Guard the Heart

Chapter One

Chapter One: Kim

"But why can't I jump from this side of the pool?" the little boy asked for what seemed like the millionth time.

Kim bent down to his level, putting on her best smile. "I already told you why. This side is just for the lifeguards to watch the people from. You're not allowed to jump off of here because that's the rule."

"What if I jump really quickly?" He shook his blonde mop of hair away from his forehead. "Then no one will see."

His grin was so bright it almost hurt to say no. "I'm sorry. You can't."

The boy jutted out his lower lip, quivering. His eyes grew glossy, and for a moment, she was terrified about the prospect of him crying—at least, until she noticed a heavyset middle-aged woman marching over to them.

"Excuse me," said the woman. "Is there a problem here?"

It would've been a relief to say that this was the first time something like this has happened to her, but unfortunately, it wasn't. Kim brushed back long strands of blonde hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ears.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," she said in her most polite voice. "I was simply saying that this side of the pool is off limits. He isn't allowed to jump into the water from this end."

Before the mom even had time to respond, her son wailed, "Mom! I want to—"

"Devon." The mom caught hold of her son's wrist and yanked him away from her. "If the lifeguard says you can't, then you can't. Listen to her—and the rest of them. They know what's best for you..." Her voice trailed off as she led the boy back to the chair she'd been sitting at before.

That crisis was averted, Kim thought in relief. That could've ended worse than it did. She was ready to take her position back on the lifeguard chair again when the whistle blew for another shift change. Kim glanced down at the watch she kept on her wrist to keep track of time on days like this. It was 12:48 in the afternoon—time for her lunch break. Thank the freaking Lord.

She only waited for the next lifeguard—a short girl with unruly red hair surrounding her round face—to take her spot before padding over to the lunch cart. Almost none of the tables were filled, due to the parents' concern over the children eating while swimming, and she easily found a place to eat in the corner with the sandwich she snagged.

Kim had only eaten half of it when someone slid into the seat across from her. "Rough day?" the voice inquired.

"Tell me about it." She groaned, way too loudly to sound remotely normal.

Chris worked here in the same way Kim did, lifeguarding and watching over the masses that flocked to the clear waters, even at the cost of their own sanity. Even from her first day going through the tests for acceptance into becoming an actual lifeguard, Chris was more than open with her and constantly invited her over to sit with him for no real reason. He was simply Chris—not particularly handsome, but particularly funny.

"Just another day in Kimberly Palmer's life," he said, reaching over to snatch some of her chips. She barely swatted his hand away before he withdrew his arm, grinning. "What happened today?"

"You mean besides the fact that I had to tell some twelve year old he's too tall to ride on the kiddy slide? Or that I had to explain to an angry mother that she should bring sunscreen for her kids so they don't burn, and that we don't supply it here? Or what just happened—a little four year old argued with me about jumping from the side of the pool? They were all equally terrible, so take your pick."