Free Twice in a Lifetime by Marta Perry

for. I’ll show you when we get back to the house.”
    Georgia blinked. “What did you do—stay up all night looking for things?”
    “Most of it was right there in your grandfather’s family Bible. The rest—well, I guess I did sit up a mite late. When you’re my age, you don’t need as much sleep as you used to.”
    “Even so—” She stopped, because Miz Callie was clearly not listening.
    Instead, her grandmother was staring landward with a look of outrage on her face. Before Georgia could react, Miz Callie went striding toward the dunes, waving her hat.
    “What do you think you’re doing? Get away from that!” Georgia ran to catch up as Miz Callie approached the people on the dunes. Tourists, she could see at a glance. A sunburned man with a kid in tow. The boy had crawled under the plastic tape that marked off the turtle’s nest and
    was burrowing in the sand. “Stop it, you hear me?”
    The boy kept right on with what he was doing, and the man shot her an annoyed glance. “The kid’s not doing any harm, lady. He just wants to see the turtle eggs.”
    “Get him out of there.” Miz Callie glared at him. “This is a protected area. As the tape clearly shows.”
    “Hey, we’re just trying to see a little nature. Something for him to talk about when he gets home.”
    Miz Callie, apparently too impatient to argue, shoved past the man and tapped the boy. “Out!”
    “Ow! Leave me alone!” The boy, as ill-mannered as his father, swung his shovel at Miz Callie’s arm.
    Her grandmother winced as it landed with a thwack. Georgia stepped over the tape, grasped the boy’s arms and pulled him away from the hole he’d made, avoiding the kick he aimed at her shins.
    “It is a federal crime to interfere with the sea turtles,” she said loudly, drowning out the kid’s yells and the father’s protests. “If you’re not out of here in two minutes, I’m calling the police.”
    That silenced them. The man grabbed his son and pulled him away. With a fulminating glance, he stalked off, the boy wailing his desire to dig up the turtle’s nest.
    Georgia took a deep breath and turned to her grandmother. “Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine, darlin’. Just fine.” She smoothed her hand along her wrist. “The little monster just landed a hit on my bad wrist, that’s all. But you…” She looked at Georgia
    with the beginnings of a smile in her eyes. “Child, you purely tore a strip off them. I didn’t know you had it in you to lose your temper like that.”
    Georgia gave a shaky laugh. “I didn’t, either. I guess when I saw him hit you—”
    “He was a bad kid.” The small voice came from behind them. They’d forgotten Lindsay in the excitement.
    Her grandmother reached for the child and pulled her close in a comforting hug. “Let’s just say he’s been badly brought up. No one has taught him to observe the rules.” Lindsay put her arm around Miz Callie’s waist, as if to assure herself that she was all right. “He didn’t understand
    about the turtles, did he?”
    Georgia grinned. “I see you’ve indoctrinated her already.” “Of course.” She hugged Lindsay. “I’m fine, child. He’ll
    think twice before he bothers a nest again.”
    “Georgia sure told him.” Lindsay’s solemn gaze rested on her, a little more favorably.
    “Well, I tried.” She got down on her knees and crawled under the tape. “Want to help me fix the nest?”
    Nodding, Lindsay crawled in next to her and imitated Georgia’s movements, filling in the hole and smoothing sand over it.
    When they’d finished, they crawled back out again and stood to survey their handiwork.
    “Good job.” She rested her hands on her hips. “Looks just like it should, don’t you think?”
    Lindsay put her own small hands on her hips. “Yes, I do,” she said definitely.
    Georgia suppressed a smile. Maybe Lindsay’s quarrel with her had been overcome.
    That seemed borne out as they started back down the beach. Lindsay