Dar snorted softly. “Yeah, Aunt May had rich tastes. Took me a while to get used to it. I was more inclined to a fifteen-foot dive boat with a single back deck and one chair as an amenity.”

Kerry grinned. “But you did get used to it, eventually.”

The taller woman chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Eyah, as I got older, I developed a disgusting craving for creature comforts.” She walked around the perimeter of the boat, casting off the lines. “Hang on, now.”

Chuckling, Kerry said, “I learned how to hang on crewing a racing yacht going thirty knots, thanks.” She leaned back on her hands and soaked in the sun. “You get tossed from one of those, you remember it.”

Dar seated herself at the controls and started the engines, adjusting the throttles until she heard an even tone. Then, she skillfully backed the boat out, swinging around and nudging the motors into a speed just past idling to get them out of the marina. As soon as they cleared the outer buoy, the breeze picked up, and Dar swung the bow towards the southeast, arcing smoothly over the still choppy waves towards a hazy horizon. Kerry perched next to her, enjoying the salt air and the sunshine, and the cool spray that jutted up from the boat when they hit the waves.

“Wow, it’s nice out here,” she murmured.

Dar closed her eyes briefly and took in a lungful of the air, letting memories wash over her for a long, aching moment. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she finally said quietly, “Yeah, it is.”

They anchored off one of the small islands that dotted the coastline and felt the boat settle down into a quiet bobbing. With the engines shut off, the rhythmic wash of the waves became audible, along with the gentle clank of the boat’s rigging. The sun was fully out, and only high, wispy clouds disturbed the perfect blue of the sky.

“I’m going in for a swim.” Dar stood and stripped off her T-shirt and tucked it neatly on the console. “You interested?”


142 Melissa Good Kerry strolled to the railing and peered over. The water was a rich blue-green and smelled of salt and mystery. “Depends, are there sharks down there?” She peered over her shoulder at the taller woman, who was leaning casually against the curve of the cabin door. Dar, she decided, looks really good in a bathing suit. She had one of those long, swimmer’s builds, with just enough softness covering her muscles so that she didn’t look like a body builder or anything. Just…strong and solid. “The lake we raced on didn’t have sharks,” she explained apologetically.

Dar chuckled. “Well, there might be a few, but I’ve been in these waters since I was four years old, and I haven’t been nibbled yet.” She walked to the rail and hopped up onto it, then dove into the water cleanly, surfacing several yards away from the boat.

Kerry watched her for a moment as she dove down again, then popped up and began to stroke lazily around the boat. “I suppose it’s a little early for shark lunch, so…” She shrugged, then tugged off her shirt and shorts and left them folded on the cushion, moving to a more prudent spot in the stern before stepping up onto the fiberglass railing and jumping in.

She surfaced with a splutter. “Oh. It’s warm.” She ducked her head under water and opened her eyes, blinking against the painful salt. The sun penetrated the green for quite a ways down, outlining waves of golden particles that disappeared into the depths. She could only do it for a moment, though, before it stung her eyes too badly, and she surfaced. “Whoa.”

Treading water, her wet, dark hair slicked back, Dar held out a mask with a mild grin. “Here, this works better.”

“Thanks.” Kerry adjusted the mask, having a bit of difficulty treading water at the same time, then put her face back down, peering into the depths with interest. A school of tiny fish swam by under her, looking for all the world like a flock of birds, even to their splitting and rejoining to some mysterious pattern. Kerry lifted her head up. “Wow, it must be so interesting down there.”

Dar grinned from her spot where she hung onto the anchor line. “We’re pretty shallow right now, only about thirty feet,” she explained. “There’s a coral ridge that goes up and down the coastline here. So, if we were down there, we’d be seeing all kinds of fish.”

With efficient strokes, Kerry swam over to her and grabbed the line as well. “You’re making me jealous. Now I know I have to get certified. I tried coaxing some of the guys at Associated into doing it, but they were all scared.

I bet I can get at least one or two people at the office join in, though.”

Dar studied her in silence for a long moment, then gave a slight nod.

“Wait here.” She reached up and grabbed the gunwale, pulling herself upright out of the water and pressing her body up and over the railing.

Kerry blinked. “Wow, I couldn’t do that even when I was doing gymnastics six times a week,” she murmured, impressed. “Heck, I don’t think the guys who did rings could do that.”

Dar came back and unhitched a section of the railing, pulling it back and seating herself on it. “Okay, we can do a really quick, really easy short dive with just the stuff I have here.” She handed Kerry a vest-like garment. “Put that on.”


Tropical Storm 143

Kerry did, buckling it around her chest and tightening the straps so it fit snugly. “Okay.” She felt a thrill of excitement. “What’s next?”

Dar handed her a pair of booties. “Now these.” She waited. “Okay, now slip these on over the booties and tighten them around your heels.” She gave Kerry a pair of swim fins.

“That’s a little…oh, okay, I got it.” Kerry bit her lip a little as she concentrated. The vest provided some buoyancy, fortunately, and after a moment she looked up. “Okay.” She waved her feet, feeling the powerful surge against the water, and grinned. “Oh, that feels neat.”

Dar handed her down a snorkel. “Put that through the loop in the mask.

Yeah, that’s right. Now turn around, and hold onto that anchor line.”

Kerry did so, facing out towards the horizon. She felt the splash as Dar entered the water behind her, then experienced a moment of jostling as something was attached to her back. She felt the weight difference immediately. “Oh, is that the tank?”

“Yep.” Dar’s hand suddenly appeared beside her ear, holding a round object with a mouthpiece. “Okay, this is how this works.”

Her voice was right up next to Kerry’s ear, and it took a moment for the words to register. “Um. Okay, that’s a regulator,” she repeated.

“Right,” Dar agreed. “See this button?” She pointed to a round spot on top of the piece of gear. “That’s a forced expel.” She put the mouthpiece under water. “Water can’t get in, but if you press this…” She did so, and a stream of bubbles erupted. “Got it? You put that in your mouth, and just breath in normally.”

Kerry fit the mouthpiece between her teeth and sucked in, mildly surprised when air happened. “Fowfh.”

Dar patted her. “Okay, I’m not going to go into the dive computer or anything, because we’re just going down a few feet today. Hang on while I get my gear.”

“Owflk.” Kerry nodded, looking around and getting used to having the regulator in her mouth. What seemed like moments later, Dar was back with similar equipment. She put her flippers on, then swam closer, and Kerry felt a touch at her waist as Dar’s arms circled her.

She stopped breathing. “Uf…”

“Weight belt,” Dar said matter-of-factly. “You need it to compensate for the air in here.” She patted the vest and smiled.

“Owf.” Kerry nodded in understanding as her lungs started working again.

Dar put her own belt on, adjusting it a little and scowling, then she set her mask in place. “Okay, just do what I do. You’re going to let go, and let yourself sink. Just breath normally.”

It was the oddest sensation, Kerry decided, as she obeyed and let herself start to fall through the water. The regulator’s bubbles kept a steady stream of sound around her, but she looked around as she went deeper, seeing the sun’s rays bend and lose their color.

Not far, as Dar had said, and in fact, if she looked up, Kerry could see the solid bottom of the boat just above her. But down here… She leveled out and floated just above the bottom, which was covered with a thick coral formation.


144 Melissa Good Her eyes widened as a school of small, brightly painted yellow and blue fish went right past her, their fins brushing her skin lightly, like butterflies. Past them swam larger, more solitary fish, their bodies undulating back and forth as they surveyed the reef in regal splendor. A tiny, darting red fish zigzagged past her and fled, followed by a larger, flat, black fish with an eye on each side of its body. She glanced down and pointed. A lobster was making its way across the bottom, its spiny shell flexing as it moved.

Just watching her, Dar nodded. The older woman was floating, her arms folded over her stomach and her legs half bent. She lifted one hand and made an okay sign with her fingers, then raised an eyebrow in question. Kerry nodded vigorously, almost unseating her regulator. Dar nodded back, then moved off very slowly, motioning her to follow.

They stayed down for about twenty minutes, while Dar gave her a little tour and pointed out things not to touch. The reef, for one; every touch on the coral was a death sentence to it. Fire coral for another, which could sting human skin badly. Puffer fish, which had spikes; eels, which she wouldn’t have come within a hundred yards of anyway; and other various creatures.

Then Dar gently led her up to the surface, swimming up the anchor line until they both broke through the waves, and removed their regulators.