How To Save A Life

by Andria Large

  HOW TO SAVE A

  LIFE+

  BY ANDRIA LARGE

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  How To Save A Life

  Copyright © 2016 by Andria Large.

  All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, distributed, or used in any manner whatsoever, via the Internet, electronic, or print, without the express written permission of the authors, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For more information, or information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the author: http://www.AuthorAndriaLarge.com

  Edited by: Megan Hershenson

  Cover Design by: Jena Brignola

  First Edition, 2016

  Please note: Andria Large acknowledges the copyrighted items named in the novel, How To Save A Life. The author does not own the right to the products, songs, or brands that are mentioned in this story.

  Also by Andria Large:

  The Beck Brothers Series:

  Henry

  Sebastian

  Quinn

  Christian

  Renegade Series:

  Sweet Renegade

  Wild Renegade

  Irresistible Renegade (Coming Soon)

  War Trilogy:

  At War

  War Torn

  War Wounded (2.5)

  At Peace

  A Taboo Love Series:

  Hey There, Delilah…

  Unmasking Charlotte

  Crossing The Line

  Standalones:

  Hammer & Nails

  How To Save A Life

  Blurb

  How do you save someone’s life?

  There’s the obvious way of physically saving them from a tragic end.

  Then there’s the more subtle way of saving someone who doesn’t know they need to be saved. Someone who is drowning emotionally and has no idea that they are slowly dying.

  Ezra Whitmore is one of those people. After tragically losing his wife, he’s still going through the motions, but not really living. All he has now is his son, Spencer, and his career as a dentist. The life he thought he was going to have has been torn apart. The things he had once enjoyed no longer feel the same without the person he had shared everything with.

  That is, until Ferris Jenkins crashes into his life. Not only does the lifeguard save his son from literally drowning in the ocean, but he also slowly starts to bring Ezra back to life.

  As soon as Ferris lays eyes on Ezra, he can’t get the gorgeous dentist out of his head. He knows nothing will ever happen between them because…well, Ezra is straight and he’s gay. You can imagine Ferris’ surprise when Ezra gets drunk one night, kisses him, and admits that he’s always been attracted to guys. This gives Ferris hope that maybe, just maybe, he can land the man of his dreams.

  ***Warning: You know the drill! For mature audiences only. Contains some graphic m/m sex scenes. Please remember that this is a work of fiction and comes from my own imagination.

  Acknowledgements

  I just want to take a moment to thank some people who have been a constant throughout my writing career:

  My editor, Megan, who I'd be lost without. Not only does she make sure my grammar, punctuation, and spelling are correct, but she's also the person I bounce ideas off of, the one who helps me work out a tough scene, and my "Well, what if you do this instead," person. Without her, my stories would probably be crap.

  My hubby, Eric, who gives me nothing but support and encouragement. I can't even begin to express how lucky and grateful I am to have such an understanding husband. He is always there for me when I need him. I definitely could not do what I do without having him back me. He is also good at promoting me! He carries around my business cards and hands them out to whoever is interested. That's love, people!

  My beta readers! You know who you are! They give me the constructive criticism I need to make my stories better, to help them flow, to fix things in the plot that I might have missed. I trust them to give it to me straight up and they always come through for me.

  You! Yes, you! Without you, I would not be here. I can't thank you all enough for believing in me and loving my stories. There is no way I can begin to tell you how much it means to me to have so many of you return for every new story. I'm humbled by it all. I love you to pieces!

  Table Of Contents

  Copyright

  Also by Andria Large

  Blurb

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  About The Author

  CHAPTER

  ONE+

  EZRA

  The sharp, high-pitched trill of the lifeguard’s whistle draws my attention away from the murder mystery novel that I’m reading. My son, Spencer, and I decided it was a great day for the beach, so we set up shop early and planned to spend the day. Spencer said that he was going to go for a swim in the ocean about fifteen minutes ago. I wanted to get in some reading time, so Spencer went off into the water by himself; he’s a big boy at 14 now, and he knows how to swim. Plus, I’m keeping an eye on him, looking up from my book every so often to make sure he doesn’t drift too far down the beach like people tend to do when they are in the ocean.

  One of the two lifeguards jumps from their perch and sprints toward the water with his red flotation can. Scanning the water, I look for Spencer. Unable to see him, I close my book and stand, tossing the book back onto my towel that I was sitting on, a speck of worry forming in my gut. Where is he?

  I turn my gaze toward the lifeguard swimming out to save whoever needs help. The lifeguard ends up swimming out pretty far before he dives under the water, leaving only his can on the surface of the water. A few seconds later, he emerges, bursting up past the surface. He’s holding someone around their chest, a kid…a boy, who is lifeless in his arms. My heart slams to a stop when I realize that it’s Spencer.

  As the lifeguard starts to swim back toward the beach, I take off running, my heart now pounding furiously in my chest. Please, God, let him be alive!

  Racing into the water, I meet the lifeguard in the surf. The lifeguard stands, lifting Spencer from under his arms. I grab his legs and help carry him up the beach where we lay him down on the hard sand. The lifeguard and I drop to our knees on either side of him.

  “Oh, Jesus,” I croak as the lifeguard goes about assessing him.

  “Are you his father?” The blond-haired lifeguard, who just saved my son, asks.

  “Yes,” I answer.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Spencer.”

  “How old is he?”

  “14.”

  The lifeguard bends over Spencer’s face, practically putting his ear on Spencer’s mouth as he looks down his body.

  “He’s not breathing,” the lifeguard states. “Krista! Call the medics!” he yells to his co-worker before tilting Spencer’s head back to open his airway, pinches his nose, and breathes into his mouth.

  I take Spencer’s limp hand. “Come on
, buddy, breathe,” I urge. I can’t lose my son. I’ve already lost my wife, I can’t bare to lose him, too.

  The lifeguard keeps breathing for Spencer while we wait for the medics to come. After about the fifth breath, Spencer sputters. The lifeguard quickly rolls him onto his side so he can wretch, throwing up all of the water that he must have swallowed.

  Relief washes over me, making me sag, my ass dropping back onto my heels. “Thank God,” I breathe.

  The lifeguard keeps Spencer on his side and leans down to talk to him, gently petting his hair. “Hey, Bud, can you tell me your name?”

  “Spencer,” he rasps quietly in reply.

  “Awesome, dude. Listen, your dad is right here, but I need you to stay put, an ambulance is on its way to take you to the hospital, okay?”

  Spencer nods slightly.

  “Great. I’m going to stay here with you, too. My name is Ferris.”

  +

  FERRIS

  I glance up at Spencer’s father. The guy looks a wreck, understandably so, his son almost drowned. His dark brown hair is flopping down over his forehead and his jaw is covered in a few days worth of stubble. He has full lips and a straight nose. His eyes are hidden behind aviator sunglasses, but I can still tell he’s a damn good-looking guy. Which is totally inappropriate right now.

  “Shit,” the guy curses and rakes a sandy hand through his hair, shoving it back off his forehead only for it to flop right back down. “I need to go and get our things before the ambulance comes. Is that okay?” he asks.

  “Absolutely, Spencer is good here with me,” I assure him.

  “Okay. Be right back, Spence,” he murmurs and gives his son’s arm a squeeze.

  I watch as he pushes to his feet and quickly turns to go and get their things. The guy is built really nice, like an athlete. Broad shoulders, defined chest, and washboard abs; can’t get any better than that. Again, inappropriate. Get it together, Ferris.

  Spencer’s dad comes back just as the medics arrive. He now has on a T-shirt and has a backpack slung over his shoulder. The medics put Spencer on a backboard, talking to him and asking him questions as they go. I stand and step back to let them do their jobs.

  “I’m Ezra, by the way,” Spencer’s dad says to me. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful I am for you saving my son’s life,” he says sincerely and shakes my hand.

  “You’re welcome, Ezra. Best of luck to you both,” I reply with a smile.

  Ezra gives me a nod before following the medics to their truck. From here, they will drive them up to the ambulance, which is most likely waiting on the street for them. I think Spencer got caught in an undertow. I was actually watching him jumping and riding waves, and when I noticed him getting farther and farther out, I let out a short whistle to call him back in, but realized shortly after that he was having trouble getting back. Spencer most likely became very fatigued and just couldn’t keep himself afloat. I got to him just as he went under; he wasn’t out for too long, so I doubt he has any brain damage. I’m sure that he will be just fine.

  +

  EZRA

  “He’s doing fine, Mom. They’re just keeping him overnight for observation…yes, they said I can stay with him. Okay, I’ll tell him. Love you, too, bye,” I say and hang up the phone.

  I look over at Spencer, who is lying in the hospital bed watching TV.

  “Grandmom says hi and love you,” I tell him.

  Spencer smiles, glancing at me. “Okay.”

  “How you feeling, Bud?” I ask, moving to sit down on the bed next to him.

  “I feel fine,” Spencer replies.

  “Good, good.”

  Spencer mutes the TV and turns to look at me. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

  I shake my head and wrap an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in close.

  “You scared the crap out of me, but you’re okay now, and that’s all that matters,” I murmur softly and plant a kiss on his temple. “Can you tell me what happened out there?”

  “I think I got caught in an undertow because I kept trying to swim back in and was getting no where. My legs got so tired from trying to keep myself above the water that I got to the point where I just couldn’t do it anymore, no matter how badly I wanted to.”

  I nod and blow out a breath. “Gotcha.”

  I hope I sound nonchalant because I don’t want to upset him, but holy fuck! I can’t imagine how scared he must have been out there because just hearing him talk about it now has my heart racing.

  I give my son a hug. Poor kid has been through so much this past year with his mother passing away, us moving into a different house, and now this. And then there is the fact that Spencer told me just a few months ago that he’s gay. As I sit here with my son, I remember the conversation:

  I set a plate of pancakes down in front of Spencer, who gives me a tight smile and a whispered, “Thanks.”

  “Everything okay, Spence?” I ask him, knowing by his mannerisms that something is bothering him.

  “I…I need to talk to you about something, but I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it,” Spencer says hesitantly.

  I turn off the stove and put down the spatula before going and sitting across from my boy at the table. “You can tell me anything, Bud, you know that.”

  Spencer nods. “Yeah, I know, but this is serious.”

  “Okay, well, lay it on me and then we’ll go from there.”

  I watch as he struggles internally, probably trying to find the right words to say what he has to say. His dark brown hair is a mess since he hasn’t brushed it yet. He’s tall and thin for his age, but he’s been going to the gym with me to try and bulk up a little so he’s not as skinny. I was built the same way when I was his age, so I understand completely. He also has my light blue eyes that clash and stand out from our dark hair and olive complexion.

  “I’ve been…I find myself looking and finding guys attractive instead of girls.” Spencer says, stumbling with his words.

  I blink at him. Okay, not what I expected to hear, but I can handle this. “So, you think you're gay?” I ask encouragingly. All kinds of emotions boil up from the depths that I’d banished them to. He’s reminding me so much of myself at his age right now that it’s making my stomach churn.

  Spencer nods, keeping his eyes downcast.

  “Hey, Spence, look at me,” I say firmly.

  Spencer lifts his glassy gaze to meet mine. I give him a soft, sympathetic smile. “There is nothing wrong with that. You can’t help who you’re attracted to. Will it be harder for you? Yes. But that doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. And society is gradually becoming more accepting, but there will always be the people who won’t accept you. I love you either way, and your mom would have, too.”

  Spencer lets out a half-cry, half-laugh before getting up from the table and throwing himself into my arms. I try to swallow past the lump in my throat and try to once again bury those feelings that I could never completely conceal.

  We’ve talked about it a couple of other times since then and I’ve even teased him a little bit about who he thought was cute in the celebrity world. I'm going to look for someone who can help him build up his self-confidence, and show him that it’s okay to be who he is without caring what other people think of him. Maybe a support group or something. God knows I’m not the best person to help him with that. I can’t even help myself. I need to do some research to see if there are places in the area that I can take Spencer to introduce him to other gay teens.

  I’ll worry about that later. Right now, we need to get through the night and get out of the hospital. My motto is to take everything one day at a time. There is no use in worrying about what’s going to happen in the future because the future is uncertain. Live for today like there is no tomorrow. That’s exactly how I plan on living the rest of my life…as soon as I can pick up the pieces that are shattered all over the ground.

  +

  FERRIS

  I lounge back on the li
feguard stand, lacing my fingers behind my head as I watch the people in the water. It’s early still so there aren’t that many yet. It’s a bit overcast today, which means there will probably be less people on the beach. My partner in crime, Krista, is sitting next to me, her hands folded in her lap as she watches the water also.

  “You think that kid from yesterday is doing okay?” Krista asks.

  “Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine. I got him breathing fairly quickly.”

  “True. You did good.” She grins.

  I smile. “Thanks.”

  Krista is a beautiful girl. She's shorter than me at 5’5”, with blonde hair, and brown eyes. She's got a nice smile and the kind of build most women envy; she's got an athletic figure with toned legs and arms, but she's also very dainty and feminine.

  “The dad was totally your type, too,” she muses, bumping me with her elbow.

  Krista likes to rib me whenever she gets the chance. She even tries playing matchmaker every so often. We’ve been best friends since we went through lifeguard training together about three years ago.

  I roll my eyes. “Shut the hell up. And not trying to sound stereotypical, but he has a kid, which means he is most likely straight and married.”

  “There wasn’t a woman with them yesterday,” Krista points out.

  “Maybe they were having a guys day,” I suggest.

  “Yeah, true.” Krista deflates.

  “He was totally my type, though.” I chuckle, making her laugh. “Did you see the body on him? Damn. Wish I could have seen his eyes; he looked like the kind of guy who has really pretty eyes.”

  “I think you’re due to get laid,” Krista mumbles, shaking her head. “Talking about pretty eyes on a guy,” she harrumphs.