Page 61 of The Deadly Shallows

“Hey, Caleb,” Petty Officer Greg Nains said, sidling the rubber skiff alongside Austin’s weatherworn dock. “Figured you’d want a ride out to the Diligence.”

Caleb lifted his chin in thanks. “Much appreciated.”

“And who’s this?” Nains asked with a smile.

“Austin Kelly,” she said, holding on to the pylon and extending her hand.

“Pleasure.”

Caleb frowned. Was he going to take him out to the Diligence or continue flirting with Austin? He couldn’t tell if Austin was simply being friendly, or if she was flirting back. After climbing into the skiff, he looked back at her, studying her smile. It was different from how she smiled at him, but he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

“Ma’am.” Nains tipped his hat to her.

She waved as they pushed off, her gaze shifting to Caleb. “You be safe out there.”

Was she worried about him?

Watching Nains’s reaction to her and seeing her smile back in return still clenched his gut.

The spray of the inlet’s brackish water spurting over the skiff’s low sides showered him and Nains with heavy drops of water.

He glanced back at Austin. She remained on the dock. Frustration anchored inside him. She was going to freeze if she didn’t take a hot shower, dry her wet hair, and get some warm clothes on. The temp was dropping by the minute, the sky shifting to a deep winter gray.

A damp heaviness clung to the air, seeping into his bones despite the wet suit. He prayed she wouldn’t be her stubborn self and remain outside for the duration of the retrieval, but he knew better. Now he was the worried one.

A thick blanket of depressing gray covered the sky as the cold earth penetrated the soles of Austin’s neoprene boots.

Time ticked achingly slow as the orange retrieval crane lifted one barrel at a time—each one encased in a containment vessel by Caleb and the other hazmat diver. Soon the rusted barrels would be out of their water, but the damage had already been done. Clear bubbles of hazardous liquid had pooled in puddles on the water’s surface above the men.

Hurry up, Caleb. She wanted him out of the water, safely decontaminated on the Diligence, and back at her side in warm clothes. Though he’d be equally frustrated she’d remained outside rather than taking a hot shower and slipping on warm clothes. But she’d grabbed a blanket and a hot cup of coffee—at least that was something. But she wasn’t going inside until he was topside. Concern for his safety gnawed at her gut as she tapped her foot. How much longer?

“Come on,” she whispered under her breath.

“Come on?” Emmy asked, making her jump. Her heart thudded, a splash of coffee rolling off her hand.

“Sorry,” Emmy said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Had she seriously been that focused on Caleb that she hadn’t noticed someone—even if it was someone with the lightest step she’d ever heard—approaching?

Emmy’s brows furrowed. “Please tell me you’ve taken a warm shower since you called me?”

“I’ll shower when this is all wrapped up.”

“Honey, you’re freezing, and with the chemicals . . .”

“I’ll be okay. They’ve got to be nearly done.”

“Okay, but shower well. I hate to think of your and Caleb’s exposure to whatever is in those barrels.”

“He’s still down there.”

Emmy’s already big eyes opened wider still. “What?”

“He’s in hazmat gear, but he’s directing the barrel retrieval.”

“Of course he is.” Emmy exhaled. “Frustrating man.”

Austin laughed. “Aren’t they all?” Though she swore Caleb was far more so than any other man she’d crossed paths with. He had a way of burrowing under her skin. At first it had felt like a chigger, but now . . . it was in a yummy goosebumps sort of way. How that happened, she had zero clue.