Page 36 of Shallow Remains

“Hey, Oscar. What’s up, buddy?” Lachlan asked.

Oscar turned his long body sideways so it was parallel to the jetty and rolled onto his back, watching them. After a moment he reached his little paws down his tummy and pulled something out of the water. He shifted the white object around for a moment, then plunked it down on the plank in front of her.

She blinked at the little rock. “What’s he doing?”

“He’s showing you his favorite rock. You should be honored. He only shows it to people he likes, and he’s never met you before.”

It was probably only because Lachlan was next to her, but she’d take it. “His favorite rock?”

“Otters carry their favorite rock in a little pouch in their fur. They use it to crack open sea urchins, clams, mussels and whatever.”

A smile spread across her face. “I didn’t know that. I’m flattered.” She didn’t care if the look on her face was ridiculous, he was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.

Oscar kept floating there on his back, seemed to be watching her expectantly.

“Am I supposed to pick it up?” she asked, not understanding the protocol.

“I think he’d be offended if you didn’t.”

Utterly charmed, she picked up the little white rock in her fingers and turned it over. “It’s beautiful, Oscar. What a nice rock. Thank you for showing me.”

“You can hand it back to him.”

She glanced up, saw that Lachlan was filming her with his phone. She stretched out her arm to offer the rock. Oscar watched her for a moment, then snatched the rock back in his little paws and tucked it into his pouch.

She couldn’t stop grinning. “I feel like I might die from the cuteness.”

Lachlan chuckled. “Oh, trust me, he knows exactly how cute he is, and he uses it to his advantage at every opportunity. We try not to feed him because we don’t want to interfere with his ability to gather food on his own or make him reliant on humans, but he’s been known to get plenty of treats from the fishermen.”

Maybe because he realized that no treats were forthcoming from either of them, Oscar disappeared back under the surface, returning to his mysterious ocean domain with barely a ripple in the water. “Well, that’s already going to be the highlight of my day. Anything else is gonna pale in comparison.”

“I’m gonna try to change your mind about that.” Lachlan reached a hand down for her.

She grasped it, let him draw her to her feet, a thrill shooting through her when that now familiar heat flowed up her arm and down into her belly.

His gaze fixed on something behind her. “There’s the rest of our party. Come aboard and get your suit on while I finalize the waivers and do the safety briefing.”

It felt routine now. Comfortable as she slipped on the bright orange pants and jacket while everyone else came aboard.

She was just doing up the zipper on the jacket when a hose started running close by.

She jerked upright and whipped around, her heart shooting into her throat. But it was just Lachlan on the dock rinsing the side of the boat.

Maddy turned away fast so he couldn’t see her face. Shut her eyes and focused on trying to breathe because her nervous system was convinced she was about to undergo more torture.

Pinpricks of heat and then a blast of cold hit her, turning her legs weak. She sat sideways on a straddle seat before her knees could give out. Stared out at the blurry marina and fought to regain control. Did everything she could think of to stop the full-on panic attack from happening here in front of Lachlan and a bunch of strangers.

EIGHTEEN

You’re fine, she told herself, shoving back the sharp edge of fear. Think about something else.

Oscar. His sweet little face, dark eyes and dripping whiskers. And Lachlan. Crouched beside her. Watching over her. He was only a few feet away from her right now. Would never let anything happen to her. She was safe.

You’re safe.

The hose stopped. Maddy pulled in a choppy breath and swallowed to force her heart back down her throat.

“Everyone ready to go?” Lachlan asked as he came aboard.