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“I’ll head to the pool and see if Jack needs any help. Maybe speed him up some.” Zach whirled and rushed through the door, but stopped just outside. “Here he comes now. Must be done. I’ll go get the rest of the stuff.”
Jack entered the room, sending an amused glance up the pier. “Something’s sure got him excited.” Then his smile took on a decidedly suggestive look as he slid his gaze to her. “Something’s sure got me excited. Hi there, darlin’.” He swept up to her and kissed her hard, moving her backward several steps.
Giggling, she smacked him on both shoulders. She loved his drawled darlin’. Only a Texan could pull that off. “Take it easy there. But yes. I invited Zach to join us, and he’s pretty stoked about it.”
Jack’s shoulders fell. “I was kind of looking forward to it being just us.”
“Me too. But I couldn’t resist inviting him.”
A reluctant smile rose on his face. “Yeah, I probably would have too.”
She ran a finger over his raspy jawline. “Maybe you’ll get me alone later.”
“That sounds promising—”
Whatever else Jack might have said was interrupted when Zach re-entered, wearing two BCDs and carrying a reg in each hand. Jack was similarly dressed but had set his reg on the workbench, where he now went to pick it up. “Ok, gang. Let’s get the rest of our stuff and set up.”
Zach’s wide smile disappeared as he looked between them. “Wait a minute. I’m not buttin’ in on a date here, am I?”
Jack grinned. “No, don’t worry. Diving is hardly a date.”
Zach snorted. “You obviously haven’t seen Alex and Hope when they come back from divin’ together.”
Sara laughed. “Well, we’re not nearly as disgusting as those two.”
The trio jumped off the pier, descending through the clear water, and Jack set a heading on his compass. Sara didn’t have one, but relaxed, knowing she was with an expert. As they progressed across the white sand, Zach kept pulling ahead. Jack finally grabbed his fin, moving his arms up and down in a slow down gesture. Zach just shrugged and grinned around his regulator.
They swam much farther than Sara had been expecting before the large structure appeared out of the hazy blue water. I can’t believe it got blown that far!
The structure, which had been a roof in its previous life, looked like a gigantic tent, and Jack led them in a slow circle around it. He was an effortless diver, completely at ease in the water. Even Zach moved comfortably, adjusting his buoyancy with skill. There was no doubt who the newbie in this group was. But even that knowledge couldn’t dampen Sara’s excitement. The first things that caught her attention were the white plastic tree-like structures spaced at even intervals along the roof. Alex had described them to her, but seeing them with her own eyes brought the scene to life. Small pieces of coral hung from each branch by a loop of fishing line, with each tree housing corals in different stages of development.
Near the far edge, Jack hovered before a cluster of growths directly attached to the roof. He wrote on his slate and turned it around. Brain coral. These are mine :). Each of the small pieces comprised of raised ridges, folded into patterns like its namesake. Sara inspected them closely, fascinated by the intricacy.
Shifting her gaze back to the plastic trees, she was eager to investigate them further, and finned along the line. A plastic tag hung from each tree, listing the type of coral it contained—staghorn, elkhorn, lettuce, star. Each species was different colors and sizes, and it was a more impressive project than she had expected. Her heart soared as she moved closer, thrilled at finally experiencing it firsthand.
While studying the forking, flat pieces of elkhorn coral, movement on a branch caught her eye. A brown crab, the size of her palm and with long, hairy legs, delicately moved down the coral. Sara’s first reaction was horror, but curiosity soon overtook the fear as she watched the strange creature picking at the coral fragments, maneuvering delicious morsels into its mouth.
Jack has to see this! He’ll love it. He and Zach were two trees down, and Jack was pointing to a piece of light-green coral. Sara took off with an enthusiastic sweep of her legs. Eager to get Jack’s attention, she was swimming hard when her fin smacked against an obstruction.
The crack behind her was loud in the silent water.
Oh no! Please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was...
With her heart plummeting, Sara whirled around. The water was already cloudy as the coral fragments scattered in slow motion. The white plastic frame slowly drifted toward the roof’s surface. Desperate to rescue it, Sara rushed forward, kicking as hard as she could. A matching crack sounded from behind her.
Oh, please no. This can’t be happening!
Forgetting the first tree, she spun around, and her eyes confirmed what her heart already knew. A second tree gracefully eased to the roof’s surface as coral fragments were flung far and wide.
Sara lifted her eyes from the disaster to focus on Jack and Zach. They were frozen, hovering motionless at the next tree. Both were wide-eyed, wearing matching expressions of horror. Quickly swimming away from the roof, Sara turned to take stock of the damage.
Maybe it’s not that bad. Think positive!
Both trees lay flat on the roof. Broken corals lay everywhere, and a cloud of sediment was spreading through the clear water. More starts had tumbled down the sloped surface and were buried in the sand below. Her breath hitched at the destruction before her.
Stop it! Think—how can we fix this?
Jack surged over, and rapid bursts of bubbles exploded from his regulator. Zach held both hands to the top of his head, like he was trying to keep his head from exploding. Really, Zach? Isn’t that a little over the top?
