallow water, close to the dock, struggling like she was caught in something. The dolphin saw Carson on the dock and began flapping her tail and screaming louder in a panic. Squinting, Carson could see that the dolphin was ensnared in loops of fishing line, barely able to move. There was so much of it! Like a spider’s web, and Delphine was caught in its center. Two fishing rods were floating in the water beside her. Stepping back, she saw a third was wedged in the railing of the pier.

“Delphine!” she screamed as a thousand thoughts ran through her mind. She brought her hands to her cheeks.
Calm down. Focus,
she told herself. What should she do first?

Carson raced back into the house to the kitchen phone. On the bulletin board, Mamaw had a list of emergency numbers. Then she remembered. Blake. Where was her phone?

“Mamaw!” she cried as she raced down the hall to her room to grab her purse. “Dora! Harper! Someone help!”

She found her phone and her hand shook as she punched in Blake’s number. She heard the phone ring, her heart pounding, and prayed he’d answer. The line picked up.

“Blake?”

“Carson?”

“Come quick. Delphine is caught in the fishing wire. You’ve got to help her!”

“Delphine?”

“The dolphin!”

“Let me get this straight.” His voice was more alert now, focused. “You have a dolphin entangled with fishing line at your dock?”

“Yes. Hurry.”

“How bad is it?”

“Bad. It’s cutting into her flesh.”

“Right. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Carson, listen to me. No heroics. Stay away from it.” He hung up.

Carson could hear Delphine’s screaming. “Forget that,” she muttered, and pulled out the desk drawer as Harper ran into the kitchen.

“What’s going on? God, what’s that god-awful noise?”

“It’s Delphine,” Carson said, grabbing a pair of scissors. She raced back to the water with Harper at her heels. There were sharp pebbles on the shore but she plowed through the cold sand and chilly water without pause.

Harper stopped at the water’s edge. “Carson, don’t go near her.”

Carson ignored her. She was fueled with adrenaline. Delphine, seeing Carson approach, began to squirm.

“I’m here. Shhhh . . . settle down,” Carson called out, slowing down as she drew near Delphine. The dolphin’s watery eyes looked into hers. Carson wanted to cry when she saw the devastating damage. The fine line entangled Delphine from pectoral to dorsal fin to fluke. Every time
the dolphin had to come up for air, she’d strained against the line, forcing the wire to slice deeper into her flesh like a razor. Carson reached out to lift Delphine’s head and hold her blowhole above the water. All around Delphine’s once-pristine, gleaming body she saw lacerations crisscrossing the flesh, so deep the lines were invisible.

Worst of all, though, was her mouth. The crazy-looking hook that Mamaw had given Nate as a joke, the one that looked like a small fish with a freakish eye and two multipronged claw hooks, was deeply embedded in Delphine’s mouth. Carson wanted to scream in fury at seeing the tender flesh ripped to shreds. Blood dripped into the water and Carson knew she had to worry about sharks, as well. She studied the wire and began to cut as many of the lines as she could, but some of them were so knotted and close to the wounds, she thought she’d better leave them for Blake.

“I’m here,” she told Delphine, close to her face. It felt to Carson that the wires were slicing her own heart as well. “Don’t worry. I’m here for you. No matter what, I won’t leave you.”

“Carson!” Harper called with uncertainty from the shore.

“Go keep an eye out for Blake,” Carson called back.

Harper turned on her heel and hurried back toward the house.

Delphine began to calm when the clouds opened up and dumped a pounding deluge of rain. Carson bent over Delphine to shield her blowhole. The pelting rain stung her back like tiny balls of ice. Carson coughed and spat out salt water as the wind swept waves into her face. She wouldn’t
leave Delphine. She had to keep the blowhole above the water.

Mercifully, the cloud was typically fast-moving, on its way from the mainland to the ocean. The driving rain slowed, then dwindled to a faint drizzle. Her thick hair streamed down her face, the salt water stinging her eyes, and her T-shirt clung to her like a second skin, but she didn’t let go. Looking up, she sighed with relief to see the soft light of dawn rising in a pale pink and blue clear sky. She held on to Delphine and prayed it was an omen.

The government-issued jeep skidded to a stop alongside Sea Breeze. Carson looked up from the water and in the distance she saw a door slam and a man leap from the car. Harper was pointing toward the dock. Blake swung a backpack over his shoulder as he trotted down the sandy incline toward the dock.

Mamaw, dressed in a flowing robe, also came running from the house, followed by Dora, still in pajamas. They stepped out of the way as Blake ran past them to the dock. Carson heard the dock reverberating with the weight of the footfalls, echoing below where she stood. Startled, Delphine struggled anew to free herself, causing the monofilament to cut deeper into her skin.

“Down here! Hurry!” Carson called out. At her shouting Delphine squirmed again. “Shhh . . . stop, Delphine,” Carson cried, desperately holding the dolphin’s massive head out of the water. Her arms felt numb and screamed with pain. But
it was nothing compared to the pain she knew Delphine felt. “Please, stop moving. It’s okay. Someone’s here to help. Hang on a little longer.” Her back ached from bending over in the awkward position and her arms were clamped like vises around the rubbery dolphin.

She almost wept with relief when she saw Blake rushing around the dock. He was in his blue NOAA T-shirt. Blake tossed his backpack on the ground and plowed into the water. As he drew near, his dark eyes flashed in fury at seeing her in the water, then swiftly shifted to the dolphin. He cursed when he saw the monofilament line cutting into the dolphin’s flesh.

“What happened?” His voice was rough with worry.

“I heard the dolphin screaming when I woke up,” Carson told him, speaking rapidly. “I came running. I found her all tangled up in the fishing line. That’s when I called you. I cut away as much as I could.”

“What idiot left this line out?” he shouted. “I’ve never seen such a bad case. And this goddamn hook!” He almost sputtered in fury when he bent to investigate the large, multipronged hook deeply embedded in Delphine’s mouth.

He didn’t wait for an answer. He left Carson’s side and pushed through the water to retrieve his pack and dig out his cell phone. His whole body radiated wrath as he stared at the dolphin and talked rapidly on the phone.

“Legare here. I got a dolphin seriously tangled in fishing line. It’s bad. Very bad. Large hook embedded in the mouth. Dolphin’s movements are severely restricted. Deep cuts. I need a vet ASAP. And wet transport. Meanwhile, check
availability for rehab. Location is Sullivan’s Island. Sea Breeze . . . Yeah, that’s the one. How long? . . . He is? Good. This is a priority situation. Thanks.” He put the phone in his bag and came directly back to the dolphin’s side.

“I’ve got this,” he said as his long arms reached under the dolphin in support. “Go on. Carson, take a break. You’re shivering.”

“I’m not leaving her,” Carson said.

Blake returned a firm stare. Gone was the easygoing, smitten man she’d spent the night with. There was no room for flirtation in this man’s demeanor. He was in charge and clearly not happy to see her in the water.

“Look. This is a dangerous situation. With her thrashing, you could get seriously hurt.”

“She wouldn’t hurt me.”

“She wouldn’t, huh?”

“No,” Carson said. “We’re friends. Why can’t you just cut the lines off?”

“They’re too deeply embedded and if I loosen them she might try and swim away. We don’t want to lose her in this condition. She wouldn’t survive with all that line around her. And she’ll need a vet to cut that hook out. Shit, what a bloody mess. He should be here soon.” He squinted his eyes and said with impatience, “Why are we having this conversation? Get out of the water, Carson. It’s not safe.”

He turned his attention back to Delphine, gently stroking her body, her face. He didn’t coo or offer any words of solace. But she did stop fighting and Carson thought that somehow, Delphine understood that Blake cared and was here to help.

Then, as if her words had suddenly sunk in, he turned and asked, “What do you mean, you’re friends?”

“I
know
this dolphin. She comes to the dock.”

“Delphine . . .” he said, repeating the name he’d heard on the phone.

She nodded.

“You don’t
name
a wild animal. That can only lead to something bad, like this.” His voice grew dark with suspicion. “Tell me you didn’t
feed
her.”

Carson felt hunted and looked away from his critical gaze. Her silence was his answer.

“Great,” he shot out. “Damn it. See what you’ve done? This isn’t Flipper. This is a wild animal! You don’t
feed
a wild animal. You don’t
swim
with a wild animal, and you sure as hell don’t
make friends
with a wild animal.”

Carson was stricken. “I know!” she cried. “
Now
. I never thought anything like this could happen.” Looking at Delphine’s ravaged back and listening to her labored exhales, she felt Blake’s words cut as deeply in her mind as the fishing line. “She came on her own. She found
me.
I’d never hurt her.”

“You wouldn’t, huh?”

His words cut so deep she felt her knees weaken. She clamped her eyes shut to keep the tears from coming as she clung tight to Delphine.

His anger diminished somewhat. He took a breath. “I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt her. I don’t believe anyone who feeds a wild dolphin means to hurt it.” He looked down at Delphine in his arms. “But this is what happens.”

Carson couldn’t respond.

Delphine squirmed again, attempting to flap her powerful
tail. With each push the slender, invisible fishing lines dug deep through the flesh like a razor.

“Hold her steady!” Blake shouted, struggling with Delphine’s head.

“I’m trying!” Carson shouted back at him over the dolphin’s body. It was near impossible to restrain Delphine’s power, even wounded. She brought her face close to Delphine’s eyes and murmured soothingly to calm her. “Delphine, it’s going to be all right. We’re going to help you. I won’t leave you.” Delphine responded to her voice and ceased struggling.

“Good. Keep it up. It’s working,” Blake acknowledged.

“I love her,” Carson choked out, looking up into his dark eyes, still so deeply distrustful.

She saw the scorn dissipate in his gaze, but his face was still taut. “I believe you. But frankly, so what?”

“I know. God, I know and I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t stop apologizing. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“We’ll find out after the vet gets here. And I hope it’s soon. Every time she moves, those lacerations get worse.” He glanced up and searched her face. His own reflected worry. “You’re shivering, and your lips are turning blue. Why don’t you get out for a while?”

“No. She’ll get upset if I leave her,” Carson said, even though she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. She felt Delphine’s energy waning as the minutes ticked by. “When are they going to get here?”

“They’ll be here,” he answered. As though in reply, they heard the loud beeping of a truck backing up. He looked over her shoulder. “That’s them now.”

Carson looked up to the house to see a yellow Penske
truck backing in. The rear lights flashed as it parked and the doors swung open. Two young men came running toward them, each wearing a diver’s top over a swimsuit. They were carrying a bright blue stretcher.

“Carson, you can let go now. Go up and get something warm on. You’ll just be in the way.”