Eye Of The Storm - DK3 (44 page)

“Uh huh. Mrs. Roberts?” Kerry looked up. “Please. Try not to point it at anything pink, okay?”

Ceci chuckled. “Oh no. I’m not taking that thing. The last time I had my hands on a spear gun…”

“You shot a Kodiak out from under Dad,” Dar’s voice drifted down, a note of amusement in her tone. “Glad the hull’s fiberglass on this one.”

The atmosphere tangibly relaxed, as the sun rose and the ocean’s 240
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spray doused them. “That’s right,” Ceci admitted. “And I’m really glad I was far enough away to only puncture the bottom lining and not anything more…um,” Andy’s eyes widened and his grizzled brows rose,

“more sensitive.”

Kerry laughed at the look on Andy’s face. “Okay. So, we’ve got a gauge, we’ve got a spear gun. What else?” She pulled out a large yellow object. “Wh—”

“That is a light,” Andy growled. “And before you go telling me it’s daytime out, young lady, Ah am going to use it to hunt out some spiny critters.”

“Right,” Kerry agreed, with an impish smile.

“Do you not have your own stuff to check out?”

She took the hint. “Okay. I have to put the batteries in my flippers anyway.”

Andy sighed. “Lord. Ah will never live this down,” he grumbled. “If any of the guys saw me down there with that glow in the dark getup…”

“I’d distract them for you, honey.” Ceci planted a kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll tell them about your silk undies,” she whispered in his ear.

A deep, aggrieved, sigh. “Might as well get me one of them pink wetsuits.”

THE BOAT ROCKED very gently on the surface as Dar leaped over the railing and landed in the shallow water with a splash. She waded through the hip deep sea and tied the boat off securely to the wooden pylon she’d brought out there so many years before.

A seagull watched her from the sandy shore and she flipped a bit of wood at him before she turned and started back, stretching her arms out into the warm sun. On board the boat, Kerry stood in her phosphorescent glory, pale head cocked to one side as she watched Dar’s parents suit up.

She turned as Dar approached, and went to move the ladder over the side, but Dar waved her back, grabbed the railing, and pulled herself aboard. “Nice day.”

“Boy, is it.” Kerry smiled with enthusiasm. “Nice and calm, no clouds. It’s going to be gorgeous down there.” She hefted her newest toy, an underwater camera, then set it on the bench. “Help me get this on?”

Dar lifted her tank and BC as she got into it, then adjusted the hoses as Kerry wrapped the waist strap around her and buckled the front stays.

“Whoops. Forgot the weight belt.”

“I’ve got it.” Dar picked up the web belt studded with pink weights and circled Kerry with her arms, handing her the ends in front. “There you go.”

“Thanks.” Kerry buckled the belt and hopped up and down a bit, shifting her shoulders to settle the weight of the tank. It was heavy, of course. Fully charged with compressed air the tank weighed close to thirty pounds and, added to the seven or eight pounds of her BC and regulator and the twelve pounds on her weight belt, it felt like she was an
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argonaut of old, in their metal shoes, waiting to descend into the depths.

Dar slipped on her own belt and tightened it, then crouched and got her arms into her BC and buckled it, then stood, leaning forward a little until she had all the straps fastened. Then she straightened and watched her father fussing over her mother’s new gear. “Dad, this isn’t a Cousteau expedition.”

“Aw, put yer head in the water, Dardar.” Andrew adjusted a gauge for the fourth time.

Cecilia patted her side and gave him a faintly amused look. “Andy, I really do remember how to do this.” She edged away from his tinkering and sat down on the back bench and looked down. “Oh…look, a barracuda!”

“Wh—?” Andrew moved his wetsuited body over and searched the water. “Lemme check that out.” He vaulted over the end of the boat and disappeared under the water with a remarkably small splash.

Dar regarded the ripples, then picked up her father’s gear and set it on the wooden platform she’d had built on to the back of the boat, making it easier to enter and exit the water. She flipped the diving ladders down into the surf and gave her mother a look. “Barracuda, huh?”

Cecilia pushed her silver blonde hair back. “Mmhmm.”

“C’mon, Ker.” Dar held back a chuckle, as she fitted her mask on and picked up her fins. “Let’s get wet.”

Kerry joined her at the back of the boat. “Don’t you think we’d better wait for your father to check out that barracuda?” She watched Dar go to the platform and slip her fins on, then put a hand over her mask and step off into the water. “I guess not.”

“There wasn’t really one,” Ceci volunteered, with a wry smile. “I just wanted a few minutes to put my mask on.”

Kerry blinked. “Oh.” She held her camera and put a hand over her own mask. “Overprotective huh?”

“Just a little.” Dar’s mother smiled. “In a nice kind of way.”

“I know.” Kerry nodded. “It’s hereditary.” She took a step off the boat and entered the water, the pleasantly cool shock quickly fading to a familiar, comfortable weather.

Another reason not to dive in Michigan. Even in summer it didn’t come close to the eighty-five degrees she was now descending in.

Kerry released her mask and looked around, adjusting to the always odd sensation of being completely underwater quickly. The sun cut through the waves and the visibility was very good, providing her with an excellent view all around her at greens and blues, and ochres, cut through by fish and the irregular surface of the sea bottom under her. She spotted Dar floating nearby, reclining in the water with her knees half bent and her hands folded on her stomach. Periodically, a small stream of bubbles emerged from her regulator, and behind the silvered glass of her mask, Kerry could see the blue eyes roving with interest around her.

Getting used to the regulator was the hardest part. It was a soft rubber mouthpiece that fit between her teeth, providing air on demand when 242
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she inhaled through her mouth. The air was dry, and the biggest problem Kerry had with the entire affair was getting very thirsty.

Ironic. Here she was, totally immersed in water and her biggest worry was where to get a drink.

Dar motioned her over and pointed to a dark form that was moving through the water back towards the boat. Kerry adjusted her gear again, loosened in the different stress of the water, and swam towards her lover, turning her head to watch Andrew approach, take one last look around then head for the surface with liquid, undulating motions.

Wow.
Kerry ended up next to Dar, and unfastened her writing slate and underwater crayon. She scribbled on the surface quickly. He’s like a fish.

Dar nodded, tendrils of escaped hair bobbing. She cupped her hand and made a swimming motion, then pointed as her father reentered the water with her mother right behind him. He had his gear on now, a mini-malist rig that was mostly padded straps and pockets, with a streamlined tank. It was all black, of course, as were his fins and mask, and he moved through the water in a totally natural way.

Surprisingly, Cecilia looked also very much at home, despite the fact that it must have been years since she’d done this. She adjusted her gear much the way Kerry had, then started off, peering around with interest and obvious enjoyment.

Your mom is having fun.

Dar couldn’t really smile, with the regulator in place. She took the slate. It was the one part of his world she could share fully.

Ah.
Kerry nodded in understanding. Then Dar moved closer, took the slate back, and tucked it into its Velcro fastening at her hip. She turned to find a tiny mouthpiece held out to her. Attached to it was a tube, which went to a slim pack she’d thought was extra padding around the back of Dar’s tank. Curious, she spit out her regulator and fitted the soft rubber inside her mouth, then cautiously sucked on it, her courage rewarded with cool, sweet water. “Rgle!” She looked at Dar in delight.

Dar looked smugly pleased with herself and her new toy. She waited for Kerry to finish her drink then she rolled over in the water and swam over the reef towards a thick cluster of the colorful rocks where schools of fish swarmed.

Kerry exhaled in wonder, as the sun’s rays cut through the sea and lit up the reef like something out of a dream. She lifted her camera up and took a few lazy shots, then let a bit of air out of her BC to sink closer to the living coral.

Never touch it.
Dar had drilled that into her, and as she swam along a foot over the reef, she caught the motion of her lover tucking her trailing gear up so it wouldn’t strike the fragile surface. She slowed her pace and watched the rock with interest, spotting a tiny bit of motion and peering closer to see the almost clear, tiny shrimp skittering over the surface. A silver shape came into view and she turned her head to see a clown fish chasing a tiny purple and orange fellow by, as a flat, omipototent grouper
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observed, swimming slowly past Kerry with a wary eye on her.

Ooo.
A school of silver fish, tiny and nervous came right at her and she went still, letting them split around her, their tiny bodies brushing with the lightest of touches over her skin. A touch on her arm distracted her and she followed Dar’s tug towards one side of the reef, looking where the taller woman pointed.

A ray. Not just a little one either, six feet wide at the least and settled into the silt, depending on camouflage to prevent its being eaten. Dar pulled her closer, and she put a hand out very tentatively when her companion did, touching the surface of the ray with nervous fingers. It was soft, almost velvety, and she could feel the flinch as the ray felt the contact.

Dar floated closer, running her hands along the animal’s back and over the rounded edge of the front of its fins, surprised when the ray decided to vacate its nest for quieter waters. It lifted off the sand and moved away powerfully, taking the human that was annoying it along with it.

Kerry focused quickly and snapped off a few shots of the ray towing Dar, until it settled to the ground again and Dar released her hold, floated up and turned around with both thumbs up. A motion caught her attention again and she turned in the water to watch Dar’s parents exploring the other end of the reef, with Ceci floating delicately over the rocks and Andrew circling around her with his supple, relaxed movements. Kerry noticed they’d left the spear gun behind.

They drifted closer together, then Dar suddenly ducked towards the rock, grabbed something, then headed for her father. Andrew looked up and spotted what she was holding, then back-finned, shaking a finger at her in mock warning. Kerry swam closer, then realized it was a lobster in Dar’s hand. One with tiny, grasping claws she was aiming right towards Andy.

He tumbled in the water, then flipped over and tried to get behind his daughter, who rolled right with him, plopping the lobster right against his chest.

The lobster, strangely, resented this, and grabbed and flapped, making the ex-SEAL squirm in mid-water, batting at the creature with his hands until it swam off, glaring daggers at Dar with its beady little stalked eyes.

Dar had exactly ten seconds to laugh, then she had to make a hole in the water, because she had a tall, dangerous looking creature coming after her, aiming to do scurrilous things to her unprotected kneecaps. Dar took off, racing ahead of her pursuer with powerful strokes in a curving path around the reef.

Kerry stayed in the middle of the curve, resting on her back in the water and snapping shots of the action as it progressed. Andrew was faster, due to his longer length and powerful kick, but Dar was more flexible and she turned and whirled in mid-stroke so quickly he kept missing her when he lunged. Ceci found an empty spot of sea bottom to perch on 244
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and watched, shaking her head slowly as her husband and child tumbled around like a pair of demented manatees.

Kerry took a few shots of her, then swam over, settled on the silt and tucked her hands around her knees. Ceci turned her head, then lifted a hand and opened it, revealing a beautiful cone shaped shell, covered in what looked like hieroglyphs.

Kerry took a picture of it, then glanced up to see gray eyes watching her with reserved interest. She pulled out her slate. It’s nice today.

Ceci nodded in agreement then took the slate. The only thing it lacks is ice tea.

Kerry grinned and held up a finger, then handed the older woman her camera and dove into the chase above her.

NOBODY WAS REALLY sure whose idea the campfire was. But the island provided enough dry, fragrant wood to make one and the sandy ground seemed safe enough to light it on. They’d taken hunks of dead coral, though, just in case and made a circle around the flames.

It was an almost surreal scene,
Ceci decided. A tiny island in the middle of the coastal Atlantic, with a view on one side of nothing but black sea broken only by the faint buoy lights. On the other side, the skyline of the city spread to either side, the lights of the beach hotels going north and the outlines of the city buildings to her south.

Above her, the stars floated, obscured by clouds drifting by, and far off against the horizon a storm was brewing, where intermittent lightning burst into view.

It was gorgeous. She leaned against an amiable palm tree and felt the warm sand between her toes, as the breeze brought a whiff of the spicy, boiling mixture in the pot they’d jury rigged over the fire, filled with fresh things captured from the nearby water.

Dar sloshed up out of the water, adding one last thing to the pot with a piratical grin. “Got one.” She pulled her mask off and continued on, dropping her snorkel and mesh bag on a towel and hesitating, then taking a seat relatively near her mother. Kerry was on the boat fixing up something or other and Andrew was still hunting under the waves.

Ceci eyed the smooth, tanned back an arm’s length or so away and considered her options. The day had been pleasant, really—though they were both uncomfortable with each other, Andy and Kerry were doing their respective darndest to smooth things out. The older woman paused, then reached behind her and picked up a folded towel, glancing at it a moment before she cleared her throat gently. “Dar?”