Burned by Rick Bundschuh Page A

Bethany said, beginning to laugh.
    â€œOh, is he up there doing that?” Liam’s brows raised in mock surprise. “See, I do have a gift!” Liam noticed the “oh, really?” look on their faces and conceded. “Okay, okay. What you gotta do is look for the waves that angle in through the pier. They’re the ones that have the long ride. The ones that come straight through tend to close out. It’s all about sandbar here.”
    â€œGot it!” Bethany said with a wink to Malia.
    The bump on the horizon soon appeared, and the girls followed Liam to the takeoff spot right next to a barnacle-encrusted piling.
    The swell racing to the beach swept through the pier at a slight angle, producing the very wave that Liam had talked about.
    â€œGo, Bethany! Go!” Liam shouted.
    â€œBut you’re in the takeoff spot,” Bethany protested.
    â€œSo what! Just go!”
    Bethany took a few strokes and dropped down the glassy face of a perfectly shaped wave. Putting her skills into full throttle, she tore into the wave with arching turns and slashing cutbacks, and ended at the beach with a 360 air.
    From the sand at the top of the pier, cameras clicked.
    â€œThis one is yours, Malia!” Liam shouted.
    Malia smiled and nodded her head in thanks to Liam. Then she spun her board around and within several paddles she was sailing into action, charging down the line using her speed to demolish the smooth, deep-blue wave.
    Bethany watched her friend surf from the shoreline and waited for her to end her ride next to her.
    Both girls peeled off their leashes, wrapped them around their boards and headed toward the sand.
    They got no more than a dozen feet or so when a mob of reporters and camera operators advanced through the soft wet sand, thrusting microphones in their faces.
    â€œIt’s remarkable that a local event would attract a celebrity like you,” a reporter said, pushing his mike toward Bethany. “What made you come?”
    â€œWell, we were invited by a friend. And when we heard about what he was trying to do, we knew we had to be here,” Bethany said.
    â€œAnd just how did you get the idea to give handicapped kids the opportunity to surf? Was it because of your own handicap?” another reporter asked.
    â€œI have a handicap?” Bethany grinned. “Where?” A few of the reporters laughed, and she glanced behind her. “Actually, you should talk to the brains behind this. Where is Liam?”
    Liam had quietly walked behind the girls. His blond hair jetted off in different directions, and his skinny frame looked a bit more bulky in the thick wet suit. Bethany couldn’t help thinking he looked better somehow than the first time she met him. More confident, maybe. She smiled at him as the cameras and microphones turned his way.
    â€œAre you the one who organized this terrific event?”
    â€œWell, not just me,” Liam answered honestly. “There are a lot of people who help to make something like this happen. People who really know how to organize — people who helped sponsor us. I just kinda came up with the idea and other people took it from there.”
    â€œCan you tell us how the idea came about?” another reporter asked.
    â€œI got the idea after a trip to Samoa,” Liam said, glancing towards Bethany and Malia. “It just occurred to me that the fun of surfing was something that should be given to others to enjoy too. Not long after I came home, I saw a kid in a wheelchair and I said to myself, ‘That kid will never surf.’ And then I got to thinking, ‘Why not?’ Then one thing led to another, and here we are.”
    Liam paused for a second and then said, “Ya gotta excuse me. We’re going to start up things in a few minutes.”
    As Liam, Bethany, and Malia made their way up from the water’s edge, they could hear the news reporter speaking into her microphone: “We are here