Page 96 of Endless Depths

Morgan

The PA clicks on.“This set of waves looks like a bitch,” Cole says. “If I beep the buzzer, take cover.”

“Roger,” we all mumble, except for Lawrence who yells, “Aye aye, Cap,” with enviable energy.

We don’t make it very far before the buzzer sounds, and we abandon the crab pot to take cover under the eave sheltering the foredeck. A wave slams into the starboard side, but it might as well have been a train with the force of impact.

Thousands of pounds of green water pour over the deck, teeteringBriartoward the opposite side. It’s the type of wave that’s going to break shit, and sure enough, the coiler tips over, wrenched from the screws strapping it to the deck. Alejo loses his footing, and the water sweeps his feet out from under him. I grab the strap of his lifejacket, and yank him back before he slams into the bait station.

“Thanks, Skipper,” he shouts as the ship rights.

“No problem.” I release him and scan the deck for damage.

The force of the water peeled a few boards off the deck. The coiler survived the fall, but we’ll need to screw it back into position.

“Everyone okay?” Cole asks.

“We’re good,” I say.

“The deck not so much,” Lawrence yells.

“Yeah. Sorry. Keep your heads on a swivel and listen for the buzzer.”

Lawrence and Javi hoist the coiler off the deck. Wes ducks into the forepeak for the drill. Alejo and I shift the broken boards back into position. We all know the routine. This happens every season. Sometimes more than once.

The alarm for the engine room bleats across the boat.

“I lost steering,” Cole says, calm and unruffled.

“On it!” I jog across the deck, careful to avoid the wreckage.

Time is of the essence. Without steering, Cole can’t pointBriarinto the waves. If we get stuck in the trough between waves in seas this high, she could easily capsize.

“Watch out!” Cole shouts over the PA.

Another wave crashes into us,but luckily only the less dense white water splashes over. Muscle memory from fifteen years at sea keeps me upright, barely slowing me down. I shrug out of my rain jacket on my way through the gear room, tossing it onto a hook without stopping.

Shit breaks on a boat all the time. The Bering Sea turns ships twice the size of ours into tin cans. Sometimes a good engineer—especially one who knows the boat and all her quirks—is the difference between a few tense moments and a sinking ship.

Cole knows theBriarpretty well, but I get why he was so upset when I said I wasn’t coming. You need a strong captainanda strong engineer for situations like this, which is why I probably would have ended up on this trip regardless of what I told Cole. He’s too precious to me to send off without everything he needs, even if what he needs is me.

I open the door to the engine room and check the alarm panel. It looks like the hydraulic pipe I patched and sealed a few days ago is leaking again. I’ll probably have to weld it, but we don’t have time for that, so I’ll just patch it for now and take care of it before bed.

I pick up the phone to the wheelhouse.

“What’s the damage?” Cole asks.

“Same hydraulic pipe. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

He sighs. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Oh, and Sunshine? You’re doing a damn good job.”

I hang up before he can argue. The deck is almost in working order by the time I finish, and we’re back to hauling pots not long after.

“So, what happened last night?” Lawrence asks as we crowd around the table full of crab.

“Lawrence,” I warn. He always runs his mouth while I’m trying to count crab.