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“That’s no excuse.” She lifted the corner of her mouth. “And that wasn’t a nice way to treat one of the most important people working here. I’ll try to refrain from biting your head off for no reason.”
Alex broke into a dazzling smile. “Thank you. I much prefer to have a good reason for getting my head bit off.”
“Something tells me that has happened a time or two.”
He affected an innocent, hurt look. “Of course not! I’m all sunshine and rainbows. Perfectly behaved—always.”
A smile spread across her face, which Alex returned. Their gazes held until Hope spied movement behind him and Tommy walked by.
“Man, you haven’t even started loadin’ stuff yet.” Tommy shook his head, grinning as he kept walking. “Hope, you need to get on this guy. He’s the laziest dive guide on the island. Doesn’t do a damn thing.”
“Hey!” Alex called. “It’s not even eight yet. And I was trying to have a conversation here.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure she wants you to shut up and get to work. And you can start by puttin’ on a shirt, you degenerate.”
Hope laughed and stood from the bench. “I think that’s my cue to let you start your day. I’ll see you later.” She stepped away, a little lighter now.
* * *
Two female guests walked along the pier toward her. Hope had met them yesterday and learned they were long-time friends on a getaway without their families. “What’s on the agenda for today?” she asked.
“We’d like to go snorkeling this morning and were hoping to get equipment from the dive shop. Is it open yet?” asked Denise, a short, round woman in a flamboyant cover-up.
“Of course. Let me give you a hand.” Hope turned back toward the boat. “Hey, Alex, these ladies wanted to get some snorkeling equipment.”
“Sure, just a sec.” He finished putting the last tank in the holder before climbing out of the boat and headed toward the dive shop, now wearing his blue staff shirt. He beckoned toward them as he proceeded through the compressor room and over to the dive gear storage area. On the other side of the room, the scuba gear was neatly arranged. After determining their shoe size, Alex handed the two guests fins, then grabbed masks and snorkels. “What about you, Hope?”
“Oh, no, it’s just—”
“That’s a great idea! Why don’t you join us?” said Terri, a thirty-something brunette, as Denise nodded.
Hope paused. Patti had practically forced her to take today off, but mingling with guests was never a bad idea. And snorkeling was hardly work. “Why not? It sounds like fun.”
Alex set her up with the equipment. “The far end of the beach has a nice reef close to shore. If you don’t feel like walking down there, it’s also pretty good right here underneath the pier. Have fun.” After giving them a professional smile, he went back to the boat.
“Let’s go to the end of the beach. I want to see the natural reef,” Denise said.
They put their fins on at the shoreline, then duck-walked into the ocean, trying not to fall. Laughing, Hope said, “I can’t help but think there’s an easier way to do this.”
Before submerging, Terri turned to Hope. “I can’t believe you don’t dive, living here. How come?”
“Everyone keeps asking me that.” Hope laughed. “Alex says he’ll teach me anytime I want, and I’m starting to come around. This is fun.” She turned to Terri. “You don’t dive?”
“No way. All that equipment scares the crap out of me. Snorkeling is easy, and it doesn’t take any special training.”
Nodding, Hope put her face in the water to watch the vibrant reef below. Every fish was a different color and shape—yellow and blue and even one that was half black and half yellow. Another angelfish, gray with bright yellow margins around its scales, came close, and she stopped to watch it gracefully swim away.
They continued slowly snorkeling toward the end of the reef. Soon Hope looked up as Denise sputtered and spit.
“I can never get the hang of spitting the water out of my snorkel.” She decided to stay on the surface.
After nearly an hour, they were ready to head back. Hope started finning toward shore, but the current was now against them. “Ok, ladies,” Hope said. “We’re going to get a bit of a workout on the way back.”
Terri nodded and started back. Denise tried to keep up with her, but her movements were slow and erratic. After a few more kicks, she stopped and said, “I need a rest for a few minutes.” Hope swam over to her, treading water nearby in case Denise needed help.
After a brief rest, Denise nodded and continued. Hope became more concerned with her as she started to sputter and breathe hard. Grasping her arm, she helped her along, eventually doing more of the work and kicked hard herself to propel Denise, who kept wanting to rest.
“We can’t,” Hope said. “We lose ground each time we stop. Relax. I’ll do the kicking.” Denise inhaled some water and coughed, clutching Hope with wide eyes. Terri seemed to be doing better, but was clearly also tired. By the time they made it back to shore, all three were breathing hard and glad to be on solid land once again.
