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“Oh my God. Alex, I was too close to you. I . . . I turned around and ran right into your fins. I couldn’t see anything, and my reg got knocked out. I . . . I . . .”
She was so grateful to be breathing the fresh air and that the experience was over.
“It’s ok. You’re going to be fine.” He pulled her to him again, stroking the back of her neck and repeating soft, soothing words. After a few minutes, her sobs receded and her shaking decreased somewhat.
Finally, Hope sniffled and said, “I’m doing better now. Thanks for not nagging me about my mask on my forehead.”
“Yes, you are doing better.” He placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head toward his. “Hope, we’re going to have to go back down and finish—”
“No, no, no.” Her voice rose. “Alex, I can’t. I just can’t.”
He put his hands on either side of her face and gently ran his thumbs over her cheeks. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. But you have to go back down right now.”
His eyes bore into hers. Her shaking increased, and her heart hammered in her ears.
“What happened was a fluke, and I’m sure you’ll never let it happen again. But you have to go back down right now, or you never will.”
Hope’s lips trembled. “I almost drowned.”
He stroked her cheek again, wiping away the tears. “No one drowns on my watch. I’ll keep you safe. We’ll only go to thirty feet max and only for a few minutes.”
His eyes pierced straight into her. “You have to trust me. Right now. Hope, I keep my promises.”
CHAPTER 23
Alex gripped Hope’s arms tightly, trying to get through to her.
She stared at him with those huge, vulnerable eyes and whispered, “Ok.”
The single word and the trust it contained tore through the center of him.
Alex took hold of her shaking hand and tucked it into his arm as they descended once again. He took deep, slow breaths to get himself under control again and kept her immediately next to him, glued to his arm.
He quickly assessed her posture. Her eyes were still enlarged, but her breathing was steadier. Looks like we’re both more relaxed now. They reached the reef below the boat, which was at about twenty feet. That was plenty deep.
Earlier, he had spun around immediately when she collided with his fins. Realizing he had a major emergency on his hands, it was a pure stroke of luck he caught her mask with one hand before grabbing her arm to prevent her bolting for the surface. His actions had been automatic as he purged the water from her regulator before placing it in her mouth.
Hope had deeply impressed him with how quickly she’d overcome complete panic. He’d seen far more experienced divers completely lose it when they got a mask kicked off or their regulator dislodged, let alone both of them at the same time. She had responded far better than most others would have. He squeezed her hand and winked when she turned to him as they swam along the reef top. Her death grip on his arm relaxed to a gentle hold.
A turtle appeared, gliding slowly over the wall toward them.
Alex stopped swimming, and Hope followed suit. They hovered, trying not to move as the turtle approached. It seemed to regard him first, then Hope, before continuing toward her. It slowed as it closed in, finally stopping in front of her mask, blinking at her.
Alex hardly dared to breathe. Hope let go of his arm and hovered, transfixed as she and the turtle regarded each other. After several seconds, the turtle reached out its neck and softly tapped her mask twice with its beak, then turned sideways and swam away.
Alex’s heart soared as Hope turned to look at him, a tear spilling from one eye.
Thank you, Mr. Turtle. Your timing was impeccable.
He signaled to begin their three-minute safety stop. It wasn’t really necessary, but he wanted this to be as routine as possible. The turtle encounter had put her at ease. She turned and gave him the ok signal and his stomach clenched.
You’re more than ok. You’re incredible, Hope.
Back on the boat, they were both quiet as they removed their tanks and peeled off their wetsuits. Alex tried to think of something clever and uplifting to say, but kept coming up blank. He’d rescued plenty of divers, but none made him feel like this. He was relieved to see his hands were steady, even though he was a mess of strong emotion on the inside. Before today, Alex hadn’t thought anything could rattle him underwater.
He looked at Hope and knew different now.
Alex secured his tank with the bungee cord around the valve and turned around toward her. The next thing he knew, she was crushed against his chest with her arms around him. The force of her embrace made him stagger back a step.
