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don’t stick around to make sure the eggs hatch, Izzie.”
    â€œBut something could dig ’em up and eat the babies. They could get lost after they hatch and never find their mama. We’ve got to protect ’em.”
    Caroline looked over Izzie’s head at him.
    Weston cleared his throat. “We need to let nature take its course. Not interfere, Izzie. They’ll hatch or they won’t, with or without us.”
    â€œNo, Daddy.” Izzie jutted her hip. “God put those turtle babies on our beach for us to help them.”
    â€œI’m going to need your help, Izzie, in lots of ways.” She fingered the stack of bracelets on her wrist. “It’s extremely rare for a Kemp’s ridley to lay eggs anywhere other than Mexico. To my knowledge, this may only be the second case we’ve discovered. The first documented nest was found across the bay in 2008.”
    He caught the excitement in her voice. “So this is a big deal? We’re making history.”
    Caroline smiled.
    His stomach turned over as those melted chocolate eyes of hers melted him.
    â€œIt is a big deal. A very big deal.”
    Caroline squeezed Izzie’s hand. “We’re going to need to put stakes around the nest and markers. Because Kemp’s ridleys are so endangered, it’s important that we monitor the nest for the next few months of incubation to ensure that the hatchlings have the best chance of survival.”
    She moistened her lips. “I’m afraid I may wear out my welcome on your beach before it’s over.”
    He broadened his shoulders. “You won’t wear out your welcome with us, I promise.”
    â€œIt’s so exciting, isn’t it?” Izzie threw her arms around Caroline’s waist.
    Caroline staggered, but hugged Izzie back. The turtle lady, he decided, was good with children. Or at least, with his child.
    â€œI can’t wait to tell Max.”
    Caroline’s smile faltered. She let go of Izzie. “The fewer people trampling the beach, the better chance the eggs have for hatching. We’ll need to erect a wire cage to fend off raccoons and foxes.”
    â€œBy we, you mean me?”
    The smile returned to her lips.
    His breath stutter-stepped. It could become addictive bringing a smile to the turtle lady’s face. He also decided maybe his initial impression of Caroline had been off base. Perhaps she was more bark than bite.
    â€œIf you wouldn’t mind...”
    Mind? He blinked. It took him a second to refocus. Oh, right. She was talking about the cage.
    â€œWhat about me, Caroline? What can I do?”
    She smoothed Izzie’s hair. “I’ll need your dad’s help in loading the turtle into the kiddy pool in my car. But then it’s going to take a gazillion gallons of water to fill the pool enough to transport the turtle. And that’s where you come in.”
    Izzie quivered from her sand-encrusted toes to the top of her unruly red hair. “I can do that. I’m good at filling buckets. Will Turtle Mama be okay?”
    Caroline made eye contact with his daughter. “I’m going to have to do surgery to remove the hook and repair her flipper, but there are no guarantees, Izz.”
    â€œLike in life,” he interjected.
    Caroline’s lips thinned. “Exactly.”
    She moved her car as close as she could to the beach without damaging the fragile dune biosphere. With a great deal of effort—mostly his and Caroline’s—they managed to shift the turtle from the beach and into the SUV. Izzie darted ahead of them and returned, looping them as they shouldered the hundred-pound turtle over the dune.
    Teeth gritted, he muscled the primeval creature into the kiddy pool in the back of the vet’s vehicle. “You do this on a regular basis by yourself?” he grunted.
    â€œUsually the grad students help. Good thing Kemp’s ridleys are the smaller sized among sea turtles