Scott shakes his head. “Fuck.”
He looks up as Maddie comes back into the room and takes Christopher from Ms. Connor. She looks exhausted.
“Time for his feeding.” She walks over to Scott and squeezes his shoulder, then lifts onto her toes to give him a short kiss. Her touch instantly calms him down.
He gives her a kiss, then kisses Christopher on the forehead before they turn to leave.
I look over at Nathan. His eyes are locked on the map. He’s been tracking every word, and curiosity is seeping from his pores.
Fear hits me hard. He wants to be a part of this. And when he sets his mind to something…
“All right, thanks for the science lessons. Let’s get to the plan,” Scott says.
“So do you want to tell us where we’re all going,Mr. Big Brains?” Jamie asks Finn.
“Yes, well.” Finn points at a large section of the map. “TheMegaron.I want to collect the artifacts Nathan discovered, and it’s also where Scott and Maddie observed heat last year.”
It’s also where Mark died, I think, bitterly.
“It can be frigid in the deeper areas of the cave. At least it was. How do we plan to balance out the swim? Dry suits, wetsuits, no suits?” Scott asks.
“My suggestion is light swimwear under thin wetsuits. Ninety-two degrees is generally the upper limit for low-exertion dives. With medium to high exertion, I recommend a conservative safety maximum of eighty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. Above that, hyperthermia becomes a concern. If we encounter anything warmer, we’ll need to consider other options.”
“I’d like to come.” All heads turn to Nathan. “Looks like you can use another hand.”
He’s looking at Scott for an answer. Finn sits down, amused.
Oh no.
“Sorry, man, that’s not happening,” Scott says.
“Why not?” Nathan asks. “You know I’m a cave diver. A damn good one. I’m in.”
Scott studies him. “No doubt. But you just got back, and you may not remember...”
“This is bullshit. I have it all in my head.” He lets out a frustrated exhale, his words coming out fast. “I can do everything I used to do. I just don’t remember doing any of it. Don’t treat me like I’m clueless.”
Scott pauses, thinking.
Maddie walks back into the room and hands Christopher to Ms. Connor. Then she moves to Nathan and clasps the back of his chair, leaning down to his ear. “Hey… the technical dive we’re talking about is happening this week. Why don’t you plan to go on the next one? Get your feet wet with something simple first so you can convince this guy you’ve still got the skills.” She points her thumb at Scott.
Nathan’s nostrils flare, but his eyes soften when he looks up at Maddie.
“Fair enough.” He shifts his gaze back to Scott. “Thanks.”
“Saturday,” Scott says. “We’ll check out the water near the Drop. Then we’ll figure out what you’re ready for next.”
“Here.” She hands Nathan a stack of folded papers. “Yourmaps of Carter’s Drop. You’ve gone farther than anyone else has.” She motions to the others in the room.
“Thank you.” He takes the maps from Maddie and flips them open. His eyes light up with excitement.
As I watch him immediately start examining it, I realize this won’t be easy. I can already imagine myself losing him again, and once Natalie meets him…
The table conversation shifts back to the dive plan.
“Sid, your team is with Margaret and Finn this time—only as far as the line takes you in theMegaron.”
“Yippee!” Sid’s all exuberant energy, while Scott just huffs.
