Beachcombing

Note: This was a one shot fanfiction for the #ABPChallenge on tumblr. I will attempt to write more and expand the story.

Alaskan beaches were quite different from the sandy dune beaches back home in South Carolina. Everything about Alaska was different but that was the point of relocating. She needed to leave the familiarity of home and family and find her oen way in the world. The dart that she had thrown at the map had landed on Juneau, Alaska but the teaching assignment that she had landed was for a smaller town called Hoonah. After searching online, she had secured a position as a teaching assistant in the local school system. It was hard to leave the hot summers and mild winters of the south for such a remote place but it was only a nine month contract and time had flown by faster than she expected. She had tacked on an extra three months stay so she could discover Alaska and all its treasures.

As she hugged the last of her students goodbye for the school year, she looked forward to what her summer break would offer in the way of adventure.

Today, she found herself exploring the beach in Hoonah. With the rise and fall of the tide, she never knew what she was going to find. She searched for sea glass, shells and drift wood carefully placing her finds in her small hand basket as she meandered down the beach. She had an affinity for all things natural and of the earth.

She wasn't paying much attention to where she stepped and that's what got her stuck in a mudhole. The harder she tried to pull her galoshes out, the more mired in the mud she became. She struggled for nearly fifteen minutes trying to free her boots but wasn't making any progress on extricating herself.

Bam had watched her from the deck of the Integrity as she wandered down the beach. She had smiled and waved in passing as he had acknowledged her presence with a nod. He thought he had recognized her from town. At least, she looked familiar. He had followed behind her watching her from a distance waiting for the right opportunity to speak to her.

Seemingly that opportunity had arisen as he watched her struggle to free herself from her predicament.

"Looks like you've gotten yourself stuck in the mud." His voice carried out to where she was planted. She was relieved to see someone had stumbled upon her.

"It looks like that, doesn't it?" She replied struggling to free herself.

"Could you use a hand getting unstuck?" He carefully surveyed the situation from where he stood.

"If it's not too much trouble, I would be much obliged for the rescue."

"That accent is definitely not Alaskan."

"Carolina. South Carolina."

"So what's a Carolina girl doing here?"

"I was beachcombing today."

He chuckled. "No, I mean how did you come here?"

"Teaching job. And a little adventure."

"Looks like the adventure started today."

"Can you pull me out?"

"That all depends."

"Depends on what?"

"On whether you agree to have lunch with me?"

"And if I say no?" She asked.

He pretended to turn. "Could be a long wait for someone else to come by."

"No wait! What's your name?"

"Bam. Bam Brown."

"You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Brown."

"So, it's a deal?"

"Yes, Mr. Brown. You have a deal."

Bam managed to find several long pieces of wood that he used as a makeshift bridge to reach her. He extended his hand to hers and pulled her right out of her galoshes. He carefully led her back to solid ground and returned to rescue her pink galoshes and carefully washed them off in a nearby tidepool.

"Thank you, Mr. Brown."

"It's just Bam. My dad is Mr. Brown."

She extended her hand to shake his. "I'm Mercy. Mercy Reid."

She couldn't see his eyes because they were hidden behind dark sunglasses. "Hey, you're the guy from the boat."

He smiled and replied, "Guilty as charged."

"Were you following me?"

"Guilty on all counts." Bam swapped his dark shades for his regular glasses. He peered into her basket admiring her beach finds. "Collect any thing interesting today?"

"Well," Mercy hesitated, "Maybe just one thing."

Taylor Swift-You Belong With Me