Page 3 of Hidden Depths

A loud metallic clang echoed from below deck.

"Well..." Willow said. "That doesn't sound expensive."

Another clang.

Followed by muffled laughter.

Then...

"I'm okay!" Calle shouted from the engine room.

I leaned over the hatch.

"You don't sound okay."

"I'm still alive."

"That's not what I asked."

A grease-covered face appeared through the opening.

"The port generator is fixed."

I folded my arms.

"Completely fixed?"

She hesitated.

"...Mostly."

"Calle."

She grinned.

"I'm kidding."

"You are absolutely impossible."

"I get that from Grandpa."

"You get that from yourself."

She disappeared back below deck laughing.

Willow nudged my shoulder.

"You know she's going to keep teasing you until you're eighty."

"I'll still be correcting her when I'm eighty."

"Probably."

Footsteps echoed across the dock.

Hazel approached carrying a clipboard, tablet, and what looked like half the marina's paperwork tucked beneath one arm.

"Good morning," she said.