AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dad’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t know. I hope not.”
My gaze hardened on an overdue notice pinned to the wall. “I hope not, too. I’ve checked the weather for tomorrow, and I think it will be okay to go back there and?—”
“You think it will be okay? Or you know it will be?” He gave me the side eye.
“I’ll tell you come sunup tomorrow.” I checked the GPS, making sure we were heading the right way.
He groaned. “I’m not letting you dive if it’s a risk.”
“I know.” I leveled my gaze at him. “Hey, when we drop anchor, we can go through the stuff we just scored.”
He shook his head. “I’m getting some shut-eye.”
I squinted at him, and I was on the verge of asking him if he was okay again when he shuffled away.
What had gotten into him? Normally, he would be excited to go through what we found. And he would never say anything nice about a cop.
It took longer than I anticipated to reach Kangaroo Island, and twice I contemplated stopping and dropping anchor, but I pushed myself through. I didn’t want to waste time traveling tomorrow when I could be diving instead.
It was past three o’clock in the morning, when I finally turned off the engines and dropped all four anchors. The clouds had shifted overhead, and moonlight made the waves crashing over Pineapple Reef look like they glowed from the inside. The view was so spectacular, I was tempted to grab a beer and enjoy the scenery for a while.
My body said otherwise.
I strolled toward the hut and was surprised to hear Dad snoring.
Why didn’t he go to his cabin? Silly bugger.
Dad was on his back, and the cushion he’d been using for a pillow had slipped onto the floor. I lifted his head and replaced the cushion, and when he moaned, I kissed his forehead. “Goodnight, Dad.”
A bottle was on the coffee table. I picked it up and tried to read the label, but months of submersion beneath the ocean made it impossible. I sniffed the contents, and it even smelled expensive. Maybe it was brandy.
I recapped the bottle and added it to the collection Dad had put in the cupboard below the sink. Normally, there would be just one or two bottles of cheap whiskey in there. Thanks to our lucky find, I had to shove a couple of the fancy bottles aside to put this one away.
A few lights dotted the distant ocean, and I paused at the railing, trying to work out if it was the shoreline or boats. After a few beats, I decided it was both. None of the boats were close enough to cause me concern, and other than a giant cruise ship a long way in the opposite direction, none of the boats appeared to be moving.
If anyone wanted to raid Rhino in the middle of the night, there was nothing I could do anyway.
Swinging my gaze back to the hut, I frowned. Was that why Dad slept in there?
I chuckled. That alcohol was probably the most precious thing he owned.
I climbed down the ladder and quickly showered. When I crawled into bed, images of Tyler cooking for me drifted across my mind. As my cabin creaked and groaned with Rhino’s never-ending movements, I couldn’t shake the confusing tangle of emotions Tyler stirred in me.
My stupid heart was a traitor to my head.
Damn him.
I jolted awake. As I peered into the blackness around me, Rhino’s hull creaked, and waves slapped into her side.
Son of a bitch. I groaned. The amount Rhino was swaying wasn’t good. I pulled open my curtain and scowled at the black cloud hovering in the distance. No. No. No!
I pulled on my denim shorts, a navy-blue T-shirt, and my boots. Grabbing my sunglasses, I headed up to the main deck. The black cloud was blocking out the dawn glow, and I could only just make out the waves crashing over Pineapple Reef which were much bigger than they were last time I was here.
“Goddammit.”
I wouldn’t be able to dive.
Clenching my fists, I stomped to the hut.
